Parades end...

What a f*cking joke

I thought it would be a ww1 mini series ( and thats how they sold it ). Nope... its some love story about british people. And good god the main actors name is benedict cumberbatch, and holy sh*t he fits the part. Boring and a let down

There are really no good movies about ww1. War horse was ok, alls quiet on the western front.......

whats a good ww1 movie?

thanks for your help

MaC122 wrote:

whats a good ww1 movie?

Probably the only one I've seen besides All Quiest on the Western Front is a French film call Le Roi de Coeur (The King of Hearts).

And while I haven't personally seen it, there's always Lawrence of Arabia.

EDIT: Story summary of King of Hearts:

The film is set in a small town in France near the end of World War I. As the Imperial German Army retreats they booby trap the whole town to explode. The locals flee and, left to their own devices, a gaggle of cheerful lunatics escape the asylum and take over the town — thoroughly confusing the lone Scottish soldier who has been dispatched to defuse the bomb.

First of all, if you don't know Benedict Cumberbatch, you need to go see Sherlock now. I'll wait.

...

dhelor wrote:
MaC122 wrote:

whats a good ww1 movie?

Probably the only one I've seen besides All Quiest on the Western Front is a French film call Le Roi de Coeur (The King of Hearts).

And while I haven't personally seen it, there's always Lawrence of Arabia.

AKA the best movie in the history of ever. So your assignment is to see it. I'll wait.

...

For your WWI consumption may I suggest Blackadder, Season 4. A more serious suggestion would be Paths of Glory.

Was sold as the BBC's version of Downton Abbey here

Try Gallipoli for a WW1 film

paths of glory seems good. I want to learn as much as I can about ww1 and I wish there were " blockbusters" about the subject. Thousands and thousands of men lost their lives during this war I I think they deserve credit

downton is good, but im only into season one. Downton is not a ww1 show....its more rich people and the help

I haven't seen it, but there's the 2008 Passchendaele. And of course Johnny Got His Gun.

+1 for Blackadder Goes Forth. "I mean, who would've noticed another madman around here?"

And see Sherlock for Cumberbatch while you're at it.

did any body besides me watch Parades end? Did you think one hour felt like two?

MaC122 wrote:

did any body besides me watch Parades end? Did you think one hour felt like two?

Yes, I watched it. And quite enjoyed it, despite it essentially being a lament to the difficulties of being a member of the British upper class at the end of an era.

In terms of actual WWI films, Joyeux Noel is a good one about the unofficial Christmas truces. A little sentimental, perhaps.

MikeSands wrote:
MaC122 wrote:

did any body besides me watch Parades end? Did you think one hour felt like two?

Yes, I watched it. And quite enjoyed it, despite it essentially being a lament to the difficulties of being a member of the British upper class at the end of an era.

In terms of actual WWI films, Joyeux Noel is a good one about the unofficial Christmas truces. A little sentimental, perhaps.

you type like a gentleman ...thanks for the advice

Downton Abby pwns at WWI stories. Boardwalk Empire pwns at post WWI stories

TELEVISION! !!

Lawrence of Arabia and Gallipolli seconded, enthusiastically. The former is a must-see.

Birdsong was supposed to be good but I missed it so I can't say for sure.

I want to learn as much as I can about ww1

Meaningful movies about WWI are hard to find. The only ones I have watched more than once are Paths of Glory and All Quiet on the Western Front.

Read John Keegan's The First World War for a good overview; it is very readable. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchmann is considered a must-read as well.

After that, movies like Gallipoli might shed light on particular aspects of the war. Aside from those already mentioned, there is Wings and Flyboys. Wings is interesting from a film history perspective and Flyboys is rather mediocre.

Lawrence of Arabia is far and away the best; if you have not seen that, Lent, it's worth it.

There is an Aussie Film called Beneath hill 60 that is entertaining enough, about the tunnel diggers prepairing for the Messine Ridge explosion, which is worth reading up on.
As already mentioned Joyeux Noel is a good film however the problem is that the First World War just doesn't have the same appeal as the Second World War in terms of films because a) the Americans weren't involved right till the end b) It isn't the Good War c) It lacks set pieces, there is no Pearl Harbor or Overlord ect, the majoity of the time people just sat about in tenches been abit bored and having a crap life.
If you want to learn more about the First World War, reading is where it is at or documenties, I imgine that we will be having rather a lot of them coming up considering that it is 2014 next year. Sure the BBC did one called The Great War, although not quite as good as World At War (Second World War). Films are never the best place to start, they like to change things, unless of course you are watching Battle of Algiers, the greatest war film of all time.

