Best British War film ? (1 Viewer)

[uksubs]

For me it Zulu & watch it every Xmas

 

[thebritfarmer]

For me it Zulu & watch it every Xmas

Same here and Zulu Dawn

 

[Spitfrnd]

For me it Zulu & watch it every Xmas

Point of clarification, do you mean British made or about Britain at war?

 

[uksubs]

Same here and Zulu Dawn

Have you read the book "Zulu": With Some Guts Behind It, The Making of the Epic Movie ?

 

[uksubs]

Point of clarification, do you mean British made or about Britain at war?

Britain at war

 

[lancer]

Definitely "Zulu", or "Lawrence of Arabia", or "In Which We Serve", or "Battle of Britain", or .... So many.... -- Al

 

[Spitfrnd]

With the clarification for me it will always be Battle of Britain with Zulu a very close second and Dam Busters next. There are of course many other excellent choices.

 

[Rob]

Battle of Britain, Zulu, Bridge too far.

Rob

 

[Spitfrnd]

Battle of Britain, Zulu, Bridge too far.

Rob

I am glad you mentioned BTF Rob; even though that is a mixed American/British/Polish war film, the scenes involving the British paratroopers are unforgettable.

 

[Rob]

I am glad you mentioned BTF Rob; even though that is a mixed American/British/Polish war film, the scenes involving the British paratroopers are unforgettable.

Yes Bill I agree, it is indeed a mixed forces film not just British, and very good indeed.

Rob

 

[thebritfarmer]

Have you read the book "Zulu": With Some Guts Behind It, The Making of the Epic Movie ?

No I haven't. I should pick up a copy. Good read??

 

[Scott]

The films made during WW II are memorable. In Which We Serve (1942) for example. You had all those Shakespearean actors rather than action hero types playing the characters or old pros like John Mills and Noel Coward.

 

[uksubs]

No I haven't. I should pick up a copy. Good read??

Looks a great read
The subtitle of this book is `The making of the epic movie", which says what it means. Sheldon Hall has comprehensively accomplished just that, describing in fascinating detail the research for the original article by author John Prebble, the development of the screenplay, the creation of the film's characters, the casting, finding the locations in South Africa, the actual filming and editing, the music, plus the final release and the reviews and criticism. Released in 1964, the film has remained popular for over forty years and this book goes a long way to explaining why.

The events in the film took place in January1879 during the Anglo-Zulu War on the day following the British defeat at Isandhlwana, later filmed as Zulu Dawn. The small mission at Rorke's Drift consisted of six hundred square yards of poorly defensible land and was manned by eight officers and ninety-seven other ranks with thirty-six sick and wounded men in the mission hospital. Moving against Rorke's Drift was a force of four thousand Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses were won in a single day in the battle of Rorke's Drift. Reprinted for the first time is the entire article, Slaughter in the Sun, written by historical author John Prebble and published in the Lilliput magazine for 1958.

Inevitably, film producers and writers are criticised when they tamper with real-life historical characters. These critics tend to forget that the film isn't a documentary but a dramatic representation and, in Hall's words, `I believe it is not only defensible but necessary to reinvent real-life figures for their new role in a drama.' If viewers of these films confuse the drama with actual history, then that's not the fault of the producers. Several descendants of the soldiers at Rorke's Drift were upset over the portrayal of their relatives in the film.

Hall quotes at length from contributors to the website http://rorkesdriftvc.com and one in particular (Diana Blackwell) comments, `Despite its historical basis, Zulu is a work of art, not a documentary. It takes a few liberties with the facts, but always in the interest of strengthening the story.' Diana points out that the film has drawn more attention to the battle than all the other sources combined and serious historical studies have resulted directly from the exposure given by the film. Much more is known about that conflict now than at the time when Prebble did his initial research.

Stanley Baker was co-producer and main star of the film. During the filming he and his wife made friends with Prince Buthelezi. Baker was awarded a knighthood in Wilson's resignation honours and before receiving it from the Queen he contracted pneumonia in Malaga and died, aged forty-eight. His Zulu friend sent a wreath to `the finest white man he had ever met.' Baker kept a secret cheque-book, discovered after his death, from which he gave money to out-of-work actors and broken-down boxers.

