A film labelled as 'one of the greatest war movies of all time' which bagged three Oscars will be shown on TV for free tonight. The World War One epic 1917 will be broadcast on BBC Three and its HD channel this Saturday (January 4) at 9pm. It was co-written and directed by Sam Mendes and was his cinematic follow up to Daniel Craig starring James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre. Viewers who miss the showtime of the film on television can stream it via Netflix if they have a subscription.
Originally released in 2019, it was received positively by both critics and film fans alike. It achieved an 88% score on website Rotten Tomatoes and reviewers praised the film's technical achievements including the use of elaborately choreographed moving camera shots which gave the feeling of a much longer shot.
Many critics describe the film as being portrayed in one shot or take like Alfred Hitchcock's Rope or Birdman but there is actually one cut to black part way through the film when a character loses consciousness. The cast includes Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Andrew Scott.
This camerawork earned legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins his second Oscar after winning for Blade Runner 2049 two years previously and receiving nominations for his work on The Shawshank Redemption, No Country For Old Men and Skyfall to name a few. This was one of the film's three wins at the Academy awards out of ten nominations.
Despite all the characters being fictional, the story of 1917 was inspired by real life events. It revolves around Operation Alberich, a German withdrawal to new positions on the shorter and more easily defended Hindenburg Line that took place between February 9 and March 20, 1917.
