Title: It Happened Here (1965)  released by Milestone films DVD

Directed and produced by Kevin Brownlow

Runtime: 1:36:24



IMDb:  tt0055024



Those who have seen the  torrent called "Winstanley" by Kevin Brownlow

will enjoy this first effort by Brownlow and Andrew Mollon.



Excerpted from the Wiki:



The film was directed by Kevin Brownlow, who later became a prominent film

historian, and Andrew Mollo, who was to become a leading military historian.

Brownlow developed the concept of the film when he was eighteen, in 1956. He

turned to Mollo, a sixteen-year-old history buff, to help him with the

design of costumes and sets. Mollo was intrigued by the project, and became

his collaborator.



The film was in the making for the next eight years, which the Guinness Book

of World Records (as of 2003) calls the longest ever production schedule. It

was shot in black and white on 16 mm film, giving it a grainy, newsreel

feel. The audio quality (and lighting) on the opening reel is rather poor,

which makes the dialog difficult to follow for the first few minutes. It had

a cast of hundreds, all volunteers, with only two professional actors among

them (Sebastian Shaw, Reginald Marsh). (A number of the extras in the film

were members of British science fiction fandom, and a portion was previewed

at a science fiction convention in Peterborough.   End excerpt.



My notes



 Using volunteers in the manner that Peter Watkins does drew me to this

film.  It is similar to "The War Game" and "Colloden."  My local library had

purchased it but at the time I knew nothing of Brownlow until the re-release

of Winstanley (2009).



   There is a companion book published called "How It Happened Here" a

picture of the book cover is included.



 Though not a do it yourself effort in the practical sense of the term, "It

Happened Here" shows what can be done with minimal production equipment.  

The subject of occupation is current.  A comparison of "It Happened Here"

with the recent television series "Jericho" is recommended.



  A further exploration of how "newsreel" footage was used in the depiction

of war is in "The Victors" (1963)  by Carl Foreman  and currently available

on torrents.  For me it is quite telling the difference between what

Hollywood stars did in "The Victors" as compared with any crop of Young

Lions today.  It's not only telling, it's disheartening.  "The Victors" is

one of the great anti-war films.



Notes written January 7th, 2013



 New notes written  June 14th, 2020