GALLIPOLIDIRECTED BY: PETER WEIR
WRITTEN BY: DAVID WILLIAMSON
NOVEL BY: ERNEST RAYMOND
REVIEWED FOR: 1001 MOVIE CLUB
OVERALL SCORE: 8.50/10
WRITTEN BY: DAVID WILLIAMSON
NOVEL BY: ERNEST RAYMOND
REVIEWED FOR: 1001 MOVIE CLUB
OVERALL SCORE: 8.50/10
Drifter (Mel Gibson) and sprinter (Mark Lee) become rivals, friends, and soldiers in the events leading up to World War I, and the Gallipoli massacre.
My selection for the 1001 movie club is a film I have admired, and enjoyed, for quite some time, Gallipoli. Not your typical war film, Gallipoli is more about the people, and their lives leading up to the event, rather than the event itself. The main advantage of this: attachment.
As the movie progresses, and we see the ups and downs our main characters, we grow an emotional attachment to them. We see their strengths and weaknesses, and care for what happens to them. All the while, looming in the back of our mind, is the historical significance of what they are about to encounter. Giving the film's infamous final shot a nearly infinite range of power.
Add to that Weir's talent for capturing scenery, and the beauty of the places these soldiers encounter, and you've got yourself a fine piece of cinema. Each shot feels breathtaking, and perfectly composed. Adding more and more to the viewing experience with each go around.
Leading us in to what I feel is the film's one real fault: techno. During the film there are two climatic running sequences, both of which are played to an odd techno beat. During the first, a more lighthearted moment, it seems perfectly find, but later, during the most important run in the film, it takes a lot of wind out of the moment. And if it were not for the great sequence that follows it, Weird may have lost the audience entirely.
Still, for all its faults Weir and company are able to bring the film back into form. Never swaying from the original purpose, and always presenting the viewer with something new. It's a fine war film, more about the people than the war.
Not without its flaws, Gallipoli is a captivating tale of humanity in the time of war. The tale of the men who went to fight, not so much how they fought. And the ultimate legacy, and tragedy, they came to pass.
My selection for the 1001 movie club is a film I have admired, and enjoyed, for quite some time, Gallipoli. Not your typical war film, Gallipoli is more about the people, and their lives leading up to the event, rather than the event itself. The main advantage of this: attachment.
As the movie progresses, and we see the ups and downs our main characters, we grow an emotional attachment to them. We see their strengths and weaknesses, and care for what happens to them. All the while, looming in the back of our mind, is the historical significance of what they are about to encounter. Giving the film's infamous final shot a nearly infinite range of power.
Add to that Weir's talent for capturing scenery, and the beauty of the places these soldiers encounter, and you've got yourself a fine piece of cinema. Each shot feels breathtaking, and perfectly composed. Adding more and more to the viewing experience with each go around.
Leading us in to what I feel is the film's one real fault: techno. During the film there are two climatic running sequences, both of which are played to an odd techno beat. During the first, a more lighthearted moment, it seems perfectly find, but later, during the most important run in the film, it takes a lot of wind out of the moment. And if it were not for the great sequence that follows it, Weird may have lost the audience entirely.
Still, for all its faults Weir and company are able to bring the film back into form. Never swaying from the original purpose, and always presenting the viewer with something new. It's a fine war film, more about the people than the war.
Not without its flaws, Gallipoli is a captivating tale of humanity in the time of war. The tale of the men who went to fight, not so much how they fought. And the ultimate legacy, and tragedy, they came to pass.
1 better thoughts:
Nice review. I've been meaning to see this one.
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