politalX Politics Store - The Way Ahead [1944]
![The Way Ahead [1944]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZA775KC3L._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £3.98
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: ITV DVD
Starring: David Niven, Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie, Leslie Dwyer
Directed By: Carol Reed
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: Universal, suitable for all
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5014138038281
Format: Black & White
Label: ITV DVD
Manufacturer: ITV DVD
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: ITV DVD
Region Code: 2
Release Date: 2004-05-17
Running Time: 110
Studio: ITV DVD
Theatrical Release Date: 1945-06-03
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic propaganda
Comment: Great film. One can only imagine the frame of mind of those originally watching it during the war. Brilliantly avoids the trap of portraying characters as heroes, they're just normal flawed fellows... who you don't necessarily like, until they're the tight knit fighting unit we see at the end. Isn't propaganda clever?
David Niven is fantastic - a role model for every Englishman.
The rest of the cast are exceptional too. The last shots, soldiers advancing bravely through the smoke, was surely lifted for the opening credits of Dad's Army years later - and both featured the brilliant John Laurie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest
Comment: This is one of the most affecting films I have ever seen, and makes me wonder how I could have passed so many years of life and never seen it before. It's difficult to pin down why it is so good - after all, to simply describe the bare bones of the plot would not make it sound anything special - but I think the sheer quality of the script is probably the most important thing. That is not, however, the only good thing about it: the direction, acting, and even the special effects are all exceptionally good. Above all, every character in the story is so realistic, and interesting to the viewer. As for David Niven's performance, that is close to perfection. If I had to mention just one specific scene from the film, I think it would be that unforgettable moment when, in a run-down bar, somewhere in the Western Sahara, the men start singing 'Lily of Laguna'. That must surely be one of the most memorable scenes ever put on celluloid. If that scene doesn't move you, nothing will. If, like me until a few weeks ago, you have never seen this film, buy it now, and experience a beautiful piece of cinematic history, made in England during the dark days of World War II.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Comment: This movie shows what can be done when talents such as Ustinov and Ambler are told to make an Army training film and they then managed to come up with a classic like this.
It's the story of a diverse bunch of Brits grumbling their way through basic training, being put through their paces by David Niven and William Hartnell (who played the first Dr. Who) with the ultimate result in the end of being turned into a first rate fighting unit.
My favourite scene is the one just before the War starts, when David Niven as a T.A. private (that's a National Guardsman in "cousin-speak"), is being instructed in the use of a 1916 Lewis Gun by means of a large picture - The real thing would not have been available, and then being turned out of the training hall by a Dance Band arriving!
I like nmollo's comments above about not having seen a Brit war film where we are not portrayed as "crazy and eccentric".
Well apart from Los Angeles, UK probably has had more crazy and eccentric people than any other place on earth. Why else would we have put up with the weather when we could have emmigrated to Australia, New Zealand, Canada or even the USA?
Great film. Worth watching over and over again.
Buy and enjoy
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great propaganda movie
Comment: One of those with characters drawn from disparate backgrounds who end up pulling together. They spend the first half of the film whingeing about absolutely everything (they remind me of some colleagues I have known). How's Captain Niven going to cope with this management problem? He happens to turn up at the house where the "boys" have been going for tea and baths and, over the cucumber sandwiches, they discover he's a good chap really. I'd like to have seen more of the "wives' club". Niven is desperate to put on a concert but the platoon are initially too bolshy to play. A bit of an in-joke, as Stanley Holloway was a music-hall comedian famous for his recitations (the terrible fate of young Albert...) and eventually reveals his lovely singing voice as they croon Lily of Laguna in a godforsaken bar with Rommel not too far away. One of the most interesting characters is Evan Lloyd, the gloomy Welshman who unlike the others doesn't have much of a back story. Has he been soured by a life of telling people the council can't repair their gutters or install a bath? Of course, given the movie's origins as a training film, he could be there to show trainees that the unlikeliest recruits may be officer material. But with William Hartnell as Sergeant you can't go far wrong - he reprised this role in Carry on Sergeant which is a more light-hearted go at the same plot (no war and nobody dies, but the end, with the gang marching past to brass instruments played by thick-legged girls, still makes me cry).
Customer Rating:
Summary: A good Black & White WW2 film
Comment: This movie follows the call up and training of various men, called up to fight in WW2.
It's interesting to see the men from different backgrounds, (the important business man, the travel agent and the labourer) all get lumbered into the same boat.
The men are portrayed well, not heroes nor idiots, just ordinary men.
They grumble and complain about how they are being treated unfairly, being shouted at and made to do pointless exercises. As the film goes on, you see the men bond before being shipped off to combat, this too is well done with the combat scenes being so understated as to be believable.
This film was used at Sandhurst for many years to help train new officers.
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