1917 Thread

[madethistocomment]

Finally watched it, and I have to say it really was a fantastic film. Like, "one of the best movies I've ever watched" fantastic. The cinematography, holy fuck. The single shot format draws you in and makes you feel like you're right there in the thick of it. There's so many shots in this that are gorgeous, but something that stood out to me in particular are when Will stumbles into the square and sees that cathedral absolutely consumed in flames. The sillhouette of the square's fountain looks like a cross, and I thought that was poignant- a symbol of faith standing in front of what literally looks like the mouth of hell. I fucking loved that shot and all it could symbolize and represent. My dad talked about how that scene in general reminded him of Apocalypse Now, with all the buildings on fire and the confusion and dazedness of it all.

The film looked almost post-apocalyptic in nature with all the desolate, ruined landscapes and corpses strewn about. It really felt like there was little, if any, life left in the land- which wasn't really off the mark, considering how utterly fucked the European countryside was.

Also, because I am a massive softie crybaby, I shed a lot of tears during it. Especially when poor Tommy died, when Will was playing with the baby, and when Will was running along the trenches during the charge. I came very close when he stumbled across the soldier singing, but somehow didn't.

In all, it was an amazing movie. Honestly, I'm surprised George MacKay hasn't been nominated for anything. That boy absolutely fucking killed it. Despite that, it deserved all of the awards it's won and more. I'm very glad I got to see this movie, and I think it's genuinely one of my all-time favorites. Sorry if this was super long, I just haven't been this excited by a movie in a while and need to get all my feelings about it on a page and not just simply rattling about in my skull.

 

[Looney Troons]

Purchased it last night. I have a 65” LG C9 and a Samsung Q90R soundbar. 1917 is easily one of the best looking films in terms of visual and audio fidelity that I’ve ever witnessed. I adored the movie. I’m not going to go deep into spoiler territory, but that one scene where Schofield gets shot and subsequently concussed after falling down that flight of stairs in the ruined church... Holy fuck. He eventually awakens and... that shot that traverses up the stairs, to the felled Germ, and to the courtyard where you see Schofield standing beneath the flare-lit sky..., that will always stick with me. I re-watched that entire sequence thrice before proceeding further.

I recommend this movie to anyone who had an issue with Dunkirk’s pacing, and to anyone else who wants a great movie. 1917 was a hauntingly beautiful and stressful two hours.

edit: grammar and other stupidity

 

[Raging Capybara]

I know it's autistic but this film convinced me to unsubscribe to YourMovieSucks (the dog fucker).

He said in his review that this film had average cinematography and just normal acting. It's unbelievable. It's ok to dislike a movie but what are those arguments? Fuck him.

I had to hold my tears during the last scene, I don't even know who was the actor playing the brother but that fucking scene broke my heart. Who the fuck does consider that ordinary acting?

 

[Sam Losco]

I had to hold my tears during the last scene, I don't even know who was the actor playing the brother but that fucking scene broke my heart. Who the fuck does consider that ordinary acting?

Agreed. And it was Richard Madden who also played Rob Stark, short lived King in the North in Game of Thrones.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

I had to hold my tears during the last scene, I don't even know who was the actor playing the brother but that fucking scene broke my heart. Who the fuck does consider that ordinary acting?

That would be Richard Madden, aka "Robb Stark" from Game of Thrones. Shakespearean trained and starred in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company productions.

In fact, every notable actor in the film 1) Would play some form of officer and 2) Are pretty much all Shakespearean Trained, the exception is the erstwhile Daniel Mays, who's a great and solid actor in his own right, but only held the rank of Sergeant at the beginning of the film.

=============================

So, to answer the mixed race unit question.

No. Just fucking. No.

Indians fought en masse on the Western Front and were incredibly brave with one officer turning down a V.C because they wouldn't let it be awarded to the men under his command.

Other fun factors in the film include a modern watch, and one soldier just outright wearing jeans near central shot at the opening of the limestone trenches.

Oh, and the same chap runs into the main character during his sprint three times, but that's because they cycled around and would go out of shot, sprint down in front of the camera car and then dive into the trench to run back out again.

 

[Muttnik]

I honestly can't wait to get my hands on a DVD copy of this. I think this movie is so beautiful in more ways than one.

Also FUCK YMS. He may be occasionally funny and right about some movies but he could not have been more inane and tone-deaf in his opinions here.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

just normal acting.

What the fuck? That's bullshit. George McKay did an incredible job in that movie. That scene with the French lady was one of the most poignantly acted scenes I have seen in quite a while. You cannot tell me that's "normal acting." And it's not just McKay either, every actor in the movie did a fantastic job conveying the sheer weight of the war.

