{{Infobox film | name = The War Below | image = War_below.jpg | caption = Poster | director = J.P. Watts | producer = {{Plainlist| * Luis Guerrero * William Knochel * Chris Lemos }} | writer = {{Plainlist| * J.P. Watts * Thomas Woods }} | screenplay = | story = | based_on = | starring = {{Plainlist| * Sam Hazeldine * Tom Goodman-Hill * Kris Hitchen * Elliot James Langridge * Sam Clemmett * Joseph Steyne * Andrew Scarborough }} | narrator = | music = Anne Kulonen | cinematography = Nick Cooke | editing = | studio = Vital Pictures | distributor = Vital Pictures | released = {{Film date|df=y|2021|09|10}} | runtime = 96 minutes | country = | language = English | budget = £500,000<ref name=sr>{{cite web |title=J.P. Watts Interview: The War Below |url=https://screenrant.com/war-below-movie-j-p-watts-interview/ |website=screenrant.com |date=4 October 2021 |access-date=November 26, 2021}}</ref> | gross = }}
'''''The War Below''''' is a 2021 British war film directed by J.P. Watts, in his directorial debut,<ref name=sr/> and written by Watts and Thomas Woods.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The War Below review|date=10 September 2021 |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-war-below-2021}}</ref><ref name=tg>{{Cite news|title=The War Below review – plucky shot at telling amazing story of wartime tunnellers|website=TheGuardian.com |date=8 September 2021 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/08/the-war-below-review-wartime-tunnelling-heroes-rushed-through-drama |last1=Hoad |first1=Phil }}</ref> It was released in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2021. The film is also distributed in Germany, France, Greece, Australia, the Middle East, South Korea and Japan.<ref name=tw>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/vital-pictures-lands-wwi-true-story-the-war-below-exclusive/|title=Fact-Based WWI Story 'The War Below' Lands at Vital Pictures (Exclusive)TheWrap|date=6 January 2021 }}</ref>
== Plot == Based on a true story, the film is about a group of British miners (known as "Claykickers" or “Manchester Moles”) recruited during World War I to tunnel underneath no man's land and place mines below the German front for the Battle of Messines in 1917. The Germans reported 10,000 soldiers were killed instantly after the detonation of explosives beneath their lines.<!--myth, about 7,000 casualties for the day--><ref name=tw/><ref>{{cite web |title=Earnest shoestring epic lacks spectacle |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-war-below-earnest-shoestring-epic-lacks-spectacle-lrgbsb52l |website=The Times |date=9 September 2021 |access-date=November 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sam Hazeldine faces fears to go deep for The War Below |url=https://www.kget.com/community/ricks-reviews/sam-hazeldine-faces-fears-to-go-deep-for-the-war-below/ |website=kget.com |date=10 November 2021 |access-date=November 26, 2021}}</ref>
== Cast == * Sam Hazeldine as William Hawkin * Tom Goodman-Hill as Hellfire Jack * Kris Hitchen as Harold Stockford * Elliot James Langridge as George MacDonald * Sam Clemmett as Charlie MacDonald * Joseph Steyne as Shorty * Sonny Ashbourne Serkis as Henry * Anna Maguire as Jane Hawkin * Andrew Scarborough as Colonel Fielding * Douglas Reith as Field Marshal Lord Haig * Jake Wheeldon as Cpt. Leonard Graves
== Release and reviews == ''The War Below'' was released in theaters and digital platforms in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trailer for First World War drama The War Below starring Sam Hazeldine |url=https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2021/08/trailer-for-first-world-war-drama-the-war-below-starring-sam-hazeldine/ |website=flickeringmyth.com |date=21 August 2021 |access-date=November 26, 2021}}</ref> It was released on streaming services in the United States on November 11, 2021.<ref name=sr/>
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, ''The War Below'' holds an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |title=The War Below |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_war_below |website=rottentomatoes.com |access-date=December 14, 2021}}</ref> Writing in ''The Sunday Times'', Kevin Maher awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated it is "a fascinating Great War side story and a gritty central turn from Sam Hazeldine..."<ref>{{cite web |title=The War Below - earnest shoestring epic lacks spectacle |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-war-below-earnest-shoestring-epic-lacks-spectacle-lrgbsb52l |website=The Times |date=9 September 2021 |access-date=December 14, 2021}}</ref> Writing in ''The Guardian'', Phil Hoad described the film as having "an innately fascinating story, even if the underpinning is of unsound construction in places.”<ref name=tg/>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb title|10381014|The War Below}} * [https://www.thewarbelow.com/ Official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:War Below, The}} Category:2021 action drama films Category:2021 films Category:2021 historical films Category:2021 war films Category:British action drama films Category:British epic films Category:British historical films Category:British war drama films Category:British World War I films Category:Films about armies Category:Films about the British Armed Forces Category:Films set in 1917 Category:World War I films set on the Western Front Category:World War I films based on actual events Category:2021 English-language films Category:2021 British films Category:English-language action drama films Category:English-language war films Category:English-language historical films Category:2020s historical action films Category:2020s historical drama films