Rent The Somme: From Defeat to Victory (2006)
3.9 of 5 from 45 ratings
0h 59min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
The Somme is usually seen as the darkest hour of the British Army. Almost 20,000 British soldiers died on the first day of battle alone, and a further 37,000 were wounded. British commanders were vilified and the Somme became synonymous with military incompetence. But there was more to the Somme than just senseless slaughter - because it was on those blood-soaked fields that the British Army learned how to defeat its German enemy... For the very first time this major BBC production - commissioned to mark the 90th anniversary of the Somme - reveals what it was really like to be an ordinary British soldier going 'over the top' in 1916 and how British tactics changed to turn a terrible defeat into ultimate victory. Spectacular, authentic and deeply moving, this gripping account of the true battle of the Somme offers an entirely fresh perspective on events, while its dramatisation of real experiences provides a soldier's eye view of the fighting as never before.
Battle of the Somme Newsreel Re-Enactments
Individual acts of battlefield heroism are the focus of these dramatic re-enactments of real Great War events for cinema audiences. They helped boost support and morale on the Home Front in the face of the tremendous losses of life and limb suffered on the Western Front. They personalised the war to identifiable acts of bravery; the winning of a V.C. for tending the wounded in 'No Man's Land', a messenger's determination to deliver despite terrible injuries and offering always a soldier's eye view of the hardship and danger of war in the trenches.- Actors:
- Peter Barich, Darren Black, Steffan Boje, Eric Carte, Ben Goddard, Chris Hannon, Wolf Kahler, Rüdiger Kuhlbrodt, Thorston Manderlay, Iain McKee, Christopher Nabb, Crispin Redman, Erich Redman, Mike Rogers, Benedict Sandiford, John Shortell, Peter Stark, Martin Turner, John Vine, Adam Webb
- Directors:
- Detlef Siebert
- Producers:
- Detlef Siebert
- Voiced By:
- Alisdair Simpson
- Narrated By:
- Alisdair Simpson
- Writers:
- Detlef Siebert
- Studio:
- DD Home Entertainment
- Genres:
- Documentary, Drama
