# 1917 seen it thread (SPOILERS!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716 "2020-01-20T20:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/1 "2020-01-20T20:26:37Z")
Finally got to see this last night. Liked it a lot, maybe not as much as it has been hyped, and would definitely recommend. I guess after seeing “They shall never grow old” last year it felt like they eased up on the god awful conditions down in those trenches and gave it a more glamorous Hollywood war movie feel. Which I may actually forgive if the intent was more a “storytelling” than a literal depiction of events. Which I think it was since Sam Mendes in his dedication at the end of the movie thanks his grandfather for “his stories”. Which brings me to my next observation. Since the movie is artistically shown as one continuous uncut shot I’ve heard people say the movie is shown in real-time. I don’t think that’s the case. There’s just too much that happens in the course of two hours that would be logistically and geographically impossible. The set pieces just kind of flow into each other which is more, I think, a metaphor of his grandfather’s storytelling. That if someone was relaying to you what happened the series of events would just kind of seamlessly blend together. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/2 "2020-01-20T20:28:54Z")
I think I remember him passing out at one point and then waking up and it was night. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/3 "2020-01-20T20:48:02Z")
I saw it over the weekend. I love it. I really appreciated that there’s a fair lack of violence. This let the film focus on the mental aspects of war, and the gruesomeness of trench warfare and no man’s land. Great movie for a war that is oft forgotten because of WW2. The artistic choices, e.g., the faux “one shot” really worked to create as you’re saying the sense of storytelling. “And then, I found myself at …” Just a truly great movie, and I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/4 "2020-01-20T20:56:14Z")
The movie was clearly meant to be a real-time depiction, even as the use of editing techniques and camera tricks allowed for multiple takes of certain set-pieces as needed. The fact that night passes into morning without the audience having to spend more than a few minutes in darkness is, as infinitii notes, explained by him being conveniently knocked out for almost all the hours of darkness. I’m not sure about the geographic possibilities. I mean, I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that the tunnel and night scenes were used to help the film crew shift physical locations across a much larger area, but again, the idea is he walked for not quite a couple hours and travelled a few minutes by truck/river current, and so maybe managed to cover high single digit miles. Maybe. What I found most implausible was the idea that there was an isolated regiment getting ready to attack that couldn’t be reached via their own trenches and supporting road networks. Maybe there was a line of dialogue that I missed that accounted for this huge (and yet not very well supported) bulge in the front lines? Or are we really supposed to believe that the regiment in question formed an exclave all on its own? ETA: Oh, but uh, I did like the film. And I never felt bored with the single shot technique. It never felt too contrived or gimmicky as certain other long take films do. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/5 "2020-01-20T21:48:42Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > What I found most implausible was the idea that there was an isolated regiment getting ready to attack that couldn’t be reached via their own trenches and supporting road networks. Maybe there was a line of dialogue that I missed that accounted for this huge (and yet not very well supported) bulge in the front lines? Or are we really supposed to believe that the regiment in question formed an exclave all on its own? Right; seems like they could have air-dropped the orders cancelling the attack, for one thing. But then, as they say, we wouldn’t have a movie. I took the structure, and the camera always trailing the main characters, as a means of immersing one more deeply in the experience. For me it worked; there are vey few films for which I could legitimately say ‘I was on the edge of my seat’, but this was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/6 "2020-01-20T22:46:28Z")
