So often, we hear of an "original" film (or other piece of art), but how often do they really live up to that billing? As part of IFC's tribute to Z CHANNEL, it was refreshing that they included Stuart Cooper's OVERLORD (doubly so for myself, since I only watched bits and pieces of it myself when Z CHANNEL aired it back in the day!).
An artful blend of documentary footage and black and white photography (by the legendary John Alcott - how did Cooper get him for such a low budget film?) that tells a very insular story of one British soldier's fateful part in WWII. The film is short on "plot", but it is intended more as a mood piece. The documentary footage is often remarkable. All but the most fanatical WWII devotee is likely to have seen only tiny fragments of the stock film used within.
If I had to describe the film to someone, it would be as a combination of a TWILIGHT ZONE episode, Carl Dreyer's VAMPYR and Peter Watkins' similarly skillful faux doc THE WAR GAME (or Woody Allen's ZELIG if you will).
An artful blend of documentary footage and black and white photography (by the legendary John Alcott - how did Cooper get him for such a low budget film?) that tells a very insular story of one British soldier's fateful part in WWII. The film is short on "plot", but it is intended more as a mood piece. The documentary footage is often remarkable. All but the most fanatical WWII devotee is likely to have seen only tiny fragments of the stock film used within.
If I had to describe the film to someone, it would be as a combination of a TWILIGHT ZONE episode, Carl Dreyer's VAMPYR and Peter Watkins' similarly skillful faux doc THE WAR GAME (or Woody Allen's ZELIG if you will).