War Requiem (1989)

A film with no spoken dialogue, just follows the music and lyrics of Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem, which include WWI soldier poet Wilfred Owen's poems reflecting the war's horrors. It ... See full summary »

Director:

Derek Jarman

Writer:

Wilfred Owen (poems)

Stars:

Nathaniel Parker, Tilda Swinton, Laurence Olivier

Cast

Credited cast:
Nathaniel Parker	...	Wilfred Owen
Tilda Swinton	...	Nurse
Laurence Olivier	...	Old Soldier
Patricia Hayes	...	Mother
Rohan McCullough	...	Enemy Mother
Nigel Terry	...	Abraham
Owen Teale	...	Unknown Soldier
Sean Bean	...	German Soldier
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Milo Bell
Harvey Cooper
Claire Davenport
Antony Gabriel	...	Liet. Harper
Alex Jennings
Thomas Kett	...	Recruit
Kim Kindersley	...	Soldier 2

Storyline

A film with no spoken dialogue, just follows the music and lyrics of Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem, which include WWI soldier poet Wilfred Owen's poems reflecting the war's horrors. It shows the story of an Englishman soldier (Wilfred Owen) and a nurse (his bride) during World War I. It also includes actual footage of contemporary wars (WWII, Vietnam, Angola, etc.)

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | nurse | poet | singer | piano | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1989 (UK)

Also Known As:

Sota requiem

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglo International Films, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Liberty Films (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film of Alex Jennings.

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Soundtracks

"War Requiem, Op. 66"
Composed and conducted by Benjamin Britten
Based on poems by Wilfred Owen
Soloists: Galina Vishnevskaya, Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with The Bach Choir, The London Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Highgate School Choir
Music played by The Melos Ensemble of London and The London Symphony Orchestra
Organist: Simon Preston

User Reviews

Brilliant and Evocative Blend of Music and the Cinematographic Art

Jarman to a T: Brilliant, atmospheric, imagistic, eccentric, and sometimes homo-erotic. An incredible blend of one of the great 20th century musical works on (or rather against) war and the cinematographic art.

I've seen this film twice now. Some of the comments given by other reviewers seem to miss the point of the film- it is dark and sometimes jarring. Jarman uses historic footage, color and colorization as a technique to refocus the viewer's eyes and thoughts. Jarman is not interested in narrative so much as building a series of images that take the poem and music to a new place of understanding.

Perhaps this film is not for everyone- but then I would love to tie every politician to his or her chair and force its viewing.