User reviews

I recently watched an absolute shambles of a WW1 film called "Forbidden Ground" from 2013. That film was made on a budget in the region of $40 million. The film spent more time up in the actors faces that you would wonder what exactly the money went towards. Then I seen this film, "The War Below", made on a very low budget of around 500,000 pounds. The set-design values, namely the trenches, looked a thousand times better, or rather, were utilised better in this film. Obviously, it is no "1917", but "The War Below" definitely stands tall and I would rank among the best WW1 productions. It would give its natural equivalent, "Beneath Hill 60", a good run at the races. Like that movie, the film follows the story of a group of civilian tunnellers arriving in the trenches of Europe during the Great War. They are tasked with digging beneath No Mans Land and planting enough explosives beneath the German trenches to destroy them and end the bloody stalemate once and for all.

Everyone deserves praise for this film but what truly stood out to me was the cinematography by Nick Cooke. There are some beautiful shot scenes of spring fields and soldiers walking through them and obviously he had a hand to play in bringing the trenches to life.

The film is actually very good for its tiny budget - surprisingly good to be honest.

It's obviously no 1917, and I wasn't sure want to make of it at first, but you get into it and I'm glad I stuck with it, because by the end I was totally engrossed. A poignant ending and a fine tribute to the miners of WWI.

I would recommend it, and would equally watch it again.

My husband loves watching war films, especially when they portray little known, amazing stories.

This is one of those, he knew that it actually happened but to see it re-enacted was so interesting, even for me.

Don't take any notice of the negative reviews, miners have a very specific skill, that's why mining was a protected profession.

The Royal Engineers would have been employed elsewhere, doing what they did best, built bridges, re-built roads, they weren't there for digging.

It was interesting to see the difference between the trained soldiers and the miners, both had integrity and bravery but in different ways!

If you enjoy seeing true stories of real people who made valuable contributions to, in this case, winning WWI, you'll enjoy this!

First world war drama ,in the fields of no mansland, soldiers life in the trenches of mud and decay, rats and the proud underground workers serving under the colonels wings in the ranks of king edward/george?(cant remember) the king of the british empire, where the coal miners excavate tunnels under the german lines to blast the into never land.

Its a dangerous job digging, also the danger of crossing the line of german mining moles does amplify the scares. So its about silence in everything you do, unless you might get killed by an earthskott.

Story and production is well taken care of, the detailed background war theater that usually is a lowdown on past productions,do seem very realistic here. To be squemish i think the spoken english is far to modern, some dialect coaching couldve made it more timely of the era.

Intens and feels like never ending, and shows some of the forgotten sons of the king and country, they didnt win the war, they just laid the foundation for it. A good film good style and at times quite breathless moment for a grumpy old man. Recommended.

This is the first movie I've seen that was focusing on this topic - digging a tunnel to the German trenches. Up to this point, I've only ever read about the sorts of daring actions these coal miners did in the trenches in WWI.

The production value was high. It really did manage to convey what life was like for the diggers in these trenches. But even so, I'm sure it was no where near representing how it was really like in real life. But it was done well in this movie. It's realism clearly exceeding the realism of any recent war movies - particularly when compared to movies like "Dunkirk" by Chris Nolan.

Other pluses from this movie... the acting was superb, the drama and atmosphere created with all the special effects and set designs, simply brilliant.

SUMMARY: Inspired by true events with the war serving as the backdrop The main story is the courage, sacrifices and contribution the coal miners did in WWI.

VERDICT: Recommended viewing - specially if you're a history/war buff.

If I were one of the tunnellers I would be proud of this movie, it was focused, respectful and moving.

1917 - A group of civilian tunnellers, led by William Hawkin, a man determined to 'do his bit', are recruited to carry out an audacious plan to break a stalemate in the Battle of Messines.

After reaching an impasse in which the British army have lost thousands of men, Captain John 'Hellfire Jack' Norton-Griffith conceives a plan to dig tunnels under the enemies positions and blow them up from below.

He goes to a tunnelling company in the North-East of England and, against the company owner's wishes, recruits men who have the expertise to carry out the job. These are men whose health has been deemed to poor to take part in active service or who are too young - in reality, some of the Royal Engineering Tunnelling Company, as they came to be known (popularly referred to as the Clay Kickers), were as young as fourteen.

