Overlord (1975)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Stuart Cooper

Writers:

Christopher Hudson (original screenplay) and
Stuart Cooper (original screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 1978 (Denmark)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

Code Name D-Day June 6th 1944

Plot:

During the war a young lad is called up and, with an increasing sense of foreboding, undertakes his army training ready for D-day. |

Plot Keywords:

D Day | War Footage | Premonition | 1940s | World War II Bomber

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Brian Stirner	...	Tom
Davyd Harries	...	Jack
Nicholas Ball	...	Arthur
Julie Neesam	...	The Girl
Sam Sewell	...	The Trained Soldier
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Dad
Stella Tanner	...	Mum
Harry Shacklock	...	Stationmaster
David Scheuer	...	Medical Officer
Ian Liston	...	Barrack Guard
Lorna Lewis	...	Prostitute
Stephen Riddle	...	Dead German Soldier
Jack Le White	...	Barman
Mark Penfold	...	Photographer
Micaela Minelli	...	Little Girl

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Aldershot, Hampshire, England, UK

Company:

Joswend

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In amongst the shots of "Hobart’s Funnies" on the landing beaches there is a shot of a Panjandrum. This was an experimental device which would have been used to combat the German proposed invasion of England in 1940. However it was a failure and was not used at the time and was never used in the D Day landings.

Quotes:

[Jack and Arthur are lying down and talking while awaiting deployment]
Jack: Did you hear what Tom did this morning?
Arthur: No.
Jack: He went to see old Nickelby, and asked him if they gave out compassionate leave if there's been a death in the family. So Nickelby said, "Oh, yeah, yeah, depending on the circumstances." And Tom said, "Well, there hasn't been a death in my family yet, but there's going to be one very soon, and I request leave to go home and console my parents."

Movie Connections:

References This Happy Breed (1944)

Soundtrack:

We Don't Know Where We're Going

A superb evocation of a soldier's life in the weeks preceding D-Day

"Overlord" follows the experience of a young soldier from his induction into the army up to his participation in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings.

Beautifully photographed in black and white, the film weaves archive footage seamlessly into the fabric of the story and captures, not only the look, but the very essence of the period.

Until the closing moments, the protagonist is not involved in any fighting. What we see are the minutiae of life for a young soldier being trained and waiting to go into battle – the marching and military exercises; a trip to the cinema and the local village dance, where he meets his first girlfriend; the eve of battle, when he writes his last letter home, fills in the standard army issue will form, and burns all the private papers which he is not permitted to take into battle lest they fall into enemy hands and give away some information of use to the enemy. These small personal details give the film an emotional depth and a feeling for the times, which most war films made in the post war period fail to do.