History Buffs: 1917

I love the History Buffs YouTube channel. Nick Hodges IMO does such a great job of reviewing films based on historical events.

Transcript
00:00 · this episode sponsored by surfsharkvpn
00:02 · [Music]
00:05 · [Applause]
00:07 · [Music]
00:25 · hello and welcome history Buffs my name
00:28 · is Nick Hodges and today we're going to
00:30 · revisit the war to end all wars with
00:33 · 1917. in 1917 the British and the
00:36 · Germans have been fighting a war of
00:38 · attrition in northern France both are
00:39 · left a real link from the disastrous
00:41 · Battle of the Somme but neither side
00:42 · refuses to give ground that is until the
00:45 · British wake up one morning to find out
00:46 · that their enemy has disappeared after
00:48 · initial reconnaissance it appears the
00:50 · Germans are retreating taking advantage
00:52 · of the situation the second Evans
00:54 · division are sent after them but after
00:56 · analyzing some aerial data the British
00:58 · High command soon realized the Germans
01:00 · haven't run away but are consolidating
01:02 · their defenses the British are about to
01:05 · walk into a trap this is the premise of
01:07 · 1917. two boys Lance corporal's Blake
01:10 · and schofields are sent on a mission to
01:12 · stop the British attack on the new
01:13 · German front before it's too late at
01:16 · stake a 1600 British lives to get there
01:19 · the two boys must cross the dangerous
01:21 · Lads between the two fronts known as no
01:23 · man's land and venture out Behind Enemy
01:25 · Lines but how much of 1917 is fact and
01:28 · how much is fiction do its visuals
01:30 · accurately portray no man's land and
01:31 · life in the trenches although 1917 is a
01:34 · work of historical fiction it is based
01:36 · on very real events in this review we'll
01:39 · take a look at the inspiration behind
01:40 · the film to see how accurate it is
01:42 · compared to World War One history and
01:44 · find out and Faithfully recreate the
01:46 · horrors of trench warfare this is 1917.
01:58 · the film opens up with our main
02:00 · character Scofield and Blake resting in
02:02 · a field their Sergeant wakes Blake up
02:04 · and asks him to see General Aaron Moore
02:06 · who then tells the boys the Germans have
02:07 · retreated from their front lines and the
02:09 · second Evans division is chasing after
02:11 · them but unfortunately their Intel has
02:13 · revealed that this is a trick
02:15 · we oh yeah
02:19 · second Evans are advancing here
02:22 · how long will it take you to get there
02:24 · Germans have gone
02:27 · don't get your hopes up
02:29 · it appears to be a strategic withdrawal
02:32 · you seem to have created a new line nine
02:35 · miles back here by the looks of it this
02:37 · new line was the Hindenburg line also
02:39 · called the Siegfried line by the Germans
02:41 · and Schofield and Blake are tasked
02:43 · reaching it and finding the man in
02:45 · charge of the attack Colonel Mackenzie
02:47 · they need to deliver a letter to stop
02:48 · the attack and save the lives of 1600
02:50 · men who are about to be annihilated and
02:53 · to make it even more personal Blake's
02:55 · brother is part of the second Evans and
02:56 · the reason why he was chosen for this
02:58 · Mission his brother's life and that's
03:00 · the second Evans are now in their hands
03:02 · but before we follow the boys on their
03:05 · Dangerous Mission it's important to look
03:07 · at the root of this story to the
03:08 · aftermath of two colossal battles fought
03:10 · the previous year in 1916 the done and
03:14 · the Sun at the beginning of 1916 the
03:16 · Germans and the Allies were locked in
03:18 · stalemate of the northeastern France
03:20 · Millions had died to seize ground but
03:22 · neither side had much to show for their
03:23 · sacrifice put in charge to re-seize the
03:26 · initiative was the German general Chief
03:28 · of Staff Eric Von falkenheim knowing
03:30 · that the Allies were planning their
03:31 · summer offensives he was going to throw
03:33 · them off balance by striking first his
03:35 · plan was to hit the French hard and
03:37 · crush them before the British even had
03:39 · time to deploy if he could do that then
03:41 · Germany could secure a victory on the
03:43 · Western Front and so on February 21st
03:46 · 1916 falconhein attacked the French
03:48 · Fortress city of Verdun now this wasn't
03:51 · so much an attempt to break through the
03:52 · French lines but to inflict maximum
03:54 · losses he chose Verdun because of its
03:57 · strong emotional value to the French a
03:59 · place he knew there would be compelled
04:01 · to defend at all costs and he was right
