Hey GreySnake no offense taken at all! Thanks for your response. I see perfectly why you'd use two guys for the drama. I loved the movie, even if a bit odd the duo worked from a movie standpoint. 

And thanks Rob, as I said it just seems odd to me but for the movie it worked great! 

Gamera

Only question I had was as someone who has never been in the military would they really have sent two messagers out with such an important message? I'd have thought it rated at least a full squad or more. With all that was riding on it I think I wouldn't gamble on two guys who could have run into a sniper, blundered into a minefield, or even just gotten lost. 

Runners were considered one of the more secure means of communication. But yes, for this type of message, just a pair of soldiers instead of a squad or platoon seemed odd. Especially when they had to cross previously occupied territory that might still be enemy occupied.

Gamera

Yeah I'm not knocking it from a drama standpoint. I really started to identify with the guys. And it did strike me as sorta a horror movie type of atmosphere. I kept expecting that everytime they let down their guard a sniper or something like that was going to go after them. 

 

Apologies if I came across as thinking you were knocking it from a drama standpoint. My writing style seems to come across more serious then I’d like sometimes.

Yeah I'm not knocking it from a drama standpoint. I really started to identify with the guys. And it did strike me as sorta a horror movie type of atmosphere. I kept expecting that everytime they let down their guard a sniper or something like that was going to go after them. 

Gamera

 

Only question I had was as someone who has never been in the military would they really have sent two messagers out with such an important message? I'd have thought it rated at least a full squad or more. With all that was riding on it I think I wouldn't gamble on two guys who could have run into a sniper, blundered into a minefield, or even just gotten lost. 

 

Just got back from seeing it and WOW!!! Very impressive film!

The filming in one long scene was pretty friggin' amazing, I can see a few places where they could have made cuts but frankly I don't care. It just looked great!

Only question I had was as someone who has never been in the military would they really have sent two messagers out with such an important message? I'd have thought it rated at least a full squad or more. With all that was riding on it I think I wouldn't gamble on two guys who could have run into a sniper, blundered into a minefield, or even just gotten lost. 

PS: I was a little surprised to see modern cars zipping around until I figured out I'd wandered into the wrong theater room and they were playing 'Bad Boys'. Thankfully 1917 hadn't started yet when I ran over to the next room.

I saw it last night and I thought it was extremely well done.  As others have said, if you have a weak stomach, some of the scenes will disturb you but it will give you a very realistic re-enactment of the horrors and brutality of trench and mass artillery bobmardment warfare of WWI.

I got to see it at Fort Knox on December 14th with my son. It was a free advance screening. I didn't think it was all that good. We preferred Midway for recent wartime movies.

It was beautifully shot and very cinematic in scope.

I saw a YouTube on it's making and it does show several scenes, although unbelievably seemless and far less than most all films. One was, of course, the scene that was discused (trying not to spoil), another was when the two guys entered an underground tunnel, another was jumping into the river. The rehersal took some four months and while shooting, the camera was constantly moved to a crane, boom, man, drone, vehical etc, very impressive. I thought the acting was superb.

I have to say i could not disagre more with those comments. I did not notice any awkward attempts to hide a cut and oddly enough the most blatant error in his report is the suggestion that the charector was briefly knocked unconscious. He has a funny concept of brief.

But then again i am not a film critic, just someone who enjoys a great movie.

It appears, based on the Ebert review, that, while the shots were long, the movie is not one long shot. According to his, the edits between shots are very skillfully done and mostly well hidden. 
"By comparison, there is hardly a moment to be had in “1917” in which Mendes is not calling out for viewers to notice all the technical brilliance on display. Taken strictly on those terms, the film is undeniably impressive—Roger Deakins is one of the all-time great cinematographers and his work here on what must have been a fiendishly challenging shoot is as impressive as anything he has done. The problem is that the visual conceit can’t help but draw attention to itself throughout, whether it is due to the increasingly showy camera moves or the sometimes awkward methods that are deployed to camouflage the edits and which begin to stick out more and more. (Oddly enough, the most blatantly obvious method used to hide a cut—one of the characters being briefly knocked unconscious—is actually the most dramatically effective of the bunch.) Instead of gradually fading into the background in order to make room for elements of a more dramatic or emotional nature, the distracting technique remains front and center."

I'm looking forward to seeing it, although we don't do the theater thing, our family dymanic won't allow it. So I have to wait for the home theater approach. I hope its as good as you all say. But let us not forget that Fury, although phony, was pretty good to watch.

BK

Saw it on Sat with the Mrs and i have to agree Steve. Stunning movie, deffinetly up there with the best. I found it very emotional at the end.

Being movies like Patton, The Battle of Britain, A Bridge Too Far, Tora, Tora, Tora and Saving Private Ryan are at the top of my list and can not loose their place, although Ryan is just slightly below the top, 1917 gets a spot right there with them.

Gotta go see it, the trailer looks really good! 

Have to laugh though there's an ad that started about a week ago- 'the best movie of 2020!' Ummm, when 2020 was about a week old I'm not sure 'best movie of 2020' means all that much! 

I intend to see that movie sans wife. We went to see Saving Private Ryan and she left the theater after one minute into the Normandy beach invasion scenes. I must admit, the beach landing scenes were difficult to watch.

We went to see it Saturday with our reenacting group and I completely concur, phenominal approach. Don't bring granny if she has a weak heart though, particularly if you see it in IMAX...