The First World War Today
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New WW1 comedy ‘Chickens’: avoiding war under hostile fire from ladies left behind
It’s late 1914. In the sleepy Kent village of Rittle-on-Sea, where booming artillery occasionally is heard from across the Channel, three twenty-something blokes are the last men remaining. All the rest have gone with the army to endure the shelling of those guns. Our ‘heroes’ are George, Cecil and Bert, and as the citizens of … Continue reading
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The tragic (and, many say, unjust) summary executions of some 300 British soldiers during WW1 are evoked in Michael Morpurgo’s novel, now coming to the movies. War Horse author Michael Morpurgo’s other novel of World War One, Private Peaceful, is on its way to the big screen. This news should delight Morpurgo fans, coming mere … Continue reading
News from the set of BBC’s epic WWI drama Birdsong, now in production, is slow in coming, but here’s what we know at this point: In May, the BBC revealed that Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks’ epic 1993 novel of illicit love, friendship under fire, and the ‘Great War’ that eventually alters everything, would finally be produced … Continue reading
An 18-wheel “big rig” has been transformed into a mobile museum of the First World War. In July 2011 the travelling exhibition made the first of 75 planned stops at communities throughout the United States through next year. Along the way the gallery is partnering with museums of all types — including those focused on … Continue reading
Of 29 battle stories in Fantagraphics’ re-issue of legendary ’60’s war comic Blazing Combat, four are set in WW1. One is about British ace Billy Bishop. Another depicts the American Expeditionary Force at Cantigny. War is nothing but tragedy – a cutting short of lives that ought to have gone on much longer. It’s ironic … Continue reading
The director had no interest in WW1… until he met an unforgettable horse named Joey. I confess to being a bit of a sucker for movies about horses. I watched Seabiscuit twice, and fell in love with the story of Hidalgo. Something about that scrappy, come-from-behind spirit of these amazing creatures that just gets you … Continue reading
The ‘War to End All Wars’ has inspired many songwriters through the present day, as this survey (with video) of 20 modern songs illustrates. Welcome to the first of a series that examines “recent” popular songs inspired by events or themes of World War One. With one exception, the songs featured in this series were … Continue reading
How do popular cultural forms give relevancy and meaning to an event as seemingly antique as World War One? I happened recently upon a moving YouTube video commemorating the infamous Battle of the Somme, which began on the 1st of July, 1916. In a war that set the standard for wanton wastage of human life, … Continue reading
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The First World War Today 