[NOTE: If you missed the show, you can listen to the podcast on the WYPR website.]
World War I began 100 years ago this past summer, in 1914, and little did its participants know how much this “war to end all wars” would change the world they lived in. In fact, most thought, at the time, that the war would last but a few months. Before it was over, however, monarchies would fall, empires would crumble and our modern era would be born in a horrible baptism of literal fire and brimstone, the crucible of 19th-century thinking and 20th-century technology. This horrific struggle ran on until 1918, and nearly wiped out a generation of young men. Its duration parallels the rise of the feature-length movie as the dominant expression of global popular culture, yet not as many great – or even memorable – films have been made about the Great War than about its direct descendant, World War II. Still, there a number that are worth discussing, which include – but are not limited to – Wings, All Quiet on the Western Front, La grande illusion, Paths of Glory, Oh! What a Lovely War, Gallipoli and War Horse.
Join us on Midday with Dan Rodricks (WYPR 88.1 FM, Baltimore’s NPR News Station) during the second hour, 1-2pm, on Friday, November 7, as Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed – Chair of Film/Video at Stevenson University – honor the work of filmmakers who have created indelible cinematic depictions of European civilization’s near total collapse.
If you can’t listen locally, you can live-stream the podcast.
And you can always download the podcast afterwards, either via iTunes or the Midday page.
Enjoy the show! Feel free to offer your own thoughts on good World War I movies in the comments to this post.
chrisreedfilm 