The movie passchendaele is one of the most stirring, ambitious and expensive film projects in canadian history. Passchendaele is a solid antiwar film with a romantic subplot that does. Battle of passchendaele july 31november 6, 1917, world war i battle that embodied the senseless slaughter of the western front. Passchendaele 2008 is a canadian film set during the events of the battle of passchendaele during world war i. The first battle of passchendaele on 12 october was another allied attempt to gain ground around passchendaele. The movie passchendaele is one of the most stirring, ambitious and. Passchendaele is a 2008 canadian war film, written, coproduced, directed by, and starring.
The great battle of messinespasschendaele is explored in this documentary, combining unique archive footage with carefully researched. Mendes grandfather was raised on the caribbean island of trinidad but left to join the fight against germany, joining the british army in 1916, at the age of 19. The battle of passchendaele is commonly remembered for the heavy rains, mud and barbed wire which created a very dangerous and unhygienic environment for soldiers to live in affecting the physical appearance of the men as described by lieutenant sheriff below. Dunne paul gross returns to war to look after a nurses brother. Is it different from what you have been learning about battle in world war one. Passchendaele 2008 stream and watch online moviefone. Explore one of the most infamous battles of ww1 the battle of passchendaele. The attack at passchendaele was sir douglas haigs attempt to break through flanders. The allied victory was achieved at enormous cost for.
Oct 17, 2008 the second half of the movie moving to the passchendaele battlefields is a bit more successful than the first half. The stories of kate luard, nellie spindler, may tilton and many other nurses who were working in the area during the battle of passchendale are told in nurses of passchendaele by christine e hallett. It is a love story not so cleverly disguised as a war movie. Most war films these days are either about ww2, vietnam, or iraq. He saw action at the wwi battles of passchendaele ypres and poelcappelle. It is a story of passion, courage and dedication, showing the heroism of those that fought in. Sep 18, 2019 1917 is a new movie based on the great war, coming in december. The second half of the movie moving to the passchendaele battlefields is a bit more successful than the first half. A soldier named michael dunne is wounded in battle and is sent home to canada to recuperate. Set during the height of the first world war, passchendaele tells the story of sergeant michael dunne, a soldier who is brutally wounded in france and returns to calgary emotionally and physically scarred. Most war films these days are either about ww2, vietnam, or iraq the last. Watch passchendaele starring caroline dhavernas in this drama on directv. On this day in 2009 great war veteran harry patch died aged an incredible 111 years.
Watch passchendaele online stream full movie directv. It is impossible not to be moved by the nightmare of the trenches, but passchendaele is a frustratingly uneven movie. Arras, messines and passchendaele new zealand troops move up toward gravenstafel spur, october 1917 atl, 12012933g the men of the new zealand expeditionary force played an active part in these seesawing events. The film takes place during the third battle of ypres, where a british contingent of 1,600 men is due to walk into a german trap. Passchendaele internet movie firearms database guns in. Those are good points, and there is no denying that the battle campaign of passchendaele is worthy of a better movie. Passchendaele was the third and longest battle to take place at ypres, belgium. Photos show the horror of first world war battle these are the grim pictures that show the awful conditions that faced allied troops as they fought the germans at the. Hed killed someone in a miserable, horrible way and that had obviously haunted him throughout the rest of his life. The film, which was shot in calgary, alberta, fort macleod, alberta, and in belgium, focuses on the experiences of a canadian soldier, michael dunne, at the battle of passchendaele, also known as the third.
After the war had got into full swing in 1915, a shell shortage had. The battlefield and the battlefield fighting come across as gritty and authentic, and the movie finally has a theatrical feeling to it. Passchendaele is also synonymous with the worst of battlefield conditions on the western front principally due to the deadly swamps of mud that covered the battleground. The allied victory was achieved at enormous cost for a piece of ground that would be vacated the next year. A video i created for rememberance day for my school assembly, in honor of the men from all sides that had perished during the great war. Aug 29, 2019 passchendaele movie critique i almost fell asleep. At the beginning of the movie a few facts pop up on the screen, and then we are taken to. See the full list of passchendaele cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. The scenes may be embarrassing, but at least gross cant be accused of playing it. One hundred years ago, between july and november 1917, the fields of flanders witnessed one of the bloodiest episodes of the first world. In particular, a scene where a character shakes a morphine addiction in a single night, or possibly several hours, the time frame is not clear.
While passchendaele came to symbolise the futility of some of the fighting during the first world war, drowning in mud came to symbolise passchendaele. Photos show the horror of first world war battle these are the grim pictures that show the awful conditions that faced allied troops as they fought the germans at. Gross, wrote, solicited funding, produced, directed, starred, and even wrote the song after the war for this movie. It also received the golden reel award for canadas topgrossing film of 2008. This movie is amazing in that it is a war epic quite literally made by one man, paul gross. Sergeant michael dunne fights in the 10th battalion, aka the fighting tenth with the 1st canadian division and participated in all major canadian battles of the war, and set the record for highest number of individual bravery awards for a single battle. In recent years, there havent really been a lot of big ww1 movies.
