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Cinematic interpretation of Benjamin Britten’s 1961 masterly religious/poetic choral oratorio, combining the Latin Mass with several poems by the British war poet Wilfred Owen. Owen was killed on the battlefield a week before the armistice that ended WWI. Jarman merges dramatic sequences, paintings, collages and documentary footage from the wars of the 20th century to evoke the tragedy of war and the untimely death of youth. The film has been interpreted as a metaphor on the war against AIDS. A film without dialogue, featuring Olivier in his final film role.
Credits: James Mackay ; director, writer, Derek Jarman ; photography, Richard Greatrex ; editing, Rick Elgood.
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Tilda Swinton, Nathaniel Parker, Owen Teale, Nigel Terry.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
A000014
Language
English
Subject categories
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → Anti-war works
Experimental → Experimental films - Great Britain
Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain
History → Great Britain - History - 20th century
History → World War, 1914-1918 - History
History → World War, 1939-1945 - History
Literature → English literature - Film and video adaptations
Literature → Literature - Film and video adaptations
Literature → Owen, Wilfred 1893-1918
Music & Performing Arts → Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976
People → Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976
People → Owen, Wilfred 1893-1918
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White and Colour
Holdings
35mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)