Gallipoli

Television (Trailer) – 2005

Parental Guidance

Made by Turkish director Tolga Örnek, this acclaimed film looks at the 1915 Gallipoli campaign in World War I. A point of difference is that it is narrated by people representing both sides of the catastrophic battle (including Sam Neill and Jeremy Irons for the ANZAC and British forces, and Zafer Ergin for the Turks). Dramatisations, restored film, interviews with experts, and poignant readings from letters and diaries all help to personaliss the experience of the carnage. Urban Cinefile described the international co-production as a "potent and magnificent documentary".

I went into this documentary about the Gallipoli campaign wondering how it could possibly have anything new to say to an Australian audience. And it doesn't. It's the manner of the telling that will shake you, for it comes from inside the belly of the beast — drawn from a collection of diaries, letters and memoirs written by those who were there.
– Sandra Hall in The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 November 2005