Gallipoli

Gallipoli (TV series) (2015) - Glendyn Ivin

8/10

fantastic Aussie series directed by the talented Glendyn Ivin & written by Christopher Lee, stepping up to the plate with quality story telling, cinematography & production values up to the international standards… this is not a patriot story, this is a brutal recall of events that happened at Gallipoli in 1915 focusing on 4 young Aussie boys who enlisted to fight the Turks alongside the British, Kiwis, French & Indians… what unravels is an 8 month campaign of death, struggle, sickness, blistering heat & ice cold winter…

throughout there's a lot of humanity shown within the young Anzac's right up to the commanding officers, even with what seems like impossible odds to overthrow the Turks & get to higher ground… with over 80000 casualties, even more from the Turkish side, the beautiful landscape is the setting for a bloody battlefield that seems to never end or with much progress, until the last body drops to the ground …

it was great to see this story told in such a bold manner, with an amazing score by Stephen Rae, stunning cinematography by Germain McMicking & brilliant performances across the board, especially the leads Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nicholas Hope & Harry Greenwood, this is a tour De force of our nations history, something that we all should remember or should i say "lest we forget"… a haunting tale that all Aussies should embrace as a reminder of what the diggers sacrificed for our nation & the king of England…

props goes to all the local involved i know who helped make this such an amazing series Anthony Littlechild Thomas Formosa-Doyle Kat Schachte Lee Norris Robert Connolly Chris Hocking Emma Bortignon

I, honestly, have never heard of this show. I even spent 6 months in Australia, and this never came up in passing. The only reason this show was given a watch by me is because of boredom, which always tends to lead me to war shows. Anyways, this show is so darn good! I definitely would say this belongs in the same breath as Band of Brothers. IMO, nothing will ever top Band of Brothers for me, but Gallipoli was certainly very well made like it. What raises this show up on top of it just being good is the fact that Gallipoli is not well known. Anything to do with the battles here, all the Churchill stuff being hugely unknown where he failed badly at this time (everyone knows him when he took over as PM in WW2, but don't realize the failure beforehand), and the story of the ANZACS. ANZAC day is obviously very big in Australia and NZ, even having a day for it, but as Americans we know NOTHING about it. I learned while I was studying there, and I love history!

So in a nutshell this show should certainly be given a watch when you have the time to pay attention. The second episode especially was such a great window into what war is like. It's hard to imagine these days where it's a different world, but the World Wars were largely made up of just regular people. The wars before now were a lot less personal due to technology, and fighting tactics....but reality sank in hard when they learned their hated foes were just men fighting with wives, childeren and families (A "we aren't so different you and I" type thing).

First of all, Gallipoli campaign was one of the most epic battle in WWI. As we all know the total casualties of both side almost 500.000 man including my grandfather's uncle.

Considering these informations, the series look like pale in comparison to reality mostly because of the budget i suppose. if they could manage to increase the budget it would be much more satisfying, so we don't have to see maximum 15 dead body lying down in a battle like that.

I also made a quick research about the casts, especially the Turkish actors. And I never heard of them before. I made this research because of their accent, I am Turkish but some of them did not even sound like Turk.There are lots of Turkish actors which can participate in a production like this and that would be much better. Also I think that the actor, who plays Mustafa Kemal is a bit inadequate and doesn't look like him as well.

So in conclusion, while the main characters and the Australian & New Zellander characters are well placed and good in acting, Turkish characters are not. Musics are so so, could be better. And the story looks like progressing well for now.

As a devoted history reader, I also try to follow such shows, films, and series because I just wanna feel that "connection".

This production is far from the best historical adaptation but as a great-grandson of a Turkish martyr that fell on Gallipoli, I must admit I felt more than just a simple "connection". It honestly brought tears to my eyes at a certain point.

True, the character development is a little off. True, many moments from the show might seem cliché. Also, I don't know about all the actors but the Turkish speakers had to work on their pronunciations a little bit more.

But to see an Australian production that shows the Turks the respect that we have shown to them is just a sign of a beautiful thing in my opinion. Sure, some moments felt off, definitely. All things considered, I find this show beautiful, touching, brutally honest about some aspects of the war.

For the people who think about watching the show, I can only say that if you're looking for "Saving Private Ryan: WWI Version", you won't find it in this show. This is different. Really different. It definitely is worth a shot.

Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country to of ours.

You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.