What should we take from a First World War documentary? Following our adventure to Canada for the International Society for First World War Studies conference, we welcome Prof Robert Burgoyne to discuss his keynote paper on the Peter Jackson film They Shall Not Grow Old (2018). Along the way, we explore the ways in which war films can quote from each other, differences in structure to the film 1917, and the importance of audience expectations when creating a historical piece. ReferencesRobert Burgoyne, The New American War Film (2023) Santanu Das, 'Colors of the Past: Archive, Art and Amnesia in a Digital Era', American Historical Review 124.5 (2019) Otto Dix, Der Krieg (1924) Adrian Gregory, The Silence of Memory (1994) Samuel Hynes, A War Imagined (1991) Peter Jackson, They Shall Not Grow Old (1918)Sam Mendes, 1917 (1919) Bal Mieke, Quoting Caravaggio: Contemporary Art, Preposterous History (1999) Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Stephen Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan (1930) Allison Tanine, 'Digital Film Restoration and the Politics of Whiteness in Peter Jackson's, They Shall Not Grow Old', Quarterly Review of Film and Video 39.5 (2021) Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier (1918)

How did the First World War inspire the horror genre? This month we welcome W. Scott Poole (Charleston) to discuss his 2018 book Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. Along the way we discuss the American experience of war, the importance of J'Accuse, and the political affiliations of 20th century zombies.

What happens when you send Indiana Jones into the First World War?

In this episode, we are joined by Thomas Riddle.

Thomas runs the website indyintheclassroom.com (which aims to provide teachers with resources to integrate everyone's favourite archaeologist into the classroom) to discuss the 1990s TV series 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'. Along the way we discuss the show as an educational tool, the many historical figures that appear in the series, and the importance of learning foreign languages!

References:The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1996) Samuel Hynes, The Soldiers' Tale: Bearing Witness to Modern War (Allen Lane, 1997)

How do you create a biopic of one of the most famous First World War poets? This month we're joined by Dr Jane Potter (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the 2021 film Benediction about the life of Siegfried Sassoon. Along the way we explore the long shadow of Regeneration, soldiers in drag, and the brilliance of Edith Sitwell. We also get very excited by a surprise cameo from the star of a previous episode! References: Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023) Benediction' is a shattering biopic of the English war poet Siegfried Sassoon, LA Times Benediction review – Terence Davies' piercingly sad Siegfried Sassoon drama, The Guardian Brian Bond, The Unquiet Western Front (2008) Edith Sitwell, Wheels (1919) Jane Potter, Selected Letters of Wilfred Owen (2023) Regeneration, dir by Gillies MacKinnon (1997) Siegfried Sasson, The Complete Memoirs of George They Shall Not Grow Old, dir by Peter Jackson (2018)

What do you get when you cross Journey's End with Brideshead Revisited?

This month Angus, Chris and Jessica review Alice Winn's best-selling new novel, In Memoriam. The book follows Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood from public school and through the war. Half-German, Gaunt's mother asks him to enlist in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks. He signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him into the horrors of trenches. Though Ellwood and Gaunt find fleeting moments of solace in one another, their friends are dying in front of them, and at any moment they could be next.

Along the way we discuss class, conscription and the difficulties of describing the boredom and violence of war in popular fiction.

References1917 (2019) A.J. Evans, The Escaping ClubAlfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A. H. H (1850) Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023) All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) Charles Carrington, A Subaltern's WarErnst Younger, Storm of Steel (1929) Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited Ian Isherwood, Remembering the Great War (2017) In Memoriam by Alice Winn review, The Guardian (12 March 2023) Justin Fantauzzo and Robert L. Nelson (2016), 'A Most Unmanly War: British Military Masculinity in Macedonia, Mesopotamia and Palestine, 1914-18', Gender & History 28(3): 587-603, DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.12240 Second Lieutenant Kenneth Macardle Heartstopper (2022) Max Plowman, A Subaltern on the SommePat Barker, Regeneration Trilogy (1991-1995) Peaky Blinders RC Sherriff, Journey's End (1928) Rupert Brookes, Goodbye to All That (1929) Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man (1929) Star Trek Stephen Fry, The LiarThe Gallows Pole (2023) The Great Escape (1963) The History Boys (2006) This is Spinal Tap (1984) This Is the Week That Was Pat Barker, Regeneration Trilogy (1991-1995)

What First World War cultural representations would you like to see adapted for the screen?

