Gance’s new version of "J’accuse" is more an essentially different film, a reworking with new plot elements rather than a remake of its 1919 predecessor, although he includes some battle scenes from the old version and uses several of its protagonists. In the climax, Gance again denounces the coming war, with his hero once again summoning forth the spirit of the war dead (played this time by mutilated veterans of the first conflagration) to indict the living at a time of renewed war hysteria.
Gance felt the urge to make this film when he saw Europe drifting unavoidably towards a second major conflict and reflected the view that political leaders, not ordinary men and women, cause wars.
The film earned a horror classification when released in the UK.
First shown in the USA, on November 6th, 1939, in a shorter 95 minute-long version.