Master cinematographer Roger Deakins has teamed up with director Sam Mendes on 1917, a WWI thriller that follows two soldiers tasked to deliver a message to the front lines to save the lives of thousands of men. To create a more immersive feeling, they decided to present the action of the movie in real-time and pieced together many long takes to make it seem as though the film is a single continuous 2-hour-long shot. In the video above, the filmmakers give us a behind-the-scenes look at how that impressive undertaking was accomplished.

With the emphasis on time as the film’s organizing principle, it’s not difficult to see the influence of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk here. Even the watch-ticking music in the trailer for 1917 is similar to Hans Zimmer’s score for Dunkirk. (via @jayjrendon)

• 1917
• movies
• Roger Deakins
• Sam Mendes
• video
• war
• WWI

Speaking of WWI, the landscape of the Western Front in Europe still shows the scars from the war 100 years on.

• photography
• war
• WWI

The latest installment of the In Focus series on WWI is Aerial Warfare.

Great series so far, really enjoying it. Start from the beginning if you haven’t seen it yet.

• flying
• photography
• war
• WWI

Britain is an militaristic lion with a Roman Imperial italic-type helmet. It sits upon a mound of riches gathered from its Empire.

Drawn by Keith Thompson…prints are available if you like. (thx, zoe)

Thompson’s maps may have been influenced by this 1870 map of Europe. (thx, mark)

• Keith Thompson
• maps
• wwi

Avalanches were used as weapons in World War I.

Some unknown person got the idea that avalanches could make a highly effective weapon. The avalanche war had begun. Avalanches could be started and even directed by just bombing a mountain. History has not yet calculated the exact number of deaths. Deaths have been estimated as high as 40,000 on each fighting side.

• war
• wwi

Scans of an issue of a magazine produced by inmates of a German POW camp during WWI. (via bb)

• magazines
• war
• wwi

Some photos and sketches of WWI ships painted with “Razzle Dazzle” camouflage. “The primary goal of dazzle painting [which took visual cues from cubism] was to confuse the U-boat commander who was trying to observe the course and speed of his target.” (via cf)

• art
• camouflage
• war
• wwi