art
- Max Beckmann (Born in Leipzig, Germany, 1884-Died in New York, 1950)
When the war was declared, Max Beckmann was in Berlin and was in the street to see the joyful demonstrations and the nationalist fervour that the onset of war provoked both in Berlin and Paris. Beckmann portrayed his observations in his art and is considered a leading exponent of the artistic school known as Expressionism. In one drawing, below, a group of passers-by learns that the war has begun. Their faces betray feelings that range from exaltation to anguish. Thus begins the series of drawings and engravings created between 1914 and 1915 that were Beckmann's war chronicle. A German, Beckmann served in the medical services in eastern Prussia, then in Flanders (Belgium) and Strasbourg (axbecjnnexed to Germany in 1871 and returned to France in 1919). He was a witness to the first mustard gas attacks around Ypres (Belgium). At Courtrai (Belgium), he observed surgical operations in the field and made detailed drawings of wounded soldiers. His self portrait, below, is built around three elements: the eye that scrutinizes, the hand that draws, and the red cross. Towards the end of the war Beckmann was sent home to Germany following a serious mental breakdown. He sought refuge in Frankfurt where he slowly took up painting again. Sources: Metropolitan Museum of Art, artchive.com, maxbeckmann.org
- David Bomberg (Born in Birmingham, England, 1890-Died in London, England, 1957)
David Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art in England. Bomberg painted a series of complex geometric compositions combining the influences of cubism and futurism in the years immediately preceding World War I. His work typically used a limited number of striking colours, turning humans into simple, angular shapes, and sometimes overlaying whole paintings with a strong grid-work colouring scheme. He was expelled from the Slade School of Art in 1913 because of the audacity of his style which broke with conventional approaches of that time. With the advent of World War I, Bomberg's life changed dramatically. By November
1915 he had enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and his harrowing experiences
at the Front brought about a profound transformation in his work. Bomberg never again returned to this dogged and limiting idiom, but he did
explore a radically different path during the 1920s. His disillusion with the
destructive power of the war machine led him to experiment in the postwar years with a more rounded and organic artistic style. Source: Tate Modern
- Otto Dix (Born in Gera, Germany, 1891-Died in Singen, Germany, 1969)
When the First World War erupted in 1914, Otto Dix enthusiastically volunteered for the German Army. He was assigned to a field artillery regiment in Dresden. In the fall of 1915 he was assigned as a non-commissioned officer a machine-gun unit in the Western front and took part in the Battle of the Somme a year later. He was seriously wounded several times. In 1917, his unit was transferred to the Eastern front until the end of hostilities with Russia. Back to the Western front in 1918, he fought in the German Spring offensive. Also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, it was a series of German attacks along the Western Front. Dix earned the Iron Cross (second class) and reached the rank of vice-sergeant-major. He was profoundly affected by the sights of the war, and would later describe a recurring nightmare in which he crawled through destroyed houses. Following the war Dix became a leading artist known as an exponent of the Expressionist and Secessionist movements. He represented his traumatic experiences in many subsequent works of art, including his famous portfolio of fifty etchings called Der Krieg (The War), published in 1924 by Karl Nierendorf. Sources: MoMA, ottodix.org
- Albin Egger-Lienz (Born in Dölsach, Austria, 1868-Died in St. Justina-Rentsch, Bolzano, Italy, 1926)
Existential questions of life and death run through the entire oeuvre of the painter Albin Egger-Lienz, one of the most important pioneers of Austrian Expressionism. In 1906, the Modern Gallery commissioned the artist to create a work for the diamond jubilee of Emperor Francis Joseph I. Shortly before the 100th anniversary of the Tyrolean Wars of Liberation, Egger-Lienz delivered the painting Danse Macabre of 1809, the earliest surviving version of a motif with which he frequently dealt between 1906 and 1921. When the painting was first presented publicly on the occasion of the jubilee celebrations, its non-festive atmosphere was felt to be a provocation; in 1914, it was interpreted as foreshadowing World War I. Later, the National Socialists purported that the work justified the glory of dying a hero’s death. Egger-Leinz served as a war painter during World War I. Sources: Belvedere Museum in Vienna, albineggerlienz.at
- George Grosz (Born in Berlin, Germany, 1893-Died in 1959)
George Grosz was born Georg Ehrenfried Groß. In 1914 Grosz, like many of his generation, volunteered for service in World War I. Six months later he was back in Germany. In 1916 he changed the spelling of his name to George Grosz as a protest against German nationalism and out of a romantic enthusiasm for America. Although he was called up again in 1917, he was finally discharged as unfit for service after an episode involving violence and a short compulsory spell in a mental hospital. With the war his artistic approach changed fundamentally, taking its starting-point from his own experience of battlefields, death and destruction. Grosz had learned to hate war and German militarism, as can be seen in the drawing Fit for Active Service (1916–17). In his drawings, usually in pen and ink which he sometimes developed further with watercolor, Grosz did much to create the image most have of Berlin and the Weimar Republic in the 1920s. Corpulent businessmen, wounded soldiers, prostitutes, sex crimes and orgies were among his favorite subjects. Source: MoMA
- A. Y. Jackson (Born in Montreal, Quebec, 1882-Died in Kleinburg, Ontario, 1974)
With the outbreak of the war, Jackson enlisted in the Canadian Army's 60th battalion in 1915. Soon after he reached the front he was wounded at the Battle of Sanctuary Wood in Flanders, Belgium in June 1916 and he was sent to a hospital in Étaples (Pas-de-Calais, France). While recovering from his injuries his paintings came to the attention of Lord Beaverbrook. He was then transferred to the Canadian War Records branch as an artist. Here, Jackson would create important pictures of events connected with the war. He later worked for the Canadian War Memorials as an official war artist from 1917 to 1919. Source: National Gallery of Canada
- Ernst Ludwig Kichner (Born in Aschaffenburg, Germany, 1880-Died in 1938)
Despite Kirchner’s early artistic success in Berlin where he was part of the expressionist artist group Die Brucke (The Bridge), throughout his life Kirchner was psychologically fragile. He was deeply troubled by the impending war, which he viewed with a tragic sense of foreboding. In a state of nervous anxiety, fearful that he would get called up, Kirchner began to drink absinthe and developed an increasing dependency on sleeping pills and morphine. In an effort to avoid conscription in the infantry, he signed on as an artillery driver--an "involuntary volunteer" --and was billeted to Halle. Kirchner found military service very distressing and after suffering a nervous breakdown was admitted to a sanatorium at Königstein im Taunus. He would return there twice more over the next year as his condition failed to improve. In September 1916, Kirchner wrote to Gustav Schiefler: "I am half dead from mental and physical torments, and have placed myself in the care of a neurologist here, since I am unable to do anything but work." His torments of that time can be seen in his terrifying work Self-Portrait as a Soldier. Here, Kirchner imagines himself in military uniform with his hand severed, unable to paint. Source: Brucke-Museum, ernstludwig-kichner.com
- Wyndham Lewis (Born in Amherst, Canada, 1882-Died in London, England, 1957)
In the years 1913–15 Lewis developed the style of geometric abstraction for which he is best known today. This style which his friend, poet Ezra Pound dubbed "Vorticism" was later adopted by other artists. After the Vorticists' only U.K. exhibition in 1915, the movement broke up, largely as a result of World War I. Lewis was posted to the Western Front, and served as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. Much of his time was spent in Forward Observation Posts looking down at apparently deserted German lines, registering targets and calling down fire from batteries massed around the rim of the Ypres Salient (in Belgium). It was dangerous work and he made vivid accounts of narrow misses and deadly artillery duels. After the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, he was appointed as an official war artist for both the Canadian and British governments, beginning work in December 1917. For the Canadians he painted A Canadian Gun-Pit (1918) from sketches made on Vimy Ridge. For the British he painted one of his best known works, A Battery Shelled (1919), drawing on his own experience in charge of a 6-inch howitzer at Ypres. Lewis exhibited his war drawings and some other paintings of the war in an exhibition, "Guns," in 1918. After the war, Lewis resumed his career as a painter, with a major exhibition, Tyros and Portraits, at the Leicester Galleries in 1921. "Tyros" were satirical caricatural figures intended by Lewis to comment on the culture of the "new epoch" that succeeded the First World War. Sources: Tate Modern, bbc.co.uk/arts
