The Trench (1999)

Director:

William Boyd

Writer:

William Boyd (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

It is a place 8ft wide, 600 miles long, man-made and God-forsaken.

Plot Keywords:

WWI | Battle Of The Somme | Trench Warfare | Soldier | Independent Film

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Paul Nicholls	...	Pte. Billy Macfarlane
Daniel Craig	...	Sgt. Telford Winter
Julian Rhind-Tutt	...	2nd Lt. Ellis Harte
Danny Dyer	...	Lance Cpl. Victor Dell
James D'Arcy	...	Pte. Colin Daventry
Tam Williams	...	Pte. Eddie Macfarlane
Anthony Strachan	...	Pte. Horace Beckwith
Michael Moreland	...	Pte. George Hogg
Adrian Lukis	...	Lt. Col. Villiers
Ciarán McMenamin	...	Pte. Charlie Ambrose
Cillian Murphy	...	Rag Rookwood
John Higgins	...	Pte. Cornwallis
Ben Whishaw	...	Pte. James Deamis
Tim Murphy	...	Pte. Bone
Danny Nutt	...	Pte. Dieter Zimmermann

Also Known As:

La tranchée (France)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | France:U | Ireland:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bray Film Studios, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Trivia:

In preparation for the film, the director sent to main cast to a replica trench for a night to experience the conditions the British army suffered.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Eddie looks out the loophole, no mans land is a clear green field. When the Winter and Beckwith do the raid, Beckwith claims there is a a ton of wire left. During the final attack, there is no wire. Also, due to the weeks of bombing it is likely that the ground would be a bit rough and muddy.

Captures A Sense Of Personal Impending Doom & Claustrophobia

Shot 99.9% INSIDE the trench to convey the sense of claustrophobia. It works. You can almost smell the trench. I personally think that the low budget style produced a happy bi-product rather than it being planned. Not a conventional war movie but a VERY British close up at the inter-personal relationships during WW1 before the Battle of The Somme. The youthful Paul Nicholls eminates a young 'duty to your country soldier' and in the alone-ness he fantasises over the memory of a young girl who merely served him with a stamp at his local post office. Loads of blood and guts and a particularly harrowing scene - almost subliminal - which works well as it ensures your brain remembers the real horrors of war at close quarters inside a trench. The usual chain of command reveals why delegation can sometimes disguise cowardice and fear. The film achieves its objective and portrays the awful waste of life.