Movie: "1917" [World War I]

[Lance]

Despite my overwhelming schedule, my brother and I went to see the film 1917 today. What a work of art - and a tear-jerker. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Acting superlative by all involved. While I have always hated wars of any kind … I hated war even more after seeing this.

Plot:
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (Captain Fantastic’s George MacKay) and Blake (Game of Thrones’ Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers—Blake’s own brother among them.

What Wikipedia states:
"1917 is a 2019 epic war film directed, co-written and produced by Sam Mendes. The film stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch. It is based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes, and chronicles the story of two young British soldiers during World War I who are given a mission to deliver a message. This warns of an ambush during a skirmish, soon after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich in 1917.
The project was officially announced in June 2018, with MacKay and Chapman signing on in October and the rest of the cast the following March. Filming took place from April to June 2019 in England and Scotland, with cinematographer Roger Deakins using long takes to have the entire film appear as one continuous shot.
1917 premiered in the UK on 4 December 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on 25 December by Universal Pictures and in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2020, by eOne. The film was praised by critics for Mendes's direction, the performances, cinematography, musical score, sound effects and realism. Among its various accolades, the film received 10 nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards the film won for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director and at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards it received nine nominations.

[Ricordanza]

I just saw this film via "On Demand." Now that I have a big screen TV at home, I was able to appreciate the full visual effect of this film. But it's more than a technical marvel; it is one of the best films I have seen in a long time.

[Handelian]

Must confess I was very disappointed in it as it degenerated into an action movie which was more suitable for Tom Cruise. An elderly friend of mine who had been a regular soldier also went to see it and we discussed it together and he said that any semblance of reality in the movie had gone right at the end as it was impossible for those soldiers to do what they did. So a promising beginning spoiled by a more and more fatuous story line.

[jserraglio]

Must confess I was very disappointed in it as it degenerated into an action movie which was more suitable for Tom Cruise. An elderly friend of mine who had been a regular soldier also went to see it and we discussed it together and he said that any semblance of reality in the movie had gone right at the end as it was impossible for those soldiers to do what they did. So a promising beginning spoiled by a more and more fatuous story line.

For authenticity, try They Shall Not Grow Old. A tour de force of film restoration, and its voice overs are moving and instructive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrabKK9Bhds