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1917

1917

War · Drama · History · 2019

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.

Movie details

1917

“Time is the enemy.”

2019 War · Drama · History 1h 59m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

8.2 / 10

769.5K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

88 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

78 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

8.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.

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 1917?

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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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Sam Mendes

Written by

Krysty Wilson-Cairns · Sam Mendes

George MacKay

George MacKay

Lance Corporal Schofield

Dean-Charles Chapman

Dean-Charles Chapman

Lance Corporal Blake

Mark Strong

Mark Strong

Captain Smith

Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott

Lieutenant Leslie

Richard Madden

Richard Madden

Lieutenant Blake

Claire Duburcq

Claire Duburcq

Lauri

Colin Firth

Colin Firth

General Erinmore

Court is in session

Put 1917 on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.