More English Bashing

I think it's important to remember that it's just a film and that it does not echo the general feelings of all Australians...

[deleted]

Well, I'm not English or Australian, so I won't touch any of your points about the "English-bashing" issues you have. I will say this, as an American, this film was a pretty impressive anti-war movie. Watching this film horrified me because it was so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that men would willingly volunteer to go into a war that had little to do with them, let alone obey a command to face a line a fire knowing they would not survive. I think humanity has to get past war as a solution to anything, whatsoever!

The film Gallipoli does not show much fighting for most of its length. However, its climax is a re-creation of the disastrous Australian attack on a Turkish position called The Nek.

The troops, mainly dismounted West Australian light horsemen, innocent boys from the bush whose life in Australia is indicated at the beginning of the film, attack in three waves in uphill charges against entrenched Turkish machine-guns. The first wave is wiped out and the attack is shown to be clearly hopeless and suicidal. However, an English officer, Colonel Robinson, safe in a dug-out far from the fighting, orders the attacks to proceed.

The second wave attacks and is also annihilated. The senior West Australian officer, Major Barton, wants to halt the attacks. Robinson refuses. Major Barton orders a soldier, Frank Dunne, a champion runner, played by Gibson, to run to the Australian General's headquarters and have Robinson's suicidal orders overridden and countermanded.

The wise Australian general gives orders to halt the attack, but as Frank sprints back with these orders, he is killed and the message is never delivered. The third wave, led by Major Barton after he has made a moving speech to the men, goes over the top and is also destroyed.

So much for the film. Like other "historical" films Gibson has made, it could easily be taken as fact by people who are not well-informed historians. However, the reality is that there was no such person as the bumbling and murderous British Colonel Robinson. The fatal orders to persist with the attacks were actually given by another Australian, Colonel J. M. Antill.

Further, the fatal attacks were not delivered to support British troops -- who in the film are said to be "drinking tea on the beach" as the Aussies die for them -- but to support a New Zealand attack that had also bogged down. In fact a British regiment incurred heavy casualties trying to support the Australians once it was realized they were in trouble.

I am English and I didnt really see it to be honest.

The film seemed to show Australians own high command to be the most useless over the British.

Also wasnt there a scene when they mingle with some bartering British soldiers in Egypt and they didnt have any problems, only with the officers on horseback did they have a problem.

To be honest, my opinion on the first world war isnt a good one, just seemed to be the oridinary blokes of all nations, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Cananda, USA, Germany, Turkey, Russia, France, Austria all mowing each other down for the orders of their leaders.

The lessons of war should break down nationalistic "mud slinging", however sadly it does the opposite, people just bloody argueing over whos nations better and "did more".

Mankind will rot in its own filth.

[deleted]

The film makes out the evil British/English sat on a beach "drinking teas" (no joke, its a line in the film) while the Ausies died fighting....

So you're blaming Mel for the English bashing on this as well huh?