The book would have been interesting simply covering the making of the film, but it is immeasurably better because of snippets like the above scattered throughout.

 

[thebritfarmer]

Looks a great read
The subtitle of this book is `The making of the epic movie", which says what it means. Sheldon Hall has comprehensively accomplished just that, describing in fascinating detail the research for the original article by author John Prebble, the development of the screenplay, the creation of the film's characters, the casting, finding the locations in South Africa, the actual filming and editing, the music, plus the final release and the reviews and criticism. Released in 1964, the film has remained popular for over forty years and this book goes a long way to explaining why.

The events in the film took place in January1879 during the Anglo-Zulu War on the day following the British defeat at Isandhlwana, later filmed as Zulu Dawn. The small mission at Rorke's Drift consisted of six hundred square yards of poorly defensible land and was manned by eight officers and ninety-seven other ranks with thirty-six sick and wounded men in the mission hospital. Moving against Rorke's Drift was a force of four thousand Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses were won in a single day in the battle of Rorke's Drift. Reprinted for the first time is the entire article, Slaughter in the Sun, written by historical author John Prebble and published in the Lilliput magazine for 1958.

Inevitably, film producers and writers are criticised when they tamper with real-life historical characters. These critics tend to forget that the film isn't a documentary but a dramatic representation and, in Hall's words, `I believe it is not only defensible but necessary to reinvent real-life figures for their new role in a drama.' If viewers of these films confuse the drama with actual history, then that's not the fault of the producers. Several descendants of the soldiers at Rorke's Drift were upset over the portrayal of their relatives in the film.

Hall quotes at length from contributors to the website http://rorkesdriftvc.com and one in particular (Diana Blackwell) comments, `Despite its historical basis, Zulu is a work of art, not a documentary. It takes a few liberties with the facts, but always in the interest of strengthening the story.' Diana points out that the film has drawn more attention to the battle than all the other sources combined and serious historical studies have resulted directly from the exposure given by the film. Much more is known about that conflict now than at the time when Prebble did his initial research.

Stanley Baker was co-producer and main star of the film. During the filming he and his wife made friends with Prince Buthelezi. Baker was awarded a knighthood in Wilson's resignation honours and before receiving it from the Queen he contracted pneumonia in Malaga and died, aged forty-eight. His Zulu friend sent a wreath to `the finest white man he had ever met.' Baker kept a secret cheque-book, discovered after his death, from which he gave money to out-of-work actors and broken-down boxers.

The book would have been interesting simply covering the making of the film, but it is immeasurably better because of snippets like the above scattered throughout.

Cheers for the info Neil, sounds like a must have then.

 

[Mitch]

Battle of Britain, Sink the bismark
Mitch

 

[Arnhemjim]

Certainly not the 'best' by 'Hollywood standards'(whatever those are), but certainly the most accurate (uniforms, weapons, personal equipment, vehicles, artillery and armor) was "Theirs is the Glory" produced in 1946 by the British Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) and the J. Arthur Rank Organization. Fully three decades (see if you catch my error in the review mentioned below) before "A Bridge Too Far"(1977), the movie commemorated the Battle of Arnhem, using only combat film footage, the actual participants in the battle(with few exceptions, LCOL John Frost being one not in the movie), and shot on location on the war torn streets of Arnhem. See the review I authored for the ParaData web page at, http://www.paradata.org.uk/content/theirs-glory-1946.
Arnhemjim
Liberated Arizona Territory

 

[lancer]

"Bridge on the River Kwai" and "The Great Escape".

 

[Terp152]

Battle of Britain, Sink the bismark
Mitch

Mitch you beat me to it. I was reading the earlier posts and had already picked Battle of Britain, Zulu, and then Sink the Bismark. Would also add King Rat in the mix.

 

[Mitch]

Terp152...
King Rat is another good film but, sink the bismark has it all. It was close call between that and BOB.
Mitch

Mitch you beat me to it. I was reading the earlier posts and had already picked Battle of Britain, Zulu, and then Sink the Bismark. Would also add King Rat in the mix.

 

[lancer]

"Bridge on the River Kwai" and "The Great Escape".

Would like to add "Dunkirk" with John Mills. Agree about "King Rat", thought it really well done. Somewhat on the outskirts of this subject matter is "Empire of the Sun", which I really enjoyed. -- Al