8 facts that reveal that “1917” could be the Oscar 2020 film

{
"title": "8 facts that reveal that “1917” could be the Oscar 2020 film",
"description": "With 10 nominations, the 1917 film is on track to be the surprise at the 2020 Oscars. On the way to the # 92 Academy Awards, 1917 accumulates nominations for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyle.",
"image": "https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/HkznAJ7.jpg",
"date":"2020-01-25"
}
---

![8 facts that reveal that “1917” could be the Oscar 2020 film](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/HkznAJ7.jpg"}

With 10 nominations, the 1917 film is on track to be the surprise at the 2020 Oscars.
On the way to the # 92 Academy Awards, 1917 accumulates nominations for Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyle.

The film was directed by Sam Mendes could destroy the night statuettes. Although its story is simple, telling the story of two young soldiers who must cross the battlefield to save their colleagues from an ambush, the technical challenges presented by this production behind the scenes are worthy of applauding.

We tell you why 1917 could be the surprise at the 2020 Oscars.
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## 1. The 1917 movie is based on a true story

![The 1917 movie is based on a true story](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/VatRfsB.jpg"}

Sam Mendes was inspired by the stories told by his grandfather, Alfred, for the story of this film. Alfred was a soldier in the British Navy during World War I, but his grandson took some creative freedoms for the movie.
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## 2. The 1917 movie is not recorded in one shot

![The 1917 movie is not recorded in one shot](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/lgDRIic.jpg"}

Although 1917 gives the illusion of having been recorded in a single take, it is actually based on hidden cuts, such as those that Alfred Hitchcock used in La Soga, and we also saw in Birdman, by Alejandro González Iñárritu. In this way, when it was necessary to cut an object blocks the camera or hides the transition, and voila, it seems that the next shot joins the previous one as if by magic.
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## 3. In 1917 they had to build scale sets

![In 1917 they had to build scale sets](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/fDUAuDx.jpg"}

To plan in detail how each of the scenes would be recorded, versions of the sets were built in a model. The production team even came to simulate in these models how the flares used in the filming would be reflected, so that not a shadow left the plan.
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## 4. They dug royal trenches

![They dug royal trenches](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/WlVWtZu.jpg"}

To achieve the claustrophobic environment of a war field, more than a kilometer of royal trenches were dug.
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## 5. It took months of rehearsal to perfect each shot

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Normally the actors rehearse their scenes the same day they are recorded, but as in this case, they could not put a foot out of place. They had to review each fragment of the story for four months.
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## 6. The camera never moved back in 1917

![The camera never moved back in 1917](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/nkFS7nr.jpg"}

At the time of recording, the camera could never move backward since each character had a destination point and a fixed point of arrival and could not turn backward. To solve this problem, the production resorted to 360-degree shots that hide the cuts between scenes.
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## 7. By 1917 natural light was used

![By 1917 natural light was used](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/M3wR3zw.jpg"}

In order not to risk that some spotlight or lighting instrument came out on camera in the 360 shots, the production chose to use mostly natural light. As the optimal conditions were those of the cloudy days, as soon as the sun came out, they had to stop recording for that day.

The exception was a tower of gigantic light that was used to illuminate one of the villages destroyed by war.
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## 8. The most challenging take of 1917

![The most challenging take of 1917](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=){: .w-100 .lozad data-src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https://i.imgur.com/jwA2aB4.jpg"}

Throughout the entire film of Sam Mendes, there were technical challenges that had to be overcome, but nothing like the shot in which Schofield (George MacKay) runs through a battlefield.

While the actor was moving at full speed, the team behind production had to move the camera from one crane to another and then follow the scene mounted on the back of a car. The technicians in charge of this task were disguised as extras, to be able to cross into the shot without attracting attention.

Images Source: [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/){target=_blank}