Why World War I? - Blu-ray Forum

bruce_pullen · 02-07-2009, 02:27 AM

Why so few films on World War I? Accidental, on-purpose, your thoughts?

gentrycoach · 02-07-2009, 02:37 AM

The time period is not as relevant (i.e. "modern") as WWII or Vietnam to many people . Also, many people don't know as much about the war as WWII and the US didn't have nearly as much involvement (might effect US movies/audiences anyways). And I think the whole war is a problem in that there was really no "good" guys or "bad" guys and no real reason for fighting it. Most of it was just senseless slaughter.

bruce_pullen · 02-07-2009, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gentrycoach

The time period is not as relevant (i.e. "modern") as WWII or Vietnam to many people . Also, many people don't know as much about the war as WWII and the US didn't have nearly as much involvement (might effect US movies/audiences anyways). And I think the whole war is a problem in that there was really no "good" guys or "bad" guys and no real reason for fighting it. Most of it was just senseless slaughter.

Interesting point, not to mention the trench warfare as well. Look at Paths of Glory (1957) by Kubrick. Great film, maybe that's enough?

jk1138 · 02-07-2009, 03:57 AM

WWI was started because of an assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Austris demanded retribution, and attacked Bosnia the home land of the shooter Gavrilo Princip. WWI started June 1914 and ended 1918, with out as many good war storied as WWII. The war was more geo-political than black and white, good vs. evil.

jadedeath · 02-07-2009, 04:06 AM

There's a Canadian movie called Passchedaele that just came out.

It's about World War 1.

Logan

bruce_pullen · 02-07-2009, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadedeath

There's a Canadian movie called Passchedaele that just came out.

It's about World War 1.

Logan

One film versus hundreds on WWII. That's my point.

jadedeath · 02-07-2009, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

One film versus hundreds on WWII. That's my point.

Yeah, but it's an awesome movie.

Logan

acleftguard76 · 02-07-2009, 05:57 AM

There aren't too many stories to be told about WW1...
US Involvement was A year...1917-1918
No dramatic stories about WW1...Rommel in Africa, Total invasion of France in 6 hours, concentration camps, Hitler rallies, nuclear weapon usage in the South Pacific, first attack ever on US soil by a foreign country...Hell, it was a war that we fought two fronts on across the world and it is what shaped communism to spread throughout Russia, China, Korea and Vietnam

The most standout story of WW1 is when Germany was made to strip down to a country with no dignity. Ok, the air dogfights were pretty good, too with the Red Baron and all. You got a film for that, though...Flyboys...though it wasn't the best film. Otherwise you have a bunch of dudes huckin' grenades at each other across plains to other trenches, the occaisional suicidal guy who thinks hes going to storm out of his trench into theirs, tanks rolling over shit, flame throwers and mustard gas. A lot of cool shit, collectively, but not as a single story to make a movie, otherwise it turns out like Flyboys. Or you could always step into history and watch Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels for an older, but better WW1 dogfight movie.

Tadji Malik · 02-07-2009, 08:26 AM

Why limit yourself to trenches and the birth of the airplane? WWII had jungles, oceans, beaches, carriers, deserts, winiters, summers, faster airplanes, a better bad guy, Pearl Harbor treachery, American glories, and more U.S. involvement. That makes for better stories and nicer backgrounds.

RustyK94 · 02-07-2009, 08:59 AM

I don't think trench warfare had a certain romance to it as other periods of history did. Speaking from a military perspective.

romac · 02-07-2009, 10:57 AM

There really just wasn't as many "epic" moments in WWI. Hell it was a strange mix of warfare, technology was advancing but there was also still active cavalry units iirc.

quexos · 02-07-2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

Why so few films on World War I? Accidental, on-purpose, your thoughts?

Probably cause WWI caused "only" about 6 million casualties whereas WWII caused about 60 millions making it both closer to our time and the most deadly war ever.

By the same token we hear more about September 11th than, I don't know, say the unabomber.

quexos · 02-07-2009, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tadji Malik

Why limit yourself to trenches and the birth of the airplane? WWII had jungles, oceans, beaches, carriers, deserts, winiters, summers, faster airplanes, a better bad guy, Pearl Harbor treachery, American glories, and more U.S. involvement. That makes for better stories and nicer backgrounds.

hmm Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 don't look too glorious a deed to me ...
Shame on you Enolagay for ever and ever !

zany6669 · 02-07-2009, 01:46 PM

There are in fact quite a number of good World War 1 films, one simply has to look.

Just a few below:

Gallipolli - Australian WW1 film starring Mel Gibson from around the Mad Max days, still one of the best war films ever made.
Paths of Glory - As previously mentioned, directed by Kubrick.
Johnny got his gun - Great adaptation of the novel, really shows the potential consequences of trench warfare and shelling.
All Quiet on the Western Front - 2 versions, classic German anti war film from the 30s and English language adaptation from the late 70s with Ian Holm and Ernest Borgnine.
A Very Long Engagement - Wonderful French film from the director of Amelie about the French experience of the war.
Lawrence of Arabia - You may have heard of this film, one of the all time classics, nuff said...
Joyeux Noël - Very recent French Film on the subject
The Lighthorsemen - Another good Australian film about fighting in the Middle East during WW1.
The Grand Illusion - Jean Renoir's classic.

Not to mention the numerous films that simply feature a segment set in World War 1 like "Legends of the Fall" or even "12 Monkeys"....

The list goes on and on but a little research and you will discover that, unsurprisingly for the first real large scale modern war, there are many more films that deal with the subject.

