War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme (2014)
The 1916 Battle of the Somme remains the most famous battle of World War I, remembered for its bloodshed and its limited territorial gains. What is often overlooked, however, is the literary importance of the Somme: more writers and poets fought in it than in any other battle in history. Narrated by Michael Sheen, War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme details the experiences of the poets and writers who served in the battle. The work of Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, David Jones, Isaac Rosenberg and JRR Tolkien (who arrived at the Western Front with ambitions to be a poet) was informed and transformed by the battle. Taken together, their experiences allow us to see this dreadful historical event through multiple points of view. The film uses animation, documentary accounts, surviving artefacts, battalion war diaries and the landscape itself to reconnect this literature to the events that inspired it.
Director: Sebastian Barfield
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Michael Sheen as Narrator (voice) |
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Peter Barton as Himself - First World War Historian |
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Max Egremont as Himself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon |
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Christophe Fricker as Himself - Literary Historian |
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John Garth as Himself - Author, Tolkien and the Great War |
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William Graves as Himself - Son of Robert Graves |
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Jean Moorcroft Wilson as Herself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon |
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Paul O'Prey as Himself - Editor, Selected Poems: Robert Graves |
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Jonathon Riley as Himself - Royal Welch Fusiliers |
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Jon Stallworthy as Himself - Editor, The Oxford Book of War Poetry |
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Nigel Steel as Himself - Principal Historian, Imperial War Museums |
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Michael Symmons Roberts as Himself - Poet |
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Charlotte Zeepvat as Herself - Biographer, W.N. Hodgson |
| Art | Steve Burrell | Production Design |
| Visual Effects | Libby Redden | Animation |
| Art | Tim Marriot | Production Design |
| Editing | Ed Ison | Editor |
| Production | Alison Shouls | Production Manager |
| Visual Effects | Hugh Cowling | Animation |
| Crew | Mark Bell | Commissioning Editor |
| Crew | Tana Beynon | Post-Production Manager |
| Visual Effects | Burrell Durrant Hifle | Animation |
| Sound | Alan Hill | Sound |
| Directing | Sebastian Barfield | Director |
| Sound | Bill Rudolph | Sound |
| Visual Effects | Paul Greer | Animation |
| Camera | Douglas Hartington | Camera Operator |
| Editing | Stuart Davies | Editor |
| Production | Peter Barton | Producer |
| Production | Michael Poole | Executive Producer |
| Camera | Mike Fox | Camera Operator |
| Production | Sebastian Barfield | Producer |
| Camera | Ian Salvage | Director of Photography |
