Regeneration - Uncut! - Pat Barker [DVD] [1997]

This is a film you will either love or hate. Based on the first part of Pat Barker's trilogy of WW1 it focuses on the life of Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon was well respected and rewarded for various acts of gallantry on the Battlefield and was loved by his men. He then chose to embarass the Government and senior members of the Army by calling into question the validity of the war and very publically at that. Their answer was to send him to Craiglockhart Infirmary in Scotland for Shell Shocked Officers until he changed his mind. The scenes at the Hospital are informative and distressing at the same time but are actually pretty factual. Sassoon meets Wilfred Owen there and the two become friends. Wilfred Owen goes on to write some of his best poems before tragically being killed one week before the Armistice. It is a story that tries to open a small window into what was a dark period of the First World War. I think it does it rather well but at the same time it is a bleak film. If you have a passion for the history of the First World War you will appreciate it rather than enjoy it. If you don't I would say leave it alone.

This is the film based on Pat Barker's novel of the same name about the real life poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen and the real life Dr.Rivers who was the military doctor assigned to treat what we would now describe as post traumatic stress disorder. It has many levels to it in the film as in the novel. Robert Graves the poet and novelist is the officer friend of Sassoon who is able to get him sent to Dr.Rivers when Sassoon publicly renounces his support for the war in order to save him from being imprisoned or possibly shot. Sassoon believes the slaughter at the front line is no longer justified and the war has become a war of agression and refuses orders. Sassoon is a very difficult objector for the military to deal with. He is a war hero with the military cross and has many friends in high places. It is easier for them to classify him as an unstable person with so called neurasthenia than to imprison him and Dr.Rivers has an ethical problem when he realises that Sassoon has no war neurosis but rather an "anti-war neurosis". The film is true to the book and very moving. If you love poetry, want to understand the effect of World War I on a small section of its articulate officers, wish to consider the effect on a doctor who cures men to return them to the slaughter then this film will not disappoint. Probably one of the best and deeply moving films I have ever seen.

This is one of the most amazing films I have ever had the privilege to watch. It tells the story of the meeting between the great First World War poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen at a rehabilitation centre in Scotland. Owens is there because he is suffering with shell shock and Sassoon because of an article he wrote in 1917 condemning the leaders of all sides for stretching out the conflict. Both of them are patients of Dr Rivers, a doctor at the facility. The setting and background information is all factually correct, but the meeting of the two poets has been fictionalised and is the imaginings of the author, Pat Barker.There is a raft of talent on display in this film, James Wilby as Sassoon; Stewart Bunce as Owens, but by far the most engaging character and actor is Jonathan Pryce as Dr Rivers. This film will break your heart because of the subject matter, but also because of the magnificent performances given. Pryce in particular shows well how the affect of seeing so many broken young men affects his own health and how his compassion towards them is like a shaft of light in the darkness of the war.I would heartily recommend this film (shown on UK TV as "Regeneration") but suggest you have some tissues with you at the end

I stupidly didn't take notice of the 'US Import' and thought I was getting a real bargain - to then realise that this DVD would not work in our DVD player!Luckily, it works perfectly in my laptop which I can connect to the TV!The film itself is beautifully done and shows the true horror of PTSD experienced as a result of fighting in WW1,it is based on Pat Barker's novel of the same name. If you are a fan of the works of Owen/Sassoon then this is a fantastic introduction to their story.Not always an easy watch but invaluable in realising the true horrors of war.

Anybody who wants to understand the true cost of war has to watch this. Really important historical personalities with a historically important story come together in this a horrifying true story of mental and physical pain and suffering. Essential Viewing for any WW1 researcher.

Well shot, well acted but only tells half the story of the war poets, their lives and the true debate over their importance. Very good entertainment however and a recommended watch for those interested in the period.I can't believe I have to buy, British made films, with British actors, in English in foreign formats I am pretty sick of it. This is a dutch copy and works find, the quality could be better but that is really the fault of the producers for no producing a high quality English version

A faithful rendering to the book which I also liked very much. Gives a less glamorous view of war and the effect it had on individuals fighting in the first world war. Only problem is that it is impossible not to see the subtitles in Dutch even if you are listening in English.

EXCELLENT FILM, NOT SUCH A GREAT DVD. Saw this film at the cinema on first release and was greatly moved by it. Purchased this DVD to revisit it. Clearly advertised as Dutch import but I have bought such DVDs before and just turned the Dutch subtitles off - no problem. However, in this case, there is no root menu, and therefore no opportunity to switch them off. I regularly watch foreign films with English subtitles, but watching an English film with Dutch subtitles is really irritating. My eye automatically shot to the subtitles all the time, only to repeatedly realise that this was a pointless distraction. Really annoying! Definitely recommend seeing this film, but not by buying this DVD.