Incredible WW1 Footage - Holy *** is this real?

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


The scenes do look realistic but there is a reason for that. This is footage, probably outakes or unused portions, of the classic silent film Wings (1927). The first movie to win the Academy Award for best picture.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The scenes were apparently shot in San Antonio between 1926 and 1927.

Note the backdrop of the hills. Also watch the film portions and note the three aircraft flying into scene and over the film-location battlefield?

Scenes from OP video





Scene from digitally-remastered version of Wings movie



See battle scenes at following.



Other footage showing probably outakes from Wings (1927) film at the following link.

Scenes from American movie production about World War 1. De Havilland DH-4 attacks and destroys balloon, which goes down in flames. American M17 tanks (representing French Renault FTs) break through barbed wire as several De Havilland DH-4 biplanes fly low overhead. Infantry advancing behind the tanks. German troops firing machine gun. Plane overhead drops bombs. Explosions raise smoke. (Note: these scenes are probably outtakes from the movie "Wings" shot at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas between 1926 and 1927.)

Critica l Past video at following link

I'm sure someone with skills will be able to match up the hills to the filming location near San Antonio?

reply to post by DISRAELI


You will note the tank in the foreground, at least, always has a clear path. It doesn't have bodies laying before it that it would avoid. It never has to swerve. I don't see than with the others swerve either, they move straight on.

The terrain seems to be at a slight angle up to the left. And the one machine we seeing firing repeatedly at the right of the image seems to be firing into the air above that slight angle.

I'm not saying I think it is a fake, but the buzzing (strafing?) by the aircraft seems a bit over the top.

If it is from an old movie, somebody will point that out sooner or later.

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


Looks like it's archived footage, so it's most likely real. I didn't check the channels crudentials pressed for time but that is some great footage! Unreal how chaotic it was, and those tanks are so small compared to today!

reply to post by tommyjo


Well, I was going to give my two cents about why I thought it was fake but I don't think it's necessary anymore. Good job looking this one up.

cheers

mlifeoutthere
First of all i had no idea where to put this, it has nothing to do with ww3 or war on terror or ufos or other topics nor is it general chit chat, so ive put it here.

This is why we need a history forum.


Good find BTW.

My guess is that this is footage from a silent war film. Not actual footage.

reply to post by tommyjo


Ah.. I hadnt seen your post but I was on the money. Thanks for the actual film title.

Is there any way Japan could be in the battle? When you play the video in the ats browser and go to like 600% screen size you can really make out a few more detaials.

After that guy you guys were talking about killed the guy then finished him off on the ground and either played dead or was dead, another group of guys comes right up next to them and are trying to set up a mortar or something.

One of those guys bends over and his helmet falls off, and to me it just looks like a Japanese hairdo.. sry if that's offensive to anyone.

This is about the best shot of one of the tanks I could manage.

reply to post by tommyjo


Those are without doubt the same hills, they do match up.

So the OP is just scenes from a film.....impressive though for the time.

For some footage of WW1, go to www.britishpathe.com... where you can view short newsreel films of some of the events.

Western front scenes, The Somme, Arras are some of the titles of these extracts.

reply to post by goou111


I have a feeling that soldiers in one or more of the highland regiments wore caps that looked like that.

kountzero
Its possible the film could be a re-enactment for Pathe news or similar news reel.

That would be my guess, too. It may also have been done for a motion picture. "Action" scenes. Notice how the ebb and flow of the combat seems to conveniently pivot so nicely just where the camera is focused.

Also, those hills in the background look a lot like California.

EDIT: "Wings." Makes sense.

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


Great find, great post - thanks! I love historical films, books, documents, art, etc. Also sub'ed to that channel.

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


Truly moving. How many millions of Men, young Men whose lives had yet to be fulfilled, died and have been forgotten, the point of a war never understood or agreed upon.

R.I.P. Brothers. We carry on to live and fight in your names, your once strong beating hearts whose blood courses through our veins, which can never be forgotten.

That's really amazing , if I look at it the speed it's filmed then we are no different like ants with more with ingenious weapons ...

If you play it over again and following another soldier you get another story, if this is real how awkward this war was not knowing better in that period..but also in this time period war should be banned , but I'm afraid that will never happen..

tommyjo
reply to post by mlifeoutthere

 

The scenes do look realistic but there is a reason for that. This is footage, probably outakes or unused portions, of the classic silent film Wings (1927). The first movie to win the Academy Award for best picture.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The scenes were apparently shot in San Antonio between 1926 and 1927.

Note the backdrop of the hills. Also watch the film portions and note the three aircraft flying into scene and over the film-location battlefield?

Scenes from OP video

Scene from digitally-remastered version of Wings movie

See battle scenes at following.

Other footage showing probably outakes from Wings (1927) film at the following link.

Scenes from American movie production about World War 1. De Havilland DH-4 attacks and destroys balloon, which goes down in flames. American M17 tanks (representing French Renault FTs) break through barbed wire as several De Havilland DH-4 biplanes fly low overhead. Infantry advancing behind the tanks. German troops firing machine gun. Plane overhead drops bombs. Explosions raise smoke. (Note: these scenes are probably outtakes from the movie "Wings" shot at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas between 1926 and 1927.)

Critica l Past video at following link

I'm sure someone with skills will be able to match up the hills to the filming location near San Antonio?

edit on 8/11/2013 by tommyjo because: malformed link corrected and additional image added

not to discredit you but there is no definate comparison watching that video, the shot in question is very brief and could be anywhere, i watched the clip

so once again theres no definate way of knowing this is staged, just like vice versa

My initial reaction is that this is some kind of elaborate hoax. Maybe I am wrong, as it would take a whole lot of effort and money to do something like this today, but there are certain happenings in the film that seem fake to me. Then there is the fact that cameras of the day were not very advanced, and would have required an operator, who would be standing there oblivious to all that is going on around him. So maybe it is real, which would be very cool, but I have my doubts.

It looks like a movie, at about 8-9 seconds look at the left foreground at the edge of the screen. An artillery shell explodes within 2 feet of 3 guys but none of them die, they continue walking from left to right.
the entire top half of their bodies,from the waist up are blocked from view by the flying dirt,but they are unscathed and live to walk away and fight on.
A real artillery shell exploding that close to them would have decapitated them or perhaps even cut them in half at the waist.At the very least it would have knocked them off their feet.
Definitely doesn`t look real.

Fake. Film footage is too good for the time. Almost looks like their was a bit of colour there apart from black+white ? LOL