To End All Wars | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | David L. Cunningham |
Written by | Brian Godawa Ernest Gordon |
Produced by | Jack Hafer David L. Cunningham |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
Edited by | Tim Silano |
Music by | John Cameron Moya Brennan |
Distributed by | GMT Pictures |
Release dates | |
Running time | 125 minutes |
Languages | English Japanese |
To End All Wars is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and was directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is based on Through the Valley of the Kwai , an autobiography of Ernest Gordon, then a Scottish Captain, later the Presbyterian Dean of the Princeton University Chapel.
The film is set in a Japanese prisoner of war labour camp where the inmates are building the Burma Railway during the last three and a half years of World War II. [3] Captain Ernest Gordon was a company commander with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who fought in several battles in the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore before being captured and made a prisoner of war by the Japanese.
It was filmed primarily on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, with some excerpt shots of Thailand. The film was rated R in the U.S. for war violence and brutality, and for some language. The film was produced by Jack Hafer and David Cunningham. [4]
The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Ernest Gordon and recounts the experiences of faith and hope of the interned men. [5] The autobiography was originally published under the name Through the Valley of the Kwai , [6] then later as Miracle on the River Kwai (not to be confused with the separate novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle). Gordon's book was finally re-issued with the title To End All Wars to tie in with the film.
Post-production of the film footage was delayed because of lack of funding, which was eventually provided by Goldcrest Films. [7]
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 62% based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 5.9/10. [8] The film was awarded the Crystal Heart Award and Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at the Heartland Film Festival. [9] A review in Variety is mainly negative. [3]
The film's soundtrack was never released as a stand-alone release. Various songs have been re-recorded by Moya Brennan on her subsequent solo albums, most recently 'Mo Mhian' on My Match Is A Makin'.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Mo Mhian (Healing Heart)" | Moya Brennan | |
2. | "I Will Go (Campbell's Theme)" | Moya Brennan | |
3. | "Lá na Cruinne" | Moya Brennan | |
4. | "Find The Place" | John Cameron & Moya Brennan | |
5. | "Amazing Grace" | John Newton / Traditional | |
6. | "Pomp And Circumstance" | Edward Elgar | |
7. | "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" | Johann Sebastian Bach | |
8. | "Yankee Doodle Boy" | George M. Cohan |