War Requiem

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...