Oh! What a Lovely War  — Import 07/21/26

Pacifism goes Panavision and color in Richard Attenborough’s first directorial effort, a musical epic of the tragedy of World War One. The mirth and magic — and despair — comes from songs sung in the trenches, that were given alternate, irreverent lyrics by the soldiers themselves. An endless cast of English stars appear, in good roles; the highlight is Maggie Smith’s rousing music hall performance — luring young civilians to ‘take the King’s shilling’ and become one casualty statistic among millions. The movie nullifes a lot of patriotic illusions, and it looks great, newly remastered in HD. On Region B Blu-ray from Eureka! Masters of Cinema.
07/21/26