The project was announced in June 2018, with MacKay and Chapman signing on in October and the rest of the cast joining the following March. Filming took place from April to June 2019 in the UK, with cinematographerRoger Deakins and editorLee Smith usinglong takes to have the entire film appear as twocontinuous shots.
On 6 April 1917,aerial reconnaissance has observed that theImperial German Army, which has pulled back from a sector of theWestern Front in northernFrance, is not in retreat—as had been supposed—but has made a strategic withdrawal to the newHindenburg Line, where they are waiting to overwhelm theBritish withartillery. In the British trenches, withfield telephone lines cut, two young Britishlance corporals, William Schofield, a veteran of theSomme, and Tom Blake, are ordered by General Erinmore to carry a message to Colonel Mackenzie of the 2nd Battalion of theDevonshire Regiment, calling off a scheduled attack the next morning that would jeopardise the lives of 1,600 men, including Blake's brother Joseph, alieutenant.
Because travelling behind their own lines would take longer, Schofield and Blake cut acrossno man's land to reach the abandoned Germantrenches. In an underground barracks, they discover a tripwire set by the Germans, which is promptly triggered by arat; the explosion almost kills Schofield, but Blake saves him, and the two escape. They arrive at an abandoned farmhouse, where a German plane crashed after being shot down in adogfight with Alliedaircraft. Schofield and Blake save the burned pilot from the wreck and attempt to help him. Despite this, the pilot fatally stabs Blake in the abdomen before Schofield shoots the pilot dead. Schofield comforts Blake as he dies fromblood loss, promising to complete the mission and to write to Blake's mother.
Taking Blake's rings anddog tag, as well as Erinmore's letter, he is picked up by a passing British unit who have noticed the smoke from the burning plane. A destroyed canal bridge nearÉcoust-Saint-Mein prevents the British lorries from crossing, and Schofield chooses to part with them. He uses what is left of the bridge to cross alone, and comes under fire from asniper. Exchanging shots, Schofield confronts the sniper in his tower perch, whereupon he and the sniper shoot each other simultaneously; the sniper is killed, while Schofield is struck in the helmet and knocked unconscious.
Schofield awakens at night and makes his way through theflare-lit ruins of the town. Evading a small German platoon, he discovers a French woman hiding with a presumably orphaned infant. She treats his wounds, and he gives her his canned food and milk from the farm. Despite her pleas, Schofield leaves after hearing the chimes of a nearby clock and realising that time is running out. Encountering the platoon, Schofield strangles one and escapes pursuit by jumping into a river. He is swept over a waterfall before reaching the riverbank.
In the forest, he finds D Company of the 2nd Devons, which is to form the last wave of the attack. As the company starts to move toward the front, Schofield rushes to reach Colonel Mackenzie. Realising that the trenches are too crowded for him to make it to Mackenzie in time, Schofield goes "over the top" and sprints on the open battlefield parallel to the British trench line, just as the infantry begins its charge. He forces his way in to meet Mackenzie, who reluctantly reads the message and calls off the attack. Afterwards though, the jaded Mackenzie tells Schofield that command will likely change their tune tomorrow, further perpetuating awar of attrition.
Schofield finds Blake's brother, who was among the first wave but is unharmed. Schofield informs Joseph of his mission and of Tom's death, passing on Tom's rings and dog tag. He asks for permission to write to their mother about Tom's heroics, to which Joseph agrees. Exhausted, Schofield rests under a nearby tree and looks at photographs of his family.