04:03 · falconheim wanted to quote bleed France
04:06 · white by annihilating the French army he
04:08 · severely weakened the whole Allied front
04:10 · the Battle of Verdun is a classic
04:12 · example of what we call a war of
04:15 · attrition it was less about seizing
04:17 · ground and more about body count and
04:19 · grinding down the enemy Germany felt
04:21 · that they could force France to
04:22 · surrender by inflicting such heavy
04:24 · losses upon them it would break their
04:26 · will to fight as predicted France's
04:29 · commander-in-chief Joseph joffra refused
04:31 · to give up the city he promote to an
04:33 · officer named patan to defend Verdun who
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05:52 · get back to the review like the Germans
05:55 · patan also wanted to inflict massive
05:57 · casualties on the enemy hoping they too
05:59 · would run out of supplies and Retreat so
06:01 · both sides dug in and both sides
06:03 · suffered heavily to relieve pressure on
06:05 · their French allies at Verdun the
06:07 · British carried out their pre-planned
06:08 · attack on the Somme in July 1916 and it
06:11 · was also a meat grinder on their first
06:13 · day alone the British lost over 57 000
06:15 · troops for some perspective that's more
06:17 · the Americans lost in the entirety of
06:19 · world war one but the Somme did succeed
06:21 · in diverting some of the German Army
06:23 · away from bird done thinning out their
06:25 · attack despite the spiraling loss of
06:27 · life on all sides falconhein maintains
06:29 · that this war of attrition was the only
06:31 · way to take on the west unfortunately
06:33 · for him both were done and the song
06:35 · proved that a war of attrition was not
06:37 · sustainable for the Germans Not only was
06:39 · the anglo- French Alliance strong but
06:40 · they had a much more efficient system of
06:42 · transporting troops and supplies to the
06:44 · front though falconhein had hoped that
06:46 · attacking Verdun would weaken French
06:48 · resolve the Allies under patan instead
06:50 · better coordinated their artillery
06:52 · attacks and reopened supply lines the
06:54 · Germans just didn't have the Manpower or
06:56 · the resources to match them or to fight
06:58 · another series of costly battles they
07:01 · would have to find another way for his
07:03 · failure to break the stalemate
07:04 · falconheim was sacked in August 1916 and
07:07 · replaced by Paul Von Hindenburg and Eric
07:09 · ludendorff the battle of the Somme
07:11 · lasted four months and ended on November
07:13 · 18th whilst Verdan continued on until
07:15 · December 18 1916 but it was after the
07:18 · song that Hindenburg and ludendorff
07:20 · decided to build the Hindenburg line in
07:23 · his Memoirs ludendorff explained that
07:25 · German headquarters had to bear in mind
07:27 · that the enemies great superiority in
07:30 · many material would be even more
07:31 · painfully felt in 1917 than in 1916 they
07:35 · had to face the danger that Tom fighting
07:37 · would soon break out at various points
07:39 · on our front and even our troops would
07:41 · not be able to withstand such attacks
07:42 · indefinitely the point of this new front
07:45 · was to shorten the German line and
07:47 · consolidate its troops before the spring
07:49 · of 1917. this decision however was
07:51 · criticized back in Germany as this would
07:53 · mean giving up 25 miles apart Fort
07:56 · ground to the enemy who would also
07:57 · looked like a retreat and a defeat
07:59 · potentially damaging German morale and
08:01 · emboldening their enemies but sludendorf
08:03 · convinced the Kaiser that this was vital
08:05 · for Germany to regroup and repel Allied
08:07 · defensives the Germans were sure that
08:09 · the British and French were gearing up
08:11 · for another big attack so Germany needed
08:13 · to change tactics to be able to
08:15 · withstand their combined forces and so
08:17 · ludendorf got to work building the
08:19 · Hindenburg line the new front began
08:21 · south of Aras and stretched Southeast
08:23 · about 80 kilometers or roughly 50 miles
08:25 · before reconnecting with the original
08:27 · front east of suasong built to be
08:29 · significantly stronger than the old
08:31 · front Germany spent since the end of
08:33 · 1916 and the beginning of 1917 setting
08:36 · it up before finally pulling their
08:37 · forces back by the middle of March its
08:40 · featured trenches that were dug 9 to 10
08:42 · feet deep and 12 feet across to prevent
08:44 · a new British weapon from crossing the
08:46 · tank which was first introduced in the
08:48 · battle of the Somme in September 1916.
