Gallipoli

Rating:
Summary: In the trenches.
Review: A touching drama about the futility of war and the power of male friendship. "Gallipoli" stars a young Mel Gibson as a champion runner and reluctant soldier in the World War I battle of the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. The story of his friendship with another runner (Mark Lee) and the idealistic dreams both men have of glory and adventure in the war develops into a ghastly look at the horror of a suicide mission and the waste that Australians experienced, as hundreds of their young men were slaughtered. Gibson was just another working actor at this point, not yet the megastar he is today, and he blends in with the fine ensemble cast and delivers a poignant performance, while Mark Lee steals the show as the naive boy who dreams of adventure and winds up in the horrific experience of trench warfare. A strong, emotionally wrenching war film, highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: WWI in a nutshell
Review: The Gallipoli Peninsula and Australia's involvement in WWI are not widely known in the US, but this movie serves as an excellent metaphor for the war even though it isn't on the Western Front and France, Britian, and Germany are not major parts of the film.

The movie does an excellent job of showing why so many soldiers volunteered to fight in a useless war that accomplished nothing except making the even worse conflict of WWII inevitable. War was still a "game" as it was in the limited European wars of the 1800's. Cavalry dashed about on horses, infantry wore bright uniforms and became heroes if they survived a single battle and casualty numbers were low by the standards of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, technology and industrialization had changed war forever and the "game" or "adventure" of the 1800's was far more deadly. Unfortunately, no one informed the officers of these changes, so TEN MILLION soldiers were slaughtered while the strategists continued to send men over open ground against entrenched enemeies that were waiting with machine guns. The "adventure" lasted about ten feet from your own trench, as the final battle scenes of "Gallipoli" accurately depict.

The ending of the movie seems harsh at first, but on reflection is the only fair way to be true to a failed campaign that was poorly planned and ultimately accomplished nothing. As many soldiers were killed at Gallipoli as the entire US Civil War. Mark Lee and Mel Gibson do a solid job of giving the movie an emotional weight and the lengthy build up to the battle scenes gives the ending the impact the movie deserves.

I think this movie is perfect for WWI no matter what nation's involvement or battle you are looking to understand.

Rating:
Summary: Devastating look at war
Review: It's unfortunate in the extreme that the First World War has largely fallen by the wayside. If we hear anything about the conflict at all, it's usually on the History Channel or another network airing a documentary full of grainy, black and white clips of men stumbling over the top of trenches. Interest in historical events tends to drop off significantly when those involved pass away, and in the case of the generation that fought this horrific war not only have they exited the stage, they have left the building as well. I developed a life long interest in "the war to end all wars" after seeing Peter Weir's 1981 film "Gallipoli" in a small, run down art house theater at the age of ten. I didn't understand the historical context at the time, but this dramatic interpretation of events that unfolded in the Dardanelles during 1915 left a lasting impression on my impressionable mind. I recently rewatched the film and can say that it still works as an intense drama and as a serious antiwar statement. Weir's overt hostility toward the British commanders at Gallipoli, however, doesn't stand up as well. By the way, this is one of the films that propelled Mel Gibson to international stardom.

Weir decided to focus his film not on the massive armies battling away in Europe, but on two individuals living in Australia. Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) and Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson) are two of the fastest runners in the country. Hamilton trains with his demanding grandfather, who promises the young lad that if he works hard he may yet go down as the next national sports hero. Frank, on the other hand, wanders around the country with a few buddies taking any job he can get and generally just having a lot of fun. News of the escalating war in Europe is vague and distant, referenced only when someone brings up a news story they saw in the paper. Archy wants to go and fight, attracted by the lure of glory that has suckered millions of young people since the dawn of time into disaster. Frank doesn't think of war as glory, and when his pals bring up the idea of enlisting he quietly makes his position known. Both of these young men's lives are forever changed after the end up competing against each other in a foot race at a regional fair. Archy barely wins, but a friendship develops between the two that soon finds Frank tagging along when Archy decides to enlist in the illustrious cavalry. Frank agrees to join with Archy, once he discovers that the ladies love a soldier, but goes into the infantry after failing to qualify for the light horse unit.

