I first came across "Oh! What a Lovely War" one night on the BRAVO channel. The first ten minutes or so were slow going but then the film takes off. A clever and adult anti-war film filled with musical sequences. Richard Attenborough does a wonderful job in his film-directing debut. The film concerns the adventures of the "Smith" family as they become involved in the start and finish of World War One. The cinematography is beautiful and the performances all around are perfect. Maggie Smith steals the film which her rendition of "I'll Make a Man of You" and John Mills and Lawrence Olivier give subtle comedic performances as Sir Douglas Haig and Sir John French. The cast features many of Britain's top actors including Michael,Corin and Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, and Susannah York. The musical parodies are staged inventively, some quite moving - "They Were Only Playing Leap Frog", "Adieu la Vie" and the final "They'll Never Believe Me" which is sung as the camera pans back to reveal the endless graves of the soldiers who lost their lives in World War One. There is a lot of `symbolism'. Poppies are handed out to symbolize death and the amusement park pier at Brighton represents WWI with it's shooting galleries and stage shows, all inter-cut with footage recreating the battles of WWI. The film has aged very well, looking like it could have been shot this year, and holds up to repeated viewings. Highly recommended. Will this film ever be released on Home Video?
Review of Oh! What a Lovely War
