Oh What a Lovely War 1969 Smith Family

Oh! What a Lovely War

The ever popular war games. With songs, battles & a few jokes

Satire about the Starting time Earth War based on a phase musical of the aforementioned proper noun, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of 1 family (last name Smith) who go off to state of war. Much of the activeness in the movie revolves effectually the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand, the Christmas meeting betwixt British and German soldiers in no-mans-land, and the wiping out by their ain side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front, after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time.

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Och, jaka piekna wojna!, Viva a Guerra!

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State of war and historical take chances Epic history and literature Politics and homo rights fought, army, battleground, conflict or battle duty, heroic, battle, pilot or patriotism fought, army, fighting, heroic or battle historical, propaganda, political, historic or patriotism nazi, hitler, jewish, historical or holocaust Show All…

Popular reviews

Rarely practise you find a British classic and so avant-garde in its presentation and critical in its retelling of every bit fiercely patriotic a theme as war. Attenborough's selection to stage Globe War One as a seaside spectacle in my dearest Brighton simply adds to how special this beautifully mournful portrait of war plays today, and certainly did whilst the Vietnam war waged on.
A huge, one could say also big, all singing, often dancing, Earth War I satire/saga/essay and takedown of patriotism, the national British character during the march to state of war, and the leadership blunders that followed.

A musical made up entirely of actual trip the light fantastic toe hall songs, trench parody verses, and popular propaganda ditties of the day, the film is often brilliant, finding simply the right juxtaposition between the sometimes jingoistic musical jaunts and the bleak events of the war.

Conceptually and technically information technology's pretty incredible, particularly impressive as Attenborough'south directing debut, just because it's just a tableau of winding, barely stitched together vignettes, it functions more than like a seemingly endless parade of curt films than a driving cohesive story, and this makes…
"The real reason for the whole thing was that it was too much effort non to have a war." Blackadder Goes Forth

Obviously that quote isn't from this film, simply I include it because it is quite perhaps the truest thing always written on the subject field of war in general, and this war in particular.

The kind of people who are responsible for prosecuting wars will no doubt tell you lot that sending men off to state of war and possibly to their deaths is the hardest job imaginable. No it'due south not, it's actually like shooting fish in a barrel, and there are 10 one thousand thousand dead soldiers to show it, not to mention an equal number of civilians.

"Nosotros must grind them down. Y'all meet, our population is…
You'd never guess this was a directorial debut, first timer Richard Attenborough not only demonstrating a mastery of style and staging just also an astonishing ability to translate theatricality into the cinematic medium, seamlessly blending artifice with reality and the surreal with realism in a way that makes it an entirely unique experience.

An anti-war film can be bitter and vitriolic through gritty authenticity or it tin can be absurd, mocking and sardonic, Oh! What a Lovely State of war somehow manages to be straddle both—starting off as a jaunty dance-hall musical where immense irony arises from the jingoistic popular songs of the era before delving into darker, deeper emblematic territory, the transitions between the two aspects often marvellously creative. The star power…
Richard Attenborough's stunning big screen adaptation of Joan Littlewood's satirical play is unlikely to be Haig apologist Michael Gove'due south favourite film considering it tells a truth that anyone with intelligence recognises.

Watching it again today I was left to wonder why Attenborough's Brighton pier multi-purpose setting worked then perfectly and yet Joe Wright totally muffed Anna Karenina when he tried a similar theatrical staging. I guess its primarily because the piece had its roots in the theatre in the offset identify and considering the satirical, bold edge required a larger-than-life production.

Excellent performances all round, fantabulous direction from Attenborough, and a fitting tribute to the fallen - particularly with that last shot. It gets me every single time.
Literally fucking unbelievable. Satirical stagey anti-war anti-nationalism musical with an insane listing of guest stars that's perhaps a chip too ambitious and a fleck too long so how was I not going to dear this. But I was actually blown abroad with how masterfully this denounces war and the officials orchestrating it while being entirely sympathetic to the endless people sacrificed for their trivial state of war games.
I, too, would be lured into enlisting in a war based on the false promise of a kiss from 1969 sly music-hall girl Maggie Smith.
Granny, What did Daddy do in the State of war?
One of those movies that I caught when I was really far likewise young to understand just what was going on due to its at times surreal nature and all information technology's old-fourth dimension soldier songs, revisiting this now I was left pretty much blown abroad on how Attenborough approached this using satire song and sadness meticulously dropping them all onto the state of war table and into the trenches of WW1, it's in the songs that make this so special using existent songs from the troops of its time and placing them in the right context simply keeps you begging for more, it's definitely non your typical straight-up musical though these songs simply last a…
I Fifty<3ve Musicals!

Ane of my g recommended films.

A clever work, this movie - Richard Attenborough's first as director and an adaptation of the production by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop - considers the pure futility and waste of World War One by presenting it as a 'war game' based in and effectually Brighton; on the West Pier, atop a Helter Skelter, etc.

The cardinal characters are the Smith family unit - several sons and nephews, a grandad, mother, wives and younger children. All take tickets for the game, welcomed in at Douglas Haig's booth (Haig puts his ain words to 'I do like to exist abreast the seaside' = 'I do love to see a man in khaki').…
Prefer the phase show as it'due south what I'thousand familiar with but absolutely admire this adaptation.

Roger Ebert was right when he said its hard to judge as a flick. Its more like a series of tableaus done with such wit, pessimism, and sympathy that it plays all the notes of your heart as symphonically equally its soundtrack.

Plus the songs are absolute belters.
Hot Dirk Summer '21

Genuinely bonkers that this is Attenborough's directorial debut. Non exactly starting small.