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Oh! What a Lovely War

Oh! What a Lovely War

Comedy · Music · War · 1969

The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the five boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.

Movie details

Oh! What a Lovely War

“The ever popular war games. With songs, battles & a few jokes.”

1969 Comedy · Music · War 2h 24m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the five boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Oh! What a Lovely War?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Attenborough

Written by

Len Deighton · Joan Littlewood

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Field Marshal Sir John French

Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave

Sylvia Pankhurst

Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith

Music Hall Star

John Mills

John Mills

Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig

Corin Redgrave

Corin Redgrave

Bertie Smith

Maurice Roëves

Maurice Roëves

George Smith

Ian Holm

Ian Holm

President Poincare

Court is in session

Put Oh! What a Lovely War on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.