Oh! What a Lovely War

Dir: Richard Attenborough

1969

*****

Adapted from Joan Littlewood's theatre production, that was in turn a take on the popular radio show The Long Long Trail by Charles Chilton (and influenced heavily by Alan Clark's controversial historical work The Donkeys 1961), Richard Attenborough's debut is one of the greatest Musical War satires ever made, and quite possibly the only one ever made. It is a relentless satire but given the subject matter it is always in good taste. World War II has almost always been shown for the horrifically pointless war that it was in film and television, to make a musical satire of the event gives the message a little bit more of a sting without being too obvious. Patriotism often gets in the way of fact, Oh! What a Lovely War shows the faults from all sides, highlighting all of the wrong reasons why countries go to war, how the public are manipulated into thinking it is a good thing and ultimately who pays the final price. A very clear and concise message, with music and dancing. It's an absurd film but then that is the point, one absurdity deserves another and so on. It's a shame that this kind of thing still happens and that people have forgotten much of what they are reminded once a year not to but I digress. The memory of those who fought and lost is handled perfectly and it is important to remember that many of those involved would have had close family members involved in the war, with a few being alive during. No blood is shed in the film, instead Attenborough placed a red poppy next to where each character had been to symbolize their passing. It's quite astonishing to think this was his directional debut as it easily gives Federico Fellini a run for his money. The cast is one of the greatest ever assembled and includes Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Jack Hawkins, Corin, Michael and Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Edward Fox and Susannah York to name just a few. It is clearly an influence on the work of Monty Python and indeed Blackadder, particularly Blackadder Goes Forth and many a musical made since. A good war film is an anti-war film and a good musical (apart from good songs) is good structural narrative. It's the perfect combination of theatre and cinema that is still miles ahead of anything made before or since.