First World War Film Series: Curated by Sir Peter Jackson

RAF Museum London, Grahame Park Way, London,
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Event has ended
This event ended on Sunday 13th of July 2014
Admission
£15.00 per person plus a 50p booking fee via website
Venue Information
Royal Air Force Museum London (RAF Museum London)
Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL
Nearest Tube/Rail Stations
Colindale 0.57 miles

“My son thought the idea of watching any film –let alone one of his favourites- whilst sitting on a bean bag under a Lancaster Bomber was a totally memorable experience.”
Museum Visitor, Saving Private Ryan Screening, June 2014

Between 10th and 13th July the RAF Museum will be hosting four film screenings from 6.30pm. This short film season has been curated by Sir Peter Jackson. Sir Peter has selected and reviewed each film and even loaned us his unseen short film ‘Crossing the Line’ specially for this event!
Sit on a giant beanbag, sipping a Spitfire (or a beverage of your choice!), with a bag of freshly made popcorn with the Lancaster Bomber peering over your shoulder while watching a First World War Film selected by Sir Peter Jackson (Director of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings amongst others…)
But wait there’s more….
Come into the museum after hours and explore our collection with a very limited number of visitors….
Finally…
Watch a short film directed by Sir Peter Jackson, a film that has never been screened publicly before now.
“The beanbags were surprisingly comfortable, I felt as though I was laying on a very comfy bed with large pillow to prop my head up!”
“It was nice to look amongst the planes, without huge crowds”
“I loved sitting beneath the iconic Lancaster bomber it was very surreal and the surrounding planes were awesome for the ambiance”

Crossing the Line (2008)
Crossing the Line will be screened 15 minutes before each film
‘Crossing the Line’ focuses on two individuals caught up in the maelstrom of the Western Front. This short film has never been publicly released and you won’t see it screened anywhere else.

Peter Jackson's Review
I got some of our team together, actors and props people, and I said 'look, the only thing I can think of that we could do in the space for the next few hours is to drag some of my World War One props out of the store room, and we'll figure out a little story'. The following day, we were on set. We dug trenches, made a battlefield, got tanks, airplanes, guns, soldiers and then shot the film.

Beneath Hill 60 (2010)
Thursday 10th July
Doors open at 6.30pm, film begins at 8pm after 'Crossing the Line'.
The extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward. It’s 1916 and Woodward must tear himself from his new young love to go to the mud and carnage of the Western Front. Deep beneath the German lines. Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnellers fight to defend a leaking, labyrinthine tunnel system packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War.

Peter Jackson's Review
I thought this was a terrific film. It's a movie that confronts and destroys its low budget limitations by having terrific heart. Watching the film gives you a strong sense that everyone involved really cared about what they were making. It's interesting how few films there have been about World War One, and this movie centres on the tunnelling which is a fascinating aspect of the trench warfare. I can't think of another film that features this subject.
Watch the Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYOpCJCl5L4

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Friday 11th July
Doors open at 6.30pm, film begins at 7.30pm after 'Crossing the Line'.
A complex man who has been labelled everything from hero, to charlatan, to sadist, Thomas Edward Lawrence blazed his way to glory in the Arabian desert, then sought anonymity as a common soldier under an assumed name. The story opens with the death of Lawrence in a motorcycle accident in Dorset at the age of 46, then flashbacks to recount his adventures: as a young intelligence officer in Cairo in 1916, he is given leave to investigate the progress of the Arab revolt against the Turks in World War I.

Peter Jackson's Review
Not much needs to be said about this masterpiece, It's impossible to make a film like this today - the cost would be too prohibitive. Enjoy a wonderful film, and marvel at a form of epic location film-making that will never be repeated.

Paths of Glory (1957)
Saturday 12th July
Doors open at 6.30pm, film begins at 8pm after 'Crossing the Line'.
The futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an impossible attack.

Peter Jackson's Review
A strong memory of childhood television watching. The film draws you in, and becomes also excruciating to watch as it reaches its climax. Its Stanley Kubrick in top form. His long tracking shot following the French soldiers as they cross No Mans Land was another much-copied piece of cinematic brilliance. The camera leading Kirk Douglas as he strides down the narrow trench is the finest Steadicam shot ever done, a couple of decades before the Steadicam was actually invented.

The Blue Max (1966)

Sunday 13th July
Doors open at 6.30pm, film begins at 7.30pm after 'Crossing the Line'.
The tactics of a German fighter pilot offend his aristocratic comrades but win him his country’s most honoured medal, the Blue Max. The General finds him useful as a hero even though his wife also finds him useful as a love object. In the end the General arranges for him to test-fly an untried fighter.

Peter Jackson's Review

One of my hobbies is World War One aviation and it all started here. I didn't see the film when it was released, but my Dad took me to a tiny Paraparamu cinema to watch in the early 70s. I started to study the aircraft and came to admire the replica planes the film company had built for the film. In some sequences, a dozen aircraft are dogfighting. Most of the flying is done for real, which still impresses in the CGI age. The hero, played by George Peppard, flies a Pfalz D.III and I made a model of the PFalz out of cardboard. Years later, I found the original Pfalz rotting in an Alabama hangar. I bought it and have restored it to flying condition. We fly the Pfalz at our airshows, which features my World War One aircraft collection - all of which is inspired by The Blue Max.

Tags: Art

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