Overlord

Overlord (1975)

  • 92% of critics liked it
    (12 reviews)

  • 75% of users liked it
    (1,205 ratings)

Generous doses of newsreel footage highlight this British wartime drama. Tom (Brian Stirner) is a typical 18-year-old Briton who goes into military service early in 1944. The film follows the protagonist through the rigors of training and the shock of his first battle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Play Trailer

Unrated,
Directed By
Genres
Drama, Classics
In Theaters
Jul 1, 1975 Wide
Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

  • Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

    Overlord feels like a small but vivid tragedy inside an epic container.

  • Jack Mathews, New York Daily News

    Though made 31 years after D-Day, the dramatic scenes have the period look of a '40s movie, which links them perfectly with the stunning archival footage.

  • A.O. Scott, New York Times

    Overlord, a prize-winning entry in the 1975 Berlin Film Festival, deserves to join the pantheon of essential World War II combat movies.

  • Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

    It's still a feat of period filmmaking. More than that, Overlord's revivification of a wasteland Europe offers up a powerful whip lesson for the postwar complacent.

  • Nan Robertson, New York Times

    A majestic, somber work about war.

Read all 12 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Randy T


    WWII through the eyes of an average, somewhat inept British foot soldier. Director Stuart Cooper effectively interlaces real war footage with scenes of the infantryman's more mundane daily routines. We get to know the character by vicariously sharing his hardship and even… More

  • Gordon A


    Clever interweaving of fictional story and archival footage which works better as a documentary than a drama.

  • Walter M


    [font=Century Gothic]"Overlord" is a haunting and moving film about a dutiful but not gung-ho young English soldier, Tom Beddoes(Brian Stirner), who is followed through training to D-Day during World War II. Throughout he feels overwhelmed by events and unlike his fellow… More

  • Emily B


    An interesting premise. The period leading up to D-Day through the eyes of a young soldier, mixed with actual newsreel footage in between. I've always found anything to do with World World Two interesting so I thought the pieces of newsreel were fascinating. At times it's… More

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