And just be to clear, I don’t mean my comment as a nitpick or something that seriously affected my enjoyment of the film, only as an acknowledgement that there is perhaps some necessary contrivance in the setting since the OP brought up problems of time and space. For my part, I think it’s fine as is. Which is, not necessarily a “true story” (it hasn’t been represented as such) but more along the lines of “it’s true that it’s a story.” It’s the kind of story, at least the basic premise of one, that I could very much see a veteran telling to his kids/grandkids. A soldier’s story, even if not a true story. As with many soldier’s stories, the finer points (to the extent that there are “finer points” offered) maybe don’t withstand strict scrutiny, but that’s beside the point. I suppose nowadays we might call such a story, in not so many words, an urban legend. So this was a fine recounting of an urban legend, with no doubt quite a bit of embellishment heaped on by the filmmaker for the sake of drawing it out to feature length and giving the audience a happy ending too (because I wouldn’t be too shocked if the original story Mendes got from his grandfather ended more tragically, a la _Gallipoli_). Come to think of it, this does have strong echoes of the final act to _Gallipoli_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/7 "2020-01-21T00:08:49Z")
I saw it on Saturday and enjoyed it. FYI, the soldier Tom Blake (the one who was given the assignment) was played by the same actor who played Tommen Baratheon (younger brother to the evil Joffrey) on Game of Thrones. And [this article from Smithsonian Magazine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-history-behind-1917-movie-180973800/) goes into the real-life events portrayed in the movie and what Sam Mendes’s grandfather did that inspired the film. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/8 "2020-01-21T00:52:45Z")
I gotta admit, this was a great movie. Mendes really upped his game on this one. And he got great performances out of his two leads. Not to mention the bit parts out of Cumberbatch, Firth and Strong. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/9 "2020-01-21T01:12:20Z")
I saw it last year. I enjoyed it. I was surprised that it won a Golden Globe. I’m on the fence as to whether I will be disappointed if it wins the Oscar for Best Picture. It isn’t underserving of a nomination, but it wasn’t even the [best WWI movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7905466/)of last couple years. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/10 "2020-01-21T01:33:46Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I gotta admit, this was a great movie. Mendes really upped his game on this one. And he got great performances out of his two leads. > > Not to mention the bit parts out of Cumberbatch, Firth and Strong. I loved Cumberbatch’s line “Now fuck off corporal.” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/11 "2020-01-21T01:54:24Z")
It was legit one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life and it’s an absolute lock to win cinematography at the Oscars…and hopefully best picture. I, too, was on the edge of my seat the whole time and the movie was SO tense and from the beginning to the end was SUCH a journey that the only time I actually started tearing up was at the end. I felt like I had been on such an emotional journey that I was just deflated after the movie ended. The continuous-shot gimmick nonwithstanding, this movie was so gorgeous. I say, unironically, that the shot of the soldier running through that village being lit only by the flares being shot should literally be shown in film school. I cannot say enough good things about this movie and EVERYONE should see it. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/12 "2020-01-21T21:30:34Z")
For me, it was just like DUNKIRK 2.0: A film that commits itself to a fully immersive You-Are-There visceral experience, with an aesthetic conceit (time-jumping, uninterrupted-shot respectively) that poses a logistical challenge but is entirely unnecessary from a story-telling perspective. This is at the expense of fully-defined characters (despite some very good acting, with big names on the margins) or interesting insights about war. Both films tell us that (a) death is cruel and random, and (b) you wouldn’t want to be there. Do people find their true colors when faced with a thankless, possibly insurmountable challenge in combat? Sure. But that’s not really a theme, just a general observation told in graphic detail. There’s plenty of impressive effort (editing, filming, production design) on display, but I found both films really shallow and highly limited because of these self-imposed constraints. Certainly, the Mendes doesn’t hold a candle to _Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front, Grand Illusion, A Very Long Engagement, Gallipoli_ or _Lawrence of Arabia_ (to name only some) when it comes to quality WWI tales. It’s not a bad film certainly–just an incredibly overrated one. And yes, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if it won the Best Picture Oscar (it will certainly win a few trophies even if it doesn’t take the top prize). ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/13 "2020-01-21T22:50:11Z")
OK, I’ll take the contrarian position. So it’s not my sort of movie and I just went along with the rest of the party on this one, but I really don’t get the gushing enthusiasm for it. Take away the technical aspects of how it was made (which are both very interesting and very impressive) and you have a very standard war movie, to my mind. j ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/14 "2020-01-22T12:54:55Z")
