Benediction: Recreating Siegfried Sassoon
Warfare
History Hit
4.5 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2022
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Siegfried Sassoon is one of the most famous poets of the 20th century. But he is also famous as a soldier, decorated for his bravery on the battlefield of World War One, who then became a vocal critic of the war upon his return. After acclaimed premiere screenings at TIFF, San Sebastian and the BFI London Film Festival, two BIFA nominations and a long-list for BAFTA for Outstanding British Film, Benediction is out now in the UK and Ireland.
James spoke to writer and director Terence Davies about his inspiration for making the film, and actor Jack Lowden about his preparations for, and experience of, starring as a young Sassoon.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sigm |
| 0:07.5 | Sigmreta was a complex man. He survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his exceptional bravery. |
| 0:16.5 | But he became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of that war when he returned from service and that act in itself took extensive |
| 0:25.1 | and exceptional amounts of bravery because it was 1917 and the war was still |
| 0:31.6 | going to be a dissenter at that time of national crisis |
| 0:35.0 | was deemed almost to be treaseless. In the end his poetry has come to define the |
| 0:40.4 | horrors of war and they still resonate around the world today because he was |
| 0:44.8 | inspired by the Great Suffering on the Western Front and he has become one of the world's |
| 0:49.0 | leading war poets of all time. |
| 0:52.4 | This is the warfare podcast. I'm your host James Rogers and to take us through the life of |
| 0:56.5 | Sassoon and his wartime service, I am very excited to be joined by the legendary |
| 1:01.1 | director Terence Davis and actor Jack Lodden. |
| 1:05.0 | Now you know Jack from his starring role in Christopher Nolan's 2017 epic Dun Kirk. |
| 1:11.0 | Together, Terrence and Jack tell me about their new film on the life of Sassoon called |
| 1:15.6 | Benedictine and some of the trials and tribulations that Sassoon went through during his service. Now I know you're going to find this one really |
| 1:25.1 | quite fascinating so drop as a five-star review on Apple Podcast all now with |
| 1:29.0 | one click on Spotify but now here is Jack and Terence on the life of Sigfree so soon. |
| 1:35.0 | Terence on the life of Sigfree so soon. |
| 1:38.0 | Terence, welcome and thank you for coming on the Warfare Podcast. How are you doing today? |
| 1:46.0 | Well, not so bad. It's a lovely weather, so that's nice to wake up to. |
| 1:50.0 | That is nice to wake up to and never a guarantee. Are you in the UK? Where are you in the world? |
| 1:56.0 | I'm on the northeast Essex coast. |
... |
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