Year: 1988
Movie / TV: Journey's end
Director: Michael Simpson
Others in the Cast: Jeremy Northam, Timothy Spall, Mark Payton, George Baker, Gary Cady, John Forgeham, Dorian Healy, Anthony Herrick, John Hoye, Clive Swift
Plot
summary: Stanhope is a young officer in charge of a company who is keeping his head above water with the use of whiskey. The film follows the relationships Stanhope develops with his fellow officers, particularly Lt Osborne and Lt Raleigh.
Another Summary: The Great War is in its final year. The Germans are preparing one last great offensive. In the trenches a war-weary company, under their reserve commanding officer, Captain Stanhope, wait to take the brunt of the fierce attack. Jeremy played Captain Stanhope in this film of the R C Sheriff play. Set in the trenches at Saint-Quentin, France, in 1918 towards the end of the First World War, Journey’s End gives a glimpse into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company in World War I. The entire story plays out in the officers’ dugout over four days from 18 March 1918 to 21 March 1918. Sheriff considered calling it “Suspense” and “Waiting”, but eventually found a title in the closing line of a chapter of an unmentioned book: “It was late in the evening when we came at last to our journey’s end.” Adapted for television in 1988, starring Jeremy Northam as Stanhope, Edward Petherbridge as Osborne and Timothy Spall as Trotter, it held close to the original script although there were changes, the most obvious being the inclusion of the raid on camera (which was done off-stage in the theatre production), and is frequently still shown in conjunction with study of the written play at an academic level. - Jeremynortham.net
Peth’s role: Lt Osborne
Reviews: User review from IMDB: Having studied the play before seeing this film, I can say that is a very good adaptation. The film runs very true to the Sherriff's work, though does exercise poetic license in a few parts in order to make it more accessible to the modern audience. The acting is superb; Northam, Petherbridge and Spall particularly stand out, capturing the harrowing experience of trench warfare excellently. The gritty realism is extremely successful in this particular production, capturing the mood of the play perfectly. As if the excellence needs anymore clarification, the 'Blackadder' lot based the final episode of 'Blackadder Goes Forth' on this particular adaptation (worth seeing as it is funny but devastating at the same time). I won't ruin the end for you, but it's definitely worth watching for.
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IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095413/
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