Home » News » 1917 - When an accident in the iconic long shot ft. George MacKay led to cinema magic that we will cherish for years to come
1917 - When an accident in the iconic long shot ft. George MacKay led to cinema magic that we will cherish for years to come
1917, directed by Sam Mendes, was praised for the technical marvel that it was. The film is now streaming on Sony LIV in India.
May 15, 2024
1917 Poster
Cinema is a magical medium. One could set the scale, block the scene, train the actors, and have the most skilled technicians on set, but there will always come a moment or many that will be magical and not planned at all. We have seen multiple films that have managed to have them over the years and the most recent one is 1917. Sam Mendes’ World War-centred drama is one of the most nuanced war films made in our time. The movie that made the Oscar buzz back when it was released was praised heavily for the technical marvel it managed to achieve in the structure, which was two long shots with one cut in between. But while we discuss the technical details of the movie, we cannot ignore the magic that came out of the moment that turned out to be the most iconic of them all.
The Iconic 1917 Fall
All of us have several scenes that remind us of 1917, a movie about being visually charged. But one that is common is the last shot of Lance Corporal Schofield running across the war field to stop his men from launching the attack. The sheer intensity of that scene is crazy, as we see him running through bullets being fired, men running towards the enemy, and smoke. Any bullet can hit him and this could be his last moment but to our surprise, none of that happens. But what happens is that he crashes into one of the soldiers and falls down, then gets up and continues. But do you know that was actually an accident? We tell you more about this interesting trivia from the much-loved film.
As per CinemaBlend, the scene where Schofield falls to the ground after crashing into a soldier was never in the script. Rather, it was an extra; he accidentally banged it and fell down. But in the heat of the moment, the actor was so engrossed in the scene that he chose not to cut but rather get up and continue. The magic was created and we got one of the most real-looking scenes of our time because of an accident.
What The Writer Said
1917 co-writer Krysty Wilson-Kairns, who was on the set that day, spoke about the scene to the portal in sheer excitement. Krusty explained how 500 people who were behind the scenes were witnessing the magic happening and saw that very moment that turned that scenes into something ethereal as the actor did not stop and the director had faith in the actor and the team.
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500 of us [were] sitting there, all backstage, behind the scenes, watching it get filmed. I remember when George fell down, I screamed. It was like watching your team mess up a field goal at the Super Bowl. I just remember Sam Mendes screaming, 'He's up! He's up! Keep filming!' And out of that came a sort of movie magic, I think, personally. I'm obviously a little biased, but it's one of my favourite scenes of the film. And I think, I wish I had written that. I actually said that to George after ... It's life talking back to you. It's very satisfying to be able to be on a film where that can happen,” Krysty said.
1917 is streaming in India on Sony LIV and you can watch it with your OTTplay Premium subscription. For more information on this and everything else in the world of streaming and films stay tuned to OTTplay.
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