Gallipoli (2005 film)
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| Gallipoli | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tolga Örnek |
| Written by | Tolga Örnek |
| Starring | (narrating) Sam Neill (as himself), Zafer Ergin (as himself), Demetri Goritsas, Jeremy Irons |
| Distributed by | Cinema Epoch
runtime=90 min |
| Release date(s) | 2005 |
| Language | English, Turkish |
Gallipoli (Turkish title Gelibolu) is a 2005 film by Turkish filmmaker Tolga Örnek. It is a documentary on the disastrous Battle of Gallipoli, narrated by both sides, Turks, and British soldiers and ANZACs.
Through the use of surviving diaries and letters of the soldiers, the film shows the bravery and the suffering on both sides. For this film Tolga Örnek has been awarded an honorary medal in the general division of the Order of Australia.[1].
While the production is excellent, the makers introduced two items which had nothing to do with the story.
1. The first deals with the training of the Light Horsemen. A small clip was shown with the commentary that the clip relates to Light Horse training prior to going to Gallipoli. In fact the film clip shown is of the 8th ALHR [Australian Light Horse Regiment] putting on a show for the cameras near Heliopolis on Wednesday, 23 February 1916. The irony was that the 8th ALHR was virtually wiped out during the charge at the Nek. Few men in the film clip were at Gallipoli the year before.
2. There is a photograph of a Turkish machine gun with crew purporting to be taken at Gallipoli. The flat ground is inconsistent with Gallipoli. Indeed the photograph also appears in Volume VII of the Official Australian War History - Gullett, HS, "Sinai and Palestine" - dealing with Rafa in January 1917.
