MovieChat Forums > Overlord (1977) Discussion > disappointed second time around

disappointed second time around

posted 16 years ago by ib011f9545i
6 replies | jump to latest

I saw this film on the BBC years ago.
At the time I loved it and told everyone how great it was.
But watching it again last night I was disappointed.
The real life footage is amazing,for example the footage of allied fighter bombers shooting up Germany trains and ships.
But the fiction parts of the film were hard to watch.
The lead actor had a 1975 haircut,the script was cliched even when it was written and I kept wanting to get back to the newsreel.

The film reminded me of an all newsreel film called LIBERATION ,think that was the title,made a few years ago with a voice over,it could be used as an introduction to World War 11 but it might confuse some viewers because it does not just feature Americans.

[–] daithi_oregan 16 years ago

I have to disagree with you I watched it last night on BBC4 and I thought it was one of the best British War films I have ever seen, there was no stiff upper lip nonsense you that you would get with an e.g. John Mills v. The Germans movie. Forget the fact that "Tom's" hair might have been a bit long for the 1940's I thought it portrayed what most young soldiers must have gone through leading up to that day, the brutality of recruit training, the brief encounter with a member of the opposite sex, and in the main characters case, his only one, the bond formed between fellow soldiers, His dislike of having to be a soldier but the realisation that it had to be done and the acceptance of his impending death. I liked the way that he foresaw his death on the beach and it was a nice touch that the poor bloke didn't even make it out of the landing craft. All in all a great movie.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (8072733) 16 years ago

Hmmm. I enjoyed the film (having not seen it before, nor ever heard of it) but the 'Tommy' character was rather a strange hero: I wondered if the intention was to portray him as a suppressed/unknowing homosexual? He came across as very 'Brideshead Revisited' (although of course he predated the TV adaptation). The film-makers had quite a bit of fun with his effeteness and pretentions, particularly with his death. All those visions of dying while running through woodland, then BAM! Headshot out of nowhere!

The documentary footage, especially the Nazi footage, was stunning. Does anyone know the history of the film's development? I saw a very prominent 'Imperial War Museum' credit, but did they instigate the film?

[–] droog69uk 16 years ago

The DVD has some fantastic extras, including a piece on the film archive of the Imperial war museuem, and how the film's director painstakingly went through all their 100s of hours of WW2 footage for the correct clips to include in the film's narrative.

[–] gowland85 16 years ago

I wondered if the intention was to portray him as a suppressed/unknowing homosexual?

No, he was just shy around women. He never showed any interest in men, but he had an erotic fantasy about The Girl.

I saw a very prominent 'Imperial War Museum' credit, but did they instigate the film?

Yes, the film's producer, James Quinn, was a trustee at the museum. At the time, a D-Day tapestry was being made; it was based on the Bayeux tapestry and can be see on display in Portsmouth. Quinn wanted a documentary to accompany it, one that showcased the amazing footage the museum owns. He approached Stuart Cooper, who had made an avant-garde short film about the painter Juan Genoves. They started ploughing through the several thousand hours of film and the documentary mutated into a fictional film, albeit one that relies heavily on documentary footage.

The DVD contains plenty of information about the film's development and the museum's involvement.

[–] cjstevens1975 15 years ago

I enjoyed the film but thought it would have benefited from a more linear narrative. Doing that would have made it easier to relate to the main character. The flashbacks prevented me from truly being emotionally engaged, but it's still an interesting film and truly original.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 11 years ago

I thought for a while the protagonist might be gay. But ultimately I think he seems a "strange hero" to you because of what the OP said: he was an Everyman, not a hero. Being in the front ranks of the Normandy landing would have been a near-suicide mission, but one someone had to take. Why not focus on a representative member of that group?

In that vein, I thought it was a nice touch that (again as the OP said) he was only there because he had been drafted ("called up") but knew it was necessary to win the war.

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