- Paul Nash (Born in London, England, 1889-Died in Boscombe, England, 1946)
Paul Nash was 25 at the outbreak of the First World War. A British surrealist and war painter, he had been a member of that remarkable pre-war cohort at the Slade School of Art that included Christopher Nevinson, Stanley Spencer, William Roberts, Ben Nicholson and Edward Wadsworth. Nash had already gained a reputation as a painter of nocturnes and visionary landscapes when he reluctantly volunteered in September 1914, first joining the London Regiment (Artists’ Rifles) for home service only. But in February 1917, having completed officer training, he embarked for France, arriving in the Ypres Sector soon after. After only three months at the front Nash was injured after falling into a trench and was sent back to England. Convalescing at home a week later, Nash learned that his division had been virtually annihilated in an attack on the infamous Hill 60 that presaged the Messines Ridge offensive. While on leave, Nash exhibited some war drawings in London. The work was noticed by the War Artists Committee. Consequently, when Nash returned to France later that year, it was as an official war artist. He arrived in 1917 in the aftermath of the Battle of Passchendaele, a campaign fought by the Allies against Germany for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres. Nash created some of the most devastating landscapes of war ever painted, his outrage at the waste of life was expressed through his depiction of the violation of nature in landscapes that were both visionary and terrifyingly realistic. Source: Tate Modern
- John Singer Sargent (Born in Florence, Italy, 1856-Died in London, England, 1925)
John Singer Sargent is considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. In 1918 after a visit to the United States, Sargent was commissioned as a war artist by the British Ministry of Information. He spent time at the front and responded with an epic testament to the crimes of war, the 20-foot-long (6 meters) painting Gassed, in which blinded soldiers form a procession that mocks the ideal of military discipline. Source: johnsingersargent.org
Literature and Poetry
The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West
The Return of the Soldier is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West (born in London, 1892-died in 1983). West had never experienced the war, but bombs had fallen near enough the house where she lived. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War the perspective of his female cousin Jenny. The novel grapples with the soldier's return from World War I with trauma and its effects on the family, and optimistically suggests that psychoanalysis might offer a simple cure to the trauma. Source: wikipedia
The Return of the Soldier is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West (born in London, 1892-died in 1983). West had never experienced the war, but bombs had fallen near enough the house where she lived. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War the perspective of his female cousin Jenny. The novel grapples with the soldier's return from World War I with trauma and its effects on the family, and optimistically suggests that psychoanalysis might offer a simple cure to the trauma. Source: wikipedia
The Enormous Room (1922) by E. E. Cummings
In 1917, with World War I ongoing in Europe, Edward Estlin Cummings (born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1894-died in Madison, New Hampshire, 1962) enlisted in the Norton-Harjes-Ambulance Corps, along with his college friend and also writer John Dos Passos. During their service in the ambulance corps, they sent letters home that drew the attention of the military censors, and were known to prefer the company of French soldiers over fellow ambulance drivers. The two openly expressed anti-war views; Cummings spoke of his lack of hatred for the Germans. On September 21, 1917, just five months after his belated assignment, he and a friend, William Slater Brown, were arrested by the French military on suspicion of espionage and undesirable activities. They were held for 3 and a half months in a military detention camp in Normandy (France). They were imprisoned with other detainees in a large room. Cummings' father failed to obtain his son's release through diplomatic channels and in December 1917 wrote a letter to President Wilson. Cummings was released on December 19, 1917, and Brown was released two months later. Cummings used his prison experience as the basis for his novel, The Enormous Room. The title of the book refers to the large room where Cummings slept beside thirty or so other prisoners. However, it also serves as an allegory for Cummings' mind and his memories of the prison--such that when he describes the many residents of his shared cell, they still live in the "enormous room" of his mind. Source: Wikipedia. Penn State University
In 1917, with World War I ongoing in Europe, Edward Estlin Cummings (born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1894-died in Madison, New Hampshire, 1962) enlisted in the Norton-Harjes-Ambulance Corps, along with his college friend and also writer John Dos Passos. During their service in the ambulance corps, they sent letters home that drew the attention of the military censors, and were known to prefer the company of French soldiers over fellow ambulance drivers. The two openly expressed anti-war views; Cummings spoke of his lack of hatred for the Germans. On September 21, 1917, just five months after his belated assignment, he and a friend, William Slater Brown, were arrested by the French military on suspicion of espionage and undesirable activities. They were held for 3 and a half months in a military detention camp in Normandy (France). They were imprisoned with other detainees in a large room. Cummings' father failed to obtain his son's release through diplomatic channels and in December 1917 wrote a letter to President Wilson. Cummings was released on December 19, 1917, and Brown was released two months later. Cummings used his prison experience as the basis for his novel, The Enormous Room. The title of the book refers to the large room where Cummings slept beside thirty or so other prisoners. However, it also serves as an allegory for Cummings' mind and his memories of the prison--such that when he describes the many residents of his shared cell, they still live in the "enormous room" of his mind. Source: Wikipedia. Penn State University
Goodbye to All That (1929) by Robert Graves
In 1913 Robert Graves (born in Wimbledon, England, 1895-died in Majorca, Spain, 1985) won a scholarship to continue his studies at St. John’s College, Oxford (England), but in August 1914 he enlisted as a junior officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He fought in the Battle of Loos, the largest British offensive mounted in 1915 in the Western Front, and was injured in the Somme offensive in 1916. While convalescing, he published his first collection of poetry, Over the Brazier. By 1917, though still an active serviceman, Graves had published three volumes. In 1918, he spent a year in the trenches, where he was again severely wounded. One of Graves's friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, a fellow officer in his regiment. In 1917, Sassoon rebelled against the conduct of the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves feared Sassoon could face a court martial and intervened with the military authorities, persuading them that Sassoon was suffering from shell shock and that they should treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it was then called, although he was never hospitalised for it. After the war, he went to Oxford and took a position at St. John’s College. Graves’s early volumes of poetry, like those of his contemporaries, deal with natural beauty and bucolic pleasures, and with the consequences of the First World War. In 1929 he published Goodbye to All That, an autobiography that announced his psychological accommodation with the residual horror of his war experiences. Source: wikipedia
In 1913 Robert Graves (born in Wimbledon, England, 1895-died in Majorca, Spain, 1985) won a scholarship to continue his studies at St. John’s College, Oxford (England), but in August 1914 he enlisted as a junior officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He fought in the Battle of Loos, the largest British offensive mounted in 1915 in the Western Front, and was injured in the Somme offensive in 1916. While convalescing, he published his first collection of poetry, Over the Brazier. By 1917, though still an active serviceman, Graves had published three volumes. In 1918, he spent a year in the trenches, where he was again severely wounded. One of Graves's friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, a fellow officer in his regiment. In 1917, Sassoon rebelled against the conduct of the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves feared Sassoon could face a court martial and intervened with the military authorities, persuading them that Sassoon was suffering from shell shock and that they should treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it was then called, although he was never hospitalised for it. After the war, he went to Oxford and took a position at St. John’s College. Graves’s early volumes of poetry, like those of his contemporaries, deal with natural beauty and bucolic pleasures, and with the consequences of the First World War. In 1929 he published Goodbye to All That, an autobiography that announced his psychological accommodation with the residual horror of his war experiences. Source: wikipedia
