Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) Blu-ray

Ensi-ilta: 10.3.1969

Alkuperäinen nimi: Oh! What a Lovely War

Teatterikesto: 144 min

Maa: United Kingdom

Arvosana: TMDB: 6.7/10 | IMDB

Ensimmäisen maailmansodan aikaan sijoittuva ja aikalaislauluja käyttävä musikaali, joka kääntyy innostuksesta katkeruuteen seuratessaan Smithin perheen poikia sodassa.

Having begun his career as an actor celebrated for his performances in the likes of Brighton Rock, The Great Escape and Séance on a Wet Afternoon, Richard Attenborough made his directorial debut in 1969 with Oh! What a Lovely War, a satirical history of World War I told through the British music hall tradition.

Adapted from Joan Littlewood’s 1963 stage musical of the same name (itself a reworking of Charles Chilton’s 1961 radio play The Long Long Trail), Oh! What a Lovely War restages the events of the Great War. As the film traces the progression of the conflict from the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 to the Armistice of November 1918, it intertwines the fortunes of the everyman Smith family with performances of popular wartime music, from the recruitment song “I’ll Make a Man of You” to the airmen’s anthem “The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling.”

Featuring a who’s who of British acting talent from Dirk Bogarde to Michael Redgrave and Maggie Smith, Attenborough’s first film as director earned him a raft of BAFTA nominations and set him on the path to making A Bridge Too Far, Gandhi and Chaplin. The Masters of Cinema Series is honoured to present Oh! What a Lovely War on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES*:

Limited Edition of 2,000 copies

Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring original poster artwork

Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on Oh! What a Lovely War by Andy Dougan, author of The Actors’ Director: Richard Attenborough Behind the Camera

1080p HD presentation from a restoration by Paramount Pictures

Original English mono audio

Optional English subtitles (SDH)

New audio commentary with British cinema scholars Melanie Williams and Lawrence Napper

Archival audio commentary with director Richard Attenborough

Your Country Needs You – new interview with film historian Simon Brown on depictions of World War I in British cinema, from The Battle of the Somme to 1917

Extensive making-of documentary presented in three parts: “Welcome to World War I,” “The Smith Family Album” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning”

* All extras subject to change

PRESS

“Dedicated, exhilarating, shrewd, mocking, funny, emotional, witty, poignant and technically brilliant.” — Variety

“A bitter mixture of history, satire, detail, panorama and music.”— RogerEbert.com

“Fast, often funny and always entertaining… one of the greatest anti-war films ever.”— Film Authority