War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme

War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme

2014
1h 29m
9.5

9.5/10

1 votes • View on IMDb
Documentary History TV Movie War
Overview

The 1916 Battle of the Somme remains the most famous battle of World War I, remembered for its bloodshed and its limited territorial gains. What is often overlooked, however, is the literary importance of the Somme: more writers and poets fought in it than in any other battle in history. Narrated by Michael Sheen, War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme details the experiences of the poets and writers who served in the battle. The work of Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, David Jones, Isaac Rosenberg and JRR Tolkien (who arrived at the Western Front with ambitions to be a poet) was informed and transformed by the battle. Taken together, their experiences allow us to see this dreadful historical event through multiple points of view. The film uses animation, documentary accounts, surviving artefacts, battalion war diaries and the landscape itself to reconnect this literature to the events that inspired it.

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Status: Released

Language: EN

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Production Information

Production Companies
Parapet Productions BBC Arts BBC
Production Countries
United Kingdom
Spoken Languages
English

Keywords

world war i 1910s battle of the somme war poet

Quick Facts

Release Date November 15, 2014
Status Released
Language EN
IMDb ID tt4707688
Website Visit Site

Cast

Michael Sheen
Michael Sheen

Narrator (voice)

Peter Barton
Peter Barton

Himself - First World War Historian

Max Egremont
Max Egremont

Himself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon

Christophe Fricker
Christophe Fricker

Himself - Literary Historian

John Garth
John Garth

Himself - Author, Tolkien and the Great War

William Graves
William Graves

Himself - Son of Robert Graves

Jean Moorcroft Wilson
Jean Moorcroft Wilson

Herself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon

Paul O'Prey
Paul O'Prey

Himself - Editor, Selected Poems: Robert Graves

Jonathon Riley
Jonathon Riley

Himself - Royal Welch Fusiliers

Jon Stallworthy
Jon Stallworthy

Himself - Editor, The Oxford Book of War Poetry

Nigel Steel
Nigel Steel

Himself - Principal Historian, Imperial War Museums

Michael Symmons Roberts
Michael Symmons Roberts

Himself - Poet

Key Crew

Sebastian Barfield
Director
Sebastian Barfield
Producer
Michael Poole
Executive Producer
Peter Barton
Producer