A Farewell to Arms (1929) by Ernest Hemingway
Early in 1918, Ernest Hemingway (born in Oak Park, Illinois, 1899-died in Ketchum, Idaho, 1961) responded to a Red Cross recruitment effort in Kansas City and signed on to become an ambulance driver in Italy. He left New York in May and arrived in Paris as the city was under bombardment from German artillery. On July 8, he was seriously wounded by mortar fire, having just returned from the canteen bringing chocolate and cigarettes for the men at the front line. Despite his wounds, Hemingway assisted Italian soldiers to safety, for which he received the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery Italian Silver Medal of Bravery. He sustained severe shrapnel wounds to both legs, underwent an immediate operation at a distribution center, and spent five days at a field hospital before he was transferred for recuperation to the Red Cross hospital in Milan. He spent six months at the hospital. Hemingway returned home early in 1919. Set during the Italian campaign of World War I, A Farewell to Arms is about a love affair between the expatriate American Henry and Catherine Barkley against the backdrop of the war, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. The publication of A Farewell to Arms cemented Hemingway's stature as a modern American writer, became his first best-seller. Source: wikipedia
Early in 1918, Ernest Hemingway (born in Oak Park, Illinois, 1899-died in Ketchum, Idaho, 1961) responded to a Red Cross recruitment effort in Kansas City and signed on to become an ambulance driver in Italy. He left New York in May and arrived in Paris as the city was under bombardment from German artillery. On July 8, he was seriously wounded by mortar fire, having just returned from the canteen bringing chocolate and cigarettes for the men at the front line. Despite his wounds, Hemingway assisted Italian soldiers to safety, for which he received the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery Italian Silver Medal of Bravery. He sustained severe shrapnel wounds to both legs, underwent an immediate operation at a distribution center, and spent five days at a field hospital before he was transferred for recuperation to the Red Cross hospital in Milan. He spent six months at the hospital. Hemingway returned home early in 1919. Set during the Italian campaign of World War I, A Farewell to Arms is about a love affair between the expatriate American Henry and Catherine Barkley against the backdrop of the war, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. The publication of A Farewell to Arms cemented Hemingway's stature as a modern American writer, became his first best-seller. Source: wikipedia
Cinema
Shoulder Arms (1918) directed by Charles Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Syd Chaplin,
Shoulder Arms is a silent comedy set in France during World War I. Charlie is a boot camp in the "awkward squad." Once in France he gets no letters from home. He finally gets a package containing limburger cheese which requires a gas mask and which he throws over into the German trench. He goes "over the top" and captures thirteen Germans, then volunteers to wander through the German lines disguise as a tree trunk. With the help of a French girl he captures the Kaiser and the Crown Prince and is given a statue and victory parade in New York and then... fellow soldiers wake him from his dream. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Syd Chaplin,
Shoulder Arms is a silent comedy set in France during World War I. Charlie is a boot camp in the "awkward squad." Once in France he gets no letters from home. He finally gets a package containing limburger cheese which requires a gas mask and which he throws over into the German trench. He goes "over the top" and captures thirteen Germans, then volunteers to wander through the German lines disguise as a tree trunk. With the help of a French girl he captures the Kaiser and the Crown Prince and is given a statue and victory parade in New York and then... fellow soldiers wake him from his dream. Source: imdb.com
Hearts of the World (1918) directed by D. W. Griffith
Cast: Lillian Gish, Adolph Lestina, Josephine Crowell, Robert Harron, Jack Cosgrave, Kate Bruce
A wartime propaganda classic, this silent film was filmed on location in Britain and near the Western Front, made at request of the British Government to change the neutral mindset of the American public. A village in France in 1912. Two American families live next to one another. The Boy, oldest of four brothers in one of the families, tries to become a writer. He falls for the Girl, only daughter in the other family, and they decide to get married. As they make preparations for the wedding, World War I breaks out. The Village is occupied by the German and the inhabitants are mishandled by them, notably the Girl, viciously whipped by the German Taskmaster. The Allies are preparing for a wide attack while the German officers have fun with music and girls. Peace is back and after the last intertitle, "America! - Returning home after freeing the world from Autocracy and the horrors of war - we hope forever and forever," the film concludes with a portrait of President Wilson, the victorious armies marching through the village, and the happy couple with something looking like the Holy Spirit coming to bless them. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Lillian Gish, Adolph Lestina, Josephine Crowell, Robert Harron, Jack Cosgrave, Kate Bruce
A wartime propaganda classic, this silent film was filmed on location in Britain and near the Western Front, made at request of the British Government to change the neutral mindset of the American public. A village in France in 1912. Two American families live next to one another. The Boy, oldest of four brothers in one of the families, tries to become a writer. He falls for the Girl, only daughter in the other family, and they decide to get married. As they make preparations for the wedding, World War I breaks out. The Village is occupied by the German and the inhabitants are mishandled by them, notably the Girl, viciously whipped by the German Taskmaster. The Allies are preparing for a wide attack while the German officers have fun with music and girls. Peace is back and after the last intertitle, "America! - Returning home after freeing the world from Autocracy and the horrors of war - we hope forever and forever," the film concludes with a portrait of President Wilson, the victorious armies marching through the village, and the happy couple with something looking like the Holy Spirit coming to bless them. Source: imdb.com
J'accuse (1919) directed by Abel Gance
Cast: Romuald Joube, Severin-Mars, Maryse Dauvray, Maxime Desjardins, Angele Guys, Mancini
This French silent film juxtaposes a romantic drama with the background of the horrors of World War I, and it is sometimes described as a pacifist or anti-war film. Work on the film began in 1918 and some scenes were filmed on real battlefields. The film's powerful depiction of wartime suffering, and particularly its climatic sequence of the "return of the dead," made it an international success. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Romuald Joube, Severin-Mars, Maryse Dauvray, Maxime Desjardins, Angele Guys, Mancini
This French silent film juxtaposes a romantic drama with the background of the horrors of World War I, and it is sometimes described as a pacifist or anti-war film. Work on the film began in 1918 and some scenes were filmed on real battlefields. The film's powerful depiction of wartime suffering, and particularly its climatic sequence of the "return of the dead," made it an international success. Source: imdb.com
What Price Glory (1926) directed by Raoul Walsh
Cast: Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Dolores del Rio
This American silent comedy-drama is based on the play by the same title written by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings. Flagg and Quirt are veteran United States Marines sergeants whose rivalry dates back a number of years. Flagg is commissioned a Captain, and is in command of a company on the front lines of France during World War I. Sergeant Quirt is assigned to Flagg's unit as the senior non-commissioned officer. Flass and Quirt quickly resume their rivalry, which this time takes its form over the affections of Charmaine, the daughter of the local innkeeper. However, Charmaine's desire for a husband and the reality of war give the two men a common cause. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Dolores del Rio
This American silent comedy-drama is based on the play by the same title written by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings. Flagg and Quirt are veteran United States Marines sergeants whose rivalry dates back a number of years. Flagg is commissioned a Captain, and is in command of a company on the front lines of France during World War I. Sergeant Quirt is assigned to Flagg's unit as the senior non-commissioned officer. Flass and Quirt quickly resume their rivalry, which this time takes its form over the affections of Charmaine, the daughter of the local innkeeper. However, Charmaine's desire for a husband and the reality of war give the two men a common cause. Source: imdb.com
