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War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme poster

War of Words: Soldier-Poets of the Somme (2014)

Overview

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.
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Sebastian Barfield profile
Sebastian Barfield

Director

Cast

Michael Sheen profile
Michael Sheen

Narrator (voice)

Peter Barton profile
Peter Barton

Himself - First World War Historian

Max Egremont profile
Max Egremont

Himself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon

Christophe Fricker profile
Christophe Fricker

Himself - Literary Historian

John Garth profile
John Garth

Himself - Author, Tolkien and the Great War

William Graves profile
William Graves

Himself - Son of Robert Graves

Jean Moorcroft Wilson profile
Jean Moorcroft Wilson

Herself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon

Paul O'Prey profile
Paul O'Prey

Himself - Editor, Selected Poems: Robert Graves

Jonathon Riley profile
Jonathon Riley

Himself - Royal Welch Fusiliers

Jon Stallworthy profile
Jon Stallworthy

Himself - Editor, The Oxford Book of War Poetry

Nigel Steel profile
Nigel Steel

Himself - Principal Historian, Imperial War Museums

Michael Symmons Roberts profile
Michael Symmons Roberts

Himself - Poet

Michael Sheen profile
Michael Sheen

Narrator (voice)

Peter Barton profile
Peter Barton

Himself - First World War Historian

Max Egremont profile
Max Egremont

Himself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon

Christophe Fricker profile
Christophe Fricker

Himself - Literary Historian

John Garth profile
John Garth

Himself - Author, Tolkien and the Great War

William Graves profile
William Graves

Himself - Son of Robert Graves

Jean Moorcroft Wilson profile
Jean Moorcroft Wilson

Herself - Biographer, Siegfried Sassoon

Paul O'Prey profile
Paul O'Prey

Himself - Editor, Selected Poems: Robert Graves

Jonathon Riley profile
Jonathon Riley

Himself - Royal Welch Fusiliers

Jon Stallworthy profile
Jon Stallworthy

Himself - Editor, The Oxford Book of War Poetry

Nigel Steel profile
Nigel Steel

Himself - Principal Historian, Imperial War Museums

Michael Symmons Roberts profile
Michael Symmons Roberts

Himself - Poet

Extra

Release Date

November 15, 2014

Original Language

English

Budget

$0.00

Production Company

Parapet Productions logoBBC Arts logoBBC logo

Available On

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