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B a t t l e O f Y p r e s - 1925
R e l e a sed in its entirety for the first time ever, Battle Of Ypres is the original 1925 British Instructional
Films documentary re-enacting key scenes from the notorious Battle Of Ypres in the actual battle trenches.
The lengthy campaign was largely a murderous stalemate that perfectly demonstrated the horror and
futility of war. A massive 1.7 million soldiers died in the attempt to capture the Belgian town and its
environs over the length of a four year campaign.
The first, second, third and fourth battles of Ypres are all covered as are the key positions of Mesen, Hill
60 and the Passchendaele Ridge - the scene of prolonged and terrible carnage over a mere 900 metres of
land.
A follow-up to the best-selling DVD The Battle Of The Somme (1916), as a representation of war Battle Of
Ypres was not without its controversy; it arguably distorted the grimmer realities of conflict - the
trenchfoot, the maiming and death - into a noble recount of the superiority of the Allies. But, even in this
light, Battle Of Ypres gives us a unique historical reading of one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the
First World War.
The original silent documentary has had an all new soundtrack created from digitally enhanced recordings
of the period as well as the addition of evocative sound effects.
The release comes with two complimentary DVD Bonus Features :-
Ypres The Shell Shattered City Of Flanders
1918 (16 mins)
Shots of the remnants of discernible landmarks amidst the rubbled ruins of Ypres and the ridges to the
North and East of the town. Includes the main square and its Cloth Hall, St. Martin's Cathedral, The Church
Of Saint Jacques and Shrapnel Corner.
Remembrance Day, Ypres 1922 (2 mins)
TOTAL RUNNING TIME - 105 Mins.
R e l e a sed in its entirety for the first time ever, Battle Of Ypres is the original 1925 British Instructional
Films documentary re-enacting key scenes from the notorious Battle Of Ypres in the actual battle trenches.
The lengthy campaign was largely a murderous stalemate that perfectly demonstrated the horror and
futility of war. A massive 1.7 million soldiers died in the attempt to capture the Belgian town and its
environs over the length of a four year campaign.
The first, second, third and fourth battles of Ypres are all covered as are the key positions of Mesen, Hill
60 and the Passchendaele Ridge - the scene of prolonged and terrible carnage over a mere 900 metres of
land.
A follow-up to the best-selling DVD The Battle Of The Somme (1916), as a representation of war Battle Of
Ypres was not without its controversy; it arguably distorted the grimmer realities of conflict - the
trenchfoot, the maiming and death - into a noble recount of the superiority of the Allies. But, even in this
light, Battle Of Ypres gives us a unique historical reading of one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the
First World War.
The original silent documentary has had an all new soundtrack created from digitally enhanced recordings
of the period as well as the addition of evocative sound effects.
The release comes with two complimentary DVD Bonus Features :-
Ypres The Shell Shattered City Of Flanders
1918 (16 mins)
Shots of the remnants of discernible landmarks amidst the rubbled ruins of Ypres and the ridges to the
North and East of the town. Includes the main square and its Cloth Hall, St. Martin's Cathedral, The Church
Of Saint Jacques and Shrapnel Corner.
Remembrance Day, Ypres 1922 (2 mins)
TOTAL RUNNING TIME - 105 Mins.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
I've had two versions of this film for a few years now but this lovingly restored version is, by far, the best of them all. The soundtrack is a little '1950s Western' at times but, with the added sound effects, it brings the film alive. Yes, the acting is a little wooden but that's only to be expected from real soldiers recreating the battles they fought in four years after the event. We should congratulate Strike Force and Cherry Red for bringing this historic film to a wider audience. It's a noble successor to Battle of The Somme (albeit that The Somme contains genuine footage filmed during the war).
The only minor quibble is that they didn't take the opportunity to correct a couple of examples of poor continuity. For example, we see Captain Robertson VC nobly falling in battle whilst leading his tanks into action. About 5 minutes later (and interrupting an assault on a pill box), we see him laying out the tapes on the night before he was killed. This faithfully follows the sequence of the original British Pathe film (which was probably the intention) but would have slightly improved continuity had it been corrected (as it was in a US release of an abbreviated version of the film). There is a similar anomaly earlier in the film.
That niggle aside, this is a magnificent effort on the part of all involved. I now look forward to a similar treatment of Mons (1924) and Zeebrugge (1922).
Almost forgot......the bonus feature is a cut-down version of the IWM's film 'Ypres - The Shell Shattered City of Flanders'. The original film runs to 49 minutes and is a hotch-potch of footage, seemingly put together at random. The producers of the DVD have distilled the footage down and grouped it under titles which try and give a sense to the subject matter. The extent of the devastation caused is still quite shocking. It's a shame it couldn't have been combined with the recent footage of the ruins of Ypres filmed from the air, or with another IWM film 'Eight Years After' which shows Ypres during its rebuilding.
Excellent.....go out and buy it.
The only minor quibble is that they didn't take the opportunity to correct a couple of examples of poor continuity. For example, we see Captain Robertson VC nobly falling in battle whilst leading his tanks into action. About 5 minutes later (and interrupting an assault on a pill box), we see him laying out the tapes on the night before he was killed. This faithfully follows the sequence of the original British Pathe film (which was probably the intention) but would have slightly improved continuity had it been corrected (as it was in a US release of an abbreviated version of the film). There is a similar anomaly earlier in the film.
That niggle aside, this is a magnificent effort on the part of all involved. I now look forward to a similar treatment of Mons (1924) and Zeebrugge (1922).
Almost forgot......the bonus feature is a cut-down version of the IWM's film 'Ypres - The Shell Shattered City of Flanders'. The original film runs to 49 minutes and is a hotch-potch of footage, seemingly put together at random. The producers of the DVD have distilled the footage down and grouped it under titles which try and give a sense to the subject matter. The extent of the devastation caused is still quite shocking. It's a shame it couldn't have been combined with the recent footage of the ruins of Ypres filmed from the air, or with another IWM film 'Eight Years After' which shows Ypres during its rebuilding.
Excellent.....go out and buy it.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
As a companion for its sister DVD 'Battle of the Somme' it is a poor second - then the main feature is a 1925 recreation of events ten years before not contemporary scenes (yes, I know there is much faked footage in the 'Battle of the Somme' film too). It centres around the VC winners throughout the fighting at Ypres (at least to 1917) and concentrates on 1st Ypres (1914) which is well done, 2nd Ypres (1915) and 3rd Ypres (1917) again well done, 4th Ypres (1918) I seem to have missed somewhere. The early recreations of 1st Ypres are good as are 3rd Ypres as regards kit etc which provides good details for researchers (save for the SD caps NOT! worn at Messines in 1917, also which took place at night). The film falls away badly in the middle as the actors actually try to act and the director takes a few liberties by adding a weak story line. The worst parts are the aircraft shots that even at the time could not look anything but awful. The best reason for buying this DVD is the extras, approximately 30 minutes of real footage taken primarily in Ypres itself mainly later in the war. This is rarely seen footage, though some parts are now recognisable in their true context (eg Hell Fire Corner). It is so much more evident that this is 'real-life' footage than the film portrays from the faces of those portrayed, you can put the individual shots in chronological order too by carefully observing the gradual collapse of the Cloth Hall. Still worth buying!
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I will add to D. P. Whithorn remark; this is a VERY poor second!. The whole of the footage is 'dramatised'. the standard of the footage, throughout, is bad/does not look to have been improved/cleaned. I feel it was a waste of money and time.
Listmania!
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