Yeah, Joyeux Noel is great. Paths of Glory and Lawrence of Arabia are also great, obviously. I would have suggested A Very Long Engagement because it is a wonderful movie, but it really aren't focused on WWI. WWI is just the setting for the movie. Still, if you liked Amélie, you should watch it.

Recently, The Red Baron was okay but only because I played Red Baron on PC growing up.

My huge suggestion that hasn't been brought up yet is a french classic: The Grand Illusion. It's just insanely good. Just go buy it or rent it.

Synopsis:

1916. During World War I, two French aviators, Lieutenant Maréchal and Capitaine de Boeldieu, are shot down by German artillery whilst on a reconnaissance mission. They are taken to a prisoner of war camp where they strike up a friendship with Lieutenant Rosenthal, a wealthy Jew who shares lavish food parcels sent by his family with his fellow prisoners. The three men help to dig a tunnel by which they hope to escape from their prison, but they are transferred to another camp before they can finish the task. After several further unsuccessful escape attempts, the three men are re-united at a remote German fortress which now serves as a high security prison. The prison is overseen by a German aristocrat, Capitaine von Rauffenstein, who has been invalided out of the war. Von Rauffenstein fraternises with de Boeldieu, since they share a common social background. Although the fortress has a reputation for being escape-proof, Maréchal and Rosenthal are determined to escape...

Wooden Crosses seems to be another great French WWI movie, but I haven't seen it yet. It's available via Hulu Plus in the Criterion Collection section.

Edit:

It's sort of a WWI version of The Great Escape.

onewild wrote:

the problem is that the First World War just doesn't have the same appeal as the Second World War in terms of films because a) the Americans weren't involved right till the end b) It isn't the Good War c) It lacks set pieces, there is no Pearl Harbor or Overlord ect, the majoity of the time people just sat about in tenches been abit bored and having a crap life.

That's definitely the stereotype, but the static trench warfare was mainly a feature of the western front. There were plenty of crazy hijinks in other parts of the world (cf., in film, Gallipoli, and Lawrence of Arabia). Plus, the first war with air power, including zeppelin bombing raids.

Lawrence of Arabia is far and away the best; if you have not seen that, Lent, it's worth it.

I've seen it...several times actually, including in a theater during its restoration/re-release. I guess I don't consider it a movie about WWI for some reason. More a movie about a man than an historical event. But no arguments here....a great movie.

Also, I forgot about Grand illusion! Seconded.

Aristophan wrote:

For your WWI consumption may I suggest Blackadder, Season 4.

I just made it to Season 4. It's definitely historically accurate from what I can tell.

I finished watching Wooden Crosses (available via Hulu+ Criterion Collection). It's really good and really sad. It's one of those films that just reminds you how utterly stupid war is.

You may want to try Behind the Lines -- I haven't seen it yet, but the book it's based on (Pat Barker's Regeneration) is fantastic. The book, at least, centers on the period when the British Army had Siegfried Sassoon committed to a mental hospital because they didn't want to deal with the fact that a well-known and decorated young officer had become a conscientious objector. It focuses on the warrior poets -- Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, and the others of their circle.

Also seconding A Very Long Engagement -- the war is more of a backdrop to the story, but it's well worth it.

And of course, Lawrence of Arabia, because it's one of the finest movies ever made, and focuses on a different theater of the war than usually gets depicted.

EDIT: Behind the Lines is also known by the title of the book, Regeneration, and that appears to be the version that Amazon has on DVD.

Maybe not a great movie, but extraordinary for the "effects" done at the time is Hell's Angels by Howard Hughes (the making of this is a big chunk of Spielberg's 'The Aviator')

The African Queen is a great film set *during* WWI, and it permeates the setting.

Robear wrote:

Lawrence of Arabia and Gallipolli seconded, enthusiastically. The former is a must-see.

WHAT ARE YOUR LEGS!?