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Overlord

Play trailer Poster for Overlord 1975 1h 25m War Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Private Tom Beddoes (Brian Stirner) is a delicate, unprepossessing young man who gets called to join the British army during World War II. With the Blitz on, he leaves home for training camp and, while not an exceptional soldier, is nevertheless toughened up a bit. Once out, he quietly endures the tedious shuffle of military life and even manages to meet a nice girl (Julie Neesam) while on leave. His happiness is alloyed, however, when he learns he's been chosen for the D-Day invasion.

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Overlord

Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader An interesting failure, this rarely seen 1975 English feature about World War II combines documentary and fictional elements, though they tend to undermine each other. Dec 3, 2018 Full Review Noel Murray The Dissolve [...] Overlord's vision of war is still unlike that of any other fiction feature: more jarring, and more awe-inspiring. Rated: 4/5 May 19, 2014 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian Fact and fiction endow each other with vitality and truth. Rated: 4/5 Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …a depiction of battle in WWII which predates the time-fragmentation techniques of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk…offers a powerful ‘you are there’ feel unlikely to be matched… Rated: 4/5 Sep 29, 2024 Full Review Tom Grieve The Skinny A glimpse of both the inner life of the soldier waiting for combat, and the literal reality of the most devastating war the world has ever seen. Rated: 4/5 Jun 27, 2016 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A film that slipped through the cracks. Rated: A- Jul 19, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Evan B One of the greatest - and overlooked - films about the Second World War. A world away from Spielberg's sympathetic realism (Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers) or Tarantino's violent entertainment (Inglorious Basterds), Overlord addresses the epic event of the Normandy invasion through the eyes of a single infantryman swept up into modern warfare's roiling machinery. The simple narrative of our protagonist is spliced with striking documentary footage, lending the film a tragic grandeur as a single man lost in history's overwhelming momentum, the meaning of which he will never discern nor comprehend. A beautiful, moving film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/25 Full Review Audience Member The title actually derived from the code name of the Normandy landings. Filmed entirely in black and white director Stuart Cooper along with the Comission of the Imperial War Museum gives viewers an upclose look into the battle of Dunkirk. Here he uses a combination of b-roll archival footage and some characters moving about the current landscape. Europe is in the middle of World War II and some soldiers are about to go into combat. The focus here is Tom Beddoes who adjusts to the difficult transform of becoming a soldier. The D-Day invasion comes after he makes the shift from military status to civilian life even finding love while on leave. This is a different kind of war film leaning more towards quiet melancholy. A soldier feels he's part of something much bigger but the very thought of eventual death in battle always remains a constant thing. This is a realization that's somber, lonely and isolating. A real human picture of the impact of war. Stuart Cooper captures the realness of the experience without exploiting it. A sad ending but that's to be expected in a difficult period such as this. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review William L A bit of a victim of its own premise; the period combat footage is so engaging that the contemporary narrative can't help but feel somewhat lackluster by comparison. (3/5) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/04/21 Full Review Audience Member Empieza bien, sigue muy bien (sobre todo cuando empiezan a darse cuenta de lo que está pasando), pero se desinfla mucho al final Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Dumpster fire of cliches and a terrible story. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Quietly heroic meditation on war. Mixes original footage from WW2 and newly shot footage beautifully. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/27/18 Full Review Read all reviews
Overlord

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Cast & Crew

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Stuart Cooper

Director

Brian Stirner

Tom

Davyd Harries

Jack

Nicholas Ball

Arthur

Julie Neesam

The Girl

Sam Sewell

The Trained Soldier

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Overlord

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Movie Info

Synopsis Private Tom Beddoes (Brian Stirner) is a delicate, unprepossessing young man who gets called to join the British army during World War II. With the Blitz on, he leaves home for training camp and, while not an exceptional soldier, is nevertheless toughened up a bit. Once out, he quietly endures the tedious shuffle of military life and even manages to meet a nice girl (Julie Neesam) while on leave. His happiness is alloyed, however, when he learns he's been chosen for the D-Day invasion.
Director
Stuart Cooper
Production Co
Joswend
Genre
War, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Runtime
1h 25m
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