Real to Reel Exhibition IWM London | December 2016

On the December 27th, 2016, my dad and I visited the Imperial War Museum London to view the Real to Reel Exhibition. An exhibition focussed on war films and analysis, a subject close to my Dad's heart, and I wanted to find out more for myself on the subject. The exhibition is on until January 8th, 2016.

It begins with introducing 'The Battle of the Somme' documentary and propaganda film documenting WWI trench warfare during the early days of the Somme. Shown in cinemas nationwide to the general public in August 1916, its popularity was unprecedented and allowed people to see the true nature of modern warfare and conditions soldiers endured on the front line. 2016 being the 100th anniversary and great way to open the exhibition

The exhibition explored war film from multiple angles, the most interesting comparison for myself being between classic and contemporary feature films, how differently they depict war. The contemporary films focussed much more on the rawness, better reflecting the reality of war much more than classic war films. One section of the exhibition show actual film footage of the Normandy invasion by allied troops at Sword and Omaha Beaches, shown side by side with scenes from Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) and The Longest Day (1962). Saving Private Ryan has been critically acclaimed for its accurate portrayal of WWII action and watching the one scene it felt real.

There were films focussing on a variety of other conflicts; Vietnam, The Troubles, Afghanistan, Iraq and many other, which was great to see, especially very recent and ongoing conflicts.

Films featured (linked below for more info):

WWI

 The Battle of the Somme (1916)
 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
 Paths of Glory (1957)
 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
 Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
 War Horse (2011)

WWII

 The Great Dictator (1940)
 Casablanca (1942)
 Mrs. Miniver (1942)
 The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
 The Third Man (1949)
 The Cruel Sea (1953)
 The Dam Busters (1955)
 The Colditz Story (1955)
 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
 Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)
 Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
 The Longest Day (1962)
 The Great Escape (1963)
 Where Eagles Dare (1968)
 Battle of Britain (1969)
 Das Boot (1981)
 Schindler's List (1993)
 U-571 (2000)
 Atonement (2007)

Cold War 

Dr Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Vietnam

 The Green Berets (1968)
 Apocalypse Now (1979)
 Full Metal Jacket (1987)

The Troubles

 '71 (2014)

Afghanistan

 Jarhead (2005)
 The Hurt Locker (2008)
 Kajaki (2014)


The exhibition concluded with showing the endings of some of the films, most were left open-ended, perhaps a comment on war, itself:

Mrs. Miniver (1942) - An Amercian romantic war drama focusing on the effects WWII has on a rural English housewife, someone that would seem so insignificant during wartime but experiences so much in relation to the conflict. A chord would have been struck by many wives across the allied countries at the time.

A film I must see, it's premise sounds so intriguing.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) - An American film depicting the warfare during WWI demonstrating the physical and mental stresses of a German soldier on the Front Line. The film has been described as a realistic portrayal and account of WWI warfare.

Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) - A British musical film directed by the late Richard Attenborough commenting on the First World War parodying popular songs of the era, the film criticised the manner victory was won (the loss of so many men's lives).
Casablanca (1942) - An American romantic drama starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman set in Casablanca, Morocco (North-west Africa) during WWII where an American Ex-Pat Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is forced to choose between his love for Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and helping her Czech husband escape Casablanca to carry on the fight against the Nazis.

Featuring the famous lines; "Here's looking at you, kid.", "We'll always have Paris" and "Kiss me, Kiss me as if it were the last time.".

Dr Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - A political black comedy satirising fear of the nuclear fears of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Multiple characters in the film are played by Peter Sellers; the ex-Nazi Dr Strangelove,  Group Captain Lionel Mandrake and the President Merkin Muffley.

The film is loosely based on the thriller 'Red Alert' by Peter George, which I highly recommend reading!

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - Directed by David Lean where WWII Allied POWs captured by the Imperial Japanese Army are forced to construct a bridge over the River Kwai to aid their war effort against Allied forces. The POWs repeatedly attempt to sabotage and construct it poorly (deliberately, of course!).

I had a great experience and learned an awful lot! Real to Reel: A Century of War Movies at the Imperial War Museum closes Sunday 8th January 2016.