NigelS Posted 21 October , 2014 Share Posted 21 October , 2014 The Beeb is just starting to show trailers for its next WW1 Centenary five part drama offering (scheduled for BBC1), The Passing Bells, hopefully it will be a much better effort than The Crimson Field. Can but hope that 'Auntie' has learnt from her mistakes. Some links Click & Click NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Nulty Posted 22 October , 2014 Share Posted 22 October , 2014 Any idea when this is on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 22 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 22 October , 2014 According to the Radio Times website Click Monday 3rd November. NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Nulty Posted 22 October , 2014 Share Posted 22 October , 2014 Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 22 October , 2014 Share Posted 22 October , 2014 This sounds interesting Nigel. I thought they had forgotten about drama in the centenary after the C......F....... ( I dare not mention it). Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxi Posted 22 October , 2014 Share Posted 22 October , 2014 Nigel Thank you for posting this and here is a bit more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passing_Bells Maxi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 29 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 29 October , 2014 The Beeb have now put the full programme schedule, further details & trailers on its website Click NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRANVILLE Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 Well I have just seen the first episode and in my own opinion, only one word sums it up - exceptional. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 That's one more word than I could summon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart150 Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 The British chap seemed to get supplied with a uniform and sent to the trenches exceptionally fast for a 1914 volunteer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 Found it a little confusing as éverybody speaks perfect English. Who is who? Oh right, this must be the German guy, he's wearing a Pickelhaube.. A little bit of accent would make it easier to follow (Not a theatrical "Ve ar German! ", but just a hint of an accent) Missed opportunity with the starry sky, and it's quite a tall order to compress 5 years (x 2 guys = 10 years) into 5 half-hour episodes, but this first episode left a good impression. WW1 in fast forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 Well I have just seen the first episode and in my own opinion, only one word sums it up - exceptional. David Was it? I dozed off after 15 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis1918 Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 I agree JWK certainly was fast forward. Enlisted , walked out of recruiting office in full uniform , off to France with apparently no training , straight into trenches. The German lad spent longer trying to lose his virginity in a field than spent training for the "field" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 It was a bit little fluffy kittens and all things nice, BUT it was ok drama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 Bit intense for early evening viewing, and I agree with JWK about the accents of the Germans, who could have been British Tommies but for the uniforms. The early scenes of the attack did impress on me how constricting and claustrophobic those primitive gas masks must have been.And going over the top in greatcoats must have been cumbersome. Was the mutual co-operation in retrieving casualties over-dramatised? Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbarchetta Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 Came away with a definite 'Crimson Tide' feeling... Very, confusingly, fast forwarding (with no timeline captions to cling on to). Somewhat simplistic directing to keep switching between the battle and the parents at home in the rural idyll 'for dramatic effect', I feel. Remind me, when did 1914 volunteers reach the front line? Were they still using jam tin bombs at that point? Anyway, all publicity is good publicity, as they say... James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollerbeadle Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 Quite good I thought, but we'll see how it pans out throughout the rest of the series... The accent thing...........I think it would have been better to have had the German family actually speaking German and subtitled the scenes... I also think it would have been wrong to have had the Germans speaking English with a German accent..... As it stands...its OK......but not that good.....smacks of production budget restraints.... Another thought regarding the swiftness of the uniform availability.....well fitting uniforms on the day of signing up?... I think not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 ... I also think it would have been wrong to have had the Germans speaking English with a German accent..... I found myself thinking of other war films, both WWI and WWII, where British or American actors have portrayed German servicemen, but I can't think of one where it was so obviously so as in "The Passing Bells". Moonraker Edit: Just checked the IMDB and it appears to be an Anglo-Polish production, certainly with a fair number of Polish names in the cast. Perhaps a few more could have been used in the production to contrast with the British actors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick63 Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 It did seem to move very fast, it almost seems as if a child wrote the screenplay. I suspect the accents all sounding the same is a BBC subliminal message that we`re all the same underneath the uniforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 I'd echo the above - far too fast. To tell both sides of the story from the beginning like it's trying to do needs a lot longer. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pighills Posted 3 November , 2014 Share Posted 3 November , 2014 ................. the accents of the Germans, who could have been British Tommies but for the uniforms. Moonraker I rather think this is what the director was getting at, the fact that they were all just ordinary blokes/families thrown into war. They were all the same underneath, it was just their language which set them apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEUZEWOOD Posted 4 November , 2014 Share Posted 4 November , 2014 Forgive my ignorance, but a 'ceasefire to tend to the wounded'? I'm fully aware of the Christmas truce, but did this really take place at other times along the western front to this extent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 4 November , 2014 Share Posted 4 November , 2014 I rather think this is what the director was getting at, the fact that they were all just ordinary blokes/families thrown into war. They were all the same underneath, it was just their language which set them apart. This thought did occur to me. Swop the uniforms, the men would be the same. Forgive my ignorance, but a 'ceasefire to tend to the wounded'? I'm fully aware of the Christmas truce, but did this really take place at other times along the western front to this extent? Not really my subject area, but I understand there were occasions during a lull in the fighting when soldiers from both sides intermingled to retrieve casualties. As I say in post 15, this seemed to be over-dramatised in the first episode. Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 4 November , 2014 Share Posted 4 November , 2014 Solid, sentimental, unconvincing "All characters have English-sounding names and use English accents – a deliberate tactic. Writer Tony Jordan said they had chosen to strip away accents to emphasise that there is ‘nothing’ between the two main characters." - Metro Sentinel review Doubtless other reviews will appear on line and in today's printed papers. My Googling also took me to a review so obscenely worded as to be treated with contempt. Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevmc Posted 4 November , 2014 Share Posted 4 November , 2014 This series seems like "manna from heaven" for the whingers and nit-pickers. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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