I gave it a 7 or 8 out of 10. The cinematography was exceptional, no argument there. I struggled with not being able to identify with the protagonist. My daughter, who gave it a 10, argues that’s by design to represent the everyman soldier in the situation. To me that feels like a “war is hell” movie which isn’t telling me something I don’t already know. Not sorry I saw it but not going on the will watch it every time it comes on TV list. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/15 "2020-01-22T15:35:53Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > There’s plenty of impressive effort (editing, filming, production design) on display, but I found both films really shallow and highly limited because of these self-imposed constraints. Certainly, the Mendes doesn’t hold a candle to _Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front, Grand Illusion, A Very Long Engagement, Gallipoli_ or _Lawrence of Arabia_ (to name only some) when it comes to quality WWI tales. Those are all very different movies—different genres even, and with very different themes—that happen to take place during WWI. I’m not sure any one of them serves as a good comparison because I don’t think any of them were trying to do the same thing. I’ve never seen _Grand Illusion_. As for the rest, certainly all do cover more expansive subject matter, but then I’d say that’s more a feature than a bug. _1917_ is a simple story, yes. Those are all fine movies (same caveat about the one I haven’t seen, and I really despised AVLE on a personal, entirely subjective level), yes. It’s fine to enjoy those movies more than this one, or to feel that certain aspects of filmmaking were done better in those films than this, but I’m just not sure they’re relevant in evaluating this specific film overall. I don’t consider a less complex narrative to necessarily be a hindrance to telling a quality tale when the tale itself reduces down to something relatively simple and approachable. Now, I do agree with you that this movie had a kind of a _Dunkirk_ feel to it. One thing I give this movie more credit for (as compared to _Dunkirk_) is capturing the scale better. Specifically, those beach scenes in _Dunkirk_ where you’ve got a few spaced out lines of troops formed along the beach, and the whole thing seems a rather small affair. Ultra-realism aside, they really should have plused up the extras with CGI IMHO. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that _1917_ actually had fewer extras, but they were employed better relative to the camera so that it certainly _seemed_ like the trenches were packed full of soldiers up and down the line. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/16 "2020-01-22T16:57:52Z")
I was probably 5 minutes in before I realized they were going for a continuous shot, and I spent the entire rest of the movie looking for cheat cuts and wondering if/when they’d stop doing that. It was fascinating but a bit distracting. They had me at the edge of my seat the whole time and when he opened his note by the tree at the end I could finally let go and I got a bit teary eyed. Very good movie, would recommend. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/17 "2020-01-22T18:05:36Z")
Where was the convoy when Blake died? Are we supposed to think it had just pulled up and wasn’t behind the barn the whole time? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/18 "2020-01-22T19:33:43Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Where was the convoy when Blake died? Are we supposed to think it had just pulled up and wasn’t behind the barn the whole time? They said they had seen the smoke from the plane crash and headed over. But there was a lot of that “creative” scene/environment change overs where when turning the camera 180 degrees things faded into and out of the scene. Which make me even more think the one-shot method was used more as a creative story telling device rather than to convey events happened in real-time. For instance he had just parted ways with the convoy and not even 4 minutes later a sniper is shooting at him trying to cross a bridge. You’d think the convoy would have hurried back when hearing rifle shots but the creative scene change made you think they were long gone. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/19 "2020-01-24T21:36:10Z")
If we’re allowing spoilers, who wins? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716/20 "2020-01-24T21:42:35Z")
Who wins? [Churchill’s cats](https://youtu.be/fZ9WyYbZj_8?t=5), of course… But seriously, I loved it. So did my cinephile friend, who has very high standards. Neither of us had any idea what we were in for (I seem to remember the previews being a lot of explosions etc). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1917-seen-it-thread-spoilers/846716.md?page=2)