1917
Academy Award × 3
Rent/Purchase
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.
What critics thought
Sam Mendes's single-take illusion earns wide admiration as a technical and visceral feat, but critics split sharply on whether the filmmaking serves the story or swallows it — skeptics argue the relentless stylistic ambition tips from immersive into self-congratulatory, flattening the human cost it means to convey. Audiences have embraced it more warmly than critics, and its reputation has only grown since release.
“can be as distracting as it is immersive”
Justin Chang·NPR
“The artifice of the aesthetic premise overwhelms any of the film's other intentions.”
Alison Willmore·Vulture
“one of the most catastrophic episodes in modern times into an exercise in preening showmanship”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“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”
Meilan Solly·Smithsonian
Genres
Action, Drama, War
Cast & Crew
DirectorSam Mendes
StarringGeorge MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden
ComposerThomas Newman
1917
Academy Award × 3
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.
What critics thought
Sam Mendes's single-take illusion earns wide admiration as a technical and visceral feat, but critics split sharply on whether the filmmaking serves the story or swallows it — skeptics argue the relentless stylistic ambition tips from immersive into self-congratulatory, flattening the human cost it means to convey. Audiences have embraced it more warmly than critics, and its reputation has only grown since release.
“can be as distracting as it is immersive”
Justin Chang·NPR
“The artifice of the aesthetic premise overwhelms any of the film's other intentions.”
Alison Willmore·Vulture
“one of the most catastrophic episodes in modern times into an exercise in preening showmanship”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“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”
Meilan Solly·Smithsonian
Genres
Action, Drama, War
Cast & Crew
DirectorSam Mendes
StarringGeorge MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden
ComposerThomas Newman
Rent/Purchase