08:51 · the trenches though were only the
08:52 · beginning of ludendorff's new strategy
08:54 · the land between the old front and the
08:56 · new Hindenburg line became a wasteland
08:58 · and in the movie 1917 we followed Blake
09:00 · and Scofield as they venture out into
09:02 · the eerily quiet desert the Germans Left
09:05 · Behind what we discover through their
09:07 · journey is the horrifying reality of
09:09 · trench warfare
09:12 · foreign
09:21 · when Blake and Schofield steal
09:24 · themselves to climb over the trench wall
09:25 · they're prepared to meet an onslaught of
09:27 · German fire after all sticking your head
09:29 · above ground has always been a short way
09:31 · of getting sniped but as the two go over
09:33 · the top their stun to find that the
09:35 · Germans really did fall back as general
09:37 · Erin Moore told them regardless they
09:39 · still tread carefully through the barbed
09:41 · wire obstacles and corpses strewn about
09:43 · the ground that they're navigating
09:45 · through was a thin strip of uninhabited
09:47 · land between the two fronts called No
09:49 · Man's Land separating the Allied and
09:51 · central powers on the Western Front it
09:53 · was almost 10 miles long it would have
09:55 · looked just like it does in the movie
09:57 · inhuman a hellscape peppered with dead
10:00 · animals burned trees and the shell That
10:02 · Remains the tanks like this English Mark
10:03 · II which by the way small inaccuracy but
10:06 · this particular model didn't see action
10:08 · till the Battle of Aras on April 9 1917
10:10 · which is arguably what the battle at the
10:12 · end of the movie is inspired by but I
10:14 · digress one of the horrifying things
10:16 · about Noma and land is that it wasn't
10:18 · just an empty space you could hear it
10:20 · too in her book on World War one
10:22 · historian Fran Britain detailed the
10:25 · following description men drowning in
10:27 · Shell holes already filled with decaying
10:29 · flesh wounded men beyond help from
10:31 · behind the wire dying over a number of
10:33 · days the cries Audible and often
10:35 · unbearable to those in the trenches
10:37 · indeed it was a landscape so nice
10:40 · marriage that had even inspired the dead
10:42 · marshes and tolkien's Lord of the Rings
10:44 · based on his own experiences at the
10:46 · Battle of the Somme anyway Blake and
10:48 · Schofield eventually make it through and
10:50 · into the remains of the old German front
10:52 · including some of the now deserted
10:54 · underground barracks and is accurately
10:56 · depicted the Germans were far more
10:58 · sophisticated with their trench building
11:00 · than the British much to the Envy of
11:02 · Scofield and Blake whilst these two
11:04 · would have been used to sleeping in the
11:05 · open air the Germans would have had some
11:07 · of their living quarters almost 50 feet
11:09 · beneath the surface decked out with
11:11 · electricity toilets and even beds for
11:13 · now though it's only inhabitants other
11:15 · rats eating whatever scraps are left
11:17 · however the pair soon find that these
11:19 · Barracks are booby-trapped and scofields
11:21 · nearly gets killed in the explosion but
11:23 · survives with minor injuries now these
11:25 · booby traps really did exist not only
11:27 · that but when ludentor withdrew his
11:29 · troops he also ordered them to leave
11:31 · nothing behind for the Allies to use we
11:33 · see evidence of this as they both leave
11:35 · the barracks and find abandoned
11:36 · artillery cannons with sabotage barrels
11:38 · and the remains of a burnt forest all of
11:41 · this was due to a scorched Earth policy
11:43 · that took place during the retreat back
11:45 · to the Hindenburg line it was known as
11:47 · operation orbric Wells were filled in or
11:50 · poisoned railway lines were ripped out
11:52 · buildings were demolished even the
11:54 · animals were slaughtered mass
11:55 · destruction became a definable feature
11:58 · of the plan as the Germans regrouped to
12:00 · their new line they destroyed almost
12:01 · everything in their path for instance
12:04 · the town of papomb which is directly
12:06 · between the old and new German France
12:07 · was obliterated in less than an hour and
12:10 · I have to say in my opinion the film
12:12 · does a great job of showing the immense
