Customer Reviews

1918

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is such a beautiful movie, as true today as it was then. My mother nearly died in the flu pandemic of 1918, and told me about those times in great detail. My brother and I suffered from measles and whooping cough in the early 40s, and our house was quarantined by the city. Being a child during WWII, I can still identify with many elements of this DVD. Everything moved at such a leisurely pace that it must have seemed that time stood still, especially for the kids. I remember feeling this way growing up in a small town. If you are looking for a movie that moves at breakneck speed, then don't buy this one. But, if you are contemplative and have many memories of the past that you wish to relive, this is the movie for you. I intend to watch it again and again. It is truly a story of a world that no longer exists. That makes me sad, especially for our children.

This movie, 1918 is a great piece of our history during WWI. (The Great War) It tells of courage, cowardice, patriotism, family ties, family integrity, family shame, insight to our families, God and death, A Mother's evaluation of God in the taking of her baby, innocence of the mentally retarded....A feeling like you are there. The background of a slaming screen door, the lady next door practicing for the next week church choir, the distant locomotive, the dog barking, the crowds celebrating the end of the war... the meaning of life and deathe in a small Texas town. The social structure of the family and the social structure of a family with a son that just isn't measuring up to expectations. A wonderful movie. And in my opinion, the best movie ever made. I felt as if I was there experienceing all of these things with the actors and actresses, who to me seemed like live participants.

This movie is one of the most beautiful films I've seen. The evocation of this particular place in this particular time is the best I've ever seen in a film. Something as mundane as practising the piano crystalizes into a moment captured in time that stays with the viewer long after the movie has ended. The canvas of sound used in the film creates a reality so real you are a part of that moment in time portrayed in the movie.

The astounding gentleness and compassion with which Horton Foote presents the people in this town brings tears to my eyes even as I think of it. Not only is this time a forgotten one by many. It is a time of caring and innocence that no longer exists in our country. There is a heroic approach to life these people embody that comes from a sincere sense of right and wrong, duty, and faith. Yet, there is no poliical agenda that motivates their actions. They act out of their realization that as humans we are all connected and that connection is worth fighting for even when it is not easy. They are not perfect. And, because of their imperfections we come to love and care for them.

I rewatch this film whenever I want to wash the hypocrisy and hatred of our own time from off my spirit. This is a film I wish more people were aware of. I cannot believe it is not on dvd yet. If ever our country needed an example of courage and compassion, it is now.

Horton Foote is a playwright and screenwriter of the gentlest, most powerful kind. His beginnings in small town Texas has informed most all of his writing ever since. He has written for broadway, live television and hollywood. He wrote the amazing screenplay for "To Kill A Mockingbird" based on Harper Lee's book. He wrote the films "Tender Mercies" and "Trip to Bountiful" (based on his play) He's won the Pultzer Prize for his play "Young Man From Atlanta" (1995). Many of his plays have ended up on video/dvd and "1918" is one of them.

There is a series of plays written by Mr. Foote called "The Orphan's Home Cycle". Nine terrific plays, gentle and rewarding individually...put them together and you have a gorgeous epic that spans decades. The plays follow a boy named Horace from childhood to adulthood.

The middle three plays of this cycle are: "Courtship", "Valentine's Day" and "1918" and are all on DVD and available on Amazon.

"1918" takes place in a small Texas town during the outbreak of the infamous influenzia epidemic and the comings and goings of soldiers during World War I. It picks up a short time after "On Valentine's Day" ends. Elizabeth and Horace have a child and the family is reunited. But as the sickness of the epidemic and the insidious mutilations of the war casulties all come closer to the their doorstep, Horace is faced with decisions beyond his grasp. Trying to come to terms with his "orphan" status and new family. The delicate way the subjects of love, danger, security and family roam in and out of the dialouge is very moving.

"1918" stands alone as an amazing timepiece. Put the film together as the finale with the previous chapters: "Courtship" and "On Valentine's Day" and you have an amazing statement of life in small town America from 1915 to World War I. You have a dramatic poem about love and endurance. You also have an important document of Amercan theater by having a record of this great playwright's work come to life.

The same wonderful cast is in all three films, offering great continuity of performance and sparse, tender storytelling.

Courtship, On Valentine's Day,

The Trip to Bountiful, Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood

I got hooked when I saw this movie! It was very well acted and you became attached to the story. It made me want to read the play that this was based on as well as see the prequel "On Valentine's Day" Elizabeth and Horace's relationship tested by family and life in general. I loved it and would highly recommend this video and the others in the trilogy to anyone who loves historical dramas.

I've revisited this film often. It's feel for life in a small Texas town is letter perfect. Hallie Foote is wonderful. The scene where she tells of her daughter's death moves me to tears every time I've seen it.

Set in a rural Texas town near the end of WW I, the flu epidemic of that year is raging. The movie attempts to capture, in great detail, the tribulations of a family at this period of time: the war in Europe, the influenza, and their everyday routines. Death seems everywhere. A great deal of trouble went into getting the details of the setting absolutely authentic. It's a poignant movie, and we can identify and feel for the characters: the husband (William Converse-Roberts) and wife (Hallie Foote) who lose their 8-month-old child to the flu, and the 17-year-old brother (Matthew Broderick) who wants nothing but to go fight in Europe before it's all over. A very real slice of life, with few, if any, of the Hollywood conventions one might expect. Written by Horton Foote. Worth a watch.

Quite a nice period piece, somber in many aspects, but all in all an intelligent movie.

This story follows a family during the year 1918 at the ending of World War I and through the flu epidemic that swept the world that year. This story follows the same family portrayed in "Courtship" and "On Valentine's Day". All three stories are by the same author, Horton Foote, and are based on his plays.

please see lola's review of on valentine's day. 1918 was particularly unique in that it dealt in part with the spanish influenza epidemic.