The official film of the British Army’s autumn campaign on the Somme in 1916 will be screened in Bristol as part of an Armistice Centenary tour in November, with a live performance of composer Laura Rossi’s accompanying score by the Bristol Ensemble orchestra.
The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks is the sequel to Battle of the Somme, and was also made by the camera team of Geoffrey Malins and J.B. McDowell.
Bristol is among several cities and towns hosting the 2018 tour of the film, as commemorations take place to mark the 100th anniversary of the ceasefire ending the First World War.
Shot between September-November 1916, it includes the first views of the tank, the hitherto secret weapon deployed for the first time on the Somme to try to break the deadlock of trench warfare.
Like Battle of the Somme, Ancre has been digitally restored by Imperial War Museums – IWM. Composer Laura Rossi was again commissioned to produce new music. There are five movements for each section.
Despite being less well known today, experts consider Ancre to be the cinematically superior of the two pioneering documentaries.
‘The Battle of the Ancre’ will be shown at Redland Hall, Redmaids’ High School, Bristol on Friday 9 November 2018 at 7.30pm. The event includes a short talk by Dr Toby Haggith from IWM. Visit the Bristol Ensemble website for more information and booking. See also Laura Rossi for tour dates in Yorkshire and London.
Read more here in Centenary News about the making of ‘Battle of the Somme’ & the Somme 2016 Centenary.
Source: Bristol Ensemble/Laura Rossi/IWM
Images courtesy of Bristol Ensemble
Posted by: CN Editorial Team