Product Description

The Battle of the Somme is one of the most famous, and earliest, films of war ever made. The film records the most disastrous day in the history of the British army - 1 July 1916 - and it had a huge impact when it was shown in Britain during the war. Since then images from it have been repeated so often in books and documentaries that it has profoundly influenced our view of the battle and of the Great War itself. Yet this book is the first in-depth study of this historic film, and it is the first to relate it to the surviving battleground of the Somme.

The authors explore the film and its history in fascinating detail. They investigate how much of it was faked and consider how much credit for it should go to Geoffrey Malins and how much to John MacDowell. And they use modern photographs of the locations to give us a telling insight into the landscape of the battle and into the way in which this pioneering film was created.

Their analysis of scenes in the film tells us so much about the way the British army operated in June and July 1916 - how the troops were dressed and equipped, how they were armed and how their weapons were used. In some cases it is even possible to discover what they were saying. This painstaking exercise in historical reconstruction will be compelling reading for everyone who is interested in the Great War and the Battle of the Somme.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10255 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

Ghosts on the Somme EXCELLENT
As a regular visitor to the Somme battlefields with a keen interest in the 'Battle of the Somme' film produced in 1916, I found this book very, very absorbing indeed. Thanks to the authors I can now follow in the footsteps of the official kinematographers Malins and McDowell and stand in nearly the exact spot where filming took place or retrace the steps of those soldiers seen in the film.

In my reckoning an essential book for any person who has an interest in the British Army of WW1 and especially the Kitchener's New Army troops who were decimated on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July, 1916.

Terrific analysis of iconic film
The film "The Battle of the Somme" remains of great interest today as an icon and documentary of the period. Officially produced for propaganda purposes, it was a huge box office attraction in 1916, seen by millions at home as the battle continued to rage in France. It was even watched by the troops, in the safety of the rear areas. Certain clips from the film will be all too familiar to anyone who watches modern TV coverage of the war, for they are seen over and over again. The enormous fountain of earth exploding into the sky above the Hawthorn ridge, and advancing infantry going "over the top", with men tripping and apparently dying in their own wire, feature in virtually every production. But in the latter instance it is only "apparently", for parts of the film were faked.

Drawing on the film, photographs taken at the same times and places, and the cameramen's notes (including the memoir of the film maker Geoffrey Malins), "Ghosts on the Somme" is a painstaking detailed analysis of every second of the film. The authors have attempted to identify the places, dates and times, units involved and individuals. The shots that are faked - in some cases many miles behind the lines - are identified, too. It makes for fascinating reading. The book could be quite hard going without the dozens of photographs, film stills and "then and now" photos that it serve to illustrate the points; they are carefully chosen and make the book stand out.

Overall it is an admirable piece of work and a very good book. It is perhaps, given the level of detail, one for Great War or film buffs rather than the general reader or WW1 beginner, but most would find it enjoyable and thought-provoking reading. It certainly adds something new to the plethora of analysis and publications covering 1 July 1916. Surely no other day in military history has received and continues to receive such depth of research.

Oustanding reference book to a vital piece of film history
This important book fulfils a vital service by taking the 1916 documentary film `The Battle of the Somme' filmed on location by Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell , and placing it under the strictest and most exacting historical scrutiny.

The film was used for propaganda purposes, and was seen by a major proportion of the British public at the time. Its images have, for good or ill, become part of the collective memory of the Great War: the explosion of the massive mine at Hawthorn Ridge redoubt; the eyes of a soldier struggling to carry a wounded man along a trench, and the advance of troops through barbed wire feature in nearly every visual evocation of the Western Front. (The latter images are particularly controversial and the book surely closes the debate on their provenance).

The book follows closely the disparate trail of evidence that suggests where and when the footage was shot. Key to this is the account left by Malins himself, a crib sheet assembled soon after the war, and most importantly for this book, a sequence of still photographs now part of the Imperial War Museum collection taken in parallel with Malins and McDowell's footage. These shots form the backbone of the book, and often identify locations and units left anonymous by the film.

The resulting integration of these sources is the best account of the film and the scenes it depicts. It is a significant further step on from the IWM viewing guide edited by Roger Smither in the early 1990s. The technical problems of filming are well covered and the authors have even enlisted the help of lip-reading specialists to allow the true lost voices of the Somme generation to be `heard' again after nearly a century.

A masterpiece, and central to our Somme library.