Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
WW1 on Film: Oh What A Lovely War!
The film Oh what A Lovely War! based on Joan Littlewood’s play was released in 1969 and influenced a whole generation of people in what the Great War stood for. But what does the film really tell us about the First World War and what is its value more than 50 years on?
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7 Comments on “WW1 on Film: Oh What A Lovely War!”
Leave a reply to Trevor Collins Cancel reply
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I really enjoyed listening to this as I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about this film, although I agree with you that the songs are great and the ending is very powerful. Ultimately, it’s as much about the attitudes of 60s as the Great War and there are other films of this ilk, from this era, Slaughter House Five, Catch 22 and How I won the war.
I was pleased that the veterans did not think that it reflected their Old Front Line.
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Thanks, Stephen.
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Excellent episode, thanks Paul. We rewatched the film and recognised Old Bayham Abbey which coincidentally we visited for the first time last month!
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Thanks! Yes, there are quite a few locations like that in it!
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Hi Paul, as always a really interesting podcast.
My introduction to Oh What a Lovely War was actually the LP of the original cast recording, which sat in my parent’s record collection alongside such gems as Sergeant Pepper, The Sound of Music and various Peter Sellers records! Only later did I see the film on TV. I remember being really struck by the ending the first time I saw it.
It’s an interesting snapshot of attitudes of the time the film was made. I remember a history tutor telling me that a film based on a historical event is only ‘history’ in the sense that it’s the history of opinions at the time it was made. Certainly true with this production.
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I had the pleasure of acting in the play and we all enjoyed the energy of this tour de force. It sparked my interest in the FWW and I took my first sv=chool trip a few years later in 1989.
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That’s great!
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