1917 (Film) Sam Mendes

Pre-production

Amblin Partners and New Republic Pictures were announced to have acquired the project on 18 June 2018, with Sam Mendes directing and co-writing the screenplay alongside Krysty Wilson-Cairns.[7] Tom Holland was reported to be pushing for a lead role in the film in September 2018 but ultimately was not involved as he was contractually obligated to do reshoots for Chaos Walking in April 2019.[8][9] In October 2018, Roger Deakins was set to reunite with Mendes as cinematographer.[10] George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman entered negotiations to star that same month.[11] Thomas Newman was hired to compose the score in March 2019.[12] That same month, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Richard Madden, Andrew Scott, Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Jamie Parker, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Claire Duburcq joined the cast in supporting roles.[13]

Writing

In August 2019, Mendes stated that the film shows "the story of a messenger who has a message to carry."[14] 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.[15]

Filming

Roger Deakins was the cinematographer for the film, reuniting with Mendes for their fourth collaboration, having first worked together on Jarhead in 2005.[16] Filming was accomplished with long takes and elaborately choreographed moving camera shots to give the effect of two continuous takes.[17][18] Although many media accounts have referred to the story as being told in only one shot,[19][20] 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.[21] 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".[17]

1917 was the first film to be shot with the Arri Alexa Mini LF digital cinema camera. Deakins wanted to use a camera with a large format image sensor, but thought that the original Alexa 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.[22][16] His lenses were Arri Signature Primes, of which he used three focal lengths: a 40 mm lens for most of the film, a wider 35 mm for scenes in the tunnels and bunkers, to emphasise feelings of claustrophobia,[16] and a narrower 47 mm in the river, "to lose some of the background".[23]

Filming began on 1 April 2019 and continued through June 2019 in Wiltshire, Hankley Common in Surrey and Govan, as well as at Shepperton Studios.[24][25][26][27] Concern was raised about filming on Salisbury Plain by conservationists who felt the production could disturb potentially undiscovered remains, requesting a survey before any set construction began.[28][29] Some shots required the use of as many as 500 background extras.[3]

Sections of the film were also shot near Low Force, on the River Tees, Teesdale in June 2019, a reference to river Styx.[17] 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.[30] For the scenes on the river, the cast and crew were assisted by a local outdoor adventure provider for safety and stunts.[31]

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 two grips, 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 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."[32]

Music

The soundtrack album of the film was released on 20 December 2019. The score was composed by Thomas Newman, the regular collaborator to Mendes. It was nominated for best original score at the Academy Awards.[33][34]

The soundtrack does not include the rendition of the American folk song The Wayfaring Stranger by Jos Slovick.[35] In early 2020, a Change.org petition collected over 2,500 signatures to urge film producers Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures to release a full studio version of Slovick's performance. Subsequently, Sony Classical Records released an EP of the song on 7 February on Amazon and streaming platforms.[36]