I've been over to france and belguim a few times with my father to visit my great grandfathers grave and walk the somme battlefields, a sobering and emotional place it is, I've been waiting for Steven Spielberg to do a decent WW1 film and it seems this might be the one, WARHORSE taken from Michael Morpurgos book and the sucessful stage play, Reading about it I dont think its specificly about the horse but about the people that come into contact with it during the horror that they had to endure, I reckon I'll be blubbing at this one, War Horse Movie Trailer 2011 | Official Launch Trailer | HD War Horse Movie Official Teaser Trailer - Directed by Steven Spielberg - HD
Have you read Morpurgo's Private Peaceful? A fab book moved me to tears!! Can't wait to see this film!
I am really looking forward to this film, I've enjoyed the books. If you are looking for another WW1 film to wach (especially at this time of year) get hold of Joyeux Noel Joyeux Noel (2005) - Official Movie Trailer HQ
There is not a chance in hell I will be able to watch this film, way too upsetting for me! Our primary school used to have trips to a place called Nethercott Farm (it was brilliant!) which was owned and run by a certain Michael Morpurgo who wrote this and Babe! He wasn't known as a famous writer then! We used to get into our pajamas and sit by he fire and he would read "The Sheep Pig" to us, how cool is that ^-^ I then read War Horse a few years later and sobbed my heart out just reading it so there no chance I can watch a film of it :'(
Did the Somme, Ypres and Passchendaele a few years back and very emotional indeed. Being half British/half German I had some very weird and conflicting thoughts. Also our first trip after the restoration of the bay was to the Normandy beaches. Guess its the age I'm at that wants answers to the unanswerable - why? I'd like to see Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks made into a movie...
I'd love (not sure if that's the right word, but you know the sentiment I'm getting at) to visit the WWI battle fields -it's something that I have always wanted to do but just never got round to it. I saw a programme once about a french farmer who left his entire land after the end of the war and it has not been touched since. On walking round shells lay scattered and the land is pitted by quarries from explosions -powerful stuff. I just cannot imagine how awful it, and others wars, must have been. Makes you feel very humble.
An excellent WW1 novel is Covenant With Death by John Harris (1961) - it's about one of the pals battalions, it doesn't explicitly say it but is based on the sheffield pals. It takes them from signing up, training, deployment and onto to the battle of the somme. It is beautifully written and researched - The last 100 pages or so are heartbreakingly grim and brutal.
My wife balled all the way through the trailer, I just had something in my eye for a moment....honest....So glad when Sherlock Holmes started