When I say that 1917 is one of the best war movies ever made, I’m not giving it full credit. This is one of the best movies ever made, period.
Director Sam Mendes has made some great films over the years—Road To Perdition, American Beauty, Skyfall— but none of them come close to the brilliance of this World War 1 picture. The movie has been on other streaming services for a while now, including Showtime and HBO, but now it’s on Netflix and you absolutely must watch it.
Part of 1917’s brilliance is how it’s shot, in two very long shots that are only broken up once in the middle of the film (though the film used techniques to give it the appearance of one long shot; a brilliant illusion). Cinematographer Roger Deakins—True Grit, Fargo, Prisoners—is at the top of his game. Very few movies are as visually impressive. This one has such a sense of urgency and flow that it’s impossible to look away.
1917 isn’t a dialogue-heavy movie, especially in its second half. The film stars George MacKay as Lance Corporal Will Schofield and Dean-Charles Chapman as Lance Corporal Tom Blake. The two men are sent on a desperate mission to bring a message to a British colonel (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is about to send his men into an ambush. This mission takes the two young men across enemy lines, through booby-trapped trenches, and into one peril after another. It’s extremely tense, though there isn’t a lot of the actual war shown, since this is a bit more of a zoomed-in, intimate story.
I won’t spoil any more. The film has many, many cameos from actors like Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Colin Firth and more. I’ve seen in it three times and loved every second of it.
Check out more streaming recommendations in my weekend streaming guide right here.
