1917 [4K UHD]

I've been putting this off for too long. Let me just start by saying that if you have any interest in seeing this film, purchase it now and watch it immediately. I have been blown away by the quality of this film, so much so that it's led me to just keep analyzing frames and shots and dialogue throughout the movie. Yes, it's just a WWI movie that takes place on one day in 1917, but it's a movie so packed with purpose and intention behind every little thing. It's astounding how much thought and time was put into making this film. It's truly a beautiful work of art that I may now regard as my favorite war film of all-time. You're immediately thinking of other, better war movies, and I'll agree that those are all great too, but 1917 is a true masterpiece of a film.Sam Mendes has done what you would think had already been done before in blockbuster war films, and that's to create an artificially "one shot" movie that follows our characters through the trenches of WWI without ever leaving them. It literally starts from the first frame and doesn't let you go, as you walk through trenches of mud and guts with these young men. The camera work is extraordinary, and whether or not you notice that there are no "cuts" or very deliberate shots, you'll see yourself mesmerized with the storytelling that this technique creates throughout the movie. There's so much to be said about the way this film is framed, and it helps to guide the viewer along on their journey with the main characters. I found so much purpose and meaning in things that weren't words being said by characters, and not even actions so much as the way things were being shown on the screen.I can't do this film any justice by talking about what it is about and the story and how it happens. It's just true beauty, it's outstanding work. I gave this movie a 9/10, and would have given it a perfect 10 had it made me cry at the end. This isn't a knock on the film, so much as a testament to the suspense it wrangles you with. The actors are phenomenal, and I love that we get to see 3 well-traveled actors make cameos throughout the film to give it some Hollywood weight. Do yourself a favor, buy the film and watch it. If you're blown away by the nerdy film stuff, watch the commentaries and you will be even more so enlightened. Though they will ruin where all of the cuts in the film are for you, they will highlight the technique of the film as you continue to wonder how a story could be so perfectly told on film through visuals in this way.This movie is not overrated and despite knowing that the visuals were the strength of the movie, I was still worried it would be over hyped and I'd be disappointed. I wasn't, and this is now one of my favorite films. It's truly a masterpiece, and one of the best war films ever made. The details of war are on full display and they never shy away from a shot. For all of the horror within, there is so much beauty in the story and just... WOW, watch the movie already!

Wild old war movie.

Good film, but not remotely a great film. Mostly the plot is just so unbelievable. Mendes throws in everything but the kitchen sink...more a "Serious" Indiana Jones film than "Serious" film. Way too many things happen to one person...whose every shot is accurate, while everyone shooting at him manages to miss. I'm sorry, it's NOT a SERIOUS plot. It's all made up, with too much absurd action in mind. And the worst part, is that leads up to action just take so much time, while providing little more than "LEAD-UP" into the action.

I love this movie and I wish more WWI movies of this caliber would be made. I always grew up hearing that the Korean War was the "forgotten war". While that may be true in a sense, it seems that WWI is following that same path (in America anyway). This war set humanity on the path it's on now, WWII just solidified said path because humanity didn't learn. This is a must watch, especially on Nov. 11th in order to honor the original meaning of the day. Make more WWI movies in this vein.

I don't usually review movies, but this was a great movie. My husband turned it on and i was immediately pulled in. Highly recommend it. I like a good story and this did not disappoint - Even though this is not my normal type of movie.

In 1917 Director Sam Mendes has left us with more than just another film of war. A clue lies with the term “Gehenna” (aka - hell, hades, limbo, catabasis) used for the title of a movement in the film’s music score – he is clearly alluding to the layered meanings of this remarkable film.1917 is an allegory of yet another allegory nearly 3,000 years old. It demands repeated viewing to absorb its nuanced and symbolic iconography. The landscapes of dark beauty, the liturgical score and most of all the unbroken camera flow that rarely breaks from the protagonists every step work subliminally much as a dream. Veterans who have survived combat might cast a memory of war beneath shut eyes this way. It connects you to the experience of a soldier at his own level. Few other films of this genre compare.The ancient Greeks believed we come here with “sealed orders.” Lance Corporal Schofield and Corporal Blake are ordered to deliver an army command message that would save 1,600 men from annihilation. It’s a race against time.The first hour of 1917 could be entitled “catabasis” from the epics of Homer – a term we can apply appropriately here to describe the sacrifice of a nation’s children in war. The graphic depiction of “no man’s land” separating the British and German front lines leaves little to your worst imaginings.In the second hour, when Schofield awakens from a fall, he discovers his watch has stopped. Is he therefore even still alive? As he steps into Ecoust, a city of burning rubble, we enter the underworld with him. His solitary journey here is now so much that of book 6 from Virgil’s “Aeneid.” For Schofield to “go over” he must first complete his task. He must kill to survive, shun the pleas for an orphaned infant, nearly drown in a river (the Styx?) near Crosillies, climb over an island of dead civilians, and only then in a quiet forest find the Devon Rifle Company he was seeking. A soldier can be heard singing “I Am A Lonely Wayfaring Wanderer” - a hymn of warriors free of woe, crossing "the Jordan" to return to their parents in death. It is one of many carefully engineered symbols throughout the film, each of them a paradox.In the suspenseful and relentless race against time that governs the final 20 minutes of the film Schofield staggers, exhausted, shell shocked, dogging a rain of shrapnel through the surreal chalk trenches to reach his destination and deliver the message. And also deliver another more personal message of his own.Shall all these phantom warriors yet find their way to “Elysium” in the tender green fields of Belgium? Schofield carried with him a photo of his wife. On the reverse she had written “come back to us.”Virgil's Aeneid was a poem of the Trojan wars. It addressed war with the subliminal aesthetics of that time as civilization’s great nightmare, and mankind’s greatest test. It remains relevant today and going forward. That aesthetics rather than reality can leave an emotional and not only an intellectual comment is the truest definition of art

