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Testament Of Youth (Blu-ray Review)

May 25, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Taron Egerton, Emily Watson, Dominic West
Director: James Kent
Running Time: 130 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: May 25th 2015 (UK)

It’s almost surprising the world of film didn’t make a few more movies to tie into the centenary of the start of the First World War. However Testament Of Youth is an apt tale to make a new version of at this time, as rather than being a gung-ho war story, it is more about grief and the wiping out of swathes of young lives.

Based on Vera Brittain’s memoir, the movie follows Vera (Alicia Vikander) as a free thinking young woman determined that her path in life will not just to be a wife and mother. She heads off to Oxford (after a little resistance from her father) and almost surprises herself when she falls for a handsome young man called Roland (Kit Harington). However their seemingly idyllic youth, along with that of her brother Edward (Taron Egerton) and their friends, is disrupted by the War. [Read more…]

Did The Gay Secrets Behind Testament Of Youth Lead To A Young Man’s Tragic Death?

January 15, 2015 By Tim Isaac 5 Comments

The new film version of Vera Brittain’s classic First World War memoir Testament Of Youth arrives in UK cinemas on January 16th. It tells the true story of Brittain and three young men during the war, showing both how Vera’s experiences as a nurse changed her and how the carnage of war decimated an entire generation of young men.

However while it is a true story, it may not be the whole truth – as it could be missing how the fate of one of the young men who is central to the story, might have been tied to his sexuality. To be fair, the movie is actually more upfront than the book, as while Brittain’s tome has extremely vague allusions that her brother, Edward (played by Taron Egerton), had ‘difficulty’ with women, the film is a little more explicit on what that difficulty might have been.

There may have been much more to the story though, as Vera Brittain biographer Mark Bostridge believes that Edward had several affairs with men and the discovery of this may have led to his death. The official account, as recounted in Testament Of Youth, is that Edward was killed by a sniper – the only officer who died in a June 1918 attack against Austrian forces on the plateau of Asiago in the Italian Alps. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Taron Egerton FILMS: Testament Of Youth

Testament Of Youth Trailer – Kit Harington turns First World War soldier

August 1, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Kit Harington sure does seem to get involved in a lot of fighting, whether it’s as part of the ever-shifting allegiances and battles of Game Of Thrones, as a gladiator in Pompeii or in the upcoming Testament Of Youth, where he’s forced to head off to the First World War.

You can take a look at the trailer below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘TESTAMENT OF YOUTH is a searing story of love and war. Based on the classic First World War memoir, this is the incredible true story of one young woman’s struggle to survive the horrors of war, which robbed her of everyone and everything she held dear, but was ultimately unable to break her extraordinary spirit.

‘Vera Brittain, irrepressible, intelligent and free-minded, overcomes the prejudices of her family and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. With everything to live for, she falls in love with her brother’s close friend Roland Leighton as they go to University to pursue their literary dreams. But the First World War is looming and as the boys leave for the front Vera realises she cannot sit idly by as her peers fight for their country, so volunteers as a nurse. She works tirelessly, experiencing all the grief of war, as one by one her fiancé, her brother and their closest friends are all killed and the pillars of her world shattered. But, an indefatigable spirit, Vera endures and returns to Oxford, irrevocably changed, yet determined to create a world in which such a war can never take place again.’

Alicia Vikander plays Vera, with Taron Egerton, Colin Morgan, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Hayley Atwell, Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor. It’ll be in cinemas early next year.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Kit Harington, Alicia Vikander, Taron Egerton, Colin Morgan, Dominic West, Emily Watson, Hayley Atwell, Miranda Richardson, Anna Chancellor FILMS: Testament Of Youth