Feast at the time of the plague The First World War... One of the most terrible pages in human history. Serious changes on the political map, the debut of tanks and chemical weapons, tens of millions of dead soldiers and civilians. This event is dedicated to many films – from the classic “On the Western Front without change” by Lewis Mileston to “War Horse” by Steven Spielberg. And perhaps the most unusual film of that time is the British film “Oh, what a wonderful war” in 1969.
Many viewers, who first saw this picture, are surprised and even shocked by the fact that they are not a serious military drama, but a musical film. How can you portray a war with corps de ballet and sloppy songs?! It's like making a vaudeville about the horrors of the Holocaust.
"Wonderful war!" is deliberately theatrical. However, such a director’s vision of those historical events perfectly emphasizes the main idea of the film: the aimlessness of that war, the meaninglessness of all destruction, suffering and human casualties. That is why the film creates a contrast between ordinary life and war, and the First World War itself is compared to a puppet play, then with a fair carousel (later a similar method of opposition will be used by Bob Foss in the film Cabaret).
The film is the directorial debut of Richard Attenborough. And in this case, the "first pancake" exactly came out excellent: the future director of "Gandhi" and "Chaplin" has nothing to reproach himself with - in the picture a lot of interesting finds from the point of view of the skill of the production. What is the prologue, in which the world political situation that developed before the outbreak of the war, is revealed during conversations of the highest ranks of European powers on the openwork white veranda! The action of the film constantly “jumps” from episodes of comic, theatrical, filled with secular conversations, music and dances to “real” scenes of military operations, harsh everyday life of trenches and shelling: the highest ranks are having fun at a luxurious reception – crosses are brought to the army for fresh graves, the general reflects on a quick victory – soldiers die in the battle of the Somme... However, thanks to the skill of Attenborough, all scenes of the tape look very organic. By the way, the film is quite “historic”, it reflected many events and realities of the First World War - the murder of Archduke Ferdinand, mobilization, the battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendale, the performances of suffragettes, the work of hospitals.
One of the best episodes of the film is a scene in which English and German soldiers sing Christmas songs to each other. The message of the picture is obvious – “there are no winners in war”, war is a ruthless machine that cripples human destinies, senseless bloodshed, necessary only to console the ambitions of a few people in power, while ordinary people dream of a peaceful sky, a family, a quiet and peaceful life.
Speaking about this tape, it is impossible not to mention the wonderful work of the operator, composer, choreographers and especially the team of the production artist - the combination of props and fine study of the smallest details of scenery, cars, military equipment, costumes ... In a number of scenes, the change of scenery takes place right in front of the audience (as in the recent version of Joe Wright's Anna Karenina), which only adds to the film's visual flavor.
The picture received many prestigious awards: on her account the Golden Globe and several BAFTA figurines. But the American Film Academy did not notice the film. I think it's a big mistake!
8 out of 10