The War Below is the feature length debut of director J. P. Watts, who also wrote the screen play. The real-life 'Hellfire Jack' is played by Tom Goodman-Hill and William Hawkin is played by Sam Hazeldine.

Watt's lack of experience shows in a film that never delivers the sort of emotional punch that a tale like this needs, although the obviously tight budget can't have helped to expand the story. The Clay Kickers, who in reality numbered in their thousands and consisted of British, Canadian and Australian miners, are reduced to just four men here, which somewhat undermines the film's credibility. However, cinematographer Nick Cooke does an admirable job of creating a convincing atmosphere with what's available.

At times it seems as though the cast struggle with a script that too often sounds stilted, and a disappointing number of the expected, standard characters are present - the high-minded, unfeeling commanding officer, the fierce sergeant who, beneath the formidable exterior, is a compassionate man on the side of his men rather than those in command, etc.

Goodman-Hill, a fine character actor and whose comedy work is to be admired, fails to breathe real life into Cpt. Norton-Griffiths, and certainly doesn't give us any understanding of why his character earned the moniker 'Helfire Jack'. Only Sam Hazeldine's performance stands out, portraying Hawkin as a warm, compassionate man with great personal strength.

Watts has made a film that is earnest in its endeavours, but which simply doesn't convey the powerful reality behind this story or fully illustrate the harsh conditions, the arduous work and the emotional toll on the men involved.

Those who are interested in the subject matter would do much better to watch the superior Beneath Hill 60 (2010) directed by Jeremy Sims. This tells the story of the 1st Australian Mining Company who were part of the tunnelling project at Messines.

The War Below, despite its best endeavours, earns just six stars from me.

My great grandad was one of those miners. Taken from the coalfields of Mansfield to join the Royal Engineers. And he came home.

The acting was great - the reflection of history now on Haig comes across well as with other officers.

But the courage and determination of those diggers is extraordinary. I don't want to give spoilers as I'd rather people watch it.

It is not Bourne! I thought the balance between planning, action and highlighting the bravery of these men is well worth a watch.

Decent enough low budget war drama about the soldiers who had to do the underground trench digging in World War One.

This film makes you realise what an important role that it was too.

Based on the true WWI story of a group of professional tunnellers, bought in by the army to tunnel under enemy lines and blow up their defences in time for 'the big push' at the Battle of Messiness.

This was never going to be a Where Eagles Dare type war film and its limited budget is clear. However this is a solid and towards the climax, exciting true story. The characterisations are a little bit bland and you never really get to know them, but this is largely because of the need to focus on the mechanics of the tunnelling effort. That said, Sam Hazeldine, the man in charge of his not always convinced team does well in the hero role and steers the story along nicely. The film also devotes time to emphasising per the ongoing controversy that General Haig and Colonel Fielding were as mad as a box of frogs and cared little for their men as long as they pushed forward and died like gentlemen.

The kind of film that is hard to find today. Better than 1917. Story, direction, acting, editing/pacing, and set design all first rate. Photography is sublime, as is the music. Nearly flawless all around. No modern messaging here. Rather, 'The War Below' is an intimate "true story" film played out in believable understated fashion, acknowledging the sacrifices made by four everyday men who did something extraordinary (what most thought could not be done) to help end the "Great War". A fabulous film and highly recommended.

A sanitised Netflix offering, which is not without merit, but has very little storyline or mud in the trenches.

Without doubt you be better watching Beneath Hill 60 for a more historically accurate, much more realistic and rewarding depiction of the conditions in the trenches and the claustrophobic conditions digging the 'deep mines' prior to the Battle of Messines.

Decent production values and (with a couple of exceptions) excellent performances let down by a bizarrely uneven script.

I can forgive most of the numerous historical inaccuracies but the idea that a group of men from Lancashire have hardly heard of cricket is insulting - "Bowling?" I get the idea is to show a class distinction but cricket is a working-class sport up north, a strange misunderstanding of British culture.

