9.0
Score

Pros

  • Directing
  • Realistic effects
  • Scenery
  • Characters
  • Soundtrack by Thomas Newman

Cons

  • The movie is so good that you want to watch more
Camera
9
Special Effects
9
Originality
10
Soundtrack
10
Characters
9
Directing
10

Final Verdict

A masterpiece. A diamond among the War Movies that will squeeze you emotionally. Amazing directing supported by the great camera and one of the best soundtracks of the last 10 years.

1917 movie is a war drama placed into World War 1. The story is partially based on true happenings that they were told to Sam Mendes by his grandfather Alfred Mendes.

The movie is about two British soldiers Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and William Schofield (George MacKay) which have to deliver an urgent message. The message is from General Erinmore (Colin Firth) and it is addressed to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch). The General is ordering the Colonel to stop the attack on the German army the next day morning.

If Tom and William will not deliver the message on time 1600 British soldiers will fall into a deadly trap, that was well planned by the Germans months ahead.

The story gets even more interesting when Tom finds out from the General that his older brother Joseph Blake (Richard Madden) is on that front line too.

After receiving the order, Tom does not hesitate at all and starts his journey with William straight away. The majority of the British soldiers from their own unite are very skeptical and do not believe in the success of the two soldiers.

So they have to get mentally ready in minutes and test the theory in practice by themselves.

1917 - review (no spoilers)

1917 movie review (no spoilers)

Sam Mendes (the director of Skyfall, Spectre, and Jarhead) is delivering us a masterpiece. A diamond that will sit among the best war movies for a very long time. The great directing is supported by an amazing camera, great effects, and one of the best soundtracks (composed by Thomas Newman) of the past 10 years.

The movie gets quickly rolling from the first seconds. From the beginning, it is actually an emotional rollercoaster. But when you think that your emotions are on top, instead of going down they will go even higher.

The movie was shot with a so-called “one-shot” technique. The whole movie looks like it is one single scene. And from the first few minutes, it is visible that it was a very bold but great decision from the director.

Thanks to this technique you will feel very attached to both soldiers. You will follow each of their steps from very close. And once the things will get “complicated” you will be already very much connected to them.

After those moments the movie will slow down for a few minutes. But don’t worry. Thanks to the well-written story supported by the amazing music, it will very quickly get back on track.

At the end of the movie, you will feel emotionally squeezed. Those 120 minutes will be gone very quickly. And that’s the only downside this movie has. It is so good that you would simply want to watch more of it.

1917 - review (spoiler-free)

The cast of 1917.

  • George MacKay as Lance Corporal William Schofield
  • Dean-Charles Chapman as Lance Corporal Tom Blake
  • Mark Strong as Captain Smith
  • Andrew Scott as Lieutenant Leslie
  • Richard Madden as Lieutenant Joseph Blake
  • Claire Duburcq as Lauri
  • Colin Firth as General Erinmore
  • Benedict Cumberbatch as Colonel Mackenzie
  • Daniel Mays as Sergeant Sanders
  • Adrian Scarborough as Major Hepburn
  • Jamie Parker as Lieutenant Richards
  • Michael Jibson as Lieutenant Hutton
  • Richard McCabe as Colonel Collins
  • Chris Walley as Private Bullen

The director of 1917.

The director, writer, and producer of 1917 is Sam Mendes. An English director of super hits like American Beauty (1999), Jarhead (2005) or two James Bond movies Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).

His movies have won several awards so far – 9 Oscars, 10 BAFTA awards, and 8 Golden Globe Awards.

The Golden Globes 2020 and Oscar 2020 nominations.

1917 have already won 2 Golden Globe 2020 awards for the “Drama Motion Picture” and “Director of the Motion Picture”. Also, it got a nomination for the “Best Original Score“.

The quality and success of the movie were confirmed by the 10 Academy Award (Oscars) nomination in 2020. Let’s see how many of them will be turned into actual wins.

  • Best Picture
  • Best Director
  • Best Original Music Score
  • Best Original Screenplay
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Sound Mixing
  • Best Visual Effects
  • Best Production Design
  • Best Makeup and Hairstylist
  • Best Sound Editing

1917 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Thomas Newman.

1917 Official Trailer

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1917 movie review (no spoilers) 1