Hell's Angels (1930) directed by Howard Hughes
Cast: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow
This film centers on the combat pilots of World War I. Two brothers attending Oxford enlist with the RAF when World War I breaks out. Roy and Monte Rutledge have very different personalities. Monte is a freewheeling womanizer, even with his brother's girlfriend Helen. He also proves to have a yellow streak when it comes to his Night Patrol duties. Roy is made of strong moral fiber and attempts to keep his brother in line. Both volunteer for an extremely risky two man bombing mission for different reasons. Monte wants to lose his cowardly reputation and Roy seeks to protect his brother. Their assignment to knock out a strategic German munitions facility is a booming success, but with a squadron of fighters bearing down on them afterwards, escape seems unlikely. Hell's Angels is now hailed as one of the first sound blockbuster action films. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow
This film centers on the combat pilots of World War I. Two brothers attending Oxford enlist with the RAF when World War I breaks out. Roy and Monte Rutledge have very different personalities. Monte is a freewheeling womanizer, even with his brother's girlfriend Helen. He also proves to have a yellow streak when it comes to his Night Patrol duties. Roy is made of strong moral fiber and attempts to keep his brother in line. Both volunteer for an extremely risky two man bombing mission for different reasons. Monte wants to lose his cowardly reputation and Roy seeks to protect his brother. Their assignment to knock out a strategic German munitions facility is a booming success, but with a squadron of fighters bearing down on them afterwards, escape seems unlikely. Hell's Angels is now hailed as one of the first sound blockbuster action films. Source: imdb.com
Vastfronten 1918 (1930, Eng. Westfront 1918) directed by Georg Wilhem Pabst
Cast: Fritz Campers, Gustav Diessl, Hans Moebus, Claus Clausen, Jackie Monnier, Hannah Hossriech
Set mostly in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I, this film (based on the novel by the same title by Ernst Johannsen) deals with the impact of the war on a group of infantrymen. It was particularly pioneering in its early use of sound in that Pabst managed to record live audio during complex shots through the trenches. The film was a critical success when it was released, although it was often shown in truncated form. When the rise of National Socialism, the film quickly became considered by the German authorities as unsuitable for people, notably for its obvious pacifism, and for its clear denunciation of war. This was an attitude that propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels would soon label as "cowardly defeatism." Source: imdb.com
Cast: Fritz Campers, Gustav Diessl, Hans Moebus, Claus Clausen, Jackie Monnier, Hannah Hossriech
Set mostly in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I, this film (based on the novel by the same title by Ernst Johannsen) deals with the impact of the war on a group of infantrymen. It was particularly pioneering in its early use of sound in that Pabst managed to record live audio during complex shots through the trenches. The film was a critical success when it was released, although it was often shown in truncated form. When the rise of National Socialism, the film quickly became considered by the German authorities as unsuitable for people, notably for its obvious pacifism, and for its clear denunciation of war. This was an attitude that propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels would soon label as "cowardly defeatism." Source: imdb.com
Niemandsland (1931, Eng. Hell on Earth) directed by Victor Trivas
Cast: Ernst Busch, Vladimir Sokoloff, Renée Stobrawa, Elisabeth Lennartz, Hugh Douglass
The film centers around a dugout in a no man's land between the trenches and front lines during World War I. A ruined house is found by a soldier stranded between the lines who discovers an injured man trapped beneath some woodwork in the basement. The man has no uniform and is rescued by two men who are from different sides. The injured man cannot speak. They try to leave and return to their own lines but are fired upon by both sides so they return to the shelter of the basement. Eventually more soldiers find the safe in between all the firing and death. The credits list the characters as the Englishman, the Frenchman, the Russian Jew, the Vaudevillian, and the German. The storyline follows the arguments and discussions of the group, and ends with them marching together with a final commentary declaring the sentiment of peace, "Marching forward. Defying the common enemy--WAR." Source: imdb.com
Cast: Ernst Busch, Vladimir Sokoloff, Renée Stobrawa, Elisabeth Lennartz, Hugh Douglass
The film centers around a dugout in a no man's land between the trenches and front lines during World War I. A ruined house is found by a soldier stranded between the lines who discovers an injured man trapped beneath some woodwork in the basement. The man has no uniform and is rescued by two men who are from different sides. The injured man cannot speak. They try to leave and return to their own lines but are fired upon by both sides so they return to the shelter of the basement. Eventually more soldiers find the safe in between all the firing and death. The credits list the characters as the Englishman, the Frenchman, the Russian Jew, the Vaudevillian, and the German. The storyline follows the arguments and discussions of the group, and ends with them marching together with a final commentary declaring the sentiment of peace, "Marching forward. Defying the common enemy--WAR." Source: imdb.com
Mata Hari (1931) directed by George Fitzmaurice
Cast: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore
This American film is loosely based on the life of Mata Hari who was executed for espionage. During World War I, Mata Hari is a German spy, working in Paris. She has already seduced the Russian general Shubin, and has now set her eyes on lieutenant Rosanov, a young up-and-coming officer. In order to get her hand on secret documents in his possession, she spends a night with him. But the secret police is on to her, only waiting to get enough evidence to arrest her. The film is credited with popularizing the legend of Mata Hari. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore
This American film is loosely based on the life of Mata Hari who was executed for espionage. During World War I, Mata Hari is a German spy, working in Paris. She has already seduced the Russian general Shubin, and has now set her eyes on lieutenant Rosanov, a young up-and-coming officer. In order to get her hand on secret documents in his possession, she spends a night with him. But the secret police is on to her, only waiting to get enough evidence to arrest her. The film is credited with popularizing the legend of Mata Hari. Source: imdb.com
Le Croix de Bois (1932, Eng. Wooden Crosses) directed by Raymond Bernard
Cast: Pierre Blanchard, Gabriel Gabrio, Charles Vanel, Raymond Amos, Antonin Artaud
This film is based in the 1919 novel by the same title written by Roland Dorgeles. The 1936 American filmThe Road to Glory, directed by Howard Hawks, is a remake of Le Croix de Bois. The film focuses on the daily routine of a group of soldiers in the French Army during the war. The young and patriotic student Demachy joins the French army in 1914 to defend his country. But he and his comrades soon experience the terrifying, endless trench war in Champagne, where more and more wooden crosses have to be erected for this cannon fodder. The film is a homage to the unknown soldiers who fought and died in the war, whose graves were marked with a wooden cross with no other indication.
Cast: Pierre Blanchard, Gabriel Gabrio, Charles Vanel, Raymond Amos, Antonin Artaud
This film is based in the 1919 novel by the same title written by Roland Dorgeles. The 1936 American filmThe Road to Glory, directed by Howard Hawks, is a remake of Le Croix de Bois. The film focuses on the daily routine of a group of soldiers in the French Army during the war. The young and patriotic student Demachy joins the French army in 1914 to defend his country. But he and his comrades soon experience the terrifying, endless trench war in Champagne, where more and more wooden crosses have to be erected for this cannon fodder. The film is a homage to the unknown soldiers who fought and died in the war, whose graves were marked with a wooden cross with no other indication.
La Grande Illusion (1937) directed by Jean Renoir
Cast: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Julien Carette, Werner Florian
The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the book The Great Illusion by British economist Norman Angell, which argued that war is futile because of the common economic interests of all European nations. The perspective of the film is generously humanistic to its characters of various nationalities.
Cast: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Julien Carette, Werner Florian
The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the book The Great Illusion by British economist Norman Angell, which argued that war is futile because of the common economic interests of all European nations. The perspective of the film is generously humanistic to its characters of various nationalities.
