Comments on: Trenches of WW1 in film?

Question: Trenches of WW1 in film?

bondcliff — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:17:22 -0800

What films (preferably in Netflix's catalog) do a good job of depicting the misery and scale of the trenches of World War One?

I've seen:

All Quiet on the Western Front (the original)

Wings (the original silent version with Clara Bow, accompanied by a live pipe organ... amazing experience)

Paths of Glory

Johnny Got His Gun

Galipoli

I prefer films that emphasize the misery and horror over the "glory" of war. Think Band of Brothers vs. John Wayne.

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:23:53 -0800

A Very Long Engagement is a french film that depicts a WWI trench battle through a series of flashbacks. It's a good film, but very long.

By: kalimac

kalimac — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:27:42 -0800

It's not *exactly* what you're looking for, but Joyeaux Noel is a good illustration of the futility of war, and of hatred in general. It's a very quiet movie, but intensely moving. You'll laugh at parts while you watch it, and then wonder why you're sad for the rest of the day.

By: Prospero

Prospero — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:27:53 -0800

This isn't a feature film, but consider watching the fourth series of Black Adder.

By: Prospero

Prospero — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:29:15 -0800

P.S. Amazon reviews for the Black Adder disc are unfortunately spoiler-filled.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:42:11 -0800

Second vote for A Very Long Engagement. It's a good film with some very miserable and horrific trench scenes.

By: Benny Andajetz

Benny Andajetz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:08:11 -0800

Even though it's not specifically about the war, Legends of the Fall deals with it and the aftermath. Good movie, anyway - if a bit melodramatic.

By: Gungho

Gungho — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:20:35 -0800

HBO did a movie called The Lost Brigade. Don't know if it is on netflix.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:26:53 -0800

Capitaine Conan. You want the misery of war, you got the misery of war.

Also, you might check out this BBC page

By: Gordion Knott

Gordion Knott — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:39:27 -0800

The fourth season of the British television series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 - 1975).

Fascinating material on the way by which WWI upended the British class system. No battlefront footage, but good material on the war from the perspective of all classes in London.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:52:06 -0800

The Big Parade.

By: dmt

dmt — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:10:27 -0800

I don't think that it's very good but The Trench sets out to depict life in a WW1 trench.

By: puddleglum

puddleglum — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:55:33 -0800

Second for Joyeux Noël.

By: bru

bru — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:57:13 -0800

Les croix de bois.
I haven't seen it but the original book by Roland Dorgeles seems to be what you are looking for. French blurb:
"Avec un réalisme parfois terrible mais toujours d'une généreuse humanité, la vie des tranchées nous est décrite dans toute son horreur et aussi sa bouffonnerie, son quotidien et ses moments exceptionnels."
Quick and dirty translation:
"With a sometimes terrifying realism but always with generous humanity, life in the trenches is described with all its horror and its buffoonery, its daily life and its exceptionnal events."

It's not a movie, but there is also the excellent graphic novel "C'était la guerre des tranchées" by the wonderful Jacques Tardi.

By: bru

bru — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:08:30 -0800

Days of Glory has been released last December, so it may not be available in DVD yet.

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:29:18 -0800

I don't know how easy it would be to find, but I thought this remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front" was excellent. It's a lot different than the original.

By: scrump

scrump — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:30:05 -0800

Capitaine Conan. You want the misery of war, you got the misery of war.

Not only that, but quite possibly the best (worst?) collection of keywords ever:

Venereal Disease / Frenchmen / War / Soldier / Prostitute

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:07:07 -0800

Netflix has the 1979 remake of All Quiet on the Western Front.

Netflix users mentioned Westfront 1918, Black and White in Color, Blackadder Goes Forth, and Oh! What a Lovely War.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:10:10 -0800

The Lost Battalion sounds like it might be good.
p.s. nice use of the "corpseeatingrats" tag.

By: SDH30

SDH30 — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:11:49 -0800

I don't have Netflix so I a don't know if they carry it, but the PBS 6 part documentary The Great War was excellent. In fact, now that you've reminded me about it I think I might try to find it to watch again.

By: KRS

KRS — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:31:11 -0800

For me, the most horrifying depiction of WW I is in the poems of Wilfred Owen. Richard Burton recorded an overpowering reading, issued on LP as The Days of Wilfred Owen. This was in turn issued as the sound track to a TV movie. I have no idea where to get it, but I was shaken up for a week after I saw it.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 13:07:23 -0800

Netflix has The Great War that SDH30 mentioned.

By: vorfeed

vorfeed — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:05:22 -0800

Seconding Blackadder IV. They manage to slip in an awful lot of WWI history, from commentary on class difference and contemporary attitudes in the trenches to the devastating effects of pals battalions and more. Plus, the last episode is just about the best thing ever put to film...

By: prophetsearcher

prophetsearcher — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:12:37 -0800

thirding a very long engagement. dont think anything will be better than Paths of Glory, however, IMHO.

By: theora55

theora55 — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:14:41 -0800

Gallipoli is a fantastic and tragic film. You didn't ask for book recommendations, but I recommend the Pat Barker Regeneration trilogy.

By: saffry

saffry — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:18:54 -0800

Gods and Monsters, which is about James Whale, the director of Frankenstein, has some wonderful flashbacks to WWI. During the time the film is taking place, Whale is suffering from a medical condition that causes his brain to misfire a lot, so he's constantly drawn back to memories of his life. The WWI scenes are not a huge part of the movie, but it's interesting how the memories of the trenches become juxtaposed with scenes of Frankenstein's monster.

By: chrisbucks

chrisbucks — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:29:17 -0800

again on The Lost Battalion, although I felt it lacked the full extent of wastefulness and destruction, but I come into that as a fan of Band of Brothers type special fx. I'm only very young though so I haven't seen too many WW1 films (they seem to be hard to find amidst the vast volumes of WW2), I'm not sure if you were asking about films which deal with WW1 specifically, or films which contain depictions of WW1, in perhaps short scenes or references.

I do remember the series Young Indiana Jones (perhaps?) had a few scenes relating back to his time in the trenches.

The film A Little Princess, although not about war, features a background plot element that her father has gone missing in the trenches, it features some short scenes showing him lying amidst a large number of other fallen soldiers on the front lines. I don't want to reveal too much without spoiling it for you, but it has elements of how the war caused her father to forget who he was or who his daughter was.

12 Monkeys has a scene where Bruce Willis is travelling back in time and lands in a mud filled trench in WW1 and is confronted by French soldiers.

I suspect I might be right off the mark here, but through I'd throw in a few minor depictions.

By: hwestiii

hwestiii — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:19:17 -0800

Seconds for both "A Very Long Engagement" and the Pat Barker "Regeneration" trilogy.

There's evidently a movie version of "Regeneration" starring Jonathan Pryce floating around out there somewhere, too, although it may go by a different title.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:38:53 -0800

James Whale's first British theater directing success, the 1928 smash hit Journey's End, is set completely in the British trenches and was made into a movie in 1930, starring Colin Clive* (who apparently really shone in the original stage version after replacing Laurence Olivier). It's also just been revived on Broadway to rave reviews.

*Yes, that Colin Clive

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:29:41 -0800

Regeneration, starring Jonathan Pryce. Netflix has it (titled Behind the Lines).

By: fac21

fac21 — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:41:39 -0800

second for "paths of glory"

By: sevenless

sevenless — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:13:33 -0800

I was going to make chrisbucks' "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" suggestion too. But, it's not yet out on DVD.