It really doesn't matter anyway since horses won't make a bit of difference when the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers head first to Egypt and then the Dardanelles for combat against the Ottoman Turks. What the war effort needs are bodies capable of running headlong into a withering wall of machine gun fire, and cavalry troops minus their steeds will work in this capacity just as well as infantrymen. Before they reach the killing fields, Archy and Frank reunite during a training exercise in Egypt. Hamilton convinces his commander to enlist Dunne in the cavalry, claiming that his skills as a runner rival his own and that both men will make a major contribution to the regiment. Weir shows us plenty of carefully crafted scenes of the men having a good time in Cairo, of the deepening camaraderie taking place even as the war looms larger and larger in the background. The movie takes a doom and gloom turn as the ANZAC forces land at Gallipoli to take part in the fighting. Casualties mount as attacks designed to expand the beachhead fail under Turkish machine guns. Soon, Archy and Frank know they will have to go over the top too, and realize they will certainly perish in the process. The conclusion to "Gallipoli" is one of the most emotionally grinding, soul shattering denouements in motion picture history.

The only thing I found extremely irritating about "Gallipoli" is the cheesy synth musical score, which now sounds so early 1980s that it dates the picture terribly. I think the message about how people join up to go to war for all the wrong reasons, however, is still highly relevant. And if there was any war that everyone should have avoided, it was World War I. Generals and leaders still subscribed to antiquated notions of warfare, never taking into account machine guns, poison gas, and airplanes would decimate the troops. The fatalities were truly appalling, with millions perishing in muddy trenches during the four year conflict. Weir expertly depicts the squalid conditions of the trenches, but he goes too far blaming the film's fatal charge on the British commanders. First of all, far more British soldiers died during the campaign in the Dardanelles than did members of ANZAC. Second, why place the onus for the war on the British? Plenty of commanders on all sides made mistake after mistake in this conflagration, mistakes that resulted in so many fatalities that it's a wonder humanity didn't rise up and cast their leaders into the fire.

"Gallipoli" wins the day in the end thanks to the charm of Mark Lee and Mel Gibson. Weir's cinematography sinks its claws in as well. Check out the shots of the Australian outback, the Red Cross party, and the landing at Gallipoli to learn why. The transfer looks good, but the only extra on the disc is a short interview with Weir about the making of the film. I wanted a commentary track for this film desperately, and still hope a special edition will arrive on the market in the near future. If you haven't seen "Gallipoli," check it out soon.


Rating:
Summary: A Great Drama On War And The Loss Of Innocence
Review: Peter Weir's touching drama on the naivetes of youth, war, and the loss of innocence. A good script brought to life by the acting talents of Mel Gibson and Mark Lee.

The story follows the lives of two young Australians aspiring to be olympic runners at the onset of World War I. Despite their dreams of Olympic greatness, the two friends abandon their personal interests and answer England's call to war during World War I. Naive and hot-blooded the two men volunteer to join and, after brief training, are soon shipped off to the blood fields of Gallipoli to fight the Turks. Face to face with carnage and placed at risk by the incompetence in their own superiors, the youths soon realize that the war wasn't as glorious as they had once thought.

The cinematography is excellent and the film is well paced. The tragic mood of the film is wonderfully amplified by the playing of Albinoni's 'Adagio' while the carnage ensues. Both Mel Gibson and Mark Lee perform very well as the young soldiers. The film focuses too much on the British command for the failure of the Alliance's attack on Turkey when that wasn't really the case. Strategic and tactical problems were present at the planning stage of the campaign and both the French and the English were equally responsible. Similar to the hodge-podge campaigns of the Crimean War in 1855 (the war remembered mostly because of the legendary charge of the light brigade), there were simply too many armies and commanders independently trying to make a decisive blow in a rather complex campaign which required synchronized assaults more than anything else.

A very good war film that is focused more on the drama of lost youth rather than action. The battle of Gallipoli only takes the last 1/3 of the film. A great film to own or rent.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT MANY REVIEWERS FAIL TO NOTICE...
Review: IS THE BRAVERY OF THE TURKISH ARMY, AND THE INCREDIBLE HUMANITY LESSONS TO BE DERIVED FROM THE TURKISH COMMANDER:(SPEAKING FOR ENEMY SOLDIERS)
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives..you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace.There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours.. You,the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; Your sons are in peace.After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK