Perhaps more potent in the mid 1960's as the Vietnam war was unfolding and creating all sorts of protest, this musical revue today seems very much a product of its time and is a mixed bag. Veddy British in its themes, it has a music hall feel about it, and the individual sequences are more interesting than the film as a whole.Stunningly photographed, this documents the events of what was to become known as "the great war", one that is greatly overshadowed by the memory of its sequel yet had a tremendous impact on Europe and lead to many changes, not only in the map of the world, but how governments were run. Subtle metaphors are tossed in to give a psychological view of historical incidents, and representations of real figures are added to make an interesting commentary. Red flowers are a symbolic prop throughout, with colorless battle scenes only given that touch of red to off-set the carnage.A music hall number with a singing Maggie Smith sets off patriotism with cynical irony and a single scene with Vanessa Redgrave as an anti-war speaker is also very profound. The emotional highlight of the film is a battleground meeting between British and German soldiers on Christmas day where they each put aside their duty to share brief brotherhood and verbalize their own distaste over what they are forced to do. All of a sudden, bombs go off and they each rush back to their side, preparing for a battle where they just might end up killing each other after all.There are certain scenes with representational sets that appear to be fantasies over an England that will never be again. At times profound, often perplexing, this may not appeal to general audiences. Interesting in a historical context, this is sort of a war-set "Cavalcade" where the life of one family, the plot box around which this is sent, is profoundly changed forever. Thanks to the artistic vision of first time director Richard Attenborough, this may not stand the test of time as a whole, but isn't quite a failure, either. The ending is a true heartbreaker.

This allegorical musical based on the British view of World War I found a friendly audience in America which was going through the Vietnam war protests at the time it got to the big screen in 1969. It had run on Broadway for 125 performances in the 1964-65 season.One of the things that director Richard Attenborough did is populate the cast of the major war figures with some of the biggest names in British cinema. That certainly guaranteed a bit of box office for him, but I also think that Attenborough being a very well liked man he was able to get people like Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, John Mills, and Ralph Richardson and many others for probably less than the usual going rate.The musical numbers however were done by a cast of unknown folks for the most part. Songs of the era and the acidly satirical versions of them popular in the trenches at the time are heard. The music is from a variety of sources, most I'm sure had passed into the public domain. As for satirical to give you an example the finale has a male chorus singing a version of Jerome Kern's They Didn't Believe Me. But Herbert Reynolds's lyrics get no credit and when you hear this version you'll know why.The causes of World War I is one of those great historical topics that historians amateur and professional will be writing about for years. My own opinion is that the end of it involved a race between how fast trained American troops could get to the western front to make the difference as Germany was transferring troops from the now abandoned eastern front against the Russians. The eastern front and the various far flung world wide fronts have stories all their own.I believe the same film could be made in Russia, France, Germany, and the Austrian remnant of the Hapsburg empire as they were the major players. The British and French colonial and commonwealth powers and other allies have a different slant on it. The American version is unique because the war had been going on for four years before appreciable American participation started in the spring of 1918.It was a colossal piece of human stupidity that people then could not comprehend after 100 years of relative peace in Europe. Automatic weapons made for the ultimate in defensive war, the trench. From about Antwerp in Belgium, through France to the Swiss border was a line of trenches as the Allies and Central Powers sought to just have that one big push that would make victory. An entire generation of the continent was wiped out, by the war and by the great influenza epidemic that followed as health services were depreciated badly because of the late conflict. Small wonder that a strong peace movement developed in the Twenties and Thirties. And smaller wonder that Germany who lost the attrition essentially was given total blame for the catastrophe and saddled with war reparations that crippled it. It's what made Adolph Hitler.World War I was also an era of magnificent poignant melodies that gained popularity. There's A Long Long Trail a Winding, Roses Of Picardy which had certainly no martial spirit gained eternal popularity and they're done straight. As is It's A Long Long Way to Tipperary whose lyrics have nothing to do with the war, but was enormously popular in the era, naturally among the Irish soldiers.Oh What A Lovely War was a great triumphal directorial debut for Richard Attenborough. For someone with no appreciable musical background he did well directing a musical. And the film absolutely betrays no stage origins, in fact it's almost hard to imagine it on stage. Try not to miss this one.

Richard Attenborough's directorial debut is not an anti-war film as much as it's an anti-World War One film. The film attempts to tell the horrendous story of how World War One unfolded with biting satire and through staging a series of musical numbers with their origins in British history at the time. Sometimes the lyrics are changed to fit the intent of the filmmaker, which is to clearly point out the absurdity of the war. Attenborough combines cinematic ideas with the theatrical origins of the piece in a way that does not completely satisfy the viewer. Instead of a cohesive narrative, we get a series of music hall sketches strung together, some which have retained their theatrical roots and others which have been relegated to the outdoors. At well over two hours, it is easy to understand why the film is rarely screened on television. To cut even one or two musical numbers to fit a particular time slot would create a gaping hole in the film, more so than in others. The first song in the film,"Oh you beautiful doll", is a curious choice though, as it was written three years before the outbreak of the war. There are several isolated scenes in the film that are grand and poignant: the scene with Maggie Smith as a brash aide for recruitment of soldiers, the soldiers from both sides meeting on the battle field, and of course the terrific ending. However, in between are scenes which are tedious and do not always work, like the churchyard scene. There are several moments evocative of the times the film was made in, coincidental or not, which detract from the film. One gets the notion while watching that the intended impact of the film was probably better suited to the more intimate confines of the theater than the big screen. The film features a who's who of British cinema: Olivier, Mills, Gielgud, Richardson, Bogarde, etc. and look for Jane Seymour as one of the chorus girls backing Maggie Smith during her number. **1/2 of 4 stars.

Now on DVD with additional features including comments from all the major players. An all time favorite film because of the satire and today its nothing new same old thing. Each War seems to be worse than the last-lessons are never learned. Its the rich versus the poor-the officers who only got their commissions because they were born privileged. The film is obviously Anti War and wastes no opportunity to make pointed comments at the Masters of War. The cavalier attitude to Death is emphasised when one leader reads out the figures of "Casualties-201447 privates and officers killed yesterday.Ground gained-NIL" This movie says more about the futility of War than any other