The African Queen (1951) directed by John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn
Adapted from the 1935 novel by the same name by C. S. Forester, this adventure film is set in Africa during World War I. September 1914, news reaches the colony German Eastern Africa that Germany is at war, so Reverend Samuel Sayer becomes a hostile foreigner. German imperial troops burn down his mission; he is beaten and dies of fever. His well-educated, snobbish sister Rose Sayer buries him and leaves by the only available transport, the dilapidated river steamboat 'African Queen' of grumpy Charlie Allnut. As if a long difficult journey without any comfort weren't bad enough for such odd companions, she is determined to find a way to do their bit for the British war effort (and revenge her brother): to construct their own equipment, a torpedo and the converted steamboat, to take out a huge German warship, the Louisa, which is hard to find on the giant lake and first of all to reach. It is as daunting an expedition as anyone attempted since the late adventurous explorer John Speakes, but she presses until Charlie accepts to steam up the Ulana. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn
Adapted from the 1935 novel by the same name by C. S. Forester, this adventure film is set in Africa during World War I. September 1914, news reaches the colony German Eastern Africa that Germany is at war, so Reverend Samuel Sayer becomes a hostile foreigner. German imperial troops burn down his mission; he is beaten and dies of fever. His well-educated, snobbish sister Rose Sayer buries him and leaves by the only available transport, the dilapidated river steamboat 'African Queen' of grumpy Charlie Allnut. As if a long difficult journey without any comfort weren't bad enough for such odd companions, she is determined to find a way to do their bit for the British war effort (and revenge her brother): to construct their own equipment, a torpedo and the converted steamboat, to take out a huge German warship, the Louisa, which is hard to find on the giant lake and first of all to reach. It is as daunting an expedition as anyone attempted since the late adventurous explorer John Speakes, but she presses until Charlie accepts to steam up the Ulana. Source: imdb.com
Paths of Glory (1957) directed by Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolph Menjou, George Macready
Based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb, this film follows the steps of Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refused to continue a suicidal attack. The film is based loosely on the true story of four French soldiers during World War I, under general Geraud Reveilhac, executed for mutiny in Souain, France. Their families sued, and while the executions were unfair, two of the families received one franc each while the others received nothing. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolph Menjou, George Macready
Based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb, this film follows the steps of Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refused to continue a suicidal attack. The film is based loosely on the true story of four French soldiers during World War I, under general Geraud Reveilhac, executed for mutiny in Souain, France. Their families sued, and while the executions were unfair, two of the families received one franc each while the others received nothing. Source: imdb.com
La Grande Guerra (1959, Eng. The Great War) directed by Mario Monicelli
Cast: Vitorio Gassman, Alberto Sordi, Silvia Mangano
Oreste Jacovacci from Rome and Giovanni Busacca from Milan meet each other during the call to arms at the start of World War I. Although completely different in character, they are united in their lack of idealism and their desire to avoid any danger and get out of the war unscathed. They and a varied group of civilians and fellow soldiers (including the prostitute Constantina) go through many ups and downs during their training, battles and rare moments of leave. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Vitorio Gassman, Alberto Sordi, Silvia Mangano
Oreste Jacovacci from Rome and Giovanni Busacca from Milan meet each other during the call to arms at the start of World War I. Although completely different in character, they are united in their lack of idealism and their desire to avoid any danger and get out of the war unscathed. They and a varied group of civilians and fellow soldiers (including the prostitute Constantina) go through many ups and downs during their training, battles and rare moments of leave. Source: imdb.com
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) directed by David Lean
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif
This British epical biographical adventure drama is based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. The film depicts Lawrence's experiences in the Arabian peninsula during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. Its themes include Lawrence's emotional struggles with the personal violence inherent in war, his own identity, and his divided allegiance between his native Britain and its army and his newfound comrades within the Arabian desert tribes. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif
This British epical biographical adventure drama is based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. The film depicts Lawrence's experiences in the Arabian peninsula during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. Its themes include Lawrence's emotional struggles with the personal violence inherent in war, his own identity, and his divided allegiance between his native Britain and its army and his newfound comrades within the Arabian desert tribes. Source: imdb.com
Mars na Drinu (1964, Eng. March on the Drina) directed by Zika Mitrovic
Cast: Aleksandar Gavric, Ljuba Tadic, Nikola Jovanovic, Vladimir Popovic, Husein
This Yugoslav film is based on a historical event, the Battle of Cer, which took place in 1914 during the World War I. The film chronicles the experiences of a Serbian artillery battery of the Combined Division as it makes a forced march to the Cer Mountain in western Serbia to meet Austro-Hungarian troops who have invaded the country by crossing over the Drina river. The Battle of Cer was a landmark battle as the first Allied victory of the war over the Central Powers. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Aleksandar Gavric, Ljuba Tadic, Nikola Jovanovic, Vladimir Popovic, Husein
This Yugoslav film is based on a historical event, the Battle of Cer, which took place in 1914 during the World War I. The film chronicles the experiences of a Serbian artillery battery of the Combined Division as it makes a forced march to the Cer Mountain in western Serbia to meet Austro-Hungarian troops who have invaded the country by crossing over the Drina river. The Battle of Cer was a landmark battle as the first Allied victory of the war over the Central Powers. Source: imdb.com
Johnny Got His Gun (1971) directed by Dalton Trumbo
Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland
Based on the novel of the same name by Dalton Trumbo. Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death--a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. He remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories, unable to distinguish whether he is awake or dreaming. He remains frustrated by his situation, until one day when Joe discovers a unique way to communicate with his caregivers via Morse code. He wishes for the Army to either put him in a glass coffin in a freak show as a demonstration of the horrors of war, or kill him. In the end, however, he realizes that the Army will grant neither wish, and will leave him in a state of living death. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland
Based on the novel of the same name by Dalton Trumbo. Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death--a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. He remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories, unable to distinguish whether he is awake or dreaming. He remains frustrated by his situation, until one day when Joe discovers a unique way to communicate with his caregivers via Morse code. He wishes for the Army to either put him in a glass coffin in a freak show as a demonstration of the horrors of war, or kill him. In the end, however, he realizes that the Army will grant neither wish, and will leave him in a state of living death. Source: imdb.com
Noirs et blancs en couleur (1976, Eng. Black and White in Color) directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Cast: Jean Carmet, Catherine Rouvel, Jacques Spiesser, Jacques Dufilho
French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. The film adopts a strong anti-militaristic view, and is noteworthy for ridiculing the French side even more harshly than their German counterparts. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Jean Carmet, Catherine Rouvel, Jacques Spiesser, Jacques Dufilho
French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. The film adopts a strong anti-militaristic view, and is noteworthy for ridiculing the French side even more harshly than their German counterparts. Source: imdb.com
Gallipolli (1981) directed by Peter Weir
Cast: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins
This Australian film is about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) where they take part in the Gallipoli campaign. During the course of the film, the young men lose their innocence about the purpose of war. The climax of the movie occurs on the Anzac battlefield at Gallipoli and depicts the futile attack at the Battle of the Nek on August 7, 1915. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins
This Australian film is about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) where they take part in the Gallipoli campaign. During the course of the film, the young men lose their innocence about the purpose of war. The climax of the movie occurs on the Anzac battlefield at Gallipoli and depicts the futile attack at the Battle of the Nek on August 7, 1915. Source: imdb.com
La vie et rien d'autre (1989, Eng. Life and Nothing but) directed by Bertrand Tavernier
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azema, Pascale Vignal, Maurice Barrier
Set in October 1920, this film tells the story of Major Dellaplane, a man whose job is to find the identities of unknown dead soldiers after Worl War I. Dellaplane forms a relationship with a woman who is looking for her missing husband, but a dilemma begins when he learns that her husband may still be alive. The film is a sensitive examination of the deep psychological scars left behind by the Great War. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azema, Pascale Vignal, Maurice Barrier
Set in October 1920, this film tells the story of Major Dellaplane, a man whose job is to find the identities of unknown dead soldiers after Worl War I. Dellaplane forms a relationship with a woman who is looking for her missing husband, but a dilemma begins when he learns that her husband may still be alive. The film is a sensitive examination of the deep psychological scars left behind by the Great War. Source: imdb.com
Regeneration (1997, US title: Behind the Lines) directed by Gillies MacKinnon
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, James Wilby, Jonny Lee Miller, Stuart Bunce, Dougray Scott
Based on Pat Barker's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of soldiers of World War I sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital for emotional troubles. Two of the soldiers meeting there are Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, two of England's most important World War 1 poets. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, James Wilby, Jonny Lee Miller, Stuart Bunce, Dougray Scott
