Can anyone tell me about this famous photo?

[Max Poilu]

An absolutely stunning image - (vaguely reminiscent of Capa's 'Death of a loyalist soldier') - anyone know anything about the Poilu where/when etc?

[Simon Jones]

It is reminiscent of the reconstructions of the fighting at Verdun staged with the help of former soldiers by Léon Poirier in 1927-28. It is not in the two sets of these photos of Fort Vaux and Bois de Caures that I have but he also produced a set of photos of Forts Souville and Douaumont. Does anyone have these?

I note that Anthony Clayton uses it in his Paths of Glory, captioned as ‘Infantry attacking, Verdun, 1917’ and credits it to Hulton.

It is hard to imagine how it could have been taken. If the photographer had concealed himself in no mans land before the attack you would expect the camera angle to be much lower. As it is he seems impossibly exposed.

Regards

Simon

[Desmond7]

Go here:-

http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-germans.html

Was googling images for 'French soldiers attack' etc and came across this.

Some captions are dodgy .. especially Verdun .. but well worth a good look.

[Ozzie]

Thanks for the link Desmond.

Kim

[jdajd]

It was always my understanding that this was a still from a movie that was shot.

[Max Poilu]

Thank you all for the comments.

[Mat McLachlan]

I recall reading somewhere that this photo may in fact be a genuine shot of a Poilu being hit. I have to say though, I'm slightly skeptical. As Simon mentioned, where was the cameraman standing when the shot was taken? Was he in the German line, peeking out? If the French soldiers were this close to the German line, you'd think they'd be paying more attention to the Germans, and not running with their heads down.

On the other hand, if it is a staged photo, it certainly seems to have been done realistically. In other similar staged photos/paintings I've seen, men captured at the moment of death are invariably throwing their hands up, arching their backs, etc for maximum dramatic effect. It seems likely that if someone was directing this shoot to show the moment when bullet meets flesh, they would have called for more explicit action.

Great shot, regardless.

Cheers,

Mat

[Simon Jones]

Another page on the site to which Desmond gave the link confirms that this is a movie still, as jdajd suggested. It is from the film Verdun, directed by Léon Poirier in 1927 using war veterans. Google shows up further confirmation of this for example here.

Regards

Simon

[Max Poilu]

Thanks Simon, a definitive answer it seems.

[Roy Evans]

Thanks Simon, a definitive answer it seems.

Thanks indeed Simon for giving us the inside info.

Especial thanks to Giles for getting us to look deeper into a picture that we must all have seen many times but which I for one have not given much thought to its taking.

Roy

[Paul Hederer]

Thanks indeed,

I must admit I've seen this photo many times, and always thought it to be genuine.

I guess I should have thought more about it. I noticed a few weeks ago, when watching a documentary on the history channel about the war that they were using film clips from "All's quiet on the Western Front." Never was identified as being from the movie.

Paul

[jdajd]

Another page on the site to which Desmond gave the link confirms that this is a movie still, as jdajd suggested.  It is from the film Verdun, directed by Léon Poirier in 1927 using war veterans.  Google shows up further confirmation of this for example here.

Regards

Simon

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So do I get anything for this?

[Simon Jones]

So do I get anything for this? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll give you 50% of what I got

[PFF]

In an AMerican Heritage History of WW I there was a picture showng at left a

blurred figure of a German Soldier and at the right the body of a French soldier lying in a shellhole. I theink the captionwas that this was the GErman Offense of

1918. However if it was was similiar to the posted pitcture on this website then

the book caption is wrong-it was a stillf rom 1927 movie

[Guest British Sapper]

If it's a set-up then it is very appropriate as Capra's picture was a set-up /phoney too.

[Max Poilu]

If it's a set-up then it is very appropriate as Capra's picture was a set-up /phoney too.

Is there definitive proof for that?

[J T Gray]

I cannot remember where I read it, though I suspect that it could not be called definitive, but I gather that the contact sheet for the film allegedly surfaced in the last ten years or so. This appears to show only one of the group wearing the outifit the "Falling Militiaman" is wearing, and he appears in a group photo in a print with a later frame number (ie taken after - unless he re-rolles hid films backwards) than the famous one.

How true this is I will not be drawn on because I can't remember the source. However you read the account here:

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/scw/aura.htm

That doesn't seem very likely either - I think this one will run and run...

Adrian

[Max Poilu]

Certainly an interesting story, regardless of this one contentious picture it cannot alter the fact that Capa is one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century and an inspiration to so many.

[J T Gray]

Certainly an interesting story, regardless of this one contentious picture it cannot alter the fact that Capa is one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century and an inspiration to so many.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Indeed - fake or fact, it is still a striking and powerful image.

Adrian