Please note: This was screened in July 2016
1 July 1916 was the first day of the battle of the Somme - a day that saw the highest number of British casualties of any other day in World War I. The battle continued for four months with over a million men on both sides being either killed or wounded and during which time the British and French armies advanced a total of just six miles into German territory.
In August 1916 the government released the film Battle Of The Somme, sequences of which were faked, with the government specifying what music should be played to accompany it. A sensation at the time of its release, the film was seen by almost twenty million people. In this special screening to mark the centenary of the battle, Bristol Remembering The Real World War One, Bristol Festival of Ideas and Bristol 2014 are presenting the film accompanied by the distinguished pianist Stephen Horne and percussionist Martin Pyne.
- Followed by a panel discussion between David Miller, Professor Of Sociology, University of Bath; Humberto Perez-Blanco, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at UWE and June Hannam, Professor Emeritus of Modern British History, UWE. Chaired by Andrew Kelly, director of Bristol Festival of Ideas and Bristol 2014.
Image © IWM Q70164