The Diary of a Soldier

In the year , totalitarianism prevails with the U. Chaos erupts on the surface but state employees live safely Made with a cast of non-professional actors, Evening Land continues to explore the form of fictional documentary intervening polemically into a period of intense debates about the media A global look at the impact of military use of nuclear technology and people's perception of it. A short story narrated by an unknown British soldier who reveals his hopes, fears, and disillusionment while heading into battle against the German army.

Peter Watkins is one of the most radical and visionary film makers to have ever come out of Britain. He was the pioneer of the " docu-drama " before the term came in to popular usage. Make no mistake Watkins is a great visionary and a very interesting director. The downside is that his work is often spoiled by massive overstatement which is like being locked in a room with someone who has over dosed on polemical political Prozac. He's anti-war , anti-military , and anti-establishment. There's no dialogue from the characters and the story is told via the spoken thoughts of the unnamed lead.

Watkins provides the voice of this character and that's a major failing right there. Whatever the talents of Watkins as a director he's not an actor. In fact I've got to be brutally honest and say the posh BBC newsreader type tone of Watkin's voice ends up dragging the whole production in to something unintentionally funny.

It was a running joke in classic DOCTOR WHO that no matter what planet the Tardis landed on it always resembled a quarry in Surrey and here the location might very possibly that very same quarry but we don't get to see it in any detail. Instead the screen is constantly filled with a close up of the protagonists frightened face. There is a segment where branches of trees are intercut with the fixed bayonets of the soldiers so it does indicate a creative imagination on the part of the director but as directorial technique goes this film is schizophrenic to say the least All this is a shame because no matter what you can't help coming away from a Watkins film with very strange mixed feelings and none of these feelings are indifference.

Even if you didn't like the film you've just seen you get a compulsion to seek out Watkin's other works which are often obscure and very difficult to find and the reasons his work is obscure and difficult to find is probably the same reason why you want to seek it out. Start your free trial.

The Diary of an Unknown Soldier () - IMDb

The swamp in which we lived while in front of Richmond caused chills and fever. I have been very well, in fact not sick at all. Nelson Viall of our Regiment is now in command of the 10th Mass. Fred Arnold is in the hospital in Washington. Last night President Lincoln made a visit to the Army. As he passed along the lines salutes were fired, and the men turned out and cheered. We see General McClellan nearly every day, and he often speaks to the men. How I should like to see my home. In God's own time we shall meet on earth or in Heaven.

I have been busy all day preparing muster and pay rolls. We hope to get some money some day. After "Guard Mount" the Regiment was paraded in front of Colonel Wheaton's quarters and we had church service. The men were seated in the form of a hollow square, and the Chaplain preached from the centre. Some of the men are very much interested, while others are totally indifferent to what is going on. The band is now playing in front of the Colonel's tent, and crowds of soldiers are listening to the music.

The Colonel has returned from his visit to Mrs. Wheaton at Fortress Monroe.

The Sloop of War Dacotah has arrived. Ames' brother is an officer on board of her. Some of the Rhode Island Artillery boys paid me a visit today. Col Wheaton has recommended me for promotion to Second Lieutenant, for as the letter reads: Yesterday the Army was under arms as it was reported that the Rebel iron clad Merrimac was coming. Well let her come, and bring the Rebel Army with her. We can take care of them now. I have received a box.

The cake was spoiled, but the other things were all right. Shelter tents have been issued to the men. Each man has one piece about six feet long and four feet wide. Two men button these pieces together, and by throwing it over a ridge pole, supported at each end, a shelter is formed. It is open at each end and serves to shield from the sun, but makes a regular shower bath when it rains. The men carry each a piece of tent in their knapsacks.

We have a fine camp with regular company streets. Tonight we had a fine dress parade followed by Divine Service. We have a large open field near our camp which we use for parades and drills. It is rumored that we are to move. I hope it will be towards Richmond. This was repeated, and soon the gunboats joined in with the heavy shots and we had music. We found that a Rebel Light Battery had taken position on the south side of the James and opened upon our fleet of transports, some of the shells coming over to the camps.

The gunboats drove the enemy away, and the next morning troops crossed the river and burned the houses that gave the enemy shelter. We are looking for recruits, but so far in vain. If men are not patriotic enough to volunteer to save the country I hope a draft will be ordered.

But then we have learned some things, and now I hope we shall go ahead and capture Richmond. We have moved our camp from near the river to a hill where we get plenty of pure water from a spring. This is a great luxury, for in most of our camps we have been obliged to go long distances for water.

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This hill was occupied by General Fitz-John Porter's Corps during the late siege, and we occasionally find shot and shell lying about. Each company has a wide street, and we have a parade ground in front of the camp.

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It looks now as if our Corps Keyes 4th would remain on the Peninsular, as most of the other troops have been sent away. I was much surprised at the appearance of Yorktown.

We entered town through a gate in a fort built upon a bluff. There are not more than twenty houses in the village and some of these must have been built before the Revolutionary War for they are of the gamble roof style and all tumbling down. Passing through the main street we saw the old forts built by the British Army when it was beseiged by Washington in Some of these forts were used by the Rebels. Still further on we saw the Rebel works built of bags of sand covered with earth. Some of them were on high bluffs with deep ravines in front. Some of the Rebel guns are still mounted, while others lay upon the ground dismounted by our fire.

Passing through another gate we came to the open plain which separated Yorktown from our batteries. Here we halted for a short time, and I visited a large lot enclosed by a rail fence over the entrance to which were the words: We marched on to our old lines where we saw the Batteries for heavy guns and mortars. A darkey said that the shell from our guns "played a tune like a fiddle. I visited with Levi Carr in one of our bayonet earthworks. It is in the yard of a plantation.

The owner told me that he moved away when the fight began, but he might have remained in safety for not one Rebel shot struck his house. He said that he owned hundreds of acres of land, but could only raise two and a half dollars in money, and that he got from our people. The people are very poor indeed. They are reaping their reward. Here we learned that a battle had been fought at, or near, Manassas. We landed and marched in the direction of the old Bull Run ground where we understand our forces have met the enemy.

Soldier's diary of the First World War

It rained in torrents, and I never in all my life ever heard such thunder or saw such lightning. It seemed as if Nature was trying to outdo man in the way of noise, for all the time the cannon roared and muskets rattled while the air was filled with flying missiles. But Nature won, and the battle ceased. We camped on the field for the night amid the dead and dying. As soon as our lines were formed our troops that had been fighting the day before passed through to the rear. As the Rebels came in sight we too moved off with the gallant 1st Rhode Island Cavalry with us.

BONUS: Forget notepads, this digital diary was all the rage in the '80s

The Rebels shelled us lively, but we did not stop and reached Alexandria all right about midnight. From here we marched up the river and crossed Chain Bridge into Virginia again.

It is hard to have reached the point we started from last March, and Richmond is still the Rebel Capital. Camp near Chain Bridge, Va. As we were eating Colonel Wheaton called: Well, I am proud, and I think I have a right to be, for thirteen months ago I enlisted as a private and I am now an officer. I am grateful to God for all his mercies to me. We could see the long lines of battle, both Union and Rebel and hear the roar as it came from the field.

The Rebel trains of waggons were moving all day towards the river. At dark we marched down the mountain and started for the battlefield where we arrived and went into camp. The next morning we were put in the front lines. Grimshaw had prepared for the worst, and noted down a memorial prayer at the back of his diary in the event of his death. Endy, Somewhere in France," read the verse.

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