my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » Looking for films featuring World War I (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Looking for films featuring World War I Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-02-2003 08:03 PM                     Well school is back in session and once again I've been asked to lecture on twentieth century world history. This week the discussion topic is World War I (aka: The Great War). American college students know little about this conflict and that is not always their fault. High school history teachers overlook the base reasons for the war such as nationalism, economic rivalry, and popular militarism; while instead present a hopless battlefield situation inwhich only the intervention of the United States could the day be saved. Educators on the forum will probably also agree with me in that film is an excelent method of classroom communication when used properly. In order to appeal to their senses, as well as paint an historically accurate picture as possible, I am asking for suggestions as to which films freshman college students would most relate to with refrence to the First World War. The films do not have to have a 100% military plot. Indeed, as stated earlier, I am actually interested in certain clips showing the struggle in a light most students were not exposed to while in secondary school. For example: Today I showed the scene from Legends of the Fall in which Henry Thomas gets gassed. Say what you want about the film, the battlefield images are first class (remember this movie did win the best cinematography oscar). So what films do you guys recommend?  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 09-02-2003 08:10 PM                        All Quiet on the Western Front  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-02-2003 08:18 PM                     I thought about this one but did not go with it in part because I'm trying to connect with the students using something a bit more modern in production. A great film though . BTW: I'm sensing a move probably to Yak. Thats my fault.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-02-2003 08:30 PM                     There are two versions of All Quiet...I believe. Steve  |  IP: Logged Rick Long Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 759 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Nov 1999 posted 09-02-2003 08:46 PM                     Another film about WWI which I enjoyed is Richard Attenborough's "Oh What a Lovely War" It presents, as it claims, an irreverent, musical and sometimes comedic view of the Great War.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 09-02-2003 08:56 PM                        Indeed there is a 70s remake which is not bad, but the original is still better and nearly contemporary to the actual events which makes it not even really a historical film but a historical document. If your students need a more recent rendering in color and all that to connect to the subject then they are not history students but idiots and you can also let them play a video game. A more recent film (in color!!!) which I also liked is Gallipoli. It is not really a film about WWI, more a drama against the historical background.  |  IP: Logged Will Kutler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1506 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 09-02-2003 10:26 PM                     All Quiet On The Western Front is about the best!(origonal version) I would suggest a few other sources for documentaries: The Imperial War Museum in London, as well as the History Channel. For a good background reference in literature, I would strongly recommend "History of the World War" by Francis A. March PhD. with an introduction by General P.C. March, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Leslie-Judge Company New York 1918 in 6 volumes. I have a first printing 6 volume set, but I do know that later printings were contained in one volume. This is truly excellent material. I would also look into Time Life Books. Their series on the history of aviation contains excellent material on WWI. They also printed some excellent material about naval warefare in WWI. Aaron, the cause of WWI will for centuries be debated. But please also remember this. In a simple sense, WWI was a family feude. Up until the end of WWI, Europe was ruled my monarchies. All of these were related through blood and marriage, with Queen Victoria of England at the helm. The monarchies were split between loyalities, and it was Victoria who held the situation under check. When she passed away is when all hell broke loose. WWI saw the end of European Monarchies and the rise of Nationalism, Socialism, Communism and Democracy. It also ushered in America as a modern super-power. The Arms of Krupp by William Manchester Little, Brown and Company 1964 is another excellent work. Furthermore, many of the published works about the early history of Israel and the roots of the mid-east conflict also give excellent insite into this era. OH Jerusalem by Collins and LaPierre comes into mind, as well as several others.  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 09-02-2003 10:55 PM                        Kubrick's Paths of Glory.  |  IP: Logged William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-03-2003 12:37 AM                        All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) also had a silent version available which was apparently significantly different (worked even better, according to a very reliable source). The silent version is not available. There was a remake in the last couple of decades. Wings (1927) is a rip-snorter, & the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Dawn Patrol (1930 & 1938), but not as good as Wings! There were many documentary & battlefield type movies made of WWI, & a number of propaganda films. Several focused on the new British tanks (which actually had mixed success). There's footage of the Battle of Ancre & Somme. David Shepard released a DVD of silent-era films about WWI with a mix of documentary/propaganda & entertainment product like comedies World War One Films of the Silent Era  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 09-04-2003 06:38 AM                        Availability may be limited for some of these titles, but possibilities include: Britain Prepared (1915) - propaganda film about the UK military, originally in Kinemacolor (though AFAIK it only survives in b/w) The Battle of the Somme (1916) - the notorious British government propaganda film in which a 'dead' German gets up and walks away in the background of a shot. The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918) - a propaganda film celebrating L-G's political leadership in wartime. J'Accuse (1919) - anti-war epic directed by Abel (Napoléon) Gance The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) - discusses impact of WWI on family life in Europe; available on VHS in the US. Remembrance (1927) - how British demobbed soldiers coped with life after the war and the economic hardships of the early '20s. Journey's End (1930). The story of life in the trenches, and the last film made in Britain by James Whale before he emigrated to the US to direct the Universal horror film cycle. Westfront 1918 (1930) - Life in the trenches seen from a German perspective. The Roaring Twenties (1939) - explores what life was like for US soldiers returning from the war in 1918. Available on VHS in the US. There were also some feature films made during the early Nazi period (1933-37 approx.) which present the events of WWI and Germany's humiliation at Versailles as justification for Mr. H's activities. Some of them are discussed in The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and its Afterlife. Also, your students might find the following books useful to have in the school library: Film and the First World War - I've read this and highly recommend it. Other possibilities: The First World War and Popular Cinema Book on German Cinema and WWI  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-04-2003 10:51 PM                     There is also that American classic..."Sargent York" Steve  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 09-05-2003 08:13 AM                     My suggestion is Fraulein Doctor, A genuinely sicko movie loosely based upon the life of the woman who developed mustard gas for the Germans during WW1. The film contains some spectacular battle scenes with an actual cast of thousands. All Movie Guide  |  IP: Logged Pete Naples Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1565 From: Dunfermline, Scotland Registered: Feb 2001 posted 09-05-2003 11:09 AM                     Regneration  |  IP: Logged Jeff Logan Film Handler Posts: 15 From: Mitchell, SD, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-07-2003 11:28 PM                     Don't forget the 1966 roadshow film THE BLUE MAX starring Geo. Peppard as a German pilot. One of the classic silents about WW1 was THE BIG PARADE. It shows up on TNT late nights sometimes. Most of these are available on video. Wish we lived closer, I'd come visit, my Dad served in the air service in WW1 and passed along a lot of stories--most repeatable in school.  |  IP: Logged Bernard Tonks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-08-2003 05:29 AM                     Two Anna Neagle films. “Nurse Edith Cavell” As Nurse Nightingale in “The Lady With The Lamp” [ 09-08-2003, 07:42 AM: Message edited by: Bernard Tonks ]  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.