In 1919 French director Abel Gance released his anti-war epic ‘J’accuse’. Having fought in the early days of the conflict, before being declared medically unfit, he knew first-hand what it was like to have death picking at his seams. His film was shot during the dying days of the conflict in 1918, indeed many soldiers […]
Read more "J’accuse (1938)"It was my lunch hour. I was sitting on a wooden step watching the world turn. The sun was doing it’s hot summer thing as a ferry pulled out of Wellington harbour. The usually gusty Wellington wind was a mere puff. Tourists and locals alike went about their business with an air of gentle summery […]
Read more "Theeb (2014)"As you may now, even though I live in New Zealand, my passport is a British one. My home town started out as a tiny countryside village in Essex. But then the Second World War happened, and in particular the blitz, and there was suddenly a severe lack of liveable accommodation in London. Built in […]
Read more "Hell’s Angels (1930)"Here’s one of those partial Great War Films I occasionally watch. For any one of a thousand reasons some of the films on my list aren’t primarily about the Great War but they do have something Great Warish (Great Warry?) about them. My film today is one of those films. ‘Admiral’ (2008) is a biopic […]
Read more "Admiral (2008)"Oh dear, here we go again. A silent era Great War Film. I settle myself in for an hour and a half of set chewing, cartoonish stereotypes and 30 minutes of story. But, just maybe this one has a bit of promise. ‘Four Sons’ is an early John Ford film. The guy who directed some […]
Read more "Four Sons (1928)"
Great War Films 