Go Behind The Scenes On Sam Mendes’ 1917

Shooting War

Sam Mendes, the Oscar®-winning director of Skyfall, Spectre and American Beauty, brings his vision to his World War I epic, 1917 which is out now in cinemas in the UK. Here’s a behind the scenes video from Insider which shows how they made the film look like it’s just one shot. Golden Globe-winning 1917 is a serious Oscar contender. It stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch and was filmed to look like one continuous shot. Cinematographer Roger Deakins explains how he and director Sam Mendes did it, from digging up a mile of trenches to attaching cameras to cranes and drones…

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (Captain Fantastic’s George MacKay) and Blake (Game of Thrones’ Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers— Blake’s own brother among them. 

1917 is directed by Sam Mendes, who wrote the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Showtime’s Penny Dreadful). The film is produced by Mendes and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Away We Go) for their Neal Street Productions, Jayne-Ann Tenggren (associate producer, Spectre), Callum McDougall (executive producer, Mary Poppins Returns, Skyfall) and Brian Oliver (Rocketman, Black Swan). 

eOne will release 1917 in UK and Irish cinemas 10 January 2020.