| Director: | Steve McQueen |
| Producer: |
|
| Starring: | |
| Music: | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography: | Yorick Le Saux |
| Editing: | Peter Sciberras |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes[1] |
| Language: | English |
Blitz is a 2024 historical war drama film written, produced and directed by Steve McQueen. The film stars Saoirse Ronan and Elliot Heffernan (in his film debut) in the lead roles, along with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, and Stephen Graham in supporting roles.
Blitz had its world premiere as the opening film at the BFI London Film Festival on 9 October 2024, and was released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom and United States on 1 November 2024, followed by a streaming release on Apple TV+ on 22 November 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
In London during World War II, when a young boy is sent away to evacuate the city amidst the Blitz, he instead defiantly goes on an adventure to return to his mother, only to find himself in immense peril from a succession of Dickensian characters.
In October 2021, it was announced that McQueen would write, direct and produce a new feature film titled Blitz for New Regency, with Lammas Park producing alongside Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films.[2] In March 2022, McQueen confirmed his next project was going to be about Londoners during the Blitz of World War II and that he had discussed this with Anne, the Princess Royal, as she had awarded him his knighthood at Windsor Castle.[3] In June 2022, it was announced that Apple TV+ had picked up the distribution rights. Producers are New Regency's Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer.[4]
In September 2022, it was announced that Saoirse Ronan would be heading the cast and Adam Stockhausen leading the production design.[5] In December 2022, Harris Dickinson, Erin Kellyman, Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke were added to the cast, along with singer-songwriter Paul Weller in his feature film acting debut.[6] Later that month, Benjamin Clementine, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Hayley Squires and Sally Messham were announced in additional acting roles.[7]
Principal photography began in London in November 2022.[8] Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden was used as a base.[9] In January 2023, filming took place close to the London Waterloo station. Later that month, special effect crews simulated bombs hitting the water in the River Thames in Wapping. Filming also took place in the London borough of Greenwich.[10] In February 2023, reports were that the production moved to Hull's old town with a filming schedule of two weeks.[11]
“The idea behind the whole thing is the story of a child who is trying to get through war-torn London, which has been bombed all the time, and trying to find his mother again. What I wanted to do is, I wanted the grownups – you, me, the grownups – to feel the same sort of disassociation, being completely lost in the world, being illogical, not knowing how to get there, not knowing how to get home, not knowing how to find home, and having that horror, that fear that you’ll never find it again; the horror of these massive bombs coming down. So the only way I could think of doing it was to write music which was so brutal and so absolutely violent.” - Hans Zimmer
While Hans Zimmer has previously ventured musically into the realm of World War II with films like Dunkirk and Pearl Harbor, working on Blitz allowed him to look at the era, and a facet of his own family history, in a way he never had before. Zimmer revealed that his mother "was a refugee in England during the Second World War, and Steve McQueen gave me one direction. He said ‘After you watch this film, you will understand your mother better,’” during a Deadline’s Sound & Screen event. The story moved Zimmer to create a musical score to reflect the unrelenting chaos and brutality of the blitz: “This score is unmitigatedly horrendous,” he said. “It is an absolute horrible score, it’s so dissonant, it’s so committed to this atonality.“[12]
Blitz premiered as the opening film at the BFI London Film Festival held at the Royal Festival Hall on October 9, 2024, McQueen's third directorial effort to do so after 2018's Widows and 2020's Mangrove, which was part of his Small Axe anthology series. The film was then released in select cinemas in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 1, 2024, before streaming on Apple TV+ on November 22.[13]
Critics praised Yorick Le Saux's "stunningly captured" images for their "stark beauty".[14] [15]
| Award/Festival | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montclair Film Festival | 27 October 2024 | Visionary Director Award | Steve McQueen | [16] [17] | ||
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 20 November 2024 | Best Original Song – Feature Film | "Winter Coat" – Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen & Taura Stinson | [18] | ||
| Original Score – Feature Film | Hans Zimmer | |||||
| Song – Onscreen Performance (TV Show/Limited Series) | "Winter Coat" – Saoirse Ronan | |||||
| Camerimage | 23 November 2024 | Special Award for Outstanding Director | Steve McQueen | [19] [20] | ||
| Golden Frog | Yorick Le Saux | |||||
| Winter IndieWire Honors | 5 December 2024 | Wavelength Award | Steve McQueen and Adam Stockhausen | [21] | ||
| Celebration of Cinema and Television | 9 December 2024 | Director Award | Steve McQueen | [22] |