Past Film/Video | Classics

Army of Shadows

(L’armée des ombres, Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969)

A man is tied to a chair in the middle of a large room. There is a desk in front of him and two photos of military officers on the otherwise empty walls.
Nov 19, 2025 7:00 PM
Film/Video Theater

Admission is first come, first served.

Free for all audiences with ticket

For ticketing questions please call the Visitor Desk at (614) 292-3535.

A limited number of listening devices are available upon request.

If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation to participate in this event, please email accessibility@wexarts.org or call (614) 688-3890. Visit our Accessibility page to learn more.

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Not released in the US until 2006, Army of Shadows has since become a modern classic and one of the defining films about the French Resistance.

The great French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville is best known for such sharply conceived crime thrillers as Le samouraï (1967) and Le cercle rouge (1970), but Army of Shadows has arguably become his most highly acclaimed film. Based on the novel by Joseph Kessel, the drama is a captivatingly grim account of the experiences of a small band of French Resistance fighters working against the Nazi troops occupying France. They try to evade capture and the fate that awaits them if caught while also struggling with their own codes of honor. Channeling the exquisite minimalism of Melville’s gangster films, Army of Shadows is an unsparing tale of defiance, and this new restoration makes for essential viewing. In French with English subtitles. (145 mins., 4K DCP)

IMAGE CAPTION
Army of Shadows, courtesy of Rialto Pictures and StudioCanal.

"Dark as pitch and utterly without compromise."
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

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Program Support

Presented in partnership with Ohio State’s Department of French and Italian with the support of the Albertine Foundation and Villa Albertine.

Scanned in 4K from the original negative by L'Image Retrouvée, supervised by Studiocanal’s Sophie Boyer and Jean-Pierre Boiget. With the funding support of CNC.

SUPPORT FOR FILM PROGRAMS PROVIDED BY

Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY

Greater Columbus Arts Council

The Wexner Family

Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts

CampusParc

The Columbus Foundation

Every Page Foundation

Mellon Foundation

Axium Packaging

Nationwide Foundation

Michael and Anita Goldberg

Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease, LLP

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

Joyce Shenk

Rebecca Perry and Ben Towle

Lachelle Thigpen

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Past Film/Video

Army of Shadows

Nov 19, 2025 7:00 PM EST
Film/Video Theater

Admission is first come, first served.

Free for all audiences with ticket

For ticketing questions please call the Visitor Desk at (614) 292-3535.

A limited number of listening devices are available upon request.

If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation to participate in this event, please email accessibility@wexarts.org or call (614) 688-3890. Visit our Accessibility page to learn more.

Become a Member