Why arent more WW1 films being made?

[Hobgoblin]

The Second World War is understandably an important period of time, and that makes it popular for film treatments. But the First World War is just as vital to world history. It ended many European monarchies, brought Communism to Russia, set the stage for the Great Depression and WW2 and saw tens of millions of people die in one of the first "modern style" wars.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last film to deal with this era was Flyboys. I cant think of the last Hollywood film to deal with the subject. Is it just that it was too long ago for people to be interested?

 

[Spider-Vader]

I don't know maybe WWII is seen as cooler?

 

[Hobgoblin]

Sad, but probably true.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

I'm pretty sure we learned it as

American Revolution
Civil War
WWII
Cold War
Vietnam

t:t:t:t: I love the American education system.

We like easily digestible conflicts here. US versus British, South, Nazi, Russians, Vietnamese.

We don't talk about short wars (Spanish-American), confusing ones(ie WWI), or one's we didn't win (Korea). And yeah we didn't win Vietnam but we could have if we wanted to!!!!!!

 

[odiin]

I guess they just figure no one can top All Quiet on the Western Front, so why bother trying?

 

[Starbird]

I agree ^^

I had too watch 'All Quiet On The Western Front' in school,pretty good, if not the only good WWI movie, besides Flyboys..but that was more of a 'fun' flick than educational.

 

[C. Lee]

It wasn't glamorous.

The motives behind it weren't clean-cut or easily explained to today's audiences.

Until the improved CGI technologies of recent years the time period wasn't easily replicable.

 

[C. Lee]

I agree ^^

I had too watch 'All Quiet On The Western Front' in school,pretty good, if not the only good WWI movie, besides Flyboys..but that was more of a 'fun' flick than educational.

"Paths of Glory" and "Johnny Got His Gun" are 2 good WWI movies that come quickly to mind.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I'm pretty sure we learned it as

American Revolution
Civil War
WWII
Cold War
Vietnam

t:t:t:t: I love the American education system.

We like easily digestible conflicts here. US versus British, South, Nazi, Russians, Vietnamese.

We don't talk about short wars (Spanish-American), confusing ones(ie WWI), or one's we didn't win (Korea). And yeah we didn't win Vietnam but we could have if we wanted to!!!!!!

Don't forget the War of 1812, a war that showed how young we were. I mean early in that war, we relied too much on former Military Commanders from the Revolution, who were at that time in their 60's and showed that they had nothing left.

Of course, we had no choice but to rely on fresh faces to command troops such as Winfield Scott, William Henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson and those young Generals helped win the war (sort of. The War was over when Jackson fought in New Orleans).

Of course, to many, there was an 80 year gap or so between Independence from The British and succession by the South.

 

[last_life]

This along with another thing...

Where are all the movies, outside of Casablanca, that dealt with the Italian-African war section of WWII?

 

[chamber-music]

I'm pretty sure we learned it as

American Revolution
Civil War
WWII
Cold War
Vietnam

t:t:t:t: I love the American education system.

We like easily digestible conflicts here. US versus British, South, Nazi, Russians, Vietnamese.

We don't talk about short wars (Spanish-American), confusing ones(ie WWI), or one's we didn't win (Korea). And yeah we didn't win Vietnam but we could have if we wanted to!!!!!!

Your lucky! you know how many wars Britain has thought? a hell of alot. We don't even have time to study all of them in the British education system.

Your lucky if you learn

Saxon invasions
Roman Invasion
Battle of 1066
Crusades
English Civil War
War Of The Roses
100 Years War
Napoleonic Wars
Crimean War
World War 1
World War 2

Heres a list of World War 1 films
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_I_films

 

[Hobgoblin]

Your lucky! you know how many wars Britain has thought? a hell of alot. We don't even have time to study all of them in the British education system.

Your lucky if you learn

Saxon invasions
Roman Invasion
Battle of 1066
Crusades
English Civil War
War Of The Roses
100 Years War
Napoleonic Wars
Crimean War
World War 1
World War 2

Heres a list of World War 1 films
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_I_films

Thanks for the heads up. And yeah, I took a course in British history in college and I still cant keep it all straight. There is a hell of a lot to remember. I really thought the Norman invasion was an interesting story. It would make a great movie, as would the War of 1812. How stunned would many people be to see Washington DC being burned to the ground?

 

[Evil Twin]

The Grand Illusion and Lawrence of Arabia spring to mind as other classics. And certainly Sgt. York, Gallipolli, Wings and Hell's Angels are significant.

