To Die in Madrid

1963 film

To Die in Madrid

Directed by| Frédéric Rossif
Written by| Madeleine Chapsal
Frédéric Rossif
Produced by| Nicole Stéphane
Narrated by| John Gielgud
Cinematography| Georges Barsky
Edited by| Suzanne Baron
Music by| Maurice Jarre

Release date

* 18 April 1963 (1963-04-18)

Running time

| 85 minutes
Country| France
Language| French

To Die in Madrid (French: Mourir à Madrid) is a 1963 French documentary film about the Spanish Civil War, directed by Frédéric Rossif. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[1][2]

## Background

[edit]

In 1936, the Popular Front won the elections in Spain and thus provoked a rise in discontent on the part of the right: monarchists, fascists, conservatives and others nostalgic for the pre-republic, for "eternal, Catholic and imperial Spain",[3] attempted to overthrow the current government in Madrid with a putsch that took place on 17 and 18 July 1936. Although it failed, this coup d'état was the trigger for a bloody civil war that Frédéric Rossif documents in To Die in Madrid.

## Production and release

[edit]

The film is a formidable piece of archival research on the Spanish Civil War, drawing on documents from the Soviet Union, the United States, France, Germany and Spain. Rossif is not a historian, but he teaches us the essential fact that the war was won thanks to the massive support of the Germans and Italians.[4] The commentary is by Madeleine Chapsal, for the most part said by Jean Vilar and Suzanne Flon. The music is by Maurice Jarre. The producer is Nicole Stéphane.

This film was not easy to make and was much attacked at its release by both the extreme right and the extreme left. The French government, in order to please the Spanish dictator Franco, delayed the release of the film for more than a month and asked to cut some scenes[citation needed]. According to Nicole Stéphane's testimony in 2006, the Spanish government asked for twenty-five cuts and the French censors finally made six.[5]

## Cast

[edit]

* John Gielgud as Narrator (voice)
* Irene Worth as Co-Narrator
* Suzanne Flon as Récitante / Narrator (French version) (voice)
* Roger Mollien as Récitant / Narrator (French version) (voice)
* Germaine Montero as Récitante / Narrator (French version) (voice)
* Pierre Vaneck as Récitant / Narrator (French version) (voice)
* Jean Vilar as Récitant / Narrator (French version) (voice)

## Awards

[edit]

* Prix Jean-Vigo (1963)[6]
* Prix du Chevalier de la Barre (1963)[7]
* BAFTA Award for Best Documentary (1968)[8]
* Nomination: Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (1966)[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NY Times: To Die in Madrid". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
2. ^ a b "The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
3. ^ Godicheau, François (2016). "Guerre d'Espagne". L'histoire (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
4. ^ France Observateur, 18 avril 1963
5. ^ "Revivre Mourir à Madrid". 17 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2022 - via Dailymotion.
6. ^ "Prix Jean Vigo - 1963". Unifrance (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
7. ^ "Le commencement de l'apocalypse Revoir " Mourir à Madrid " de Frédéric Rossif, c'est retrouver une vérité". Le Monde (in French). 21 February 1990. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
8. ^ "Film in 1968". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved 29 May 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* To Die in Madrid at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary

1948–1989|

* Louisiana Story (1948)
* Daybreak in Udi (1949)
* The Undefeated (1950)
* Beaver Valley (1951)
* Royal Journey (1952)
* The Conquest of Everest (1953)
* The Great Adventure (Det Stora äventyret) (1954)
* The Vanishing Prairie (1955)
* On the Bowery (1956)
* Journey into Spring (1957)
* Glass (Glas) (1958)
* The Savage Eye (1959)
* Dispute (1960)
* Volcano (Le Rendezvous du diable) (1961)
* Four Line Conics (1962)
* Individual Honour (1963)
* Nobody Waved Good-bye (1964)
* Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
* Goal! The World Cup (1966)
* To Die in Madrid (1967)
* In Need of Special Care (1968)
* Prologue (1969)
* Sad Song of Yellow Skin (1970)
* The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)
* Cutting Oils and Fluids (1972)
* Grierson (1973)
* Cree Hunters of Mistassini (1974)
* The Early Americans (1975)
* The Canadians (Los Canadienses) (1976)
* No Award (1977)
* The Silent Witness (1978)
* The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1979)
* No Award (1980)
* Soldier Girls (1981)
* Burden of Dreams (1982)
* Schindler (1983)
* 28 Up (1984)
* Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story (1985)
* Shoah (1986)
* Baka – People of the Rainforest (1987)
* Death on the Rock (1988)
* Four Hours in My Lai (1989)

2005|

* The Orphans of Nkandla (2005)

2011–present|

* Senna (2011)
* Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
* The Act of Killing (2013)
* Citizenfour (2014)
* Amy (2015)
* 13th (2016)
* I Am Not Your Negro (2017)
* Free Solo (2018)
* For Sama (2019)
* My Octopus Teacher (2020)
* Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
* Navalny (2022)
* 20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
* Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)

* Between 1990–2012, the documentaries continued to be honoured at the British Academy Television Awards.

This article related to a French film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

This article about a French documentary film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

This 1960s documentary film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template