This Issue comes at the time of the 100th Anniversary of the outbreak of WWI. It was a very significant event that dramatically changed the way of life in this country. To me, WWI started only thirty years before I was born in 1944 at the end of WWII. At that time there would have been a large number of servicemen from that era still alive. On a day trip with my car to France in 1990 with some friends we wandered over the border into Belgium, a sign pointed to Ypres, ‘Lets go and see Wipers lads’. We arrived and explored the town and Cloth Hall WWI Museum, and were very moved. Back home my wife’s Aunt said she had in the nineteen twenties been on a trip to the Battlefields of Belgium and dug out her picture album of her visit to Ypres. A few months later I took her album back to Ypres and surrounding area and was able to replicate a then and now of many of her pictures. The following November 1993 we went to Ypres on Armistice Day, which was one of my most memorable days in my life and so began an interest in WWI, in the ensuring years I have visited most of the battlefields of WWI. To see the last Post sounded at the Menin Gate in Ypres at 8pm (as it is every evening) is a truly memorable and moving experience, which I would recommend to anyone. There are many documentaries and films of WWI available on disc; I have below drawn your attentions to some of those titles I own and that I think are particularly worthwhile both from a Cinematic and WWI interest point of view.
‘Battle of the Somme’ (DVD available from Imperial War Museum) is still this country’s biggest ever box office film, it estimated than in its first six weeks of release in August 1916 over twenty million people went to the cinema to see, what the was then an amazing pioneering battlefield documentary. Never before had an audience seen a real battlefield. It was an opportunity to see the reality of the Western Front and visualise the experiences of the soldiers who were fighting there, but still difficult to grasp the true horror. Most of the film was filmed at the time, but like many modern documentaries there were undoubtedly some fakes and contrived shots; surely the soldiers only waived and smiled to the camera! Many of the scenes have been used and used again on subsequent documentaries. I did originally own a grotty VHS tape of this film. Fortunately in 2005 a digitally restored version was made available, which is a startling improvement on previous VHS versions. It comes with two musical scores (both very atmospheric); I personally preferred the audio commentary track by Roger Smither who explains what is being seen on the screen. The package comes with disc extras and a 36-page booklet. This is a must see film at least once in your life!
‘The Great War BBC Documentary of 1964’: The BBC marked the fiftieth anniversary of WWI with this epic 26-episode (40min each) documentary and was shown on consecutive Sundays on the new 625 line BBC 2; starting on 31st May and ending on 19th November 1964; fortunately my parents had just bought a new 625 set. The surprise to today’s viewer is how many of the veterans interviewed were still fit and very articulate men in their late sixties early seventies (similar age group of most my friends, the only noticeable difference was then they all wore jackets collar and tie)! I purchased my copy in 2002 and this summer I have recently re-watched the whole 20 odd hours! Who will ever forget the superb Narration by Sir Michael Redgrave (who we don’t actually ever see) and the opening montage to each episode of harrowing still pictures that pan from a grave cross looked down on by a soldier as it pans down to corpses in the bottom of a trench and one forlorn soldier sitting in the trench! This series features the best archive footage available at that time chosen from over one million feet of film and 20,000 photographs collected from many sources and extracts from diaries, letters and reports from the war. Time has been kind to this documentary and despite its lack of computer generated graphics and enhanced picture quality is perhaps part of its charm is its dated presentation style makes it still compelling viewing. The graphic portrayal and horrendous conditions and the appalling casualties at the battle of Verdun are particularly haunting, this chapter is entitled ‘hell cannot be so terrible’. That’s not to say of course that the rest of the battles were not equally horrendous, as was the suffering of the civilian populations. Looking at the series again I find the variety and quality of the footage shown as truly amazing, bearing mind the cameras and equipment available at that time. In 2003 the BBC broadcast a documentary on the making of the series, many of the production team recalled the mammoth task of making this documentary and what a profound effect the series had on their lives. The script was written and film was found to match the events described, much of the film shown was not necessary of the events portrayed. At the present time there are not many new copies of the seven disc DVD box set around and the price is generally very high for the few remaining ones, even the second hand ones have an asking price of over £100, but there again this is such a superb box set it is worth it. From a search of the Internet DD Video who released the series on both VHS and DVD appear to no longer exist.
There are very few silent films available about WWI, however there are two extremely good ones, ‘Wings’ and ‘The Big Parade’. ‘Wings (1927)’ was the first film to win an Academy award for best picture. Clara Bow the IT girl is the star in this epic, that tells the story of love, friendship and loss of two men who go to war in France. It features some spectacular aerial battle scenes that were done for real (see the extras for how they were filmed). Though 144 minutes long and a silent film it has a really strong story line that is easy to follow, helped by a newly recorded soundtrack, it holds up really well and even my wife really enjoyed it. This is another really good restoration on Blu-ray from a very good master and a must see film.
‘The Big Parade (1925)’ is the story of a rich businessman son, who joins the army when the U.S.A. enters WWI. He is sent to France, where he becomes friends with two working-class soldiers. He also falls in love with a Frenchwoman, but has to leave her to move to the frontline. King Vidor’s film was made only seven years after the end of WWI and it has a real authentic feel, more akin to a documentary with very realistic battle scenes. The film made John Gilbert a star and the romantic scenes with his French girlfriend are very moving. Once again an excellent 4K restoration on Blu-ray with a great musical score by Carl Davis, which features popular WWI, tunes like "Over There" and "You're in the Army Now", well worth seeing despite its length. The packaging comes complete with a digi book written by Kevin Brownlow.