12:13 · destruction from operation Albrecht
12:16 · although it does get the date wrong
12:17 · several scenes in the movie make it seem
12:19 · like this operation was happening during
12:20 · the event of the film on April 6th and
12:22 · 7th 1917 but in reality this was a month
12:26 · after the operation ended also this is a
12:28 · bit of a nitpick but those artillery
12:30 · cannons are way too close to the front
12:32 · in real life they would have been miles
12:34 · away not only to keep them safe because
12:36 · they had such a long range putting them
12:38 · this close to the front practically
12:40 · point-blank range would have resulted
12:42 · many of their shells just to fly over
12:43 · the British and miss them completely
12:45 · anyway as the boys continue on at their
12:48 · Journey they watch a dogfight between
12:49 · one German and two British biplanes when
12:52 · the German plane is shot out of the sky
12:54 · and crashes the unabandoned barn they
12:56 · pulled the pilot out of the burning
12:57 · wreck to rescue him but in the suing
12:59 · chaos Blake is stabbed by the pilot and
13:02 · is mortally wounded though shocking and
13:04 · pretty early in the movie what I do like
13:06 · about Blake's death scene is that it
13:07 · shows the unpredictability of war and
13:09 · its consequences death could come at any
13:12 · moment a fact that every World War one
13:13 · soldier had to face every single day
13:15 · despite the loss of his friend Schofield
13:18 · takes the letter intended for the second
13:19 · Evans Division and continues on the
13:21 · mission he meets a captain who had just
13:23 · passed the now destroyed papone and
13:25 · offers to bring Scofield to acousta May
13:27 · six miles Northeast they get close but
13:30 · can't cross into the city due to a
13:32 · broken bridge Schofield leaves the
13:34 · Convoy and heads out on his own but as
13:35 · he begins to cross the bridge to acoust
13:37 · he comes under sniper fire he eventually
13:40 · makes it through and finds the German
13:41 · sniper in the top of an abandoned
13:43 · Watchtower but when he shoots him he is
13:45 · knocked unconscious
13:49 · when Schofield wakes up it is night time
13:51 · he navigates the ruined City in a
13:53 · beautifully shot sequence running away
13:55 · from enemy Germans that have been left
13:57 · behind during the operation which is
13:59 · pretty accurate the Germans did leave
14:01 · pockets of snipers and machine gun Crews
14:03 · to slow down the Allied advance but
14:05 · there were also instances of stragglers
14:06 · being separated from the main Army which
14:08 · is the complexity of such a large-scale
14:10 · withdrawal anyway Schofield seeks
14:12 · shelter in the basement of a destroyed
14:14 · building and finds a French car with an
14:15 · orphan's baby they share a tender moment
14:18 · that reminds viewers of the human cost
14:19 · of War as these two are the only
14:21 · civilians we see in the movie but
14:23 · there's a reason for that so when the
14:25 · Germans gave orders to begin operation
14:27 · Albrecht they had to deal with the
14:28 · French civilian population living in the
14:30 · areas they were clearing Belgian and
14:32 · French prisoners of War were often used
14:34 · as forced laborers which luzendorff
14:36 · preferred to hiring German Builders so
14:38 · in all close to 150 000 civilians were
14:41 · displaced by operation Albrecht with
14:43 · some Center work camps and others moved
14:45 · to clearance zones though it was deemed
14:47 · a military necessity many Germans
14:49 · soldiers were uncomfortable with what
14:51 · they had to do and infantryman George
14:53 · David bantalin writes today February 18
14:55 · 1917 all inhabitants of the village are
14:58 · to be evacuated at desolate site these
15:01 · roughly 500 people women children and
15:04 · also with a few bits of possessions
15:05 · gathered together on the market square
15:07 · on a rainy Sunday morning how miserable
15:10 · it must be to leave house and property
15:12 · to head for an uncertain future but not
15:15 · all the people who moved to safety some
15:17 · women children and old men were left
15:19 · behind with little to no rations of
15:22 · foods living in destroyed Villages so
15:24 · when we see the woman and child alone in
