Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'

Great Essays
A screenplay by Genevieve Guidi, based on the poem ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen
1. EXT. A 40KM STRETCH ALONG THE FRONT, NORTH, SOUTH OF THE RIVER SOMME, IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
The camera perspective is from a SERGEANT, eye-level angle. You hear the SERGEANT take a breath in, the camera then pans over the bodied filled hills, their blood, and their souls seeping into the soil. You hear the SERGEANT let the breath out.
CAPTION: Autumn 1916, the Battle Somme, WW1
A sombre group of several men remain looking towards the SERGEANT for guidance; you see their mouths move but can’t hear what they’re saying. Breathe in. The camera pans to look towards a young solider, his body mutilated by bullets, his body convulsing as the blood spills
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ROMANOFF: (gathering his weapons along with ROGERS AND BARTON) Yes sir!
SERGEANT: (camera pans to an eyelevel shot with the remaining men) You three, (he points to three hard-faced determined men, as he shouts over the artillery fire) man that machine gun, take out the other machine guns and any infantry you can.
TRIO: (squat over the SERGEANT now, taking the machine gun and magazine rounds) Yes sir! (they chorus)

The SERGEANT takes the Bazooka with only one missile left, he sees the TRIO take out the other machine gunner; but BARTON gets shot. The other guys to the left of the SERGEANT poked their heads up too early, their blood soaking the SERGEANT uniform. He loads up the bazooka and aims for the tank, that’s just approached over a fox hole in the distance. 110m away, 100m, 80m, 60m. The bazooka’s been fired, right on target; the tank is a brilliant metal flame now. They did it; they beat the odds and overcame all odds. Breathe
…show more content…
WILSON: (now looking up at MAXIMOFF) The battle has commenced. Anything on the gas front?
MAXIMOFF: (camera pans from looking down on WILSON to the cylinders and to the wind sock) Wind’s changed and not in our favour.
WILSON: (camera looks down as WILSON’S head turns towards the cylinders) Sergeant probably needs our help back at the battle; come on the wind will change back.
MAXIMOFF and WILSON book it back to battle, 200m away from the cylinders of death. Tracking shot is used to follow behind the boys, full shot of the boys.
3. EXT. THE BATTLE FIELD WHICH MOMENTS BEFORE WAS FILLED WITH WARFARE
They make back to the battle to see the remnants of what was clearly a slaughtering, the SERGEANT and the men are gathered around BARTON. MAXIMOFF and WILSON run to only fall to their knees around BARTON’S lifeless corpse. Silent tears escape the eyes of all the men, the SERGEANT bends down to take the letter to BARTON’S loved ones out of his pocket.
They start digging, giving BARTON a final resting place. The grave takes a while to be completed and they all stand around it, in a silent pray to their fallen

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