1917 (2019)

Explicit content warning

04/08/22 • 115 min

1 Listener

Easily the biggest WWI film of recent memory, 1917 conjured a variety of opinions from critics and viewers alike. Its 3 Oscar wins (Cinematography, Visual Effects, and Sound Editing) and over 200 total award nominations speak for themselves.

Director Sam Mendes, with Roger Deakins as Director of Photography, boldly chose to shoot and edit the film as a “simulated one-shot”, à la“Rope” or “Birdman”.

Aside from the usual rivet-counting that always accompanies high-profile war films, the “single-shot” technique might be the most discussed aspect of 1917.

So, what did we think about the film, the shooting technique, and the story (loosely based on Mendes' grandfather’s experiences as a runner in the Great War)?

Join us for our 30th episode of Danger Close!

Next Episode: Charlotte Gray (2001)

Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments!
Our website: www.dangerclosepod.com
Join our Facebook group at: Danger Close - Podcast Discussion Group
If you like the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
If you would like to support the show and get extra episodes where we discuss sci-fi, fantasy, and comedy war movies, join our Patreon for only $4 a month at:
www.dangerclosepod.com/support

warmovies #warfilms #war #film #films #movies #history #cinema #documentary #WWI #worldwarone

Director Sam Mendes, with Roger Deakins as Director of Photography, boldly chose to shoot and edit the film as a “simulated one-shot”, à la“Rope” or “Birdman”.

Aside from the usual rivet-counting that always accompanies high-profile war films, the “single-shot” technique might be the most discussed aspect of 1917.

So, what did we think about the film, the shooting technique, and the story (loosely based on Mendes' grandfather’s experiences as a runner in the Great War)?

Join us for our 30th episode of Danger Close!

Next Episode: Charlotte Gray (2001)

warmovies #warfilms #war #film #films #movies #history #cinema #documentary #WWI #worldwarone

Previous Episode

The War Below (2021)

In his directorial feature-film debut, J. P. Watts stretches a £600,000 budget to show us an aspect of World War I we hadn’t really seen before: the British efforts to tunnel underneath no-man’s land in order to lay mines under the German trenches.

For those of you who have seen 1917 (our next episode), you will find some familiar territory: filthy trenches, (not so) filthy uniforms, higher-ups obsessed with gaining ground at all costs, and some great cinematography. As you would expect, a $94.2 million budget difference yields...different results.

Join the Danger Close team as we examine this brand new film!

Next Episode: 1917 (2019)

warmovies #warfilms #war #film #films #movies #history #cinema #documentary #WWI #worldwarone

Next Episode

Charlotte Gray (2001)

Directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Cate Blanchett in the titular role, this is the fictionalized story of a British SOE (Special Operations Executive) operating in Nazi-occupied France in 1942. The character is a composite of several real women who worked as spies for the Allies during this time period. She is sent on missions to deliver packages to the resistance and help blow up a train, all the while searching for her lover who was shot down behind enemy lines.

A mix of spy film, biopic, and WWII thriller, this movie tries to do a lot; and between Blanchett and a supporting cast that includes Billy Crudup and Michael Gambon, it is certainly not lacking talent.

But can they pull off these three different genres in one? And how well does the film work overall? Join the Danger Close team and find out as we explore our first film featuring the French Resistance in Vichy France!

Next Episode: Tumbledown (1988)