5 Films that Showcased the Other Side of Gruesome World War I

News18 India ^ | Oct 22, 2018

[CondoleezzaProtege]

World War I was one of the major events that shook mankind. Originated in Europe, the war lasted from July, 1914 to November, 1918. Filmmakers across the globe have tried to capture the essence of the events that changed the world forever.

As First World War marks a century, here are 5 films that delved deep into what happened among the warring nations and how it affected the humanity at large.

Paths of Glory

The film starring Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax is a narration of a soldier’s dilemma while motivating others for a bloody war. Douglas plays the commanding officer of French soldiers who decide to discontinue a suicidal attack. He later tries to shield them against the charge of cowardice during court-martial.

A Very Long Engagement

A lot many love stories would have succumbed to death in the first World War. A Very Long Engagement is about a young woman's frantic search for her fiancé who might have been killed during the war. The film got two Academy nominations at Oscars for best art direction and best cinematography.

War Horse

Set before and during World War I, War House is the journey of Joey, a horse raised by a teenager Albert. Later the horse is bought by the British Army leading him to come across a number of individuals and owners in the region of Europe. In the process, he experiences the tragedies of the war around him.

The Red Baron

Released in 2008, The Red Baron is an action film about the World War I fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, popularly known as 'Red Baron'. He is considered the master of the war with 80 air combat victories.

The Spy in Black

Showing the life of a spy in World War 1, a German U-boat commander is ordered to lead a mission to attack the British Fleet. She disguised herself as a local schoolteacher who equips crucial information connecting with a disgraced Royal Navy officer. How the information is passed and the captain losing his life is a tale of suspense.

[newfreep]

The REAL Red Baron movie...

[YogicCowboy]

Yes! Actual history!

[YogicCowboy]

Was it Gallipoli that used Jean Michel Jarre in the soundtrack? If so, it was wildly unsuitable to a period piece.

I love Oxygene, but it belongs in a futuristic movie.

[Polyxene]

Apocalypse: World War I

It was a documentary mini-series I watched on American Heroes Channel (AHC). I learned so much about World War I that I didn’t know before. They used real film footage, and much of it was graphic and hard to watch. The narration was very good.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921 silent movie with Rudolph Valentino)

[karnage]

The towel in The Blue Max... how did it manage to stay in place???

[lurk]

Lost Battalion

[wally_bert]

He was a happening frood who knew where his towel was.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

A Very Long Engagement

This is an excellent movie. It perfectly blends the futility of war, heroics, intrigue, suspense, French military and government cover-up, mystery, murder, corruption, and romance. It has almost every aspect of human tragedy. Highly recommended.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Perhaps it’s because he loves it when a towel comes together?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Not a movie, but a documentary I watched a couple days ago about the British secret weapon at the Battle of the Somme...the "Livins Flame Projector." It was a huge high pressure flame thrower that sent a flaming stream of kerosene and diesel oil over 100 meters to the German trenches. The documentary records an archeological dig to find the machine and the firing of a modern replica.

Time Team Special 42 (2011) - The Somme's Secret Weapon (Mametz, Somme, France)

[Paal Gulli]

"Johnny Got His Gun," an anti-war novel about an armless, legless and faceless victim of an artillery round written before WWII by (later blacklisted) author Dalton Trumbo, who only escaped the blacklist because he was hired by fellow communist (and star of "Paths of Glory") Kirk Douglas to screenwrite Kubrick's 1960 "Spartacus." It was common for blacklisted screenwriters to work under nommes de guerre but Douglas insisted that Trumbo be given full screen credit.

[Charles Martel]

The Blue Max.

I've always enjoyed that movie - the book series is pretty good, too.

[Nailbiter]

#50 for later

[dfwgator]

"Johnny Got His Gun," an anti-war novel about an armless, legless and faceless victim of an artillery round written before WWII by (later blacklisted) author Dalton Trumbo, who only escaped the blacklist because he was hired by fellow communist (and star of "Paths of Glory") Kirk Douglas to screenwrite Kubrick's 1960 "Spartacus." It was common for blacklisted screenwriters to work under nommes de guerre but Douglas insisted that Trumbo be given full screen credit.

Most know that from the Metallica "One" video.

[JoeFromSidney]

While I was a visiting professor in Turkey, I spent a school holiday on a tour of Gallipoli. It's an incredible site, and the museum is very good. The sight of the cliffs that the invading Australian forces had to climb, is really chilling. "You mean, they had to scale that?" Yes, they did have to, and many of them died trying. You can still find detritus such as bullets on the beach,