Oh! What a Lovely War

UPC: 097360690149

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Questionable for Children]

Summary: Oh! What a Lovely War is an every-man-for-himself adaptation of Charles Chilton's 1963 play, as staged in London by Joan Littlewood. The tragedy of World War I is redefined in bawdy music-hall terms, beginning with a verbal free-for-all involving the Crowned Heads of Europe. The war is presented as the "new attraction" at the Brighton Amusement Pier, complete with syrupy cheer-up songs, shooting galleries, free prizes and a scoreboard toting up the dead. Throughout the proceedings, the camera concentrates on a middle-class family, whose five sons end up as cannon fodder. The final image is a veddy proper British picnic on a graveyard. Of the many fleeting satiric images parading past the camera, one of the most indelible is the sight of several generals playing leapfrog as the world all around them goes to hell in a handbasket. The awesome all-star cast includes Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Maggie Smith, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Jack Hawkins, John Mills, Susannah York, Dirk Bogarde and Phyllis Calvert. We haven't seen this many Englishmen in one place since the last Wimbledon match. The whole affair was supervised by Richard Attenborough, making his directorial debut (a question: why was he up to the challenge of this musical extravaganza, yet seemed helpless in the face of 1985's A Chorus Line?). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Art Direction – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – British Academy of Film and Television Arts United Nations Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Foreign Film - English Language – null Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Film - English Language – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Features: cc
Commentary by director Lord Richard Attenborough
3-part documentary: Welcome to World War I
The Smith family album
Keep the home fires burning

Oh! What a Lovely War

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/07/2006

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 144 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Oh! What a Lovely War
1. The Players [:10]
2. Declaration Of War [8:05]
3. The Smith Family [:20]
4. Glorious Army [7:31]
5. Join the Forces [:24]
6. The New Recruits [5:36]
7. Waiting For Orders [2:03]
8. Christmas Truce [6:09]
9. Oh! It's a Lovely War [3:23]
10. Gas Mishap [5:33]
11. Army Ball [2:27]
12. Just One More Battle [2:57]
13. In Vain [4:44]
14. Song For the Soliders [:55]
15. Reinforcements [7:04]
16. No More a Mortal Sin [7:11]
17. War Of Attrition [3:12]
18. Attacks and Counterattacks [1:58]
19. The Yanks Are Coming [6:23]
20. Smith Family Reunion [7:52]

Craig Butler

Filmed at the height of the Vietnam conflict, Oh! What a Lovely War is a strange, one-of-a-kind musical film. It is not for all tastes and definitely has its share of flaws: It drags at times, the mixture of styles does not always work, it can be too ironic by half, the revue-like nature of the source material does not always translate well to the screen, the parade of impressive British talent becomes obtrusive, and it is occasionally obscure. But it also is undeniably powerful and features individual sequences that linger in the memory long after the movie is over. Among these are the image of a toy merry-go-round with toy figures which becomes a live merry-go-round with live soldiers and then becomes live soldiers in too-real combat, or the sequence in which a proper English lady convincing young boys to join up for the effort suddenly becomes a tart duping boys into coming up on-stage. And few cinematic moments make as bold a statement as the end sequence, in which a child at a picnic asks what his Daddy did in the war. There is no answer, only the camera deliberately pulling back to reveal first one cross amid some poppies, then another cross, and then more until the viewer sees that the picnic is taking place in a cemetery that eventually fills the screen. In such sequences, director Richard Attenborough displays an impressive mastery of touch. If the film is not a complete success, it does contain individual moments that are exceptional. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Clements  Actor 
Marianne Stone  Actor 
Richard Attenborough  Director 
Richard Attenborough  Producer 
Len Deighton  Producer 
Len Deighton  Screenwriter 
Alfred Ralston  Composer (Music Score) 
Brian Duffy  Producer 
Ralph Richardson  Actor 
Meriel Forbes  Actor 
Wensley Pithey  Actor 
Ruth Kettlewell  Actor 
Ian Holm  Actor 
John Gielgud  Actor 
Kenneth More  Actor 
Paul Daneman  Actor 
Joe Melia  Actor 
Jack Hawkins  Actor 
Kim Smith  Actor 
Mary Wimbush  Actor 
Paul Shelley  Actor 
Wendy Allnutt  Actor 
John Rae  Actor 
Corin Redgrave  Actor 
Colin Farrell  Actor 
Maurice Roeves  Actor 
Angela Thorne  Actor 
John Mills  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Cassel  Actor 
Maggie Smith  Actor 
David Lodge  Actor 
Michael Redgrave  Actor 
Laurence Olivier  Actor 
Peter Gilmore  Actor 
Juliet Mills  Actor 
Nanette Newman  Actor 
Susannah York  Actor 
Dirk Bogarde  Actor 
Cecil Parker  Actor 
Robert Flemyng  Actor 
Isabel Dean  Actor 
Guy Middleton  Actor 
Natasha Parry  Actor 
Norman Shelley  Actor 
Thorley Walters  Actor 
Phyllis Calvert  Actor 
Vanessa Redgrave  Actor 
Clifford Mollison  Actor 
Harry Locke  Actor 
Michael Bates  Actor 
Vincent Ball  Actor 
Gerald Sim  Actor 
Dorothy Reynolds  Actor 

Country: UK