YMS is only worth watching when the movie is anything below average. Any more than that and you start to realize that he's an idiot contrarian.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

What the fuck? That's bullshit. George McKay did an incredible job in that movie. That scene with the French lady was one of the most poignantly acted scenes I have seen in quite a while. You cannot tell me that's "normal acting." And it's not just McKay either, every actor in the movie did a fantastic job conveying the sheer weight of the war.

Mark Strong's performance really stood out to me. Especially with the amount of weight he's lost. Its interesting because McKay is a relative unknown, he's been in plenty of stuff but mostly the kind of crap that gets movie critics wanking off rather than stuff normies would watch.

 

[Looney Troons]

The brilliance of the last scene was in just how little was said, and yet, such powerful emotion was evoked. I’ve watched the film three times now with 3 different friends. Two absolutely enjoyed it, but the third was having trouble with the pacing of the film - uncertain as to why he should “care” since there was quite little in the way of narrative character development. In that light, yeah, I get it. 1917 is much more about the journey of the characters and not necessarily the bit that is there to the everything together at the end.

Some people just don’t understand that, don’t allow their brains to wander and fill in the dots itself; those who want to be guided the entire way through someone. I don’t knock them for it - everyone has their own tastes and opinions

 

[madethistocomment]

Is it silly of me to say that this movie got me interested in World War I? I'm a huge history nerd, but because the Great War gets so little focus stateside it never really caught my eye. This movie really opened my eyes up to the war and how fascinating, heartbreaking, and horrible it all was which got me researching it and eventually falling down a rabbit hole. I think it really did accurately depict the horrors that the war held for the common soldier and civilian, and that's why I love it so much.

Also, fuck that "just average acting" comment from YMS- literally every single person in this movie was absolutely phenomenal. The scene at the barn, with the baby, and with the brother are some of the best and most subtle acting I've seen in years. I've said this before, but how none of them (especially George) haven't even gotten nominated for anything is beyond me.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

Is it silly of me to say that this movie got me interested in World War I? I'm a huge history nerd, but because the Great War gets so little focus stateside it never really caught my eye. This movie really opened my eyes up to the war and how fascinating, heartbreaking, and horrible it all was which got me researching it and eventually falling down a rabbit hole. I think it really did accurately depict the horrors that the war held for the common soldier and civilian, and that's why I love it so much.

Also, fuck that "just average acting" comment from YMS- literally every single person in this movie was absolutely phenomenal. The scene at the barn, with the baby, and with the brother are some of the best and most subtle acting I've seen in years. I've said this before, but how none of them (especially George) haven't even gotten nominated for anything is beyond me.

If you haven't already, I'd recommend The Great War Channel on Youtube hosted by Indy Neidell. Great bite sized pacing and a brilliant week by week blow of the Great War across the whole four years. They've now moved into more general history of the interwar years a century ago.

 

[Imposter]

Finally watched it, and I have to say it really was a fantastic film. Like, "one of the best movies I've ever watched" fantastic. The cinematography, holy fuck. The single shot format draws you in and makes you feel like you're right there in the thick of it. There's so many shots in this that are gorgeous, but something that stood out to me in particular are when Will stumbles into the square and sees that cathedral absolutely consumed in flames. The sillhouette of the square's fountain looks like a cross, and I thought that was poignant- a symbol of faith standing in front of what literally looks like the mouth of hell. I fucking loved that shot and all it could symbolize and represent. My dad talked about how that scene in general reminded him of Apocalypse Now, with all the buildings on fire and the confusion and dazedness of it all.

The film looked almost post-apocalyptic in nature with all the desolate, ruined landscapes and corpses strewn about. It really felt like there was little, if any, life left in the land- which wasn't really off the mark, considering how utterly fucked the European countryside was.

Also, because I am a massive softie crybaby, I shed a lot of tears during it. Especially when poor Tommy died, when Will was playing with the baby, and when Will was running along the trenches during the charge. I came very close when he stumbled across the soldier singing, but somehow didn't.

In all, it was an amazing movie. Honestly, I'm surprised George MacKay hasn't been nominated for anything. That boy absolutely fucking killed it. Despite that, it deserved all of the awards it's won and more. I'm very glad I got to see this movie, and I think it's genuinely one of my all-time favorites. Sorry if this was super long, I just haven't been this excited by a movie in a while and need to get all my feelings about it on a page and not just simply rattling about in my skull.