Based on Pat Barker's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of soldiers of World War I sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital for emotional troubles. Two of the soldiers meeting there are Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, two of England's most important World War 1 poets. Source: imdb.com
The Trench (1999) directed by William Boyd
Cast: Paul Nicholls, Daniel Craig, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Danny Dyer, James D'Arcy
The film portrays a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme. It paints a picture of the soldier's emotional experience in the confines of the trenches--an experience running the gamut from boredom to fear, panic to restlessness. Billy MacFarlane, 17, along with his older brother, Eddie, has volunteered for service. The whole platoon, all of them in their late teens, depend on war-hardened Sergeant Winter and the scholarly Lieutenant Hart for their survival. When word arrives that the platoon will join the first wave of attacks, they do not yet know they will be present when the British Army loses the greatest number of soldiers in a single day in its history. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Paul Nicholls, Daniel Craig, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Danny Dyer, James D'Arcy
The film portrays a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme. It paints a picture of the soldier's emotional experience in the confines of the trenches--an experience running the gamut from boredom to fear, panic to restlessness. Billy MacFarlane, 17, along with his older brother, Eddie, has volunteered for service. The whole platoon, all of them in their late teens, depend on war-hardened Sergeant Winter and the scholarly Lieutenant Hart for their survival. When word arrives that the platoon will join the first wave of attacks, they do not yet know they will be present when the British Army loses the greatest number of soldiers in a single day in its history. Source: imdb.com
Joyeux Noel (2005) directed by Christian Carion
Cast: Diane Kruger, Natalie Dessay, Benno Furmann, Guillaume Canet, Daniel Bruhl, Ian Richardson
In 1914, World War I was well under way. However on Christmas Eve, numerous sections of the Western Front called an informal, and unauthorized, truce where the various front-line soldiers of the conflict peacefully met each other in No Man's Land to share a precious pause in the carnage with a fleeting brotherhood. This film dramatizes one such section as the French, Scottish and German sides partake in the unique event, even though they are aware that their superiors will not tolerate its occurrence. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Diane Kruger, Natalie Dessay, Benno Furmann, Guillaume Canet, Daniel Bruhl, Ian Richardson
In 1914, World War I was well under way. However on Christmas Eve, numerous sections of the Western Front called an informal, and unauthorized, truce where the various front-line soldiers of the conflict peacefully met each other in No Man's Land to share a precious pause in the carnage with a fleeting brotherhood. This film dramatizes one such section as the French, Scottish and German sides partake in the unique event, even though they are aware that their superiors will not tolerate its occurrence. Source: imdb.com
The Long Way Home (2013) directed by Alphan Eseli
Cast: Ugur Polat, Nergis Öztürk, Serdar Orçin, Muharrem Bayrak, Sevket Suha Tezel, Sila Cetindag
Set on the outskirts of Kars in Eastern Anatolia in the winter of 1915, the film takes us to the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Sarikamis. The film follows a group of seven people from different walks of life on their quest to escape the war zone and find a safe path back home. Source: imdb.com
Cast: Ugur Polat, Nergis Öztürk, Serdar Orçin, Muharrem Bayrak, Sevket Suha Tezel, Sila Cetindag
Set on the outskirts of Kars in Eastern Anatolia in the winter of 1915, the film takes us to the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Sarikamis. The film follows a group of seven people from different walks of life on their quest to escape the war zone and find a safe path back home. Source: imdb.com
Media
- Newspapers
Because newspapers offered the most effective way for people to remain abreast of updates from the front, WWI created nations of readers. Readership of newspapers increased dramatically during the war years. In addition, many readers began to participate in print culture by writing letters that they mailed to the newspapers, hoping to have them published. It is important to note that although newspapers were a vital source of information to readers on the home front, the manner in which newspapers covered events was not neutral: newspapers could subtly shape stories to appeal to and bolster national pride; in other words, British newspapers highlighted British accomplishment, German newspapers German accomplishments, and so on. This subtle propagandistic slant reinforced nationalistic sentiment. Many scholars have written about this phenomenon, including Benedict Anderson who, in his book, Imagined Communities (1983) discussed the important role of newspapers in the creation and support of a national consciousness.
- Newsreels
For the first time, civilians far from the front could see combat through filmed newsreel footage. Although only short clips were available, these still exposed millions to the horror of war. They also provided an effective form of propaganda, as governments used footage from the front to try to boost national pride and increase popular support for the war.
This video offers an overview of the war through different footage. Combat footage taken by the US army. |
Footage filmed in Berlin, Munich, Tannenberg, Verdun, Arras and the Somme-sector. Documentary film on the Battle of Verdun with original footage. |
Color video on warfare in and around the trenches. Original footage of aircraft being prepared for take off and in flight. |
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An example of film propaganda: The Battle of the Somme is a 1916 British documentary and propaganda film. Shot by two official cinematographers, Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell, the film depicts the British Army's preparations for, and the early stages of, the battle of the Somme, presenting the battle that turned out to be one of the Great War's bloodiest as a patriotic, honorable and successful enterprise.
Premiered in London on 10 August 1916 and released generally on 21 August, while the battle continued in France, the film gave a graphic depiction of trench warfare, showing, as it did, dead and wounded British and German soldiers. The film was a massive success, selling some twenty million tickets in its first six weeks of release in Britain and going on to be distributed in eighteen other countries. A second film, covering a later phase of the battle, was released in 1917 as The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks. Preserved in the film archive of the Imperial War Museum since 1920, the film was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2005. The Battle of the Somme remains significant today as an early example of film propaganda technique, as an historical record of the battle, and as a frequent source of footage illustrating the First World War. Source: BBC |
Music
* Songs that were popular during the war, especially in the US and England:
"It's a Long Long Way to Tipperary" (1912). This song actually came out two years before the war began, but took on a life of its own for the soldiers of every country who fought in it. Written and composed by Jack Judge and Harry Williams.
"Keep the Homefires Burning" (1914). Lyrics by Lena Ford and music by Ivor Novello.
"Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers" (1914). Lyrics by R. P. Weston and music by Hermann E. Darewski.
"America, I Love You" (1915). Patriotic song with lyrics written by Edgar Leslie and with music by Archie Gottlier.
"I didn't Raise my Boy to Be a Soldier" (1915). An anti-war song, popular until the US entered World War I. Lyrics by Alfred Bryan and music by Al Piantadosi.
"Pack Up your Troubles in your Old Kit Bad and Smile, Smile, Smile" (1915). Sung by the troops as they marched along. Lyrics by George Asaf; music by Felix Powell.
"There's a Long, Long Trail" (1915). While not mentioning the war explicitly, this song clearly resonated with soldiers who were desperately missing home and family, and who wanted to reassure loved ones that they would soon be home. Words and music by Stoddard King and Zo Elliott.
"Colonel Bogey March" (1916). Words and music by a Brit named Kenneth J. Alford.
"Roses of Picardy" (1916). Lyrics by Fred E. Weatherly; music by Haydn Wood.
"Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1916). Incredibly popular song for the homesick British Troops in France during the war. The term "Blighty" refers to England. Written and composed by A. J. Mills, Fred Godfrey and Bennett Scott.
"Goodbye Broadway, Hello France" (1917). Lyrics by C. Francis Reisner and Benny Davis; music by Billy Baskette.
"Goodbye-ee" (1917). British song written by R. P. Weston and Bert Lee.
"Lorraine (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine)" (1917). The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine have been fought over by France and Germany repeatedly. Possessed, to the distress of the French, by the Germans in 1871, they were reclaimed by France following World War I. This haunting ballad reflects the somberness of that struggle, yet also tells how the Alsation people have survived through it all. Written by Fred Fisher and Alfred Bryan.
"Over There" (1917). Words and music by George M. Cohan.
"In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow Music" (1918). Based on the famous World War I poem by Dr. John McCrae. Music by John Philip Sousa.
"K-K-K-Katy" (1918). Written by George O'Hara, Army song leader.
"Madelon, I'll Be True to the Whole Regiment" (1918). Based on the French soldier's song "Quand Madelon" by Camille Robert. French lyrics by Louis Bousquet; English version by Alfred Bryan.
"Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" (1918). This funny song was dedicated to: "My friend 'Private Howard Friend' who occupies the cot next to mine and feels as I do about the 'bugler'." Words and music by Irving Berlin.
"The Rose of No Man's Land" (1918). A tribute to World War I Red Cross nurses. Words by Jack Caddigan and music by James A. Brennan.
"The Russians Were Rushin', the Yanks Started Yankin'" (1918). A grandfather in the future of 1953 teaches his grandson about the Great War, with a twist. Words by Carey Morgan; music by Charles McCarron.
"Till We Meet Again" (1918). Words by Raymond B. Egan; music by Richard Whiting.
"And He'd Say 'Oo-La-La Wee-Wee" (1919). On French girls and American and British soldiers, written by Harry Rub y and George Jessel.
Willie Earl met a sweet young girl one day in France,
Her naughty little glance,
Put Willie in a trance;
Willie Earl couldn't understand her talk you see,
He only knew two words in French
That he learned in the trench,
They were "oo-la-la!" and "wee-wee",
They would spoon beneath the moon above;
It was fun to hear them making love.
Chorus:
She'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee",
She'd smile and whisper "mercy bacoo!"
He'd answer I don't mind if I do!
She'd say, if you be my papa,
Then I will be your macherle!
She'd pinch his cheek and say you keekagay,
He'd say not now, dear, but later I may;
Then she'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee!"
