Some five months before the United States entered WWII after Pearl Harbor, Sergeant York (DVD 10210), a biographical film about the life of decorated American solider Alvin C. York, was released. At its heart, the movie resonates a tale of an ordinary man who excels under extraordinary circumstances. Most of the movie deals with the […]
Continue readingSuffering in Silence: Johnny Got His Gun
Ok, let’s start out by acknowledging that Johnny Got His Gun (DVD 5654) is probably one of the most subtly terrifying movies that exists and is an incredibly powerful testament to the individual ravages of war. As the rather graphic trailer aptly explains, it is not the story of the millions that have died, but […]
Continue readingNew Medium, Old Tricks: Animated Propaganda
Today’s entry in WWI on Film isn’t one film. It’s a collection of much shorter films. If you’re an AU student, you can access 20th century film and newsreel clips from the WPA Library and British Pathe. Some of these clips are from WWI, and are basic black-and-white motion pictures. Of course, they don’t have […]
Continue readingDo We Really Need to Say It: Westfront 1918
Westfront 1918 (DVD 16017)is one of Media Services’ newest acquisitions, but it’s one of the oldest films we’re reviewing for this series. A contemporary of All Quiet on the Western Front, Westfront explores many of the same themes, like the camaraderie between soldiers and alienation from the home front. Like All Quiet, Westfront is based on […]
Continue readingMaking Something New: Wonder Woman as a WWI Film
Let me make a few things clear. Yes, I know that Wonder Woman (DVD 14777) is completely, 100% fictional. I know that an ancient demi-goddess didn’t end the war. So, why am I including Wonder Woman in this series about World War I movies? First, this is one of maybe two WWI movies which feature […]
Continue readingRandom Movie Monday — All Over the Guy
Happy Monday! We’re taking a break from WWI for Random Movie Monday. Today’s movie is All About the Guy (DVD 12343). Here’s our summary: 4 friends, 3 guys, 2 couples … you do the math! It’s about the quest to find the “one” when “the one” doesn’t know he’s the “one.” It explores the unlikely pairing […]
Continue readingExpanding the Narrative: Testament of Youth
‘War has made masochists of us all,’ or so says Testament of Youth. Originally released in 2015, the movie was something of a disappointment. It barely made back half of its $10 million budget, and it didn’t begin to capture the richness of its source material, Vera Brittain’s WWI memoir of the same name. Still, […]
Continue readingWhat Makes a War Movie: Thoughts on La Grande Illusion
How does one make a war movie? Do you show the blood, the guts? Is the movie about glorifying the war heroes that arise from battle, shaken but unbroken? Is it about the horrors of war and the depths that humanity is willing to plunge? Filmmakers have long had to grapple with questions like these […]
Continue readingJoyeux Noël: WWI 90 years Later
I’ve seen many WWI films in my time, even before we started this blog series, but Joyeux Noel is my stand-out favorite. Like All Quiet on the Western Front, it highlights what united the combatants, rather than what divided them. Joyeux Noel is certainly much more pointed than All Quiet, but it has the benefit […]
Continue readingAll Quiet on the Western Front: Truth, Authenticity, and Universality in WWI Films
Welcome to the first post of our new blog series WWI on Film: 11 Films for the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice. From now until November 11th, we’ll be highlighting movies about WWI from our collection. We’ll be discussing common themes throughout the movies, attributes that make each of these films stand out, as well as […]
Continue reading