I'm with you on the water works as well. It's only when Sco slumped down to listen to the Soldier sing, you get a break and you remember he still needs to find that bastard Col. Mackenzie. Seeing the Lieutenant in the end, I got relief but that punch in the stomach feeling when Sco began to walk up to him. Really great film.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

I finally caught up with last years notable movies, and here’s what I have to say.
1917 was by far the best film from last year that I saw. Every aspect was a work of art and emotionally charged. There were scenes where for some reason I got choked up without a clearly defined reason, it’s just that this movie is a haunting masterpiece that will stay in your head for a very long time. Even though 1917 was by far the best film I saw this year, it’s not my favorite or the one that intrigues me the most.
My favorite would probably be either Joker or Uncut Gems, the latter because I did not expect it at all, the former because it was just a great film. 1917 isn’t my favorite because even though it’s a perfect example of the power that film can have, the actual story, while very well done and tense, had less of the twists and turns that make me want to revisit the other movies.
The most interesting film would have to be The Lighthouse. This is purely because I’m a weirdo film buff, but what The Lighthouse did that makes me more interested in it than in 1917 was that it was art in a different way. 1917 is like a beautiful series of paintings, where every little brushstroke has meaning behind it and come together to make an absolutely amazing experience. The Lighthouse is more like a poem. It has mastered the basics enough to break the rules and create something really unique and fascinating. Both are great, but for very different reasons.

 

[madethistocomment]

Necropost, I know, but I've been thinking about 1917 again to get my mind off of Current Year and I've realized that it's the only movie that I've watched that "subverts my expectations" and actually pulls it off. It manages to throw in a twist without going out of its way to disrespect the audience and make them angry.

When I first watched 1917, I thought for sure Scho was gonna die. He was older, more experienced, cynical, grumpy, and a wee teeny bit neurotic, and that threw up all the death flags in my eyes. I thought he was gonna die and leave the poor, plucky, innocent, wide-eyed hero Blake to grapple with his first loss in war and try to continue his mission. I thought it was going to be a coming of age story where the hero matures due to the things he's seen in war, becoming not unlike Scho himself. Cycles and all that, typical war story.

What a surprise, then, when it's actually poor Blake who ends up dying in Schofield's arms, leaving the already broken man to try to continue on. That threw me for a loop but in the literal best possible way. The guy I'd slated to die was the actual main character, holy shit! Because I'd been expecting a totally different hero to continue the film, I was put even more on edge than I was before.

With Blake dying and Scho stepping up as the true protagonist, the genre changed, too. I realized 1917 was going to be a survival film rather than a coming of age film. I was saddened by Blake's death, of course, but I wasn't mad, didn't feel cheated- they'd managed to totally flip what I'd expected was going to happen on its head and I loved it.

Subverting expectations and doing it well is possible, it's just difficult to pull off unless you have a good writer and a healthy amount of respect for your audience. 1917, thankfully, had both.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

I did like how that fighter pilot wasn't vilified in the situation either. Sure, he killed the guy trying to save him, but it was presented as a terrifying, confused situation where simple communication wasn't possible. It didn't make anyone into a pointless villain for the sake of drama, it was just a shitty set of decisions in a shittier encounter.

I enjoyed Fury for similar reasons, right up until the point a single tank crew apparently wipes out the entire German army in an evening.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

When I first watched 1917, I thought for sure Scho was gonna die. He was older, more experienced, cynical, grumpy, and a wee teeny bit neurotic, and that threw up all the death flags in my eyes. I thought he was gonna die and leave the poor, plucky, innocent, wide-eyed hero Blake to grapple with his first loss in war and try to continue his mission. I thought it was going to be a coming of age story where the hero matures due to the things he's seen in war, becoming not unlike Scho himself. Cycles and all that, typical war story.

As soon as he cut his hand and stuck it in that corpse, I thought for sure he was gonna die of like gangrene or something. I thought that his hand would get worse through the movie and he'd eventually die of infection near the end, leaving Blake to finish the job.

It's interesting how the movie even subverts this though, because even though that hand is likely going to be infected, it's going to take longer than 2 days for it to actually get bad. I paid attention to that hand throughout the whole movie, wondering if something will happen, but the timeframe the movie presents is too short. I like that little detail because most movies would have made him either lose the hand or die of infection.

 

[CreamyHerman’s]

So I decided to bring this post back from ether, because I just watched it on Blu-Ray again. Still a dope ass movie, easily 9/10 experience. Also invited a gun buddy over and he pointed how Schofield’s rifle only shot 10 times throughout the movie, which is the amount of bullets he only had, really nice touch.