In August 2019, Mendes stated that the film shows "the story of a messenger who has a message to carry."[15] In December 2019, Mendes stated that the writing involved some risk-taking: "I took a calculated gamble, and I'm pleased I did because of the energy you get just from driving forward (in the narrative), in a war that was fundamentally about paralysis and stasis." The ideas for a script, which Mendes wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, came from the story that Mendes's grandfather,Alfred Mendes, a native of Trinidad who was a messenger for the British on the Western Front, had told him.[16]
Filming
Roger Deakins was the cinematographer for the film, reuniting with Mendes for their fourth collaboration, having first worked together onJarhead in 2005.[17] Filming was accomplished withlong takes and elaborately choreographed moving camera shots to give the effect of twocontinuous takes.[18][19] Although many media accounts have referred to the story as being told in only one shot,[20][21] the screen does cut to black one hour and six minutes into the film, when Schofield is knocked unconscious, and fades in upon his regaining consciousness after night has fallen.[22] Mendes explained, "It was to do with the fact that I wanted the movie to go from afternoon to dusk, and then from night into dawn. I wanted it to be in two movements...I wanted to take it somewhere more like a hallucination. Somewhere more surreal, almost dream-like. And horrifying too".[18]
1917 was the first film to be shot with theArri Alexa Mini LFdigital cinema camera. Deakins wanted to use a camera with alarge formatimage sensor, but thought that the originalAlexa LF was too large and heavy to capture the intimate shots he wanted.Arri provided him with a prototype of the Mini LF two months before filming was set to begin, and two more cameras a week before.[23][17] His lenses were Arri Signature Primes, of which he used threefocal lengths: a 40 mm lens for most of the film, a wider 35 mm for scenes in the tunnels and bunkers, to emphasise feelings ofclaustrophobia,[17] and a narrower 47 mm in the river, "to lose some of the background".[24]
Filming began on 1 April 2019[citation needed] and continued through June 2019 inWiltshire,Hankley Common inSurrey andGovan, as well as atShepperton Studios.[25][26][27][28] Concern was raised about filming onSalisbury Plain by conservationists who felt the production could disturb potentially undiscovered remains, requesting a survey before any set construction began.[29][30] Some shots required the use of as many as 500 background extras.[3]
Sections of the film were also shot nearLow Force, on theRiver Tees,Teesdale in June 2019, a reference toriver Styx.[18] The production staff had to install signs warning walkers in the area not to be alarmed at the artificial bodies and body parts strewn around the site.[31] For the scenes on the river, the cast and crew were assisted by a local outdoor adventure provider for safety and stunts.[32]
The film's climax, the "Schofield Run", took two days to shoot and involved "complex choreography" in order to execute Sam Mendes' vision for the scene.
The filming of the film's climax, called by many the "Schofield Run", required extensive pre-production, and took two days to shoot with George MacKay as Schofield running about 300 meters amidst explosions and over 500 extras as soldiers during every take. Crew members on set, including twogrips, had to dress as soldiers and pass in front of the lens as the camera pulled back in order to get the "complex choreography" of the scene executed properly. On preparing for the scene, MacKay recalled that "...Sam gave me a lovely note ... He said, as much as there's desperation and it's intense and what he's running to is so serious, there's almost a euphoria to it as well. It's this kind of utter release." During the second take, MacKay knocked into two extras as soldiers mid-run and continued to run after doing so, a moment that was not scripted. This take made it into the finished film and MacKay was not seriously injured as a result. MacKay described how they actually worked in the scene, saying "As soon as the collisions happened, they felt inevitable. There's a grace to the run, but there's also a reality to the fact that he got knocked about on the way." It was not until after filming that MacKay saw the impact that the scene would have upon himself and audiences when he saw the completed film on the screen. "To be honest, I cried...", said MacKay about the results, "...I don't usually get that emotional watching something I've been involved in because I'm more objective, but I found it so moving." In conclusion, MacKay described the shot as a "reflection of the entire film", while going on to say that "It's a very simple journey through massive difficulty, but there's the notion that it has to get done ... It's something that will always be with me."[33]
"I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (From 1917 (A Cappella))"
Jos Slovick
4:09
2.
"I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (From 1917)"
Jos Slovick & Craig Leon
4:49
3.
