Real to Reel: A Century of War Movies

Disappointing exhibition at the Imperial War Museum looking at war movies, why they are made, why we watch them, how they are made.

I say disappointing because the exhibition wasn’t big enough! There was so much that they could have covered that it felt that they’d only tackled a small proportion of it. Also at times I wasn’t sure if they were telling the stories of the films or the events they were representing. Everything was good and there were some great objects which I’ll come to but I felt if they’d tried to say a bit less they would have said it better.

Now the good stuff! The show started with the documentary that was made of the Battle of the Somme which was shown in cinemas within weeks of the battle. It revolutionised film going, changing it from a lower class leisure pursuit to a having mass appeal all levels of society went to see it hoping to spot family members at the front.

I loved the middle section about the people in the films looking at the actors, directors and their subjects. I loved a Marlene Dietrich dress and shoes with a photo of here wearing it singing to the troops. There was an interesting section on Lawrence of Arabia not only looking at the iconic David Lean film but also a documentary made in 1918 with footage of Lawrence himself.

It was nice to see modern films about the Second World War features with interesting displays how D-Day and Dunkirk were recreated for Saving Private Ryan and Atonement. Also fascinating to see that the film Battle of Britain used footage of slum clearances to represent blitzed cities!

The last room looked at how films were received and talked about how some films have shaped our impression of some conflicts including talking about how “Oh What a Lovely War” changed our view of the First World War. There was also a nice section on merchandising.

So having said I found this show disappointing I seem to have managed to write a lot about it!

Closes on 8 January 2017
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Becket: Murder and Making of a Saint

Image
Stunning exhibition at the British Museum on the life and afterlife of Thomas Becket. I studied Becket both at A Level and at university so I was really looking forward to this show and it did not disappoint. From walking in to see an old friend, the early Limoges casket showing the murder from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I was gripped. The show told the story well using fantastic objects and led you through his life, the murder, the political aftermath, his sainthood and miracles, and how Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site. It is hard to pick out the best objects as so many were wonderful. I loved that they had early copies of some of the five eyewitness accounts of the murder which made you fell you were almost touching the event. I liked the manuscript on his time in exile which was almost like a comic strip. How wonderful to get a 13th century font from Sweden which shows how far and how quickly the news that Henry II had integrated the murder spread. I think my
Read more

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Exhibition 2019

Image
Delightful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art showing pictures from the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year TV series. I had loved the series which had set nine artists, both professional and amateur, to paint one of three celebrities. It then had a semi-final and final with them all looking at one sitter and in the final they also took on a commission. I loved the way you watched a picture build and how some were then made or spoiled by one stroke of paint.   Finding these pictures I knew so well in the flesh was therefore fascinating. None of them disappointed. My favourite artist from the final, Tom Mead, works looked just as good in real life if not better as you could see the detail. The show included his impressive self-portrait which he submitted to enter the competition, a wonderful fragmented picture of his reflection in a mirror giving a sense of movement. I loved that it included a large version of him and a miniature. His commission for the final of Jazzie B was
Read more

The Renaissance Nude

Image
Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the nude in Renaissance art. The show was gently themed but mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. It began by looking at the subjects, both religious and secular, which include nude figures then examined techniques and models used in these works, finishing by looking at more personal pictures. This is a period I’ve studied a lot so there were a lot of old friends and it was quite fun predicting what might appear. There were a few surprises too such as the rather surprising drawing of the Ecstatic Christ. I liked the fact the show included lots of different art forms not just paintings including sculpture, etchings, drawings and illuminated manuscripts. There were some fascinating hangs to draw comparisons particularly two sets of pictures by Giovanni Bellini and Hand Memling from almost exactly the same date. These were shown back to back in a display cabinet down the middle of one room. My favourite work was
Read more