Passchendaele: The Movie

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

Ancient Mariner
There will be a movie about everyone's favourite Maiden song and one of the cruelest battles in WWI.  The movie was filmed in Alberta by Calgary's own writer, actor and director Paul Gross, and thus not surprisingly will feature the horror and drama of Passchendaele from the Canadian perspective.  As it stands right now, the movie is definitely planned to be shown in Canadian theatres in November of this year.  Yes, I know it is far off.  I'm uncertain if it will be showcased in USA or elsewhere.  But if Alliance is releasing it, we can probably bet that it will be shown all around the world, if only in select theatres.

I know there are certain historical know-it-alls on this forum, some of whom are Canadian.  Maybe this will interest them or anyone else interested in  WWI or Maiden songs.

To find out more go to the official website: http://www.passchendaelethemovie.com/home.php
 
Thanks for the info, GK!  I'll be looking forward to seeing that-- hope it does show here in the states. 
 
That's very exciting news, and I really hope the movie gets released internationally. Otherwise, I'll download it (oops I did not just say that).
 
I've been following the production of this movie for awhile, and it should be interesting.  Paul Gross is best known for playing the Mountie in Due South, and he did the movie Men With Brooms, a satirical take on the sport of curling (which, by the way, is really a fucking sport, despite how lame it looks, I did it once with work and I hurt for days).  I certainly hope his dramatic and sobering side is as appealing as his comedic works.
 
http://youtube.com/watch?v=I6WYHagWdeE

The full-length trailer for Passchendaele has been released.  And while it looks like there is a love story, if you watch the scenes about the battle, they look damn impressive.  Everyone looks bedraggled, muddy, and wet, squelching in mud, hiding in shell-holes.  Just maybe...this will be done right.
 
Thanks LC!  Finally a movie that can be shown to Grade 10 Canadian History class.  According to YouTube it should be out in November.
 
Sorry for bumping, but I want to hear your opinions of this movie. I've seen it in store, is it worth getting? How would you say it compares to other big battle movies like e.g. Stalingrad?
 
Sorry Wingman, not an answer to your question but I wanted to share something else.

Yesterday I visited two (out of many!) locations of the Battle of the Somme.

Most impressive (I imagine also interesting for LooseCannon):
Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

I met some Canadian students who work there for 4 months per year (or longer if they want to).

Further I saw the Lochnagar crater

It was my first WWI location visit, and I must say it was impressive, and very interesting. Especially the Beaumont-Hamel site with its preserved trench lines and excellent museum.
 
I believe I commented on this movie in The Movie thread?  Anyway, I was disappointed with it.  There was too much romance, not enough about the background of the conflict.  Plus a totally, like a straight out of Hollywood, cheesey sex scene during rain and war, from behind no less.  Egh, I like pron as anyone, but when I watch a war movie, I expect it to be about the conflict.  On the plus side, the out of war experience in town has some racial conflicts that played well with the background of the film.  That's my two bits.  Sorry, the review wasn't positive.
 
That's too bad. Too much focus on romance can ruin any film supposed to be about something else.

I remember watching a film called "Dark Blue World", about Czechoslovak pilots serving in the RAF during WWII. Since I am very interested in aviation history (and especially WWII aviation history) I welcome any film or book about that. In addition had the film set in the early 50s, the pilots being imprisoned in Czechoslovakia by the communists (for collaborating with the capitalists of the west) and looking back on the war in retrospect, one had several ingredients for an interesting movie.

And then they had to blow it by adding the classic "two pilots fall in love with the same woman" subplot and building the climax of the story around that ...
 
Eddies Wingman said:
Since I am very interested in aviation history (and especially WWII aviation history) I welcome any film or book about that.
Click to expand...

In that case, may I recommend The Dam Busters (1955)?

Dam_Busters_1954.jpg


It's based on the true story of the RAF's 617 Squadron, the development of the "bouncing bomb", and Operation Chastise, the attack on the Möhne dams in Germany. Michael Redgrave plays a dedicated scientist.

Little spoiler
The attack on the "Death Star" in the climax of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is heavily influenced by the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters.
 
I am kinda looking forward to the new Lucasfilm picture, Red Tails, about the 99th Pursuit Squadron, USAAF, and their legendary Tuskegee Airmen pilots.
 
Forostar said:
In that case, may I recommend The Dam Busters (1955)?

Dam_Busters_1954.jpg


It's based on the true story of the RAF's 617 Squadron, the development of the "bouncing bomb", and Operation Chastise, the attack on the Möhne dams in Germany. Michael Redgrave plays a dedicated scientist.
Click to expand...

I think I've heard my father talk about that film  :D He was 11 when that one came out. I'll check it out!
 
Hope you'll like it! I especially liked the sequences where they are testing stuff with the planes, desperately trying to find the right method, in order to prepare a certain attack. It looks pretty realistic. Focussing less on heroism, and more on development, I thought that is pretty good.
 
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