From what I have read about the silent film ‘J'Accuse (1919)’ is that it is one of the great French films from the silent era. Directed by Abel Gance it tells the story of a love triangle, against the backdrop of the First World War. Partly filmed on real battlefields, this is one of the earliest anti-war movies, showing the impact of war not only on soldiers but also on civilians, the indignity of rape and sorrow. Also for its poignant scene of the "return of the dead": fallen soldiers raising from their graves to return to their villages, warning the living their deaths should not have been in vain. I have not seen this film; unfortunately at the moment the only version I can find is an American DVD, which is very expensive at present (£25) so it’s on my wish list. Incidentally Abel Gance remade this film in 1938, there are clips from these films on the internet.
‘All Quiet on The Western Front (1930)’ is perhaps the most famous WWI film. It’s the story of young German recruits path from idealism to deep disillusionment of war when they find the harsh reality of the front. This film is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made, which in the past was banned for its very strong anti-war message. This Blu-ray like the others has been extensively restored; the picture flicker inherent of early sound films and most of the crackle has been removed from the soundtrack of this 1930’s masterpiece. This film is still highly rated by the film critics both sides of the Atlantic and it still holds up extremely well as a very forceful, thought provoking anti war drama.
Another very early WWI sound film is ‘Hells Angels (1930)’ made famous for the extended coverage of the making of the film by Howard Hughes in the film ‘The Aviator (2004)’. Originally it was to be a silent film, but remade as a sound film. It is famous for its sexsational leading lady Jean Harlow and the extensive realistic aerial dogfights that are compelling viewing. The film style and dialogue is a bit stilted and it has not really stood the test of time compared to the still fresh and compelling ‘All Quiet on The Western Front’. However the story behind the making of the film makes it one you want to see!
Renoir’s ‘La Grande Illusion (1937)’ is perhaps the most unusual of all WWI movies in that there are no scenes of bloody combat and only the odd scene of violence when a gun is used against an escaping prisoner. This French film is set in two German Prisoner of War Camp. We follow the story of three French captives, a mechanic, a Jewish garment maker, a French aristocrat, and the arrogant German aristocrat, Commandant superbly played by Erich von Stroheim. This is a poignant story that is a satire on the class structure of the time. It is highly regarded as one of the greatest French Films. I originally hired it from Love Films, and being very impressed promptly ordered a Blu-ray copy from Movie Mail. There are lots of extras including the almost mandatory documentary on the amazing restoration from a battered and worn print, the only criticism is that the sub-titles are rather small viewed on a 32” TV, okay if you project it.
Howard Hawks' ‘The Road to Glory (1936)’ is a gritty film of life in the French Trenches of WWI and is the story of a French regiment and Captain La Roche (Warner Baxter). Life is wasted in attacks on the German trenches; yet more raw recruits replace those who are killed. There is a love triangle (all these films seem to have a love triangle!) between the Captain and his junior officer (Fredric Marsh) for a very attractive sensual caring nurse played June Lang. The Captain’s father also turns up in the regiment and their relationship adds much to the story. I found this a very strong drama and a compelling film, with very realistic trench battle scenes that brought home the horrors of WWI. Viewing the film, I thought that this was really a French film with English dialogue! Bearing in mind the age of the film, I thought picture and sound were very acceptable, though not as good as some of the blu-ray restorations of films from this period. Highly recommended to anyone interested in WWI.
The book ‘Birdsong’, Sebastian Faulks' is drama set during the WWI is one of the best-known modern novels (1993) of the period and was a bestseller. I expect many of you may have read this topical story of how the Stephen Wrayford’s granddaughter’s quest to find out with the help of his diaries, of his love life in Amiens in 1910 and subsequent hell in the trenches. It is a very strong story with graphic descriptions of the time. The book received high praise from the press…"Magnificent - deeply moving" (Sunday Times); "Engrossing, moving, and unforgettable" (The Times); "One of the finest novels of the last forty years" (Mail on Sunday). There had been rumours that it was to be made into a film, for sometime before the BBC produced a two-part adaptation of the book in 2012. On my first viewing on TV, I was not particularly impressed, the modern day slant on the granddaughters search for her the story of her grandfather was missing and it is now just a WWI drama. I recently watched the Blu-ray projected, and was this time very smitten with the beauty of the scenes of pre-war Amiens and the very realistic trench scenes, the sound was undoubtedly much better on my surround sound system, I recall some of the dialog was a bit muffled on TV (hardly surprising!). Well worth seeing this elaborate BBC adaptation, which has high production values. Well all this viewing prompted me to re-read this gripping novel.
At the end of June I went to Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, the wartime home of the code breakers. I last went there seven years ago and it has changed significantly thanks to a large lottery grant. There is a new visitor centre and extensive restoration has taken place of the buildings and interiors to their wartime condition, the desks even have 1940’s fag packets on them! Very well worth a visit even if you have been there before, there are plenty of new audiovisual displays and you can try your hand at simple code breaking. Bletchley Park also houses a number of private collections the one that all you Collectors will find particularly interest is ‘The Projected Picture Trust’, which has a large collection of film cameras and protectors on display, all gauges are catered for from the humble Kodak Standard 8 Brownie to full blown size cinema projectors. Housed within the building is a fifty-seat cinema, which has regular film shows. The Projected Picture Trust publishes an excellent high quality fully illustrated Colour Magazine called ‘Rewind’, it is mostly about cinemas and the projectors that were once found in them (the Summer 2014 has 44 pages). They can be contacted at Museum of Cinema, Bletchley Park Sherwood Drive, Bletchley MK3 6EB