10 Reasons 1917 Should Win Best Picture At The Oscars 2020

7. The Score

A film’s score is crucial and can make the difference between a good film and a great one. The other Best Picture nominees, all contain well-crafted scores, but 1917’s can be seen to elevate its film more than any other. It perfectly matches the film’s eb and flow and comes together perfectly to help form a thrilling and emotional story.

Composed by Thomas Newman, a truly brilliant composer, who has worked with Mendes on both Skyfall and Spectre, he takes an exceedingly nuanced and varied approach in 1917.

This is clear in how he addresses the race against time element of the film. To represent this, in many pieces such as “Up the Down Trench” and “Englander” Newman underlines his track with a continued rhythmic drumming that resembles a ticking clock or a heartbeat. This not only heightens the tension, but also constantly reminds the viewer the speed at which time is passing.

Newman also crafts a number of beautiful softer pieces that give weight to the quieter moments of the film. The pieces; “Blake and Schofield” and “Les Arbres” are used perfectly, giving a tragic and somewhat ethereal feeling, representing the character brief reprieve, while hinting at their inevitable return to the realities of war.