Marcel Ophuls, Influential Documentary Filmmaker Who Challenged WWII Myths, Dies at 97

Marcel Ophuls, the German-born director best known for his impactful documentary "The Sorrow and the Pity," which challenged the prevailing narrative of widespread French resistance during World War II, has died at the age of 97.

Reports confirmed his passing on Saturday, citing a statement from his grandson Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert. Details regarding the cause and location of his death were not disclosed, and Seyfert was not immediately available for comment.

Before gaining international recognition, Ophuls directed several lesser-known feature films. His breakthrough came in 1969 with the release of "The Sorrow and the Pity," a four-and-a-half-hour documentary centered on Clermont-Ferrand, an industrial city near the heart of France during the war. Employing a clear, analytical approach, he interviewed a broad spectrum of residents—shopkeepers, farmers, bankers, educators, and lawyers—who either collaborated with the Nazis and the Vichy regime or resisted them, though many had overlooked or ignored the persecution and deportation of Jews and opponents.

Upon its premiere in Paris, the film provoked a strong emotional response, including shock and indignation. It exposed the myth, promoted by Charles de Gaulle after France’s liberation in 1944, that the majority of the French population actively supported or secretly aided the resistance movement.

Originally created for television, "The Sorrow and the Pity" was banned from French broadcast until 1981. Conservative politicians criticized the film, labeling it as accusatory and portraying the French in an unflattering light. Ophuls, however, defended his work, emphasizing in a 2004 interview that the film did not seek to condemn the French people but rather to present a nuanced reflection, questioning whether any nation would have acted differently under similar circumstances.