The First World War

Devonshire Hospital, Buxton (1916)

Coinciding with the launch of a new collection on BFI Player and a BFI Southbank season marking the centenary of the 1914-18 war, this collection explores life on the WWI home front and beyond. Titles range from astonishing actuality footage of the aftermath of German bombardment on the North East coast, to rehabilitation of servicemen returning from the front, to epic film and TV dramas and the Oscar® nominated Welsh-language feature Hedd Wyn.

See our WWI: The View from the Ground season.

Ten to try

After the Attack (1914)
This German film, shot around Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool, shows the results of bombardment from enemy warships.

Morecambe Volunteers in Training (1914)
The Morecambe Volunteers and 5th Kings’ Own Lancaster Territorial Army prepare for service. From the collection of the North West Film Archive.

Devonshire Hospital, Buxton (1916)
Recuperating soldiers get more than they bargained for in Buxton’s new-fangled thermal baths.

The W Plan (1930)
Brian Aherne is dropped behind enemy lines in this inventive espionage thriller.

The Great War (1964)
The devil is coming: relive the horror of the Somme in this edition of the groundbreaking 1964 series.

Mad Jack (1970)
A powerful account of the poet Siegfried Sassoon’s experiences in WWI, made for the BBC’s seminal Wednesday Play strand.

Days of Hope (1975)
Ken Loach’s four-part drama follows a working-class family from WWI to the 1926 General Strike.

On the Black Hill (1987)
An adaptation of Bruce Chatwin’s tale of twin brothers battling the elements – and each other – while isolated from major world events.

Hedd Wyn (1992)
This Oscar®-nominated portrait of Wales’ most famous young poet, Ellis Evans, juxtaposes the creative drive of poetry with the absurdity and alienation of war.

Lusitania: Murder on the Atlantic (2007)
John Hannah stars in this docu-drama about the sinking of RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed during WWI.