To End All Wars
| To End All Wars | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David L. Cunningham |
| Written by | Brian Godawa Ernest Gordon |
| Produced by | Jack Hafer David L. Cunningham |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Edited by | Tim Silano |
| Music by | John Cameron Moya Brennan |
| Distributed by | GMT Pictures |
Release dates | |
Running time | 125 minutes |
| Languages | English Japanese |
To End All Wars is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and was directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is based on Through the Valley of the Kwai , an autobiography of Ernest Gordon, then a Scottish Captain, later the Presbyterian Dean of the Princeton University Chapel.
Plot
[edit ]The film is set in a Japanese prisoner of war labour camp where the inmates are building the Burma Railway during the last three and a half years of World War II.[3] Captain Ernest Gordon was a company commander with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who fought in several battles in the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore before being captured and made a prisoner of war by the Japanese.
Cast
[edit ]- Robert Carlyle as Maj. Ian Campbell
- Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Jim "Yanker" Reardon, an American Merchant Mariner in Singapore at the time of capture.
- Ciarán McMenamin as Capt. Ernest "Ernie" Gordon
- Mark Strong as Dusty Miller
- Sakae Kimura as Sgt. Ito (Japanese: 伊藤軍曹, Itō Gunsō)
- Masayuki Yui as Cpt. Noguchi (Japanese: 陸軍大尉野口, Rikugun-Tai-i Noguchi)
- James Cosmo as Col. Stuart McLean
- John Gregg as Dr Coates
- Shu Nakajima as Nagatomo (Japanese: 長友, Nagatomo)
- Yugo Saso as Takashi Nagase (Japanese: 永瀬隆, Nagase Takashi)
- Pip Torrens as Lt. Foxworth
- Adam Sinclair as Jocko
- Winton Nicholson as Duncan
- Brendan Cowell as Pte. Wallace Hamilton
- Greg Ellis as Sgt. Roger Primrose
- James McCarthy as Norman
- Joji Yoshida as Guard #1
- Daryl Bonilla as POW
Production
[edit ]It was filmed primarily on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, with some excerpt shots of Thailand. The film was rated R in the U.S. for war violence and brutality, and for some language. The film was produced by Jack Hafer and David Cunningham.[4]
The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Ernest Gordon and recounts the experiences of faith and hope of the interned men.[5] The autobiography was originally published under the name Through the Valley of the Kwai ,[6] then later as Miracle on the River Kwai (not to be confused with the separate novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle). Gordon's book was finally re-issued with the title To End All Wars to tie in with the film.
Post-production of the film footage was delayed because of lack of funding, which was eventually provided by Goldcrest Films.[7]
Reception
[edit ]On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 62% based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[8] The film was awarded the Crystal Heart Award and Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at the Heartland Film Festival.[9] A review in Variety is mainly negative.[3]
Soundtrack
[edit ]The film's soundtrack was never released as a stand-alone release. Various songs have been re-recorded by Moya Brennan on her subsequent solo albums, most recently 'Mo Mhian' on My Match Is A Makin'.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mo Mhian (Healing Heart)" | Moya Brennan | |
| 2. | "I Will Go (Campbell's Theme)" | Moya Brennan | |
| 3. | "Lá na Cruinne" | Moya Brennan | |
| 4. | "Find The Place" | John Cameron & Moya Brennan | |
| 5. | "Amazing Grace" | John Newton / Traditional | |
| 6. | "Pomp And Circumstance" | Edward Elgar | |
| 7. | "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" | Johann Sebastian Bach | |
| 8. | "Yankee Doodle Boy" | George M. Cohan |
References
[edit ]- ^ McCarthy, Todd (September 3, 2001). "Telluride spreads broad tents". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ Willis, John (February 2004). Screen World 2003. Hal Leonard. p. 211. ISBN 9781557835284.
- ^ a b "Review: ‘To End All Wars’". Variety, Dennis Harvey. June 18, 2002
- ^ Alex Field (2004). The Hollywood Project: A Look Into the Minds of the Makers of Spiritually Relevant Films. Relevant Media Group. pp. 141–. ISBN 978-0-9746942-1-4.
- ^ "TO END ALL WARS". Urban Cinefile
- ^ "No Headline". New York Times, By DAVID STOUTJAN. 20, 2002
- ^ "Isle filmmaker makes his triumphant return". Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, November 1, 2001 Tim Ryan
- ^ To End All Wars (2001) rottentomatoes.com
- ^ "Heartland Winner Returns". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. November 10, 2002. Page 140