15:27 · a ruined building we get the feeling
15:29 · that she either hid from the Germans or
15:31 · was purposely Left Behind either way it
15:34 · is an accurate depiction from a movie
15:35 · although Schofield feels compelled to
15:38 · help this girl he remembers his mission
15:39 · and leaves after a short Chase sequence
15:42 · he jumps into the nearby River to float
15:44 · to safety and its here where we come
15:46 · across the dumbest inaccuracy in the
15:48 · entire movie here's the problem Scofield
15:50 · needs to find the second Evans division
15:52 · stationed in the quasier woods near
15:54 · acoust these towns are next to each
15:56 · other in France less than two miles
15:57 · apart but there are no white water
16:00 · rapids connecting them outside quasia is
16:03 · a small slow-moving river called Los
16:05 · Angeles but based on how 1917 is shot it
16:08 · doesn't fit with what we see in the film
16:10 · there would be no River especially one
16:12 · with waterfalls that connects a coast
16:14 · with a forest it makes for good action
16:16 · but it's very inaccurate for French
16:18 · geography in reality lost on say looks
16:20 · like this and sometimes even this
16:23 · so although the film takes celebrities
16:25 · with both dates and geography it does do
16:28 · a pretty good job of portraying the
16:30 · desolation of no man's land at least and
16:32 · the destruction created by operation
16:34 · alburyk it's a place that was
16:35 · constructed to be devoid of humanity but
16:38 · Schofield still manages to find some in
16:40 · the ruined acoust exhausted bruised and
16:43 · with some pretty serious injuries
16:44 · Schofield floats down La Sensei getting
16:47 · over closer to finding the second Evans
16:49 · division
16:56 · [Music]
16:58 · eventually Schofield finds a shallow
17:01 · bank and crawls out of the river having
17:03 · to step on bloated corpses as he goes
17:04 · the film is Unapologetic about showing
17:06 · the harsh realities of War to its
17:08 · viewers as we are meant to go through
17:10 · the same trauma as Schofield does he
17:12 · hears singing faintly in the distance
17:13 · and stumbles towards it a group of
17:16 · British soldiers are listening to a man
17:17 · seeing poor Wayfaring Stranger an
17:19 · American folk song from the mid 19th
17:21 · century about facing death and hoping
17:23 · for a better afterlife A fitting choice
17:25 · for a group of boys about to rush to
17:26 · their deaths Scofield by this points
17:29 · looks bedraggled having survived and
17:31 · experienced so much in the past few
17:32 · hours believing he's too late to
17:34 · complete his mission the emotional
17:35 · moment leaves him bereft until the other
17:38 · soldiers notice and reach out to him
17:40 · [Music]
17:48 · what's up man
17:53 · I have to find the difference
17:56 · we're the devons
18:01 · you are the difference yes cool
18:06 · why haven't you gone over we're the
18:08 · second wave they don't send us all at
18:10 · once yeah we're D company
18:12 · realizing he's not too late Scofield
18:15 · gets up and rushes to find Connell
18:16 · McKenzie he runs into the trenches and
18:19 · desperately tries to find the Colonel
18:21 · bumping into several captains along the
18:22 · way preparing the first wave to attack
18:26 · message from General everyone
18:29 · pulled off General erinmore has called
18:31 · off the attack ballsman
18:33 · we're about to go over we've got them on
18:35 · the run you don't please don't send your
18:37 · men over get out of the ways and direct
18:38 · the order some Army command where is
18:40 · Colonel MacKenzie's as Christ but go and
18:43 · see the Trap Team Schofield continues to
18:45 · stumble through the trenches seeing men
18:47 · lined up and ready to charge over the
18:49 · top into the Ambush and though it's not
18:51 · directly referenced I believe this is
18:53 · meant to be or at least inspired by the
18:56 · Battle of Aras a British offensive
18:57 · fought a few days after the event of the
18:59 · movie on April 9 1917. in response to
19:03 · the German Retreat to the Hindenburg
19:04 · line French commander-in-chief Robertson
19:06 · Novell believed that the Allies could
19:08 · break through the German defenses in a
19:10 · giant coordinated attack the Battle of
19:12 · Aras was one part of what was called the
