The Unknown Soldier

I got to see this film(mini-series) for free on my local PBS station on a program called the Exxon-Mobile Masterpiece Theater. I had seen the previews and this film(mini-series)looked interesting to me. First off I will that there were a couple of things about this movie that I did like- such as ,1st class acting by the actors in it. the second thing I will commend this movie for is the costumes.But the Battle scenes are lame, and what few specail effects are used in this film are done poorly. This movie moves at such a slow pace you can totaly miss the first night(last for 2 night-4 hours total)and only watch the second night and not miss any of the story. This movie is an extremely boring waste of time. the plot is simple- A British soldier is wounded in WWI and has amnesia, he is found wondering around on a Battlefield suffering from shell-shock, and he doesn't know who he is, but he is taken into the care of a nurse. he and the nurse fall in love with each other and she helps him to recover his memory. This same storyline could've played out in 45 minutes instead of 4 hours-because there just isn't enough story there for the 4 hours it takes to watch it.-I couldn't help but wonder if this film would've been made at all had it not been for the critical success of "The English Patient" which has a very similar story line and was made only 2 years before this film.(for the record I didn't like "The English Patient" either) Because the acting and costumes are well done, and because we dont see enough films about WWI - I give this film 2 stars out of 5

I watched this film for free on my local PBS network, It was part of a series called Exxon Moble MasterPiece Theater The Previews looked intriguing~ So I watched both parts of this mini-series believing it was going to be great. Well It wasn't. The Lead charactor wonders around a WWI battlefield with amnesia and falls in love with a nurse who is taking care of him(I quickly wondered if this film would've been made at all, had it not been for the critical success of "The English Patient"-which had a very similar theme - for the record I didn't like "The English Patient" either).The sets are wonderful,and the customes are near perfect- and the music score isn't all that bad. Dont waste you time on this film.

no good acting, my basset hound is sexier than the old wrinkly women in this movie. the acting is so bad, that i found myself ignoring the movie and i smoke a bunch of pot and then i started jerking off just to keep myself entertained.....that was how bad this movie is. The score is absolutely lousy....there are no special effects. They didn't even use filters on the cameras when then filmed it...so it has that soap opera look to it(porno movies have that same filter-less camera lens look too). don't waste you time on this movie .please don't watch it. I beg you go watch something good. The whole movie has a feel to it that the actors were just going through the motions of some play that they had just rehearsed moments earlier (there eyes are often glancing back to the camera....just stupid

This fine mini-series, directed by David Drury (THE CRY, RHODES, and PRIME SUSPECT 3) is a touching and thought-provoking depiction of the futility of the Great War, a slaughter which wiped out a generation, and changed the role of women forever. Written by Peter Barwood (TV series HEARTBEAT) it includes the cruelty of the courts-martial and executions for desertion, the further losses from the the post-war influenza outbreak, the blurring of class distinctions, and the disappointment of women who must relinquish their wartime jobs to the returning men. Beautifully and sensitively acted by Juliet Aubrey as Carey's strong-willed daughter Sophia in one of her best roles since GO NOW and STILL CRAZY. Sophia plays a Nurse who has suffered her own losses and feels very strongly for the disabled men as they and their families try to adjust to normal life. She falls for one of her patients, the enigmatic Unknown Soldier (Gary Mavers, PEAK PRACTICE's hunk Dr. Attwood) found shell-shocked and wandering naked in No-Man's Land. The men call him Angel, as he saved the life of another officer, but who is he really? Is he an Officer or an enlisted man ? In their efforts to find his real identity he faces the horrors of electric shock therapy, accusations of malingering, threats of being returned immediately to the fighting at the front, court-martial as a deserter, and conflicting witnesses including a couple desperately claiming him as their son. Compared to the epic THE English PATIENT (beautifully filmed but too Hollywood) this is more grittily realistic. Mavers' performance is wooden, and Aubrey is altogether too modern and earnest in her commitment to those men (why is she attracted to Angel?) but the cast includes familiar British faces Frederick Treves, Pip Torrens and Tom Chadbon who are as excellent as ever.

I watched this as a 12y.o when it was first released and remember it vividly. I rewatch it on occasion and think it is well acted and accurate.