2. Willie Earl said, this little girl is meant for me,
No more I'll cross the sea,
I'll stay in Gay Paree,
Ev'ry day you would hear him say to his babee,
Your talk I do not know but I,
Will manage to get by,
With my "oo-la-la!" and "wee-wee",
Ev'ry ev'ning Willie would rehearse;
Instead of getting better he got worse.
Chorus:
She'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee",
She'd say "corpe wee" and then roll her eyes,
He'd answer, baby, you'd be surprised.
Each ev'ning they would promenade,
Upon a boulevards, you see;
One day at lunch, she said cafe voola,
He said my dear, don't forget where you are;
Then she'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee!"
"How 'Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)" (1919). A comedy song: Ma and Pa wonder how their soldier sons will adjust to life in America after the Great War. Written by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis; music by Walter Donaldson.
* Trench songs:
Songs that the soldiers sang in the trenches. Click here to see the lyrics.
* French songs:
French songs on World War I. Click here to see lyrics and listen to video-recordings.
* German songs:
"Soldatenlied aus dem ersten Weltkrieg," on the likelihood of dying in combat.
For a comprehensive archive of lyrics from German songs click here.
* Russian songs:
"Galitsiiskie Polya" (Galician Fields). The lyrics go as follows: "The Russian brigades tool / the Galician Fields / and I received an award: / Two heavy crutches. / Three of us left from the village / The best in the village / And two remain in Peremyshl / Rotting in the damp earth / I returned to my home village / Home stands to the side / The wind howls, my legs ache / Suddenly they are with me again / The Russian brigades tool / the Galician fields / and I received an award: / Two heavy crutches."
"It's a Long Long Way to Tipperary" (1912). This song actually came out two years before the war began, but took on a life of its own for the soldiers of every country who fought in it. Written and composed by Jack Judge and Harry Williams.
"Keep the Homefires Burning" (1914). Lyrics by Lena Ford and music by Ivor Novello.
"Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers" (1914). Lyrics by R. P. Weston and music by Hermann E. Darewski.
"America, I Love You" (1915). Patriotic song with lyrics written by Edgar Leslie and with music by Archie Gottlier.
"I didn't Raise my Boy to Be a Soldier" (1915). An anti-war song, popular until the US entered World War I. Lyrics by Alfred Bryan and music by Al Piantadosi.
"Pack Up your Troubles in your Old Kit Bad and Smile, Smile, Smile" (1915). Sung by the troops as they marched along. Lyrics by George Asaf; music by Felix Powell.
"There's a Long, Long Trail" (1915). While not mentioning the war explicitly, this song clearly resonated with soldiers who were desperately missing home and family, and who wanted to reassure loved ones that they would soon be home. Words and music by Stoddard King and Zo Elliott.
"Colonel Bogey March" (1916). Words and music by a Brit named Kenneth J. Alford.
"Roses of Picardy" (1916). Lyrics by Fred E. Weatherly; music by Haydn Wood.
"Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1916). Incredibly popular song for the homesick British Troops in France during the war. The term "Blighty" refers to England. Written and composed by A. J. Mills, Fred Godfrey and Bennett Scott.
"Goodbye Broadway, Hello France" (1917). Lyrics by C. Francis Reisner and Benny Davis; music by Billy Baskette.
"Goodbye-ee" (1917). British song written by R. P. Weston and Bert Lee.
"Lorraine (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine)" (1917). The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine have been fought over by France and Germany repeatedly. Possessed, to the distress of the French, by the Germans in 1871, they were reclaimed by France following World War I. This haunting ballad reflects the somberness of that struggle, yet also tells how the Alsation people have survived through it all. Written by Fred Fisher and Alfred Bryan.
"Over There" (1917). Words and music by George M. Cohan.
"In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow Music" (1918). Based on the famous World War I poem by Dr. John McCrae. Music by John Philip Sousa.
"K-K-K-Katy" (1918). Written by George O'Hara, Army song leader.
"Madelon, I'll Be True to the Whole Regiment" (1918). Based on the French soldier's song "Quand Madelon" by Camille Robert. French lyrics by Louis Bousquet; English version by Alfred Bryan.
"Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" (1918). This funny song was dedicated to: "My friend 'Private Howard Friend' who occupies the cot next to mine and feels as I do about the 'bugler'." Words and music by Irving Berlin.
"The Rose of No Man's Land" (1918). A tribute to World War I Red Cross nurses. Words by Jack Caddigan and music by James A. Brennan.
"The Russians Were Rushin', the Yanks Started Yankin'" (1918). A grandfather in the future of 1953 teaches his grandson about the Great War, with a twist. Words by Carey Morgan; music by Charles McCarron.
"Till We Meet Again" (1918). Words by Raymond B. Egan; music by Richard Whiting.
"And He'd Say 'Oo-La-La Wee-Wee" (1919). On French girls and American and British soldiers, written by Harry Rub y and George Jessel.
Willie Earl met a sweet young girl one day in France,
Her naughty little glance,
Put Willie in a trance;
Willie Earl couldn't understand her talk you see,
He only knew two words in French
That he learned in the trench,
They were "oo-la-la!" and "wee-wee",
They would spoon beneath the moon above;
It was fun to hear them making love.
Chorus:
She'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee",
She'd smile and whisper "mercy bacoo!"
He'd answer I don't mind if I do!
She'd say, if you be my papa,
Then I will be your macherle!
She'd pinch his cheek and say you keekagay,
He'd say not now, dear, but later I may;
Then she'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee!"
2. Willie Earl said, this little girl is meant for me,
No more I'll cross the sea,
I'll stay in Gay Paree,
Ev'ry day you would hear him say to his babee,
Your talk I do not know but I,
Will manage to get by,
With my "oo-la-la!" and "wee-wee",
Ev'ry ev'ning Willie would rehearse;
Instead of getting better he got worse.
Chorus:
She'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee",
She'd say "corpe wee" and then roll her eyes,
He'd answer, baby, you'd be surprised.
Each ev'ning they would promenade,
Upon a boulevards, you see;
One day at lunch, she said cafe voola,
He said my dear, don't forget where you are;
Then she'd say, compronay voo, papa?
And he'd say "oo-la-la! wee-wee!"
"How 'Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)" (1919). A comedy song: Ma and Pa wonder how their soldier sons will adjust to life in America after the Great War. Written by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis; music by Walter Donaldson.
* Trench songs:
Songs that the soldiers sang in the trenches. Click here to see the lyrics.
* French songs:
French songs on World War I. Click here to see lyrics and listen to video-recordings.
* German songs:
"Soldatenlied aus dem ersten Weltkrieg," on the likelihood of dying in combat.
For a comprehensive archive of lyrics from German songs click here.
* Russian songs:
"Galitsiiskie Polya" (Galician Fields). The lyrics go as follows: "The Russian brigades tool / the Galician Fields / and I received an award: / Two heavy crutches. / Three of us left from the village / The best in the village / And two remain in Peremyshl / Rotting in the damp earth / I returned to my home village / Home stands to the side / The wind howls, my legs ache / Suddenly they are with me again / The Russian brigades tool / the Galician fields / and I received an award: / Two heavy crutches."
Theatre and dance
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Le Sacré du Printemps (1913, Eng. The Rite of Spring ), ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, with music by Igor Stravinsky.
