The Battle of the Somme

Last night I went to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank to watch a screening of the digitally restored print of this silent film, accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra, playing music written by Laura Rossi. I was nervous about the application of music to a silent film, as I am about the application of music to any film, but more so. Whilst there can be no doubt about the power of music to augment the impact of a scene, this manipulation of our emotions can also be crass, offensive, or a complete failure. There were times during this film when the music was the perfect partner - the rendering of the wind over the battlefield was incredible and terrifying. But the accompaniment of drum-bursts for the firing of artillery pieces was less-than-impressive. And there were moments when i wished the film would be left to speak for itself, such as the filming of the first charges; some men slid back down the muddy faces of the trenches, one thought initially because they had lost their footing, but it was soon clear that they had been killed before they had even set foot in no-man's land. For me, this moment would have been made powerful by silence, because there are no words or sounds for the sadness and futility of such things. Finally, on the music, the accompaniment of cheerful marching tunes when the lads marched back from "a successful attack", left me with a sour taste, but i think this says more about the film than the music. Laura Rossi could hardly provide sarcastic or barbed rejoinders (in the manner of Kipling or Sassoon's poetry) to these moments of propaganda. This is where the film falls down (but is still fascinating and valuable) in that, for the most part, it is content to talk up the British Army, the power of bombardment, and the success of its attacks. Even the images of dead men and horses are tempered by the smiling faces of 'jolly tommys' and the jaunty, cheery tone of the titles boards. What this unique visual record of the battle needs is to be seen in context, against the terrible losses of battalions such as the Accrington Pals, and the pitiful gains of this style of warfare. I never fail to be impressed, however, by the efforts of the institutions on the South Bank to bring amazing documents like this out of obscurity. Well done to them, and to Laura Rossi for her attempts to soundtrack this one-off film.

This film is being presented in live screenings using local orchestras to perform Laura Rossi's music.

http://www.somme100film.com/performances/

IWM CENTENARY SCREENING - November 18, 2016 - BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London 7:30 pm

BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by John Gibbons

​To mark the centenary of the end of the Battle of the Somme, Imperial War Museums (IWM) and Somme100 FILM present this extraordinary and moving UNESCO-listed historical film, accompanied live by the BBC Concert Orchestra.​​

Pre concert talk with composer Laura Rossi and IWM senior curator Dr. Toby Haggith​​

Starts - 7:30 pm​

Address - Royal Festival Hall London​

This film provides valuable insights into several parts of history that might otherwise be forgotten. It does not tell the whole story, but then the whole story is by definition, untellable. There is a saying where I come from that history is always written by the winning side. Therefore this film to some extent tells it from the British point of view. The treatment of German Prisoners Of War by both the British forces and by the film crew is compassionate, and we are left with the feeling that they are not mere ciphers, but human beings. In watching this film, several myths about the Great War were debunked. I learned that very few of the German soldiers sported comedy pointed helmets (most wore the type Paul McCartney wears in his Pipes Of Peace video'). The usual scenes of Trench battle we see in film and television programmes show poor visibility with the trenches shrouded in mist, but this is probably a cinematic convention brought about by budgetary constraints rather than a desire for accuracy. The other myth that is exploded by this film is that the ordnance used in this war was rather primitive, hence the need for foot soldiers. This couldn't be further from the truth, with very big guns with fifteen inch diameter shells being fired over very long distances. When one considers that the majority of the large guns had to be transported (although in some cases by horsepower) by hand, dismantled and moved, then reassembled on the muddy battlefields, all whilst under fire, the engineering and logistical feats seem all the more remarkable.

The interesting thing about this film is that I would happily sit through this and enjoy it, but I wouldn't be interested enough to read a book about the Battle, nor to research the subject at the imperial War Museum. This is a good way of making history come alive and would be of interest to both the young and old.

The Museum's restoration is very good. The picture frame rate seems to be correct, and there do not seem to be any jumps or major tears. However there are a number of minor scratches that could have been repaired with a little more effort, and it jars that this halfpenny of tar has spoiled an otherwise seaworthy ship. The only reason I can think that the remainder of the scratches were not removed is a desire to keep the medium analogue rather than digital. A digital conversion would have rendered the clean-up work a lot simpler, but might present problems for presentation purists.

The upright piano music used for this restoration is ideal for the purpose. It not only gives a feeling of authenticity, but also lends the correct atmosphere to the film. Top marks for restraint go to the Museum for resisting the temptation to dub on sound effects. If I wanted to hear BBC Sound Effects Volume 12 I would visit my record library!

This is a documentary, apparently watched by a third of Britain's population at the time of release. Watching it now it may prove hard for some viewers to appreciate what a technological tour de force is was for the time. Being a war documentary issued at a time of war it is biased, but there is still enough there to hint at the horrors of the battle. It's true merit is in it's historical importance. Much has been used in documentaries since. For those with an interest in the First World War it is a must see, for others it is an education nonetheless.

The war had been raging for almost two years when the British War Office sent two cameramen, one of them Geoffrey Malins, over to France's Western Front to document what the English department felt would be a major breakthough of the German lines during World War One.

Malins and cameraman John McDowell shot reels of film of the preparatory stage of British Expeditionary Force gearing up for its big push around the Somme River. Malins was informed the battle would begin when the detonation of tons of dynamite was ignited underneath the German-held Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt. Malins, with limited film stock, was concerned when he ran through 250 feet of film and the appointed time of the explosion didn't come off. Then, in the next breath, he caught on film one of the largest mine explosions under enemy trenches. The release of August 1916's "The Battle of the Somme" captivated British audiences, especially seeing the explosion that was felt on July 1st all the way to London. The explosion can be seen around 29 minutes into the movie.

More tickets were sold in the first six weeks of the release of "The Battle of the Somme" than any other movie in England until 1977's "Star Wars," over 20 million viewers. London cinemas were saturated by playing the movie, with 34 projecting it all at the same time. Parents attended several showings of the film in hopes of seeing their sons. The documentry gained international status, displaying for the world, including Germany, the look of the lingering two-year war.

The 75-minute film was cinema's first feature war documentary, and the pattern Malins established would be followed throughout thousands of movie war documentaries.

Malins was able to record the bloodiest day in English history. Over 58,000 British soldiers either were killed, wounded or went missing on that July 1, 1916 day. Some of the German gunfire was so intense that as soon as the soldiers climbed out of their staging trenches scores were killed just 10 to 15 steps from where they began. Malins had to stage some of the battle scenes afterwards, recreating the scenes 25 miles behind the battlefield. But the cameramen were fortunate to film overrun German trenches and groups of German prisoners. But most effecting British viewers were the scenes of the wounded and dead of the United Kingdom's soldiers laid out and carried on stretchers.

After editing and releasing "The Battle of the Somme," Malins returned to France to film the war's introduction to the English tank, first used in the September 15, 1916 battle for the village of Flers-Courcellette. Marlins' January 1917 "The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks," unveiled to England's populace its country's secret weapon and its hope of breaking the Western Front logjam by this new solid steel mobile vehicle.

In later documentaries on World War 1, filmmakers used Malins and McDowell's footage to illustrate the advancements and brutalities of the war, a war that everyone at the time had predicted would end all wars.