It is ridiculous to maintain that there are no good or compelling stories from World War 1, nothing could be further from the truth. The Great War as it is also known saw the first air combat, the end of the age of the horse, the first mechanised warfare, the end of the Imperial age and was fundemental to the shaping of the modern world. There was around 40 million casualties in the war, including around 20 million deaths (military and civilian), around 70 million men fought in total and countless more were touched by the war in some way. That's a lot of potential for storytelling in my book...

Anyway, hope this helps point you in the right direction.

209Mason · 02-07-2009, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zany6669

Joyeux Noël - Very recent French Film on the subject

+1 I was just going to pust that until I saw yours

02-07-2009, 02:27 AM	#1
bruce_pullen Special Member Member since:Dec 2008	Why World War I? Why so few films on World War I? Accidental, on-purpose, your thoughts?

02-07-2009, 03:57 AM	#4
jk1138 Special Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:FL Blu-ray collection:32 Blu-ray reviews:59 Trading Score:27	WWI was started because of an assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Austris demanded retribution, and attacked Bosnia the home land of the shooter Gavrilo Princip. WWI started June 1914 and ended 1918, with out as many good war storied as WWII. The war was more geo-political than black and white, good vs. evil. Last edited by jk1138; 02-07-2009 at 01:05 PM.

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02-07-2009, 02:37 AM	#2
gentrycoach Active Member Member since:Jul 2008 Blu-ray collection:270 Blu-ray reviews:1	The time period is not as relevant (i.e. "modern") as WWII or Vietnam to many people . Also, many people don't know as much about the war as WWII and the US didn't have nearly as much involvement (might effect US movies/audiences anyways). And I think the whole war is a problem in that there was really no "good" guys or "bad" guys and no real reason for fighting it. Most of it was just senseless slaughter.

02-07-2009, 04:06 AM	#5
jadedeath Blu-ray Knight Member since:Jun 2007	There's a Canadian movie called Passchedaele that just came out. It's about World War 1. Logan

02-07-2009, 05:57 AM	#8
acleftguard76 Member Member since:Aug 2008 Location:Missoula, MT 4K collection:76 Blu-ray collection:76 Blu-ray reviews:2	There aren't too many stories to be told about WW1... US Involvement was A year...1917-1918 No dramatic stories about WW1...Rommel in Africa, Total invasion of France in 6 hours, concentration camps, Hitler rallies, nuclear weapon usage in the South Pacific, first attack ever on US soil by a foreign country...Hell, it was a war that we fought two fronts on across the world and it is what shaped communism to spread throughout Russia, China, Korea and Vietnam The most standout story of WW1 is when Germany was made to strip down to a country with no dignity. Ok, the air dogfights were pretty good, too with the Red Baron and all. You got a film for that, though...Flyboys...though it wasn't the best film. Otherwise you have a bunch of dudes huckin' grenades at each other across plains to other trenches, the occaisional suicidal guy who thinks hes going to storm out of his trench into theirs, tanks rolling over shit, flame throwers and mustard gas. A lot of cool shit, collectively, but not as a single story to make a movie, otherwise it turns out like Flyboys. Or you could always step into history and watch Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels for an older, but better WW1 dogfight movie.

02-07-2009, 08:26 AM	#9
Tadji Malik Member Member since:Oct 2008 Location:Tooele, Utah, USA Blu-ray collection:1760 Blu-ray reviews:4	Why limit yourself to trenches and the birth of the airplane? WWII had jungles, oceans, beaches, carriers, deserts, winiters, summers, faster airplanes, a better bad guy, Pearl Harbor treachery, American glories, and more U.S. involvement. That makes for better stories and nicer backgrounds.

02-07-2009, 08:59 AM	#10
RustyK94 Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Independent Republic Of Scotland Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray collection:126	I don't think trench warfare had a certain romance to it as other periods of history did. Speaking from a military perspective.

02-07-2009, 10:57 AM	#11
romac Active Member Member since:Mar 2008 Blu-ray collection:63 Trading Score:8	There really just wasn't as many "epic" moments in WWI. Hell it was a strange mix of warfare, technology was advancing but there was also still active cavalry units iirc.

02-07-2009, 01:46 PM	#14
zany6669 Member Member since:May 2007 Location:Sydney, Australia Blu-ray collection:64	There are in fact quite a number of good World War 1 films, one simply has to look. Just a few below: Gallipolli - Australian WW1 film starring Mel Gibson from around the Mad Max days, still one of the best war films ever made. Paths of Glory - As previously mentioned, directed by Kubrick. Johnny got his gun - Great adaptation of the novel, really shows the potential consequences of trench warfare and shelling. All Quiet on the Western Front - 2 versions, classic German anti war film from the 30s and English language adaptation from the late 70s with Ian Holm and Ernest Borgnine. A Very Long Engagement - Wonderful French film from the director of Amelie about the French experience of the war. Lawrence of Arabia - You may have heard of this film, one of the all time classics, nuff said... Joyeux Noël - Very recent French Film on the subject The Lighthorsemen - Another good Australian film about fighting in the Middle East during WW1. The Grand Illusion - Jean Renoir's classic. Not to mention the numerous films that simply feature a segment set in World War 1 like "Legends of the Fall" or even "12 Monkeys".... The list goes on and on but a little research and you will discover that, unsurprisingly for the first real large scale modern war, there are many more films that deal with the subject. It is ridiculous to maintain that there are no good or compelling stories from World War 1, nothing could be further from the truth. The Great War as it is also known saw the first air combat, the end of the age of the horse, the first mechanised warfare, the end of the Imperial age and was fundemental to the shaping of the modern world. There was around 40 million casualties in the war, including around 20 million deaths (military and civilian), around 70 million men fought in total and countless more were touched by the war in some way. That's a lot of potential for storytelling in my book... Anyway, hope this helps point you in the right direction.

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