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Battle Ground

Original title: Forbidden Ground
  • 20132013
  • RR
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
4.9/10
2K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Martin Copping, Johan Earl, and Tim Pocock in Forbidden Ground (2013)
When an allied charge on the German lines goes horribly wrong, three soldiers find themselves stranded in No Man's Land.
Play trailer1:28
2 Videos
24 Photos
  • Action
  • Drama
  • War
Three British soldiers find themselves stranded in No Man's Land after a failed charge on the German Trenches. Set in France 1916.Three British soldiers find themselves stranded in No Man's Land after a failed charge on the German Trenches. Set in France 1916.Three British soldiers find themselves stranded in No Man's Land after a failed charge on the German Trenches. Set in France 1916.
IMDb RATING
4.9/10
2K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Johan Earl
    • Adrian Powers
  • Writers
    • Johan Earl
    • Denai Gracie(contributing writer)
    • Travis Spiteri(contributing writer)
  • Stars
    • Johan Earl
    • Tim Pocock
    • Martin Copping
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Johan Earl
    • Adrian Powers
  • Writers
    • Johan Earl
    • Denai Gracie(contributing writer)
    • Travis Spiteri(contributing writer)
  • Stars
    • Johan Earl
    • Tim Pocock
    • Martin Copping
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 37User reviews
    • 31Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos2

    Battle Ground
    Trailer 1:28
    Battle Ground
    Battle Ground
    Trailer 1:26
    Battle Ground

    Photos24

    Martin Copping and Johan Earl in Forbidden Ground (2013)
    Johan Earl & Martin Copping
    Martin Copping as Cpl. Jennings
    Forbidden Ground (2013)
    Tim Pocock as Pvt. O'leary
    Johan Earl as Sgt Major Wilkins
    Forbidden Ground (2013)
    Martin Copping in Forbidden Ground (2013)
    Tim Pocock
    Denai Gracie as Grace Wilkins
    Forbidden Ground (2013)
    Martin Copping, Johan Earl, and Tim Pocock in Forbidden Ground (2013)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Johan Earl
    Johan Earl
    • Sgt. Maj. Arthur Wilkinsas Sgt. Maj. Arthur Wilkins
    Tim Pocock
    Tim Pocock
    • Pvt. O'Learyas Pvt. O'Leary
    Martin Copping
    Martin Copping
    • Cpl. Richard Jenningsas Cpl. Richard Jennings
    Denai Gracie
    Denai Gracie
    • Grace Wilkinsas Grace Wilkins
    Sarah Mawbey
    Sarah Mawbey
    • Eve Roseas Eve Rose
    Barry Quin
    Barry Quin
    • Dr. Bennettas Dr. Bennett
    Damian Sommerlad
    Damian Sommerlad
    • Lieutenantas Lieutenant
    Oliver Trajkovski
    Oliver Trajkovski
    • Lieutenant's Aideas Lieutenant's Aide
    Igor Breakenback
    Igor Breakenback
    • Sgt. Schmidtas Sgt. Schmidt
    • (as Igor Smiljevic)
    Byron J. Brochmann
    Byron J. Brochmann
    • German Sniperas German Sniper
    Gudmund Helmsdal
    Gudmund Helmsdal
    • German Soldieras German Soldier
    • (voice)
    • (as Gudmund Helmsdal Nielsen)
    Alex Jewson
    Alex Jewson
    • Pvt. Rileyas Pvt. Riley
    Steve Maxwell
    • German Soldieras German Soldier
    James Shepherd
    • Pvt. Franklinas Pvt. Franklin
    Craig Walker
    Craig Walker
    • Soldier Character Voicesas Soldier Character Voices
    • (voice)
    Daniel Martin
    Daniel Martin
    • British Soldieras British Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Johan Earl
      • Adrian Powers
    • Writers
      • Johan Earl
      • Denai Gracie(contributing writer)
      • Travis Spiteri(contributing writer)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A week before shooting was due to commence, huge rainstorms blanketed the location, flooding the British trench set. The crew were concerned that this would cause the production to be delayed, but the set had been built so well and so in0-keeping with the way actual trench systems had been constructed--the entire set survived. In fact, the rain only helped to give the set a more textured, "lived-in" feel.
    • Goofs
      The British Officer shown early in the film ordering the attack is wearing the three WWI medals "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" which were issued in the 1920s.

    User reviews37

    Review
    Top review
    2/10
    Regretfully unconvincing.
    Forbidden Ground is an Australian-made rendition of the plight of British soldiers trapped in no-man's land, and should have been the war epic it was (once) anticipated to be. The unfortunate truth is that it falls short of all expectations, and as a patriotic Australian I take no pleasure in saying it.

    From the first moments the small budget is apparent. Close-ups try and disguise the limited scale of the production. The battles in the film are all no more than small skirmishes and never really produced with any flair, impact, or suspense. The constant reliance on CGI for special effects cripples the action, unlike it's predecessor Beneath Hill 60 - which it will surely be compared to - which used mostly practical visual effects and captures gritty violence effectively. As such, when the horror of trench warfare comes along in this film, it is woefully un- engaging, and downright boring in parts. I felt no connection with the men going to their deaths. The obvious computer-generated explosions and squibs left a lot to be desired and had no "punch." It's an anti-war film, as most WWI films are, so you would expect a focus on correctly portraying the shocking waste of war, but Forbidden Ground lacks the budget or know-how to do it properly.

    There are some tired clichés including snobby, arrogant officers and the hard-nosed NCO, and while historically accurate in some ways, Forbidden Ground doesn't cast the roles with conviction, simply recycling scenes and minor characters from a dozen better war films. The other problem with authenticity is that most of the cast is Australian, and while our accents may be more or less similar and we often are mistaken for Poms, the actors on show here can't quite make it sound natural and every line feels laborious and forced. If they'd just spoken with their normal accents they would probably have sounded more comfortable with their characters, but alas every Pommy soldier on screen sounds like a caricature of British stereotypes.

    Another problem with authenticity is that the unit that is focused on seems to be an amalgamation of British accents. Whether intentional or by accident, units were formed from specific locales (universities, rugby clubs, towns, cities, etc) and would only occasionally be mixed with troops from broadly different locations (casualty replacements).

    So the end result is a disappointing straight-to-DVD war drama without any magnetism or flair. I praise the cast and crew for doing what they could to commemorate the war, but I can't recommend Forbidden Ground as good viewing. Better luck next time.
    helpful•49
    22
    • mwburrows
    • Aug 25, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 11, 2013 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Website
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Forbidden Ground
    • Filming locations
      • Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
    • Production companies
      • 24/7 Films
      • Armzfx
      • Scarlet Fire Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • A$1,500,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Martin Copping, Johan Earl, and Tim Pocock in Forbidden Ground (2013)
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