Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go A.W.O.L. and invade occupied France on their own.Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go A.W.O.L. and invade occupied France on their own.Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go A.W.O.L. and invade occupied France on their own.
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2Mnk!
Two Men Went To War is a based-on-fact WW2 story about a couple of disgruntled British Army dentists who decide to 'invade' France and cause havoc among the enemy. Purloining a load of hand-grenades, the pair go AWOL and travel down to Cornwall, where they steal a boat. Setting off for France in the dead of night, the sequence of shots features the hotel where they had stayed and the harbour they were departing - all picked out with 'practical' lights blazing through the hotel's windows and other bright lights strung all around the harbour walls! This, in wartime blackout Britain, on a coastline facing enemy-occupied France, in waters regularly patrolled by German e-boats! Another commenter in this section states that the lighting was authentic in that the Cornish locals at the time figured that as they had never been attacked before, there was no reason to assume that they ever would be attacked then or in the future. However, even is this is true, the script should have made reference to this hard to believe 'fact' in dialogue, simply because the situation was so unusual and would have breached the strictly enforced wartime regulations concerning the blackout. Usually in movies, such 'blackout lighting', considering a story's authenticity, would be restricted to moonlight effect only. Another oversight in the film is the lack of anti-shatter window tapes which criss-crossed every pane of glass in Britain during the war. It's hard to believe that this glaring error went unnoticed by cast and crew. I suspect someone in authority said, 'Oh, they'll never realise," and simply let it go.
This film is a solid 6/10. 3 out of 5 Stars etc...
First - it is billed as a comedy-drama based on the true story of two men who go AWOL in order to invade France. Anyone who is going to be so upset by lights on in a harbour or no tape on the windows that they would rant about it for weeks probably won't like this film.
Second - anyone who can enjoy a film for what it is, in this case a light comedy-drama based on bizarre true happenings, will likely enjoy this film.
In true British style, Two Men Went to War, is a story of character development and plot. It is not a Hollywood block buster action flick nor a Japanese sword fest but rather a mature enduring story that is family friendly and a joy to watch.
Why only 6/10 then? It could have been a little deeper for my taste and I would have liked to see some of the moral issues of the day addressed. It is definitely more light comedy than drama.
A worth-while watch for those who can ignore minor historical inaccuracies like no tape on windows, lights on in a harbour and a modern shipping container that could have easily been covered in canvas.
First - it is billed as a comedy-drama based on the true story of two men who go AWOL in order to invade France. Anyone who is going to be so upset by lights on in a harbour or no tape on the windows that they would rant about it for weeks probably won't like this film.
Second - anyone who can enjoy a film for what it is, in this case a light comedy-drama based on bizarre true happenings, will likely enjoy this film.
In true British style, Two Men Went to War, is a story of character development and plot. It is not a Hollywood block buster action flick nor a Japanese sword fest but rather a mature enduring story that is family friendly and a joy to watch.
Why only 6/10 then? It could have been a little deeper for my taste and I would have liked to see some of the moral issues of the day addressed. It is definitely more light comedy than drama.
A worth-while watch for those who can ignore minor historical inaccuracies like no tape on windows, lights on in a harbour and a modern shipping container that could have easily been covered in canvas.
What superb movie. The tale of two English dentists, who, before D-day, decide to invade France on their own. The result is one of the most enjoyable war-movies I have ever seen. It starts of quite slow, but the pacing suits the story. There are no big build-ups leading to massive machine-gun fights with lots of dead Germans and gore. Rather, you are kept in suspense to whether their comical blunders will bear any results or whether they will manage not to kill themselves by mistake in the process. It had myself and most of my family laughing within the first couple of minutes, and we never really stopped till the end. Bravo! I hope to see more movies like this.
I have to say, I wasn't very interested in seeing this until the end as it just didn't entertain me at the beginning but I hung in with it and noticed that over the coarse of the film, the relationship between a young, naive private and a grumpy old sergeant, both dentists bored with their perspective lot in the army who decide it's time to contribute to the war effort, began to solidify.
If even half of their adventures are true then they were two truly amazing men who pulled off quite a feat. This is one of those films that is more human interest than anything but it holds your attention as it progresses by some of the situations they find themselves in and the wonderful way it's brought to conclusion.
If even half of their adventures are true then they were two truly amazing men who pulled off quite a feat. This is one of those films that is more human interest than anything but it holds your attention as it progresses by some of the situations they find themselves in and the wonderful way it's brought to conclusion.
What an unexpected delight is this true-ish wartime tale of two army dentists determined to do something for the war effort. A grizzled WW1 Sergeant and callow private go AWOL, heading for Cornwall and then to France armed with a rucksack of grenades, a couple of pistols and the odd dental tool. Possessing a comic lightness of touch rarely seen in Britain since the halcyon days of the Ealing comedies, this wonderful tale of British eccentricity is hilariously funny mainly because it never goes for the obvious laugh. Realisitic enough that the adventure is frequently nerve-wracking, with a splendid plot that constantly wrongfoots your guesses, the mismatched comic pair of Kenneth Cranham and Leo Bill work brilliantly. Filmed in vibrant colours so rarely seen in a British film, the movie succeeds way beyond its modest ambitions. It's the rare sort of film that banishes the blues and puts you in a good mood that lasts for ages afterwards. What more can you ask from a film than that?
Did you know
- TriviaThe epilogue states: "King and Cuthbertson never saw each other again. Sergeant Peter King was transferred to active service where he won the M.C. He was awarded the D.S.O. in Korea and finally promoted to Major. He retired to New Zealand and died in a motoring accident in 1962. Private Leslie Cuthbertson was transferred to the Durham Light Infantry and also survived the war. In 1967, he was made Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He died in 1995."
- GoofsDuring the attack on the German Listening Post the Sergeant climbs over a container to get onto the roof. This type of container wasn't invented until 20 years later in the 1960s.
- Quotes
Maj. Bates: An army that can't bite is an army that can't fight.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Two More Men Went to War (2003)
- Soundtracks(We're Going to Hang Out) The Washing on the Siegfried Line
Written by Michael Carr (as Carr) and Jimmy Kennedy (as Kennedy)
Performed by Flanagan and Allen
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 2 Men Went to War
- Filming locations
- Charlestown, Cornwall, England, UK(Port scenes, Pub scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $151,435
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,672
- Mar 28, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $218,378
- Runtime
- 1h 49m(109 min)
- Color
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