'1917': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and everything you need to know about Sam Mendes' World War I film
After his work on the Bond films 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre', Sam Mendes took a long and deserved break. But he is back in the director's seat with '1917', a World War I drama with an A-list cast.
A passion project for the director, the movie is based, in part, on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes. The film will be produced by Amblin Partners and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Release date:
It will release December 25 in North America and see a worldwide release on January 10, 2020.
Plot:
The story is about a single day in the lives of two soldiers in 1917, one of the bloodiest years of World War I. During the Third Battle of Ypres, two young British soldiers, Schofield and Blake, must go behind enemy lines to deliver a warning message that a battalion is about to walk into a trap.
If they don't succeed, all 1,600 men in that unit will be killed, including Blake's brother, who is part of the unit. The film is about their mission to save the men, as they race against the clock.
Cast:
George MacKay who portrays Schofield starred in Captain Fantastic (2016) opposite Viggo Mortensen. He has also worked opposite actors like Tim Roth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Craig, and Clive Owen.
Dean-Charles Chapman has been cast as Blake. He is best known for his role as Tommen, Cersei Lannister's son on 'Game of Thrones'.
Other prominent A-listers on the cast are Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) and Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Bridget Jones' Diary). Playing the part of other British soldiers are Mark Strong (Shazam!), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Richard Madden (Bodyguard), Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Jamie Parker, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Claire Duburcq.
Creators:
Sam Mendes, who will direct the film, also co-wrote the script with Krysty Wilson-Cairnshas. The film will be produced by Stephen Speilberg's Amblin Partners that also produced Mendes' 'American Beauty' (1999') and 'Road to Perdition' (2002).
Trailer:
The trailer reveals the premise of the film. A commanding officer gives Schofield and Blake their mission to deliver a message to abort an attack. If the battalion is not warned in time, 1,600 soldiers will die as they walk straight into a trap.
He also tells Blake that his brother is in the unit, upping the stakes. The trailer then shows the two boy soldiers cross behind enemy lines amid the destructive backdrop of the First World War. The trailer ends with Schofield running across a battlefield as the voiceover of the commanding officer intones: "If you fail, they will be massacred. Good Luck."
If you liked this, you'll love these:
'Saving Private Ryan', 'Dunkirk', 'Black Hawk Down', 'Full Metal Jacket', 'The Hurt Locker', 'Flags of Our Fathers', and 'Letters from Iwo Jima'
