'Age of Heroes': British war film in production

I know, I hate Dyer with a passion.

But its great to see a British war film, long overdue, and might just remind the younger generation that the US didnt fight alone. Esp in the days of Ryan, u-571, BoB, The Pacific.
 
Who knows, stranger things have happened. Everyone has at least one good performance in them.

Its all down to the director too. If he/she can direct actors (Scorcese, Scott) as opposed to an action director (Bay, Cameron) anything is possible.

I mean people think Bloom is a terrible actor, but in Kingdom of Heaven he was superb and the film was superb.
 
Sorry, but some of us rather enjoy a good war film(of which, btw, there are varied types like any genre, from Boys Own action war films to more thoughtful war films), and dont get all gooey at the slew of interminable comic book films or the shedload of 'romcoms'. And there have hardly been a slew of war films in recent years, and none from Britain in recent years.
 
To be fair to Fio, I do know where he/shee is coming from with the "Oh, great! Another war film " comment.

I like the old British war films. I like the old war films starring John Wayne and the like too. However the minute the word Vietnam is used in realtion to a film I switch off. There have been so many of those films it got to the point where I too was saying, "oh no not another one!"

As well as there being too many (for me) you also had the over the top patriotism of the films almost propoganda to justify that they were right to go to war and paint it in a better light. I found it really off putting.
Pretty much all of them I found I got bored very quickly as I watched them.
IMO the best two films based in Vietnam aren't really war films as such. They are set in Vietnam but the subject matter isn't the war.

Good Morning Vietnam is a cracker of a film. The other is one that many people forget or didn't see. It's called Casualties of War starring Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox.

The film is about a girl that is taken from her village by five American soldiers. Four of the soldiers rape her, but the fifth refuses. The young girl is killed. The fifth soldier is determined that justice will be done. The film is more about the realities of war, rather than this single event.
This is an thought provoking film and so it stanRAB out.

Now Vietnam seems to be getting dismissed or should that be glossed over by the Iraq War. Again I do seem to get the feeling that it's over the top patriotism and being used as propoganda to justify a war that shouldn't have happened. Well certainly not this current one.
The other problem I have with these modern war films is they seem to be more an onslaught of the senses than anything else. People, many of whom have never been in that situation will say "that is what it's really like" which may be true, but I would rather have less of that and a storyline I can get into than realism where it's just an onslaught on the senses.

The old films whilst being riddled to the core with stereotypes, the officers are all upper class Trevor Howerd and the Tommy's all seem to be cockney's or chirpy northerners, do have better stories IMO.
The films often were based on real events of WWII although were peppered with artistic licence. Despite that you could get into the stories better, connect with the characters bettter and you wanted them to win or succed with their mission. They were pretty much "Boy's Own Adventure films" but they were fun to watch.
I would take The Guns of Navarone, The Wild Geese, The Colditz Story over Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Black Hawk Down every time.

This new film appeals to me mostly because it's set in WWII and isn't yet another Vietnam or Iraq film.
I'm hoping it will be a nod towarRAB the older films but do get the feeling it's going to be like all the other Iraq films only in a different time and continent. So again it's an assault on the senses because "that's what it's really like."
 
So do I, hugely.

I dislike the gung-ho US films, my fav. American war films are the gritty ones:

Battleground
Attack
Sgt York
Pork Chop Hill
Retreat Hell!
The Hook
Beach Red
When Trumpets Fade



I have the book on which the film is based.


Agree.


Me too.
 
Just thought i'd pop in here and give my two sense worth. (a bit long, but interesting all the same, so stick with it :) )

I was an extra on the set yesterday and it was the best day of my life. Coming from a university course that focuses on theatre and film, obviously such an experience would be massively exciting for me. Says that, i didn't build my hopes up too much as i wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I was blown away with it though.. SO much more than I ever expected.

12 of us were cast and it varied who was picked for which scenes. Myself and my uni friend were in the most scenes, of which i lost count how many times I must appear on camera, around 8 i think. Felt like so much more as it has to be shot from so many angles, so probably ended up shooting scenes about 30+ times.

You'd assume that the extras are just sat down, brought on as and when and then shoved away again, but it was totally far from that.

I want to express how totally amasing the cast and crew were. I never expected such a warm welcoming and to be involved liked one of the team! Myself and my friend particularly spent most of the time with the directors and cast, sharing banter, having 3 hair and makeup artists rallying around you on set getting pampered (amazing feeling), being driven from hotel to location, free catering and lunch with the cast and crew were just some of the perks and seeing the set and how it's put together were just some of the perks for me.

Even the head director, Adrian Vitoria, was amazingly welcoming. He allowed us to come and sit with him and watch the scenes back on the moniters and discuss how scenes can be played out, including me allowing to direct myself! Amazing. Top bloke.

On top of that, I had Scenes with Sean Bean (!), Rosie fellner and James D'Arcy (who isn't mentioned on IMDB for some reason, despite being cast as one of the main characters, Ian flemming). No Danny Dier (which from reading previous posts, you'll be pleased to hear! ;) ).

So sureal to notice how down to earth the actors are for example Sean just hanging around with us on breaks, Rosie Fellner and James D'Arcy coming over and chatting as normal in between takes, messing around, making sure we were okay and allowing pictures.

Brilliant acting from all of the actors above, especially James D'Arcy who i hope off of the back of this becomes a huge success.

Can't say much about the film for confidentiality reasons, same with pictures. Can't even confirm where / when the trailer is being released (somewhere big though..) or when he premier is.

AfterwarRAB myself and my friend were chatting to the directors at the bar and the head director, Adrian Vitoria (as previously mentioned) offered to buy us a drink! Then he invited us to the cast and crew screening and hopefully the premier, although he said it's hard to confirm as he struggles to go himself! We've also switched numbers and details with the crew, been referred to an agency and they're going to call us when they're next in the area (hopefully for the 2 remaining films of the trilogy!)

Overall best day of my life (and i got paid even though i didn't care and would've done it for free!)
 
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