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War Requiem
- Director: Derek Jarman
- Writer: Wilfred Owen
- Producer: Don Boyd; Chris Harrison
CGiii Comment
First...you've gotta like the music - which is a no mean feat considering it's Britten - not the most accessible of composers.
And, War Requiem is harsh and joyless. Stirring, perhaps, for some but there is no denying its solemnity.
Second...Owen's anti-war poetry...a young gay man who fell at the age of 25 and left the immortal poem: Dulce et Decorum est...his words are powerful enough to stand on their own - more powerful when imagination is used - rather than a mere montage of images supplied via a director and his images....
Third...actors being actors...acting as if they are acting....it is Olivier's last performance and, for that fact alone, this will always be an important film. However, his performance is haphazard, bordering on the reckless.
All in all...listen to the music, read the poems...neither need the over-acted and over-composed images that Jarman delivers...quite unnecessary.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
A film with no spoken dialogue, just follows the music and lyrics of Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem, which include WWI soldier poet Wilfred Owen's poems reflecting the war's horrors. It shows the story of an Englishman soldier (Wilfred Owen) and a nurse (his bride) during World War I. It also includes actual footage of contemporary wars (WWII, Vietnam, Angola, etc.)
Cast & Characters
Nathaniel Parker as Wilfred Owen;
Tilda Swinton as Nurse;
Laurence Olivier as Old Soldier;
Patricia Hayes as Mother;
Rohan McCullough as Enemy Mother;
Nigel Terry as Abraham;
Owen Teale as Unknown Soldier;
Sean Bean as German Soldier;
Milo Bell; Harvey Cooper;
Claire Davenport;
Antony Gabriel as Liet. Harper;
Alex Jennings;
Thomas Kett as Recruit;
Kim Kindersley as Soldier 2