Some good bits for a B movie but oh the cliches. Five miners? Haig had battalions of them digging mines from 1915. He was very keen on the idea . General Plumer was the one in charge of the massive mines at Messines . This shows how great the movie 1917 was . .The generals were not the donkeys this film shows .Haig had hordes of miners working even Canadians and Anzacs The main miner says ' we have to go back We are the only ones who can do it ' Don't make laugh . Theyd been blowing up Germans since 1915 .. And why are British going over the top with no bayonets ??

I can't say I enjoyed it but I can't say I didn't. Well acted it just never got going for me personally. I think it just lost its way the longer it went on.

The story of The War Below is a mixture of war and mining during the first World War. None of the subjects are the best example in this genre. This specific battle hasn't had a movie made of before so that's a positive but there are definitely better battle movies than this one. The same for the mining aspect, it's all supenseful to watch, even though that also could have been better, but there are better movies about mining drama's. The acting was okay but not exceptional. All in all it's worth a watch, certainly if you're interested in the first World War.

Know the Tunnelers stories well as have visited the Memorial many times. Sam Hazeldine played William Hawkin but interesting to see in the credits listed as William Hackett who won the VC for his heroic actions.

Enjoyed the film.

It simply has everything in the right place. It's a combination of a great story of real selfless sacrifice, a good script and excellent acting.

Could the end result be any better? Sure. If they had the budget for million-dollar special effects and A-list actors, the eye-candy value would be higher. But this is a war movie, about real people who gave their lives for others. It's not Candy Crush.

What goes ... down, must come up? Wait that is not how the saying goes now does it? Well no pun intended either way (and I know the saying as much as you do of course) ... having a bit of fun of course. Which cannot be said about the movie in general - I mean it would be weird if it were ... we're talking about a war time movie after all.

We get introduced to the main characters and their drive to help win a war or participate in it ... not every wish can be granted ... and sometimes (war) plans are different ... which is the case here too. Now is this historical accurate? I doubt it, but I couldn't tell you for sure ... it is a well done movie though and I assume it is close to what actually happened ... war? What is it good for? That question never gets old (and the song does not either) ...

First of all, there were 19 large explosions at Messines, not one cataclysmic one. Secondly, it's not true that 10,000 German soldiers were killed in the explosions - this utterly grotesque figure has been touted to promote this event as having been spectacularly deadly. The number of Germans killed by the explosions could not have exceeded 1,000 and was probably around 500. The 10,000 figure was for all the Germans missing on the day of the battle, and 7,200 of these missing were later found to have been captured by the British forces. These massive explosions had a big effect in stunning and frightening the Germans, who surrendered in large numbers, but they were not as deadly as one would imagine. What was definitely deadly was the mass artillery barrage from the British forces which followed the mine explosions - this was both accurate and highly destructive.

Nothing like a good war film to fill a Sunday afternoon during lockdown. What this team manage to accomplish underground during these deserves respect. I was engrossed throughout the film and enjoyed every second.

Avoiding spoilers I'd say this, it's one of those films you'll watch again in a couple of weeks.

Making a convincing film set in the battlefields of the First World War, with its scale violence and intensity is vastly challenging, but this film does it well, and clearly on a very limited budget. The story of a group of sewer workers from northern England who are employed on the western front digging tunnels to place huge bombs under German lines is based on real events, and it's a story worth telling. There's a palpable sense of drama and fear, particularly in the underground scenes, but the film also manages is to convey its characters well, often intimately connecting you with what they're going through, and although some if the acting and writing is a bit weak and some of the characters are cliched, the film is beautifully shot and well directed, with a mostly unknown cast putting in (as they used to say) a sterling job. It's worth a watch.

If you are very young and this movie is your very first education about the first world war, perhaps it may teach you a couple of things. For everyone else, here's what to expect:

"I've got an idea, let's try something new" - said as if no-one had ever said that before. Seriously.

"think carefully diagreeing with me, you have a promising career ahead" (Hague) - delivered like it were a soap opera baddie. Please...

It's painful. Everyone does a fine job - design, actors, photography, effects, particularly for the budget. It's just mind-numbingly dumb, and deeply disappointing for all the effort made.