19:15 · Neville offensive there was another one
19:16 · 50 miles to the south at n however the
19:19 · German line withstood the attack until
19:20 · the French called it off on May 15th now
19:22 · Aras is only 10 miles from mccoose and
19:25 · eight miles from the quasier woods so
19:27 · the film is likely depicting this battle
19:29 · even though it is a little off the mark
19:31 · in terms of the date and location in any
19:33 · case Schofield is running out of time
19:35 · and asks another Captain where to find
19:37 · Mackenzie
19:38 · [Music]
19:47 · 300 yards he's in a cut and cover you'll
19:51 · have to wait until the first wave goes
19:52 · over no no I can't
19:56 · unable to wait any longer Schofield
19:58 · makes the daring move to climb out of
20:00 · the trench and run straight for the cut
20:01 · and cover knowing he could be shot any
20:03 · moment and here we have the most iconic
20:05 · scene in the movie as the first wave of
20:07 · soldiers charge Schofield runs
20:09 · perpendicular to them dodging artillery
20:11 · shells and bullets alike it's a cool
20:13 · sequence and very nail biting but I must
20:15 · admit it is a little silly never mind
20:18 · the shrapnel flying everywhere the blast
20:20 · wave alone given how close those
20:22 · explosions are would rupture his
20:23 · eardrums and internal organs the
20:25 · likelihood of him walking away from that
20:27 · without a scratch is slim to none but
20:29 · luckily for the rest of the men waiting
20:31 · their turn in the trenches schofields
20:33 · does make it to his destination he tries
20:35 · to push his way past the guards he
20:37 · manages to squeeze bite and finds
20:38 · Colonel McKenzie inside and in this
20:40 · pivotal scene Schofield tries to
20:42 · persuade Colonel McKenzie to read the
20:44 · letter from General erinmore
20:47 · Colonel McKenzie everything there this
20:49 · attack is not to go ahead you have been
20:52 · ordered to stop you have to stop who the
20:54 · hell are you
20:55 · let's go please sir hey I have orders
20:59 · from General erinmore to call off this
21:00 · attack you're too late that's no problem
21:02 · sir these orders are from army command
21:04 · you have to reach them shall we hold
21:06 · back the second wave so no major
21:08 · hesitate now we lose Victory is only 500
21:10 · yards away so
21:13 · have heard it all before
21:15 · I'm not gonna wait until dusk or for fog
21:18 · I'm not calling back my men only to send
21:20 · them out there again tomorrow not when
21:21 · we got the bastards on the run this is
21:23 · their last stop Sherman's plans this uh
21:26 · they've been planning it for months they
21:28 · want you to attack
21:31 · read the letter
21:33 · small nitpick but with that letter still
21:35 · be legible at this point I mean think
21:37 · about it was in Blake's bloodstoke's
21:38 · pockets and Schofield swam with it in
21:40 · the sansei river admittedly we never get
21:43 · to see the front of the letter so we
21:44 · have no idea how damaged it is but
21:46 · regardless McKenzie trusts his
21:48 · authenticity and stops the rest of the
21:49 · attack before all 1600 men are killed
21:52 · Scofield has finally completed his
21:54 · mission but before he can rest Scofield
21:56 · feels compelled to find Blake's Brother
21:58 · Joseph promise he made to his friend as
22:00 · he died in Scofield's arms now the
22:02 · attack has been called off he intends to
22:03 · fulfill that promise finding one man in
22:05 · a sea of thousands is difficult but
22:07 · Scofield is undeterred after finding out
22:10 · that the Elder Blake was part of the
22:11 · first wave Schofield heads to the
22:13 · casualty clearing station and here
22:15 · viewers are treated to the gruesomeness
22:16 · of World War One field medicine
22:17 · amputations quick surgeries extreme pain
22:20 · and death what we see here is for the
22:22 · most part pretty accurate eight stations
22:24 · were set up close behind the front lines
22:26 · where doctors and nurses would treat the
22:28 · returning wounded from Battle for those
22:30 · with significant injuries they'd be
22:32 · transported to a Hospital behind the
22:34 · lines to receive Advanced Medical Care
22:36 · the only criticism I may have about this
22:38 · aid station is that it doesn't seem that
22:40 · well protected it's out in an open field
