Deathwatch (2002)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Michael J. Bassett

Writer:

Michael J. Bassett (writer)

Release Date:

7 November 2002 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | War | Thriller

Tagline:

Deliver them from evil

Plot:

In 1917, in the Western front, a group of survivors of the British Company Y reach the most forward German trench in a foggy night...

Plot Keywords:

German | Trench | German Soldier | British Soldier | WWI

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Jamie Bell	...	Pfc. Charlie Shakespeare
Rúaidhrí Conroy	...	Pvt. Colin Chevasse (as Ruaidhri Conroy)
Mike Downey	...	Martin Plummer
Laurence Fox	...	Capt. Bramwell Jennings
Roman Horak	...	German soldier
Dean Lennox Kelly	...	Pvt. Willie McNess
Torben Liebrecht	...	Friedrich
Kris Marshall	...	Pvt. Barry Starinski
Hans Matheson	...	Pvt. Jack Hawkstone
Hugh O'Conor	...	Anthony Bradford
Matthew Rhys	...	Cpl. Doc Fairweather
Andy Serkis	...	Pvt. Thomas Quinn
Hugo Speer	...	Sgt. David Tate
Pavel Tesar	...	Mudman

Also Known As:

No Man's Land (USA) (working title)
Untitled Great War Project (UK) (working title)
Untitled WWI Trench Horror (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hong Kong:III | Japan:PG-12 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Benesov, Czech Republic

Company:

ApolloMedia

Trivia:

In the German dubbed version, the German soldiers speak French.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Near the end of the movie, the German prisoner is pointing what appears to be a Yugoslavian Model 24/47 rifle at Private Shakespeare. However, that model did not enter production until well after World War I. The proper weapon for this scene would be the longer Mauser Model 1898 Gewehr, the standard rifle of the German army in WWI.

Quotes:

Cpl. Doc Fairweather: McNess, what are you doing?
Pvt. Willie McNess: Leaving!
Pvt. Thomas Quinn: Well that's the best idea I've heard all day.

More horror of war than horror film

Although much-hyped as a horror film during production, 'Deathwatch' obviously shifted tone substantially in post-production towards a depiction of the everyday horrors of the Great War and seems all the better for it. Although there are vague similarities to Michael Mann's disappointing 'The Keep' and its truly dreadful British rip-off 'The Bunker,' this is both more ambitious and successful than either. A more accurate comparison would be to John Ford's rarely revived 'The Lost Patrol,' where a group of soldiers lost in the desert turn on each other as their situation worsens.

The production design is for the most part impeccable: unlike the studio-bound and cliche-ridden 'The Trench,' this offers one of the most realistic screen recreations of trench life at its worst, rats and all. Where the opening battle sequence never quite seems intense enough, the mundane realities of surviving daily life in what is little more than an open grave leave a lasting impression.

There are problems: some of the attitudes are wrong for the period, as are occasional lines of dialogue (such as references to then-nonexistent holiday camps or contemporary slang such as 'plank'). It's not even remotely frightening, and only begins to chill with its oddly touching ending (which bears more than a little similarity to a famed Bruce Joel Rubin script, the title of which would ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't seen it). But, unlike most British efforts of recent years, it is a real film with ambition and a sense of scale that deserved better at the box-office and is well worth a look.