1917 is a new film by director Sam Mendes and it has gained critical acclaim. It is called by many as the best film of 2019!
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film!
- 1917 is a 2019 epic war film
- It is directed and produced by Sam Mendes
- He wrote the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- The film stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, with Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch
- The film is based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes
- It chronicles the story of two young British soldiers at the height of World War I during the spring of 1917 who have been given a mission to deliver a message which will warn of an ambush during one of the skirmishes soon after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich
- 1917 was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on 25 December 2019 by Universal Pictures
- It is scheduled to be in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2020, by eOne
- It received positive reviews from critics
- Amblin Partners and New Republic Pictures were announced to have acquired the project in June 2018
- It will be set in World War I
- With Sam Mendes directing and writing the screenplay alongside Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- The story is based around a “fragment” Alfred Mendes had told to his grandson, Sam Mendes
- In August 2019, Mendes was quoted as saying “It’s the story of a messenger who has a message to carry. And that’s all I can say. It lodged with me as a child, this story or this fragment, and obviously I’ve enlarged it significantly. But it has that at its core”
- Tom Holland was reported to be in talks for the film in September 2018
- And in October, Roger Deakins was reported to be reuniting with Mendes to serve as cinematographer on the film
- George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman entered negotiations to star in the film that same month
- Thomas Newman was hired to compose the score for the film in March 2019
- That same month, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Richard Madden, Andrew Scott, Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Jamie Parker, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Claire Duburcq joined the cast of the film
- Filming began on 1 April 2019
- It continued through June 2019 in Wiltshire, Hankley Common and Govan, Scotland, as well as Shepperton Studios
- Concern was raised over the planned filming on Salisbury Plain by conservationists who felt the production could disturb potentially undiscovered remains in the area
- Requesting a survey be conducted before any construction for sets begin on the land
- Some shots required the use of as many as 500 background extras
- Sections of the film were also shot in and around Low Force, on the River Tees, Teesdale in June 2019
- The production staff had to install signs warning walkers in the area not be alarmed by the bodies strewn around the site as they were prosthetic
- Filming was accomplished with long takes and elaborately choreographed moving camera shots to give the effect of one continuous take
- The film premiered on 4 December 2019, at the 2019 Royal Film Performance
- It is scheduled for limited release in the United States and Canada on 25 December 2019
- Wide release on 10 January 2020
- And in IMAX on 24 January 2020
- The film made $251,262 from 11 theaters on its first day of limited release
- On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89%
- Based on 147 reviews
- With an average rating of 8.56/10
- The site’s critical consensus reads: “Hard-hitting, immersive, and an impressive technical achievement, 1917 captures the trench warfare of World War I with raw, startling immediacy”
- Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 80 out of 100
- Based on 39 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