The Rite of Spring was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky, with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed, at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a near-riot in the audience. In addition to the outrageous costumes, unusual choreography and bizarre story of pagan sacrifice, Stravinsky's musical innovations tested the patience of the audience to the fullest. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece, and is widely considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. Nijinsky's ballet captures the apocalyptic cultural atmosphere of a Europe on the brink of war and is considered one of the founding works of balletic modernism. This ballet has been subsequently re-choreographed by numerous famous choreographers, including Pina Bausch. On the left is a link to the video of the Joffrey Ballet performing a restaging of Nijinsky's original choreography for Le Sacré du Printemps at the Music Center in Los Angeles in the fall of 1987. Sources: Wikipedia, NPR, PBS |
Journey's End (1928) by R. C. Sheriff
Written by a soldier who saw the horror first-hand, and set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in 1918 towards the end of the First World War, Journey's End gives a glimpse into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company. The entire story plays out in the officers' dugout over four days from March 18 to March 21, 1918 during the run-up to the real-life events of Operation Michael. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on December 9, 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theaters for a two-year run. The play was later adapted to film. Source: independent.co.uk
Written by a soldier who saw the horror first-hand, and set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in 1918 towards the end of the First World War, Journey's End gives a glimpse into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company. The entire story plays out in the officers' dugout over four days from March 18 to March 21, 1918 during the run-up to the real-life events of Operation Michael. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on December 9, 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theaters for a two-year run. The play was later adapted to film. Source: independent.co.uk
The Silver Tassie (1928) by Sean O'Casey
The Silver Tassie is a four-act Expressionist play focusing on Harry Heegan, a soldier who goes to war as if going to a football match. Through it's study of Harry's loss of many of his life's hopes during and after the war, the play attacks imperialist wars and the suffering they cause. O'Casey described the play as "a generous handful stones, aimed indiscriminately, with the aim of breaking a few windows." In 1928, W. B. Yeats rejected the play for the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. It premiered at the Apollo Theatre in the West End of London on October 11, 1929. Source: independent.co.uk
The Silver Tassie is a four-act Expressionist play focusing on Harry Heegan, a soldier who goes to war as if going to a football match. Through it's study of Harry's loss of many of his life's hopes during and after the war, the play attacks imperialist wars and the suffering they cause. O'Casey described the play as "a generous handful stones, aimed indiscriminately, with the aim of breaking a few windows." In 1928, W. B. Yeats rejected the play for the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. It premiered at the Apollo Theatre in the West End of London on October 11, 1929. Source: independent.co.uk
For Services Rendered (1932) by Somerset Maugham
For Services Rendered, which so shocked early audiences, focuses on the devastating effects of World War I on an English family. As Maugham chronicles the damaged lives of each member of the Ardsley family and their friends, he presents a scathing indictment of the war and the governments that convince young men to sacrifice their lives in the name of glory. The first performance was on November 1, 1932 at what was then known the Globe Theatre in London, later renamed the Gielgud Theatre. The anti-war message was not popular with audiences, and the play only ran for 78 performances. Source: independent.co.uk
For Services Rendered, which so shocked early audiences, focuses on the devastating effects of World War I on an English family. As Maugham chronicles the damaged lives of each member of the Ardsley family and their friends, he presents a scathing indictment of the war and the governments that convince young men to sacrifice their lives in the name of glory. The first performance was on November 1, 1932 at what was then known the Globe Theatre in London, later renamed the Gielgud Theatre. The anti-war message was not popular with audiences, and the play only ran for 78 performances. Source: independent.co.uk
Oh, What a Lovely War! (1963) by Joan Littlewood
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. The idea for the production started on Armistice Day 1962 when Gerry Raffles heard the second broadcast of Charles Chilton's radio musical for BBC Home Service, called The Long Trail about World War I. Written and produced by Chilton in memory of his father whose name was inscribed on the memorial at Arras, the piece was a radio documentary that used facts and statistics, juxtaposed with reminiscences and versions of songs of the times, as an ironic critique of the reality of the war. The songs were found in a book called Tommy's Tunes which had new lyrics written in the trenches to well-known songs of the era, many from hymns or from West End shows. The title of the musical came from the popular musical hall song, "There's A Long, Long Trail." The UIUC Theatre Department is performing a version of this musical in the fall of 2014. Sources: independent.co.uk, wikipedia
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. The idea for the production started on Armistice Day 1962 when Gerry Raffles heard the second broadcast of Charles Chilton's radio musical for BBC Home Service, called The Long Trail about World War I. Written and produced by Chilton in memory of his father whose name was inscribed on the memorial at Arras, the piece was a radio documentary that used facts and statistics, juxtaposed with reminiscences and versions of songs of the times, as an ironic critique of the reality of the war. The songs were found in a book called Tommy's Tunes which had new lyrics written in the trenches to well-known songs of the era, many from hymns or from West End shows. The title of the musical came from the popular musical hall song, "There's A Long, Long Trail." The UIUC Theatre Department is performing a version of this musical in the fall of 2014. Sources: independent.co.uk, wikipedia
Billy Bishop Goes to War (1978) by John MacLachlan Gray and Eric Peterson
Billy Bishop Goes to War is a Canadian musical that dramatizes the life of Canadian World War I fighter pilot Billy Bishop. Bishop was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace of the war. The play premiered at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 3, 1978. Source: independent.co.uk
Billy Bishop Goes to War is a Canadian musical that dramatizes the life of Canadian World War I fighter pilot Billy Bishop. Bishop was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace of the war. The play premiered at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 3, 1978. Source: independent.co.uk
The Accrington Pals (1981) by Peter Whelan
Whelan's play moves from the optimism of 1914, when local Lancashire lads signed up to the battalion known as the Accrington Pals, to the grim realities of 1916 and the first Battle of the Somme. But the play also movingly focuses on the women left behind. It was premiered at the Warehouse in London on April 10, 1981 by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Source: independent.co.uk
Whelan's play moves from the optimism of 1914, when local Lancashire lads signed up to the battalion known as the Accrington Pals, to the grim realities of 1916 and the first Battle of the Somme. But the play also movingly focuses on the women left behind. It was premiered at the Warehouse in London on April 10, 1981 by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Source: independent.co.uk
Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (1985) by Frank McGuinness
The play centers on the experiences of eight Unionist Irishmen who volunteer to serve in the Lewis (Ulster) Division at the beginning of the First World War. The story is told in a nostalgic flashback from the point of view of the only surviving soldier of the eight (now an unmarried old man). The play reaches a climax at the start of the terrible Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916--the anniversary of the Battle of Boyne in 1690--in which the Ulster Division suffered heavy casualties. The play has many themes running through it, including homosexuality, homophobia, the inner conflict of self-respect, bravery and patriotism. The play was first staged at Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1985. Source: independent.co.uk
The play centers on the experiences of eight Unionist Irishmen who volunteer to serve in the Lewis (Ulster) Division at the beginning of the First World War. The story is told in a nostalgic flashback from the point of view of the only surviving soldier of the eight (now an unmarried old man). The play reaches a climax at the start of the terrible Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916--the anniversary of the Battle of Boyne in 1690--in which the Ulster Division suffered heavy casualties. The play has many themes running through it, including homosexuality, homophobia, the inner conflict of self-respect, bravery and patriotism. The play was first staged at Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1985. Source: independent.co.uk
Dr. Scroggy's War (2014) by Howard Benton
This play was commissioned by Shakespeare's Globe, in London, where it is due to premiere from September 12, 2014 marking the centenary of World War I. It is centered on the fictional soldier Jack Twigg, 19 years old, who enlists in the London Regiment and goes on a journey he never imagined--nor did the rest of the world. On his way, he meets the pioneering medic Harold Gillies, who saves his life and his sanity. But who is the mysterious "Doctor Scroggy" who appears at night in Gillies' hospital dispensing champagne to the patients? Source: Shakespeare's Globe
This play was commissioned by Shakespeare's Globe, in London, where it is due to premiere from September 12, 2014 marking the centenary of World War I. It is centered on the fictional soldier Jack Twigg, 19 years old, who enlists in the London Regiment and goes on a journey he never imagined--nor did the rest of the world. On his way, he meets the pioneering medic Harold Gillies, who saves his life and his sanity. But who is the mysterious "Doctor Scroggy" who appears at night in Gillies' hospital dispensing champagne to the patients? Source: Shakespeare's Globe
Further Research
* Lisa Simone and Thomas Kelly discuss Igor Stravinsky's controversial ballet score The Rite of Spring on radio program NPR's Performance Today. To hear click here.
* The Online Otto Dix Project contains all the work by the German artist.
* Art of the First World War, 100 paintings on the war from international collections.
* Complete list of Siegfried Sassoon's work.
* E. E. Cumming's The Enormous Room online courtesy of Penn State University.
* Complete list of Wilfred Owen's work.
* The Online Otto Dix Project contains all the work by the German artist.
* Art of the First World War, 100 paintings on the war from international collections.
* Complete list of Siegfried Sassoon's work.
* E. E. Cumming's The Enormous Room online courtesy of Penn State University.
* Complete list of Wilfred Owen's work.