# Let's remember World War I **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226 "2007-03-16T17:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/1 "2007-03-16T17:16:39Z")
As an outgrowth of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=412621), I got to thinking about depictions of World War I in popular culture. These days, they’re kind of scant. Top of mind, for some reason, is that lengthy scene in _It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown_ where Snoopy, shot down by the Red Baron, is sneaking back through the devastation of northern France to get back to his… Halloween party. There have been some famous movies about World War I – _All Quiet on the Western Front, La Grand Illusion_ (neither of which I’ve seen) – but nothing like there have been for World War II. Books, there’s the aforementioned _All Quiet on the Western Front_, some of the war poets, and I can’t remember what-all else. In short, I don’t see that much out there, popular-culture wise, given the magnitude of the war. What am I overlooking? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/2 "2007-03-16T17:22:35Z")
Of course there is _Gallipoli_. In the movie _12 Monkeys_ Cole gets sent back, accidently, to WWI, were he gets shot. It’s a short scene, but pivotal. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/3 "2007-03-16T17:29:07Z")
Paths of Glory. Heartbreakingly good. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/4 "2007-03-16T17:38:04Z")
On the lighter side (even if it does end with death), there is [Blackadder goes Forth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096548/) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/5 "2007-03-16T17:52:07Z")
There were quite a few movies in the 20s and 30s where the war was portrayed. Offhand, there was **The Big Parade, The Dawn Patrol, Shoulder Arms,** and **The Roaring Twenties** (opening scenes). However, once WWII started, Hollywood focused on that, and WWI was given short shrift. **The Blue Max** is one post-WWII version of WWI. There were a few films that used WWI as a basis for a modern antiwar stance. Two excellent ones were **Oh! What a Lovely War** (which made the war into a British music hall comedy for satiric effect) and **King of Hearts** (which made the point that war is madness). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/6 "2007-03-16T17:59:46Z")
[Aces High](http://imdb.com/title/tt0075627/) is a (pretty good IIRC) 70’s take on WWI fliers. Good cast. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/7 "2007-03-16T18:04:57Z")
As I mentioned in the other WWI thread, **Lawrence of Arabia** is a WWI film, but in the African theater. So is **The African Queen** and **Sergeant York**. I also mentioned that there are few “adventure” war films for WWI, but one notable exception would be **Wings**. Though it covers several wars, **The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp** is most moving in its WWI segment. Probably the most memorable musical artifacts of WWI are those by George M. Cohan: “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, “Yankee Doodle Boy”, “Over There”. Cohan, of course, was also mythologized in the film **Yankee Doodle Dandy**. Ernest Hemingway’s **A Farewell to Arms** also remains one of the most important WWI books, and it was also made into a popular film in the 1930s. **In Flanders Fields** is probably the best-known poem from the period. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/8 "2007-03-16T18:13:51Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] As I mentioned in the other WWI thread, **Lawrence of Arabia** is a WWI film, but in the African theater. So is **The African Queen** and **Sergeant York**. [/QUOTE] RickJay corrected me in the other thread that LoA takes place in what one would mostly consider Asia now (though there are some scenes in Egypt). I also wanted to clarify that York is another WWI film, not one that takes place outside of Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/9 "2007-03-16T18:18:01Z")
The WWI poets used to be a staple of English classes in British schools. They may well still be. For novels, I’d recommend Pat Barkers _Regeneration_ series and Sebastian Faulks _Birdsong_. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/10 "2007-03-16T18:22:50Z")
On the distaff side: \*Mata Hari Darling Lilli\* Of course, a fun one from the 1930’s _What Price Glory_ ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/11 "2007-03-16T18:33:27Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] I’d recommend Pat Barkers _Regeneration_ series… [/QUOTE] I second that recommendation – these are fantastic books, particularly the first one (_Regeneration_ itself), which I’m currently reading again for maybe the fourth time. It’s also been made into a movie with Jonathan Price and Jonny Lee Miller, released under this same title in the UK and under the title “Behind the Lines” in the US. Also very good. ---
**Author:** ![Skipper\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Skipper\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skipper_Too)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/12 "2007-03-16T18:40:44Z")
The new hollywood production of [Flyboys](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454824/) Bi-planes over france and Germany with one scene of trench warfare ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/13 "2007-03-16T18:56:25Z")
I’m embarrassed to be adding this one, but the Brad Pitt vehicle **Legends of the Fall** contains a scene where the three brothers fight in the trenches of WWI. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/14 "2007-03-16T19:02:06Z")
[QUOTE=SaharaTea] I’m embarrassed to be adding this one, but the Brad Pitt vehicle **Legends of the Fall** contains a scene where the three brothers fight in the trenches of WWI. [/QUOTE] I thought only 2 of them went over (Pitt and younger brother Henry Thomas) while oldest Aidan Quinn stayed stateside. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/15 "2007-03-16T19:09:54Z")
Let me throw in: Two with Pat O’Brien and James Cagney: \*The Fighting 69th Devil Dogs of the Air Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse\* (Both the silent with Valentino and Romon Navarro and the 50s talkie with Glen Ford). Buster Keaton’s _Doughboys_ ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/16 "2007-03-16T19:16:17Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] I thought only 2 of them went over (Pitt and younger brother Henry Thomas) while oldest Aidan Quinn stayed stateside. [/QUOTE] They all went, Aidan Quinn is wounded and heads home earlier than the other two… ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/17 "2007-03-16T19:22:53Z")
For a documentary, I’d recommend [The Great War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115193/). It’s almost criminal that this has not been given DVD treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/18 "2007-03-16T19:33:38Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] For a documentary, I’d recommend [The Great War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115193/). It’s almost criminal that this has not been given DVD treatment. [/QUOTE] There is also a BBC documentary called [The Great War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057753/) which was made in 1964 and consists of 26 half hour episodes. A very moving and instructive series. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/19 "2007-03-16T19:38:57Z")
I just finished _The Officer’s Ward_ by Marc Dugain, last night. It’s a very short, just devastating novel about a French officer wounded on the first day of the war and his experiences in the maxillofacial ward of the hospital where he spent the rest of it. Both a horrifying and fascinating book, which I think is based on one of Dugain’s family members. I understand it’s also a movie. Must be painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226/20 "2007-03-16T19:42:02Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Probably the most memorable musical artifacts of WWI are those by George M. Cohan: “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, “Yankee Doodle Boy”, “Over There”. Cohan, of course, was also mythologized in the film **Yankee Doodle Dandy**. [/QUOTE] A minor nitpick… “Yankee Doodle Boy” and “Grand Old Flag” were written in 1904 and 1906, respectively. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-remember-world-war-i/396226.md?page=2)