Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

Charles Chilton (play)
Len Deighton (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 October 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | War

Tagline:

The ever popular war game with songs battles & a few jokes

Plot:

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of...

Plot Keywords:

Song | WWI | General | Punctuation In Title | Satire

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Wendy Allnutt	...	Flo Smith
Colin Farrell	...	Harry Smith
Malcolm McFee	...	Freddie Smith
John Rae	...	Grandpa Smith
Corin Redgrave	...	Bertie Smith
Maurice Roëves	...	George Smith
Paul Shelley	...	Jack Smith
Kim Smith	...	Dickie Smith
Angela Thorne	...	Betty Smith
Mary Wimbush	...	Mary Smith
Vincent Ball	...	Australian Soldier
Pia Colombo	...	Estaminet Singer
Paul Daneman	...	Czar Nicholas II
Isabel Dean	...	Sir John French's Lady
Christian Doermer	...	Fritz

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Bayham Abbey, Lamberhurst, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Accord Productions

Trivia:

Jane Seymour's film debut.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The bayonets of the band of the Irish Guards as they parade down the Brighton promenade appear to be for the L1A1 self loading rifle, first issued 1957 and still issued as standard by the time of the film, rather than the correct 1907 pattern bayonet for the Lee-Enfield No1 mkIII rifle (characterised by its longer blade length of 17" as opposed to the 8" of the L1A1's bayonet).

Quotes:

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig: Grant us victory, O Lord, before the Americans get here.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Welcome to World War One (2006) (V)

One of the best movies of the seventies

I was just commenting to a co-worker that I thought the 70's were a total blank as far as quality pictures are concerned, Oh! What a Lovely War being an exception (if you can actually count it as a 70's picture). It is a pacifist tract that is actually opulent in its period detail, incisive in its satire of the English establishment's foibles and lyrical in its description of the ravages of war. It also shows actual intelligence, culture and wit at the service of a good cause at the start of a decade which was inaugurated with self-indulgence and ended in gross excess. With all the talents involved (working for scale, I'm sure), it was a monumental undertaking and remains a movie that stays with you forever.