''Guernica'' is a 1950 French short film directed by

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

and Robert Hessens.

Synopsis

After a brief

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

by Jacques Pruvost describing the

bombing of Guernica On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerial bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe ...

on 26 April 1937,

María Casares María Casares (21 November 1922 – 22 November 1996) was a Spanish-born French actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage and cinema. She was credited in France as Maria Casarès. Early life Casares was born María V ...

recites a poem by

Paul Eluard Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

on the subject of that atrocity, accompanied by imagery from numerous paintings, drawings, and sculptures produced by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

between 1920 and 1949, particularly ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the m ...

'' (1937). The oppressive musical arrangements in the film were composed by Guy Bernard.

Home media

The short film is available as a special feature on the DVD edition of ''

The Mystery of Picasso ''The Mystery of Picasso'' (french: Le mystère Picasso) is a 1956 French documentary film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. In it, the painter Pablo Picasso produces 20 drawings and paintings, at first using inks that bleed through the paper on ...

'',

Henri-Georges Clouzot Henri-Georges Clouzot (; 20 November 1907 – 12 January 1977) was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his work in the thriller film genre, having directed ''The Wages of Fear'' and '' Les Diaboliques'', ...

's 1956 documentary about Picasso.

References

External links

* 1950 films 1950 short films French short documentary films 1950s French-language films Films directed by Alain Resnais Bombing of Guernica French documentary films 1950 documentary films French black-and-white films 1950s short documentary films 1950s French films {{1950s-France-film-stub