I think the main problem is that WWI with it's barren no man's land, endless mud, and static trench warfare just doesn't lend itself to dynamic action. (Lawrence of Arabia, of course, takes advantage of it's location quite well.) And the lack of a classic "pure good vs. pure evil" equation hurts the box office potential. And, it's hard to compete with All Quiet on the Western Front.

I'd definitely like to see an Enemy Ace movie though. People like to give credit to Denny O'Neil for being relevant in comics, but DC's War books were tackling relevant issues and indirectly commenting on the Vietnam war several years prior.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

There was a World War 1-?!

 

[Brick]

Your lucky! you know how many wars Britain has thought? a hell of alot. We don't even have time to study all of them in the British education system.

Your lucky if you learn

Saxon invasions
Roman Invasion
Battle of 1066
Crusades
English Civil War
War Of The Roses
100 Years War
Napoleonic Wars
Crimean War
World War 1
World War 2

I would like to see a film made about the War of the Roses that didn't have anything to do with Shakespeare

 

[Dark Knight 66]

The only WW1 film I have seen was Paths Of Glory which was very good. The reason they are not being made any more may be because most of world war 1 was fought in the trenches and you cant make many movies about that because audiences would find this repetitive and boring perhaps.

 

[last_life]

Your lucky! you know how many wars Britain has thought? a hell of alot. We don't even have time to study all of them in the British education system.

Your lucky if you learn

Saxon invasions
Roman Invasion
Battle of 1066
Crusades
English Civil War
War Of The Roses
100 Years War
Napoleonic Wars
Crimean War
World War 1
World War 2

Heres a list of World War 1 films
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_I_films

A country centuries older than us has more wars than us? Who da thunk it?

Look at it this way, you are just a norther island nation who just happened to be favored by the Roman Empire. Now imagine how the Middle Eastern nations feel. I would be surprised if they have lost count on how many millenniums of conflict they have had going on.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I think because WW2 was a lot more brutal, cruel and shocking is the reason film-makers are more drawn to it than WW1 because it makes for more shocking and emotional cinema.

There was still a sense of honour in the fighting in WW1 and i highly doubt you got soldiers killing babies with their bare hands in WW1 like in WW2. Thats my theory anyway.

Flyboys was a good movie though.

 

[Kanon]

Nazis are easier to hate villains

 

[Dr. MIX]

My favorite WW1 film is probably Paths of Glory

 

[Hobgoblin]

I think because WW2 was a lot more brutal, cruel and shocking is the reason film-makers are more drawn to it than WW1 because it makes for more shocking and emotional cinema.

There was still a sense of honour in the fighting in WW1 and i highly doubt you got soldiers killing babies with their bare hands in WW1 like in WW2. Thats my theory anyway.

Flyboys was a good movie though.

I kinda doubt that. Innocents are murdered (not killed in accidents of combat, I mean murdered) in every war.

This may be an unusual idea, but what if a movie focused more on the kings and heads of state and less on the soldiers in the trenches? Sometimes I think that the reasons for going to war are more interesting than the actual combat. War is always ugly and dirty, that what every movie says. But the people behind them are unique.

I dunno, I'm just thinking out loud.

 

[xwolverine2]

I don't know maybe WWII is seen as cooler?

michael bay could make it cooler

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I kinda doubt that. Innocents are murdered (not killed in accidents of combat, I mean murdered) in every war.

This may be an unusual idea, but what if a movie focused more on the kings and heads of state and less on the soldiers in the trenches? Sometimes I think that the reasons for going to war are more interesting than the actual combat. War is always ugly and dirty, that what every movie says. But the people behind them are unique.

I dunno, I'm just thinking out loud.

Oh I know innocents die in every war, it is a fact of war, but WW2, the soldiers definately acted more visciously towards civilians than in WW1. From what i have studied and heard anyway.

 

[Watson]

It wasn't glamorous.

The motives behind it weren't clean-cut or easily explained to today's audiences.

Until the improved CGI technologies of recent years the time period wasn't easily replicable.

Good reasons. Plus a great deal of WWI was trench warfare which doesn't make for the same level of excitement as charging across fields, etc.


Plus, the big reason, is that Americans were not as involved in WWI. It was the Bristish armed forces and the colonial forces who did a majority of the fighting. I doubt an American film company or distrubuter would be as interested in promoting a film that didn't prominently feature Americans as the war heroes.

 

[LazloSpeeker]

My guess is that most all those who fought in the war or have actual stories relating to it probably have passed on or can't talk about it.

I'd be intrested in writing a script about it if anyone wants to work with me on it. I have some first hand military knowledge but not much.