I'm a bit of a WW1 buff, having read numerous books and also toured Flanders Fields (a great experience if you get the chance. Highly recommend Quasimodo Tours). I was excited when this movie came out as there are so few movies about the Great War.So the good: The visual is very stunning and true to form. There was tremendous attention to detail and the contrast of the British trenches vs. the German trenches was very accurate. The depiction of no man's land and the randomness of shelling was also very well done.The bad: It wasn't much of a movie. The story was predictable and the action was cliche. It was one of those movies where the hero gets hundreds of bullets shot at him and few land and the ones that do are not fatal. His shots, however, are much more fatal. I guess if you are into formulaic action movies you can get past it, but just seemed so far fetched. Also the plane crash scene was a bit idiotic. It advanced the plot, but was sort of a reverse deus ex machina.If you are expecting a fun period action film, you likely won't be disappointed. If you are expecting a historical substantive movie, you probably will be.

Great movie, we really enjoyed watching this film.

If like myself you watch films to also appreciate the various movie making skills on display you will find 1917 a very rewarding experience. The technical merits on show here are first rate including three Academy Awards for cinematography, visual effects and sound mixing. Your eyes and ears are truly treated to a visual and aural feast. This reviewer found the cinematography in particular was first rate. It’s also not a spoiler to state that this is NOT an action war film, it merely tells a tale that could take place during any stand off that has occurred throughout the centuries between the different races of humans.The Blu-ray presentation of this film is also first rate with outstanding picture and bone rattling audio that will impress anyone with a decent home theatre setup.

Mi è piaciuto molto. L'avevo gia visto 2 volte. L'ho acquistato per la mia collezione e l'ho subito rivisto il giorno che mi è arrivato. Anche se ci sono film di guerra che preferisco, devo riconoscere che questo film è molto bello. Abbasso la guerra sempre.

Estupenda, las imágenes lo dicen todo.

En mi Samsung de 55 y amplificador Denon, la imagen es fenomenal y el sonido espectacular, en 4K V.O. 5.1. En otros idiomas no lo sé.Solo puedo decir que me gustó más que cuando la vi por primera vez en streaming (me la perdí en el cine) y creo que es por el sonido, hay una gran diferencia del streaming al formato físico, sobre todo en cuanto a sonido se refiere, de hecho, para mí, mucha.

1917 ist in seiner 4K-Auswertung eine absolute Referenz-Disc. Die Bild- und Tonqualität zeigen sehr deutlich, dass eine gute 4K-Produktion einer Blu-ray in vielen Bereichen klar überlegen sein kann, wenn das Ausgangsmaterial und die Umsetzung stimmen.Das Bild wirkt durchgehend detailreich, natürlich und sehr ausgewogen. Weder Lichter noch Schatten wirken überzogen oder künstlich. Gerade in dunkleren Szenen bleibt die Durchzeichnung stabil, während helle Sequenzen – etwa mit Feuer oder starker Beleuchtung – eine enorme Intensität entwickeln, die je nach Setup durchaus dazu führt, dass man unwillkürlich die Augen zusammenkneift.Auch der Surround-Mix ist sehr gelungen: druckvoll, präzise und mit einer starken räumlichen Wirkung, die das Geschehen gut unterstützt, ohne sich in den Vordergrund zu drängen.Einziger kritischer Punkt ist für mich das zentrale Stilmittel des Films, die scheinbar durchgehende Plansequenz. Dieses Konzept kann stellenweise eher wie ein bewusstes Gimmick wirken, das die Wahrnehmung des Films überlagert. Gerade beim ersten Sehen entsteht schnell der Eindruck, dass man ständig nach den versteckten Schnitten „sucht“, statt sich vollständig auf die Geschichte einzulassen.Beim zweiten oder dritten Ansehen verliert sich dieser Effekt allerdings deutlich, und dann kann der Film seine eigentliche Stärke viel besser entfalten und immersiv wirken.Unterm Strich bleibt 1917 technisch auf höchstem Niveau und als Heimkino-Erlebnis in 4K absolut empfehlenswert – auch wenn das Inszenierungskonzept nicht jeden gleichermaßen abholt.