Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

jvdesuit1 There is a french book called " Paroles du Jour J" literally translatable in "Words from D-Day". It is a 119 pages consisting of letters written on D-Day or a few days or weeks later by soldiers, whatever their ranks who were part of those moments full of tragedy and also courage.The front page of the book shows the face a young guy of 17 Robert Boulanger from Quebec.He was just 18 when he was killed in august 1942 during the attempted invasion at Dieppe. The first words of the introduction to this book by Jean Pierre Gueno are "War is not men story, war is a youngsters story". Watching this movie I felt exactly the same emotions I felt while reading those different letters written by allied soldiers as well as German ones. There's a sense of uselessness in all that war which could have been prevented if only common sense had prevailed in France as well as in England. I'm reading Churchill's book and many times he stresses the huge responsibility of the British government during the period from 1933 to 1939 where it was still possible to stop the incoming massacre which resulted in 60 millions deaths civilians as well as military. The present movie is far more impressive than Saving private Ryan, far more moving and should be seen by all the generations who followed WWII just to teach them not to believe that freedom is something you should merit by your deeds and that we have all our responsibilities if we fail to achieve it.

Steve Skafte "Overlord" is a very good film, but marred by one constantly reoccurring flaw - the editing. The editing is so choppy, so ill-conceived that the film is never allowed to completely get off the ground. The newsreel footage could have been used much more effectively for punctuation as opposed to content. There's so much of it at play here that any new footage seems almost like an afterthought. And for a film whose running time barely tops an hour and twenty minutes, there's quite a lack of dramatic drive behind it. Every time "Overlord" settles into a powerful or gripping sequence (and there are several), five to ten minutes of uninterrupted stock footage breaks up the flow.Those are the bad points. Now for the good. The acting is the first thing that comes to mind. Brian Stirner plays Tom, the main character. He conveys emotion with such purity, from trepidation to fear to honesty to joy. His face draws you in with its uncomplicated childlike demeanour. The supporting actors are all equally impressive. No one ever feels like anything less than fully real. John Alcott, as far as I'm concerned, is the real star here. His cinematography perfectly mirrors the wartime footage used, but still giving it his distinctly powerful personality. He adds so much to this film. Stuart Cooper brings it all together, but his poor eye for editing sabotages his own best strengths.This is a very, very good film. But the pacing flaws present throughout make it extremely difficult to get into. If a more linear approach could have been adopted while still maintaining the powerful melancholy poetry of "Overlord", this could have been a great film.

Jason Murphy I saw Stuart Cooper's 'Overlord' at Seattle's Grand Illusion Theater last summer (before it opened anywhere else in the US) having heard nothing about the movie, and was absolutely floored by it. Its simple story follows Thomas, a young recruit, through his army training until just before he hits the beaches on early morning D-Day, all the while haunted by the spectre of impending death which awaits on Normandy's beaches.The archival footage which makes up much of the film's most stunning imagery is meticulously chosen and edited; it frequently becomes Tom's dreams and visions of the War as it unfolds, and for the viewer, it is a vision of what WWII was, seen from both German and British sides. Cooper so masterfully situates Tom, an everyman, in visions of the surrounding war, that by the end of this surprisingly short, yet incredibly rich film, the magnitude of the toll the war took on the individuals fighting it becomes overwhelmingly moving.Many will notice the major influence this movie had on parts of 'Full Metal Jacket' (Kubrick's long time collaborator John Alcott shot 'Overlord,' and Kubrick once commented that the only thing wrong with this movie was that it should have been twice as long). However, 'Overlord' is unique; I've never seen another war movie quite like this. It's a masterpiece of cinematic war poetry, and that it's taken over 30 years to get a release of any kind in the US is really surprising. It certainly holds its own against any of the best movies made about WWII.

heyjay40 I just saw a screening of this movie and was blown away by it. A simple story told in a "did they film this or is it archival footage" masterpiece. So many movies try to tell a story and piece together bits and pieces of newsreel footage. Woody Allen's "Zelig" and "Forest Gump" put the characters into old newsreel footage. Stuart Cooper created a whole story and filmed new scenes, combined them with archival and newsreel footage to create a haunting and beautiful film. Simple yet telling, the story of one soldier's preparation for WWII and his ultimate participation is riveting. The performances are quiet yet real. The footage found and the new footage filmed are seamless. The director and cinematographer found old German lenses and created the look to match what was filmed back in the 1940's. Criterion and Janus Films are releasing this gem and I hope every serious film lover will go see it. Not seen in the US on the big screen since it was filmed in 1975, now is the time for it to take it's rightful place. With war still an ugly reality and lonely yet brave soldier's giving their life for the country every day, this is a testament and tribute to those who believe in fighting for your country. Patriotism!