In your own words, provide a two to three paragraph plot summary of passchendaele. The full ferocity of this storm, when it finally broke, is best evidenced by the sheer scale of the site, the number of casualties it dealt with and the growing size of the neighbouring cemetery in the terrible summer of 1917. Enjoy it, but be warned that this is a very violent and graphic treatment of the subject. No fewer than nine victoria crosses were awarded to canadian soldiers who fought at passchendaele. Although passchendaele is a war movie, most of the story takes place in alberta, presumably because the budget could only afford one battle sequence.
Passchendaele is a 2008 world war i film that is the brainchild of directorwriterstar paul gross. Unfortunately, the scenes on the homefront just drag. While in the military hospital in calgary, he meets sarah, a mysterious and attractive nurse with whom he develops a passionate love. What it was like to be a trench soldier in wwi duration. Often referred to as the last fighting tommy, harry patch had served in flanders with the duke of cornwalls light infantry during the third battle of ypres in 1917. A look at the 1917 battle through the eyes of historians. The opening attack at passchendaele was carried out by general hubert gough and the british fifth army with general herbert plumer and the second army joining in on the right and general francois anthoine and the french first army on the left. The untold story attempts to thoroughly dissect the infamous british offensive at passchendaele and the entire offensive the led up to it, both from a military and political angle. Find out where to watch, buy, and rent passchendaele online on moviefone. The story of passchendaele is well known to many, but the full details and facts are known by few. Dvd passchendaele a 2008 canadian ww1 movie film which in part depicts the canadian advance on the village of passchendaele during the third battle of ypres. More than 15,000 casualties were sustained, about four fifths of those who had been part of the attack.
The battle of passchendaele 100th anniversary of the great war. Paul gross and caroline dhavernas star as michael and sarah, and the film was a very personal piece for gross who also wrote and directed it, the classic orson welles like auteur. One tiny bit of trivia that is in the movie and in the extras might catch you by surprise where the term storm troopers comes from and both to whom it refered and how it was used. Heavy rain and mud again made movement difficult and little artillery could be brought closer to the front. After a 10 day preliminary bombardment, with 3,000 guns firing 4. The film, which was shot in calgary, alberta, fort macleod, alberta, and in belgium, focuses on the experiences of a canadian soldier, michael dunne, at the battle of passchendaele, also known as the third battle of ypres.
What makes it a powerful and engaging way to begin the film. This is an amazing telling of the travesty if passchendaele and ww1 in general. After the war had got into full swing in 1915, a shell shortage had hampered progress on the battlefield. Written, produced and directed by due south actor paul gross who also stars in the lead role, the film follows a war veteran who heads back into the war to protect a young boy from harm. Few battles encapsulate world war one better than the battle of passchendaele. Released in 2008 passchendaele is a movie about the effect that war has on the humans who wage it, the major scars it can leave, both visible and not visible.
For the soldiers who fought at passchendaele, it was known as the battle of mud. However, the movie still suffers from bad dialogue, throwing in ridiculous symbolism as well. Passchendaele is a 2008 canadian war film, written, coproduced, directed by, and starring paul gross. Unfortunately, there are few movies on the western front in wwi, despite the longpromised remake of all quiet on the western front. Canadas first big budget war movie effort, the film follows canadian sergeant michael dunne of the 10th battalion cef during the battle of passchendaele and while recruiting on the home front. Im a fan of war movies, and it was this fact that led me to first watch passchendaele. And it looks like it could be the definitive wwi movie. The life at home front was hard, especially for anyone who was considered alien, like sarah. Passchendaele is less about passchendaele and more of a love story. He saw action at the wwi battles of passchendaele ypres and. A canadian soldier fighting in the battle of passchendaele during the first world war, is determined to protect his vulnerable comrade and return home to the woman he loves. What took place was officially known as the third battle of ypres, but history recalls the horror in one word. Although at times it can be hard to stick with the story, loads and loads of numbers and statistics, it is well worth sticking with it. British audiences will best remember paul gross as gentleman mountie benton fraser in hokey 90s tv serial due south.
Free state of jones the introduction battle movie clip matthew mcconaughey war drama 2016 duration. Passchendaele dvd, 2009, canadian for sale online ebay. Passchendaele 2008 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Get the latest movie times, trailers and celebrity interviews. Famous for the scale of casualties, and also for the mud.
Allied troops were exhausted and morale had fallen. The battle of passchendaele, fought july 1917, is sometimes called the third battle of ypres. Now the mud at passchendaele was very viscous indeed, very tenacious, it stuck to you. The script is so cheesy and bad that even james cameron would say. The new zealand divisions involvement in the passchendaele offensive finally came to an end on october 18 th when it was relieved by canadian troops who went on to finally capture the village of passchendaele and hill 52 behind in the 2 nd battle of passchendaele.
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