Blitz - a Steve McQueen film

The new film from the Oscar-winning director of 12 Years a Slave is going to be released soon, and it sounds like another major awards contender.



Since he hasn't made a bad movie yet, I have very high expectations for this one!


The photo that inspired McQueen:

I want to see this.

In Michael Caines autobiography Whats it all about? He wrote about what it was like being a kid when Germany was bombing London. Very compelling.

I strongly urge everyone to read Caines autobiography because he has magnificent recall and one of the most fascinating lives I've ever read about.

This might be worth a look? Is Nic Cage in this?

He's not listed in the cast

just a joke from the madden discussion

Ok

Steve McQueen doesn't quite reinvent the WW2 genre with Blitz, but he certainly gives it a very timely update for the 21st century.

It's kind of a shame that Apple bought the movie, because it is receiving a minimal theatrical release ahead of its streaming debut later this month; like Wolfs, it is a movie that definitely needs to be watched on the biggest screen possible.

George is an 8-year-old living in London with his mother during the early years of the war, who decides he doesn't want to be sent away "for his safety" and bravely decides to head back to London to be with his family again.

McQueen uses little George's adventure to show just how much prejudice existed internally in Britain even as the country entered into one of its toughest wars ever to fight Nazi Germany.

Despite being technically American, Saoirse Ronan does a superb job as George's determined mom, who desperately tries to find her son amidst the chaos of wartime London.

The period detail and some sprawling vistas are absolutely riveting, I don't believe any contemporary movie has done such a good job showing what London was like during the Blitz.

As a WW2 movie, Blitz definitely covers a lot of familiar ground, but it is never less than fascinating.

Just a 6.6 rating so far

Never go watch a movie just because of a rating

i do this all the time

You could be missing out

Thanks for the write-up, @FilmBuff. I hadn't heard of this film until a few days ago and I haven't decided if I want to see it or not. Blitz doesn't look bad necessarily so much as I'm a mite burnt out on World War II films. I know it's a popular setting for film. It's just been done so many times it's hard to get interested anymore.

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did you ever watch it?

Yes, I found it underwhelming. The performances from Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan are good, but the writing and directing were the weakest parts for me. There are some effective individual moments, but overall that was not nearly as engaging as it should have been. The production design and costumes were well done. It was alright, but should have been better. 6/10 would be my rating.

it was a bit of a bore, i thought

Yeah, it was disappointing in parts and should have been more interesting.

My take:


Barely got through this as it is not exactly compelling. Reminded me of a Disney movie at times. Just not gritty enough and the bombings are sort of secondary. The director seemed to be stretching it to find a story here. Might have been better as a TV series to take a better look at the criminal culture that evolved from the blitz. I read a book titled The Splendor and the Vile a few years ago and there are plenty of great story around the blitz. This movie wasn't one of them. The flashbacks didn't help and they didn't develop the relationship between the mother and the father. 6/10