All This and World War II (1976)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

All This and World War Two is essential Lennon and McCartney as recorded by other artists. Some interpretations and productions are next to brilliant. All this (and World War Two) is played on a backdrop of amazingly choreographed historical and artistic footage of the War in question. When can we see and hear this on disc in our own homes?

I saw this oddity once upon a time at one of Toronto's oddest little theatres, The Screening Room, which no longer exists. The room is still there, over the Kingsway Cinema, but it doesn't operate as a theatre anymore.This would have been in 1979 or 1980, and they were showing a double bill of blasphemous Beatles films, this one and the Bee Gees' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1978). We knew the Bee Gees would be an embarrassment, but we had greater hopes for this film. (And the Bee Gees were free if you bought a ticket for the other one, as I recall.)It was certainly a relief to learn that the Allies won World War II but otherwise... The combination of sacrosanct Beatles tunes and wartime stock footage didn't sound like such a good idea, and when you actually saw it, it turned out to be even more ridiculous than you would have guessed. The only image I still recall 20 years on is one of the "famous" ones, "Get Back" being sung over German tank footage run in reverse. As the philosopher said, "It's a fine line between clever and stupid."But it was better than the Bee Gees!

I first saw this film on British TV (shown in the middle of the night during a TV based 24 hour fund raising event). Worried I might fall asleep before the film, I recorded it.It remains one of my prized possessions.The film's message (and final song) is 'Give peace a chance'. It is a remarkable collage of film clips (from movies and documentaries and actual war footage) and music. The film is an entertaining presentation of history, showing many aspects of the second world war.Particularly interesting for historians of WWII and/or Beatles music.Over the Christmas 1992/93 I saw a similar film on Dutch TV using classical music and footage of the Balkan conflict (the Serbia vs Croatia one, for those who have lost count), showing the carnage of the war. Since then we've had Bosnia. Now it's Kosovo.Perhaps it is time to re-release this film for a new generation.Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

This is an excellent movie of its type. Extremely under-rated and panned by all the critics when released in 1976. I would love to see this movie given a general release on Video Tape and Videodisc.