"I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger (Original Lyrics)"
Jos Slovick & Craig Leon
4:49
Total length:
13:47
Release
The film premiered on 4 December 2019 at the 2019Royal Film Performance in London, an event held in aid of theFilm & TV Charity.[38] It was released in limited theatres in the United States on 25 December 2019, before going to wide release on 10 January 2020, shortly before the widespreadlockdown of theatres internationally in response to the heighteningCOVID-19 pandemic.[2][39] The studio spent an estimated $115 million on prints and advertisements promoting the film.[40] The film was specially formatted forIMAX at the expanded aspect ratio of 1.9:1.[41]1917 was released onDigital HD on 10 March 2020 and was released byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment onDVD,Blu-ray, andUltra HD Blu-ray on 24 March 2020.[42]
Reception
Box office
1917 grossed $159.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $286.8 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $446 million,[6] against a production budget of $90–100 million.[3][4]Deadline Hollywood calculated thenet profit of the film to be $77million.[40]
In the US, the film made $251,000 on its first day of limited release.[43] It went on to have a limited opening weekend of $570,000, and a five-day gross of $1 million, for an average of $91,636 per-venue.[44] The film would go on to make a total of $2.7 million over its 15 days of limited release. It then expanded wide on 10 January, making $14 million on its first day, including $3.25 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to gross $36.5 million for the weekend (beating the original projections of $25 million), becoming the first film to dethroneStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at the box office.[45] In its second weekend of wide release the film made $22 million (and $26.8 million over the four-dayMartin Luther King Jr. Day holiday), finishing third behindBad Boys for Life andDolittle.[46] It then made $15.8 million and $9.7 million the following two weekends, remaining in second both times.[47][48] During the four-day-weekend of the Academy Awards, the film made $9.3 million.[49][50]
Critical response
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 472 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hard-hitting, immersive, and an impressive technical achievement,1917 captures the trench warfare of World War I with raw, startling immediacy."[51]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[52] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, andPostTrak reported it received an average four and a half out of five from viewers it surveyed, with 69% saying they would definitely recommend it.[45]
Several critics named the film among the best of 2019, including Kate Erbland ofIndieWire[53] and Sheri Linden ofThe Hollywood Reporter.[54] Writing for theHindustan Times, Rohan Naahar stated, "I can only imagine the effect1917 will have on audiences that aren't familiar with the techniques Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins are about to unleash upon them."[55] In his review forNPR,Justin Chang was less positive. He agreed the film was a "mind-boggling technical achievement" but did not think it was that spectacular overall, as Mendes's style with its impression of a continuous take "can be as distracting as it is immersive".[56]
Manohla Dargis ofThe New York Times called the film, "A carefully organized and sanitized war picture [...] that turns one of the most catastrophic episodes in modern times into an exercise in preening showmanship".[57] Alison Willmore ofVulture compared it unfavourably to the war filmDunkirk, writing, "The artifice of the aesthetic premise overwhelms any of the film's other intentions."[58]
Meilan Solly of theSmithsonian said "the film has more than fulfilled this goal (elevate World War I cinema to a previously unseen level of visibility), wowing audiences with both its stunning visuals and portrayal of an oft-overlooked chapter of military lore".[59]
In 2023,Parade included the film on its list of the "50 Best War Movies of All Time".[60]
In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 139.[61]
British soldiers following up the Germans nearBrie in France, March 1917
The film was inspired byOperation Alberich, a German withdrawal to new positions on the shorter and more easily defendedHindenburg Line that took place between 9 February and 20 March 1917.[71][72] However, the main and supporting characters all appear to be fictional.[73]
However, Sam Mendes's paternal grandfather,Alfred Mendes (who was from the West Indies and partly inspired the story) did serve in a regular regiment (Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)).[80] IndianSikhs would also have served in their own regiments as part of theBritish Indian Army, not as individuals in the ranks of British regiments and corps. By the end of 1915, the Indian infantry formations had been withdrawn from the Western Front and sent to the Middle East.[81][75][82]
The film has been praised for its historical accuracy and attention to detail: "The level of detail in kit, activity, parlance, and customs of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is admirable".[83]
The military historian Jeremy Banning praises the film, saying parts of it are brilliantly executed, but he was critical of the military tactics portrayed in the film, writing "It made no sense, as the film depicts, to have some battalions nine miles beyond the former German line and others seemingly unaware of whether this line was manned [...] As for the assault by the Devons, no unit would attack without adequate artillery support".[84]
^Kohn, Eric; Thompson, Anne; Erbland, Kate; Ehrlich, David; Obenson, Tambay A.; Blauvelt, Christian (11 December 2019)."The 15 Best Film Performances By Actors in 2019".Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved10 January 2020.
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