trimmerb1234 Ian Hislop is best known as editor of the long running "Private Eye" magazine - satirical; in its earlier days at least, fairly irreverent and often in (expensive) conflict with the rich and powerful. The team were witty, well-educated fellows often from good schools and families having a great deal of fun tweaking noses in a quite tolerant society during an extraordinarily long period of peace and prosperity when satire quickly became the mainstream.Ian Hislop's central and dreadful misconception/misportrayal/conceit is that The Wipers Times was an early version of Private Eye - run by two witty satirical officers for their own and the troop's amusement, raising morale by satirising Army superiors but jeopardising their prospects of promotion by their impish irreverent nose-tweaking and mockery - ie how Hislop would see himself. But neither the times of Wipers Times nor the context could possibly have been more different to those of Private Eye. Nor the conditions under which each worked. The Wipers Times was produced for WW1 troops in their stinking trenches, in constant fear of death but also under martial law where cowardice - widely interpreted - was punishable by death. As was mutiny or insubordination. It was a life or death struggle, with a rigid hierarchy of command where all was sacrificed to victory, where a horse was more valuable than soldier (they cost more in transport and upkeep). Troop morale however was vital so that they would continue to be willing to fight and die. How to achieve improved morale was the question In these harshest of conditions with the narrowest of focus - victory whatever it cost - it is inconceivable that, as portrayed in the film, two officers would be allowed to distribute an under the counter satirical publication lampooning senior officers etc without it being first intensely scrutinised, discussed then officially sanctioned. What was unusual was that there was a senior officer able to understand its contribution to morale and willing and able to convince his superiors of what was a very risky enterprise. In the film all the Stephen Fry character is required to possess is a robust sense of humour. I believe the two officers combined this with their normal duties. If, as in this film, they appeared to have chosen a soft option, or pushed themselves forward, troops who had no such choices would have strongly resented it. Contrary to the film, The Wipers Times did not make celebrities of the two officers, instead it promoted modest but authentic contributions from ordinary soldiers and thus appeared to be the voice of the ordinary soldier - which in reality it was not. Any hint of condescension or aloofness by these two officers - as appears in the film where one casually mocks the social ignorance of a lower rank - might have been, possibly literally, fatal for them. Contrary to the film and verifying its central misconception, the two officers were neither punished nor discriminated against after the war (both had MCs). They had done their duty and more. The troops had fought and died and none had mutinied. The Wipers Times had fulfilled its officially sanctioned purpose - but it had brought happiness, laughter and an easing of the burden along the way.Ian Hislop is a good popular historian of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It seems he was seduced by the enobling heroic notion that his comfortable late 20th Century satire had its ancestry in the horrors of the WW1 trenches and those two self-effacing officers. The film turned these two men into Private Eye in khaki, worse still, the characters were portrayed as attractive and professional entertainers. Such an idea worked in Oh What a Lovely War. It doesn't work here which cries out for a realistic treatment of a true and important story, giving some idea of the actual characters of these two officers. For all its production values, it is awful.

Tom Dooley Co written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman this tells the story of Fred Roberts and his lieutenant and friend Jack Pearson. While based in Ypres, Belgium they discover a near working printing press. Their Sergeant used to work in newspapers and with his help they set up a satirical magazine and name it 'The Wipers Times' – in honour of the way 'Tommie's pronounce Ypres. They go for the ludicrous – where ever possible - and often take a swipe at those in command, but the paper is a hit and soon they are getting noticed. This is set during the destruction and slaughter of World War I and that is included in the film, as well as mustard gas, food shortages and the filth of the trenches. The film recreates some of the sketches from the papers as black and white pieces using the same characters and this adds to the surreal nature of the paper and how it was a break from reality for those that read it.Starring Ben Chaplin as Roberts and Julian Rhind-Tutt as Pearson who are both perfect castings for their respective roles, this was produced by the BBC to mark the anniversary of 'The Great War', along with other memorable films and series. This I felt was one of the best and dealt with an aspect of war that is often missed out, at one time it is said that 'war is nothing more than wallowing in a dirty ditch'; well this proved that humour could take men out of that ditch if even for a short time. Absolutely recommended and a credit to all involved in its production.

morrison-dylan-fan With the recent season of the BBC's satirical news show Have I Got News For You having ended,I decided to find out if lead star (and editor of the excellent investigating journalist/satirical mag Private Eye) Ian Hislop was working on any other projects.Originally expecting to just find a documentary series,I was shocked to find out that Hislop had co- written a WWI Drama about a satirical mag,whose airing I had sadly missed.Catching me completely by surprise,my dad revealed to me that he had actually picked up a DVD of the title recently,which led picking up my first issue of The Wipers Times.The plot:WWI:Ypres-Taking a look around a number of bombed out buildings in a city called Ypres,a group of British soldier's discover a printer in perfect condition.Planning to destroy the printer,the gang are stopped in their tracks by leading officer Roberts,who tells the group that the printer could be used for the publication of a satirical magazine.Initially feeling uneasy over Roberts plan,the gang soon find themselves getting in a grove over the writing of their satirical mag (named The Wipers Times) as they find themselves not only fighting against the German's,but generals who are determined to close the underground mag down.View on the film:For the screenplay of the film,writers Ian Hislop and Nickman strike a perfect balance of showing the heroic efforts that Robert's troop was involved in,whilst making sure that the movie never becomes over- sentimental,thanks to cutting away to the satirical bite of the mag.Giving the title a blissful flight of fantasy mood,the writers bring a number of the mags most famous sketches alive in dream style sequences,which brilliantly show the sharp created mind that each of the soldier's had,even as they were being shot at.Superbly filmed on location in Ireland,director Andy De Emmony mixes a raw,gritty appearance for the trenches with an unexpected surreal touch,as De Emmony uses B&W and a floating camera feel to bring The Wipers Times sketches vividly to life.Leading the gang in their underground publication,Ben Chaplin gives a wonderful performance as Roberts,with Chaplin showing Roberts eye for satire to be something which helps him to survive the chaos taking place around him,and makes this issue of The Wipers Times one that is really worth picking up.

tyttyvylys In a world wherein we are all too often confronted with the tragic waste that is warfare, this heart-rending and thought-provoking treatment of our world's first war stands tall amidst a cohort of war films that glorify war while trivializing the loss it represents. An entire generation of Englishman were lain down in the mud of the European theater, and while many poets, writers and historians have made much of the tragedy of this affair, few have the courage to satirize it. As only the men who witnessed its absurdity could tell us, this is the relation of Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, two men among many who were forced to endure a what was at times a senseless conflict. Their only hope for sanity in an insane situation was to cling to that which humanizes us all; our sense of humor.If you have ever considered the pointless nature of large-scale conflict, the tragedy of war itself, or the despair of the man as he returns home from the front to a people who do not grasp the enormity of what he has faced, then you must see this film.