22:42 · and very exposed to artillery but in the
22:44 · context the movie maybe they just put it
22:46 · together at the last minute and intend
22:48 · to fix the problem later Against All
22:50 · Odds Schofield finds left tenant Blake
22:52 · alive and well outside the medical tents
22:54 · and what follows is the most touching
22:56 · part of the movie
22:57 · and from the eight what the hell are you
22:59 · doing here
23:01 · I was sent here to deliver a message yes
23:04 · you must know my brother
23:07 · I was sent here with him Tom's here
23:09 · where is he
23:16 · it was very quick
23:20 · I'm sorry
23:26 · what's your name
23:29 · Schofield so
23:33 · I'm sorry what
23:35 · it's Schofield so William Schofield
23:40 · well
23:43 · he was a good man
23:46 · always telling funny stories
23:51 · he saved my life
23:57 · no I'm glad you were with him
23:59 · the two men shake hands and Scofield
24:01 · aparts heading towards a Lone Tree in
24:03 · the background his story and our movie
24:05 · ends here with the lance corporal
24:07 · thinking of his family waiting for him
24:09 · back home 1917 is a beautiful piece of
24:12 · historical fiction set in an often
24:14 · overlooked period of World War One
24:16 · history and I absolutely love it the
24:18 · unique feature of this film is that is
24:20 · shown as one continuous take the
24:21 · director Sam Mendes wanted the audience
24:23 · to feel as though they were part of the
24:25 · story and as the film ends we see that
24:27 · is dedicated to Lance corporal Alfred
24:29 · Mendes the director's grandfather like
24:32 · Blake and Schofield Alfred Mendes was a
24:34 · runner in World War one and told stories
24:36 · of having to cross into No Man's Land
24:38 · 1917 is Mendes's way of paying tribute
24:41 · to his grandfather and all those who
24:43 · perished in the Great War by having the
24:45 · audience follow along with Schofield in
24:47 · real time it feels as if we too are
24:49 · experiencing the trauma of that war for
24:51 · the most part 1917 is pretty accurate
24:54 · even though it takes a few Liberties to
24:56 · heighten the drama it's hard not to
24:57 · laugh for the Whitewater happens cutting
24:59 · through the flat French Countryside or
25:01 · Scofield shrugging off explosions all
25:03 · around him like an action hero it's also
25:05 · curious that the film is set on April 6
25:07 · 1917 the date that the U.S officially
25:10 · joined the war considering the story
25:11 · doesn't feature the Americans at all
25:13 · perhaps it should have been set on April
25:15 · 8th to line up with the beginning of the
25:17 · battle of Aras when Schofield eventually
25:19 · makes it to the new front line but
25:21 · because the characters and the situation
25:22 · in this film are fictional I can excuse
25:24 · the fact that the place a little loose
25:26 · with the dates and locations in any case
25:28 · 1917 is a must-watch for history Buffs
25:31 · especially those of you who love a good
25:33 · War film or enjoy unique cinematography
25:35 · and storytelling though the director
25:37 · took some Liberties to create a more
25:39 · Hollywood cinematic experience the
25:41 · viewers left feeling like schofields at
25:43 · the end of the film overcome by the
25:45 · brutality and senselessness of War but
25:47 · still filled with hope for the future
25:48 · it's a brilliant film that deserves a
25:50 · watch if not for the human story then
25:52 · for the historical portrayal of World
25:54 · War One battlefields and trenches well
25:56 · that about wraps it up once again thanks
25:58 · to today's sponsor surfsharkvpn remember
26:01 · to click on the link in the description
26:02 · box below for your exclusive deal my
26:04 · name is Nick Hodges and thanks for
26:06 · watching history Buffs and remember if
26:08 · you like this show help the channel grow
26:10 · if you wish to support history Buffs and
26:11 · you can now do so at patreon and as
26:13 · always let me know what you thought
26:15 · about 1917 and of course what historical
26:18 · movie should I review next in the
26:20 · meantime check out the history bus
26:21 · Twitter and Facebook pages for new
26:23 · updates until then I'll see you next
26:25 · time
26:25 · [Music]
26:28 · foreign
26:33 · [Music]

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