War Requiem

Director Derek Jarman's WAR REQUIEM is a cinematic visualization of Benjamin Britten's celebrated oratorio that features live action and documentary footage from wars of the 20th century. Jarman employs his trademark painterly and non-narrative style to visually explore the requiem that was based on the poetry of Wilfred Owen, a soldier poet who was killed at the very end of WWI. Owen's experience is told from the perspective of an elderly soldier (Laurence Olivier) as he remembers the horror of battle. (official distributor synopsis)