When the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London hosted a Q&A session with Sir Steve McQueen for his new film Blitz, it provided a guest audience with an opportunity to question the director and his historical consultant Joshua Levine as to the 'why' and 'how' of the film, its origins, its production, and the context of the storyline and the various elements of the 1940 Blitz. With the IWM Director General Caro Howell chairing the event, a range of challenging questions were posed to McQueen and Levine, with the audience later given an opportunity to ask their own questions.
At the outset McQueen pointed out that Blitz is, essentially, a love story rather than a movie from the 'war film' genre. He elaborated further by adding that here is a story of love – family love – between the central character George (Elliott Heffernan), his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and George's grandfather, Gerald (Paul Weller).
McQueen said that an almost familial bond had built up between the three actors on set and that, as director, he had encouraged it. This had the benefit of not only helping create a genuine 'feel' of the bond between the three, but it also helped protect child actor, Heffernan, from what was an otherwise bewildering experience for any nine-year-old unfamiliar with the world of film or of acting.
McQueen went on to explain that the idea for Blitz came with the discovery of a photograph of a young biracial boy, waiting at a railway station to be evacuated. The photo posed the inevitable questions: who was this boy, what was his story and what happened to him?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 141 من History of War.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 141 من History of War.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
THE RUHR POCKET
The world's largest industrial complex, the Ruhr was where Nazi Germany's war machine was forged. If the Allies could capture it the conflict in Europe would effectively be over
HITLER'S 'ALPINE FORTRESS
With the Rhine crossed and the Ruhr taken, Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D Eisenhower had to decide what came next. His orders would help shape the fate of Europe for decades to come
BLUNTING THE SULTAN'S SPEAR
During his 1532 invasion, Suleiman the Magnificent faced a seemingly simple obstacle in the small fortress of Koszeg, Hungary. What ensued was a bloody struggle between Ottoman firepower and imperial grit
BATTLE OF THE NILE NELSON vs NAPOLEON
In 1798, Britain's most celebrated admiral pursued the French across the Mediterranean, attempting to thwart General Bonaparte's mission to Egypt. The pursuit culminated in what was arguably the most strategically important naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars
FREDERICKSBURG
The Confederate invasion of the north had been repulsed in Maryland by the Army of the Potomac. President Abraham Lincoln now urged his military to seize the initiative and crush the Confederates in the east and capture their capital Richmond. It would culminate in another catastrophic defeat
REMAGEN GATEWAY TO THE REICH
On 7 March 1945 the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen was still standing - capturing it intact was vital to the Allied advance into Nazi Germany
A13 MK III CRUISER COVENANTER TANK
Plagued with mechanical issues, the Covenanter was envisioned as an improved cruiser design but never deployed for overseas service
INSIDE PICKETT'S CHARGE
On 3 July 1863 a Confederate regiment – the 19th Virginia Infantry – marched into the jaws of Hell in one of the most infamous events in American military history
Heroes of the Victoria Cross: MILTON FOWLER GREGG
On 28 September, 1918, this Royal Canadian Regiment officer led his men through uncut barbed wire into enemy trenches
MARCH 1945
To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict
