War Requiem |
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Last Update: 30 October 2000 (You need a browser capable of viewing tables to see this page properly) |
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Portrayed without dialogue from the principal players to the accompaniment of Benjamin Britten's masterwork, the 1961 oratorio War Requiem, this film is a parade of images - brutal, exquisite, erotic, and painterly. Avant-garde director Derek Jarman presents a hallucinatory vision of war, drawing on the life and verse of WWI poet Wilfred Owen, who was killed on a French battlefield two weeks before the Armistice. Owen's preoccupations include the Christ-like martyrdom of soldiers, the interplay of sexuality and death, the pity and horror evoked by the mutilation of young bodies. |
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Primarily seen as an anti-war film of surpassing power, War Requiem has also been interpreted as a metaphorical treatment of the devastation of youth by AIDS. The soundtrack recording of Britten's music is by the London Symphony Orchestra with soloists including Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Laurence Olivier's cameo in this film was his last screen appearance. Filming began on 17 October 1988 and lasted for 18 days. War Requiem had its world premiere on 06 January 1989 and its European debut at The Berlin Film Festival. It was broadcast on BBC2 at Easter, 1989. |
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS: Sean Bean ............ German Soldier Patricia Hayes ....... Mother Ronan McCullough ..... Enemy Mother Laurence Olivier ..... Old Soldier Nathaniel Parker ..... Wilfred Owen Tilda Swinton ........ Nurse Owen Teale ........... Unknown Soldier Nigel Terry .......... Abraham |
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PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Produced by .................... Don Boyd
Executive Producer ............. John Kelleher
Associate Producer ............. Christopher Harrison
Directed by .................... Derek Jarman
Editor ......................... Rick Elgood
Cinematographer ................ Richard Greatrex
Production Designer ............ Lucy Morahan
Costume Designer ............... Linda Alderson
Writer ......................... Derek Jarman
From the Poetry of ............. Wilfred Owen
Music Composer ................. Benjamin Britten
World Premiere ................. 06 January 1989
Transmission.................... Easter 1989 (BBC2)
Video Running Time ............. 92 minutes (1988)
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