The Coach That Made History
This film had an interesting concept. I never knew the
significance of coach 2419 in which or around which so many defining events
took place; the first armistice in 1918, second armistice in 1940 and so many
more. The narration allowed me an insight into just how large a part it played
in history and just how clever Hitler's propaganda radar really was. However,
after a while I wanted more than narration. I wanted experts, I wanted
interpretations, I wanted more than just some archive and a knowledgeable
narrator.
That is not to say that there was not a remarkable amount of
archive that had clearly meant a lot of research. But the absence of a contributor
left the production searching for visuals, leaving some of the images that
perhaps would ordinarily be thrown out, to find their way in (A thing I too am
guilty of within my first production). There were wobbly pans and over-exposed
pull focuses that although were relevant, just took away from the fact that
this was actually, a very finished, interesting and informed piece.
The narration was well written and well researched but was
annoyingly ruined a little by the rather intriguing choice of music. In short,
I thought the music was terrible. I understood that at times it was supposed to
represent jeopardy and therefore fell away from major tones and pleasing notes,
but it swelled into a key bashing mess that became too prominent to ignore. My
advice, find a new composer. I'm sure that their other works are better, but
the thought of this soundtrack makes me shiver.
In all I thought that this would work well as a historical
piece and if they sorted out the music and some of the contemporary shots that
were a bit wobbly, they've got some grounding to look for distribution within
museums, maybe even the IWM themselves.
The Last Words of Gavrilo Princip
I was a lot more excited about the promise of this film than
it returned. However, it was an interesting angle to tell the story of Franz
Ferdinand's assassin. The location was well found. The
cinematography wasn't bad either. The costume was well attempted. The hardest
colour to make look dirty is white, I'll say that much. A tip for the next time
you need a white shirt to look like it's been worn for years, to buy a grey
one. It's kinder on the aesthetic for a period piece and MUCH easier to make
look dated and dirty.
I would have liked to have seen a flashback, cleverly shot
could have meant there was no need for crowds, just for a third character to be
shot. And a reaction shot from Gavrilo Princip. I'd also have liked to have
seen some form of written reveal. He is given paper but we don't get to see the
result of it. He really DID write whilst in prison, there is record of two letters
written by Princip... could that have been used to give it more grounding?
Particularly with the title being 'The Last Words'... we never know what those
last words are!!!
The booklet was entitled Gavrilo Princips Bekenntnisse,
Gavrilo Princip’s Confessions. It was published in Vienna by Rudolf Lechner and
Son. It was a short monograph consisting of 32 pages. The first part was an
introduction and a commentary including two letters that Princip wrote. The
last section contained the stenographic notes of the conversations that
Pappenheim had with Princip from February 19 to June 5, 1916. http://serbianna.com/analysis/archives/2737
These are all suggestions of course, as a piece it was nice
but I feel it could have been even better as the team showed clearly that they
had the skill and dedication to make something worthwhile.
Time Bleeds
I liked Time Bleeds quite a bit. I'm still a little unsure
as to whether the candid voxpops/interviews were the actors being genuine or if
they were acting there too. Aside from that, it was a great idea to show the
relevance of the world war in our modern lives. Rather than preaching it, it
painted the picture for us, which made it less of an appeal and more of a
dramatic exploration. It also portrayed the impact it had on a generation, a
young generation. It had some powerful re-enactment scenes with those
characters we'd already met elsewhere.
More than that, I have to applaud the actor's ability.
Particularly the girl with the ginger hair. I liked the symbolism and I like
how the group did not try and attempt to be something that they weren't. they
were an acting group, and they were portrayed as just that. I think it could be
an interesting film to show within other drama classes when exploring the world
war.
Desecrating Eden
Desecrating Eden was a nice angle on something I'd never
known about. It did however, need a bit of context to inform the audience what
it was about. There's only so much we can tell from a poem and some silent
images. A blurb on screen before and after, explaining which conflict it was
about, which year it concerned and what happened would have added a lot more
meaning to what we saw on screen. I still don't know any more than i did about
that particular part of history than when I walked in. Although I did
appreciate that there were some nice archive reels within the film.
Chronicles of Courage
Chronicles of Courage was wonderfully shot and the best of
the bunch that I was able to see. It had some nice Visual effects, particularly
with the silhouette of our soldiers against a fiery orange sky.
The trench scenes were particularly impressive and the
make-up (particularly the scar) was brilliantly done. It conveyed research, it
told a story, it acknowledged that a soldier's tale is not the only tale of
WW1. What was nice is that it was based on truth. Real letters that passed
through the fingers of those at war and found themselves dramatised for an
audience 100yrs later. There's almost a bit of magic in that and the magic was
justified.
The narration was well read, the cinematography well planned
and well executed. The grading was nice. I can't really fault it to be honest,
It's voice was not to inform, nor to teach, more to express a personal
reflection on personal experiences therefore we can find no fault in that.
Great film, I hope it's released by Savage Mills for the masses to
enjoy.
It's even inspired me to think more pro-actively about a
documentary idea about women in WW1.