This month Angus, Chris and Jessica discuss their dream adaptations of novels, short stories and computer games for the big or small screen. Along the way, we explore what makes for a good film versus a good television series, we consider how to overcome the challenge of the Bechdel test in filming the war, and Chris introduces us to the Bertie Wooster/animé scale of realism.

References:1917, dir. by Sam Mendes (1919) AG Macdonell, England, Their England (1933) Akira, dir. by Katsuhiro Otomo (1988) All Quiet on the Western Front, dir. by Edward Berger (2022) Capt WE Johns, Biggles Goes North (1939) Capt WE Johns, Biggles Goes East (1935) Emma Hanna, The Great War on the small screen (2009) Ford Madox Ford, Parades End (1924) Frederic Manning, Her Privates We (1930) Lupin, Netflix (2021) Peter Berresford Ellis et al, Biggles!: Life of Captain WE Johns (1993) Ralph Hale Mottram, The Spanish Farm Trilogy (1930) RC Sherriff, Journey's End (1928) Sapper, Bulldog Drummond (1920) The Wind Rises, dir. by Hayao Miyazaki (2013 The Monocled Mutineer, dir. by Jim O'Brien (1986) Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Ubisoft (2014)

By popular demand!

This month Chris, Angus and Jessica discuss productions of R.C. Sherriff'sJourney's End, including the original play and the 1930 and 2017 film versions. Along the way, we consider the importance of James Whale, whether the French changed their clocks during the war and the definition of an anti-war play, while Chris makes a bid for the over-arching significance of moustaches to the history of the war.

References

RC Sherriff, Journey's End (1928) Emily Curtis Walters, Between Entertainment and Elegy: The unexpected success of RC Sherriff's "Journey's End"', Journal of British Studies 55.2 James Whale, Journey's End (1930) James Whale, Frankenstein (1931) James Whale, The Road Back (1937) James Curtis, James Whale: A new world of Gods and Monsters (2003) Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 N Enstaff, Journey's End: York Notes for GCSE (2006) Rosa Maria Bracco, Merchants of Hope: British Middlebrow Writers and the First World War, 1919-1939 (Berg, 1993) Saul Dibb, Journey's End (2017) Scott Poole, Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror (2018)

What happens when Peaky Blinders meets Ballet Rambert?

This month Chris finds out about Jessica and Angus's trip to see Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, otherwise known as Peaky Blinders: The Ballet. Along the way we discuss the narrative structure of ballet, the industrialisation of the body in wartime and whether we are still living in the era of the First World War.

ReferencesCabaret (1966) Metropolis (1927/1984) Les Miserables (1985) Abel Gance, J'Accuse (1919) Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory (1975) Robert Gerwarth and John Horne (eds.), War in Peace: Paramilitarism in Europe after the Great War, 1917-1923 (2011)

Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby Rehearsal Video New dance theatre version of Peaky Blinders by creator Steven Knight Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight interview on Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby 'Peaky Blinders' writer Steven Knight on the cult of the show and season 6

How do you stage an exhibition on POWs at a museum? This month we're joined by Lora Vogt from the National WW1 Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss their new exhibition: 'Captured'. Along the way, we talk about how POWs have been obscured from modern memory, the benefits of online content, and how to make someone drive five days across America.

What happens when you convert a seminal First World War novel into a big budget film?

This month Angus, Jessica, and Chris discuss the 2022 Netflix version of All Quiet on the Western Front. Along the way they debate the importance of timeline changes, the film's use of violence, and pitch a few alternative films to any listeners from Hollywood.

ReferencesLewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Wester Front (1930) Delbert Mann, All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) Abel Gance, J'accuse (1919) Saul Dibb, Journey's End (2017) 37 Days (2014) Sam Mendes, 1917 (1919)

Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (1928) Frederic Manning, Her Privates We (1929)

rottentomatoes.com, All Quiet on the Western Front