Pg.
80-83 War Horse script (visual direction/descriptions and dialogue)
'David now heads up the ladder first. Gun fire overhead, Albert steels himself, then hauls himself over the top, followed by the next man and the next. Immediately machine gun fire whistles past, we hear the screams of the first men who are shot. We follow Albert. We are him. His vision. His experience. The ground is blasted, there are bodies all around him. He tries to run but his feet sink into the mud. Bullets fly past him. Felled men are screaming at his feet in fear and agony. Albert staggers forward. David is now right by him. They run together. Albert looks round and suddenly, David is hit. He falls to the ground, screaming.
DAVID
I'm shot! No!
Albert instinctively goes to help. Bullets
shower all around him.
DAVID (CONT'D)
Just leave me. Leave me!
Albert grabs him and drags him onwards with
him – David screaming at the pain - Albert grimly determined. Shells explode
around them as they stumble on. Other men are running and falling. Albert sees
cover in a huge shell-hole so dives into it for a moment's reprieve from the
gun fire. He sits in still terror for a moment.
ALBERT
You'll be all right here. You'll be safe.
Someone'll come for ya.
DAVID
Albert. Albert, listen...
ALBERT
It's all right. It's all right.
We're Devon boys, yeah?
David looks at Albert as though seeing him
for the first time.
DAVID
Yeah...
Albert races onward. Back at the trench,
Andrew waits - terrified - and then, back out of the mist step two men -
heading back towards him. Then a third. They suddenly catch sight of Andrew
waiting there with his gun pointed towards them. They slow down - in the terror
of the assault, they had forgotten that death was waiting for them if they
turned back. Time seems to slow down - Andrew shifts his gun from pointing at
one - to the other - we see their individual faces. They are all just boys
really. And suddenly, instinct hits Andrew - he charges up the ladder, and
forward, firing - past the three men, towards the enemy. He chooses his death
instead of theirs. A sudden barrage of machine gun fire all around him. Cut
back to Albert, who makes his way to the edge of the shell hole. Bullets whizz
inches from his head. He looks over to see a German machine gun position to his
right. Bullets whizz past forcing him to duck. Andrew charges past other
soldiers, ignoring their warnings.
RANDOM SOLDIER
Get down!
Albert continues forward to dive into
another shell hole, nearer to the German line. He scrambles from shell hole to shell
hole. Now he's very close to the machine gun position. Albert takes a grenade,
fumbles with the pin as his hands tremble. He finally gets the pin out and he
hurls the grenade at the machine gunner. We see the explosion and the machine
gun stop. Albert sprints over the top again and makes it all the way into the
German trench. Albert runs through the trench, which seems curiously empty. Albert
swings round as he sees the startling face of a gasmasked German holding a
rifle on him. Albert readies his bayonet but the man is dead, slumped backwards
against the side of the trench still upright. Albert spins round, his
bayonetted rifle in front of him, ready for action, but there is only the
ghostly sight of dead German soldiers. Albert is alone, everyone else is dead.
All the dead wear gas masks. More British soldiers drop into the trench, among
them Andrew. He stumbles in the mud, drops his rifle, recovers it, and races
through the trench. He glimpses Albert ahead of him, stalking through the mist.
Andrew breaks into a smile and rushes forward, prompting Albert to whirl with
his rifle raised.
ANDREW
NO!
Albert pauses just in time. Then he
collapses against the side of the trench, overwhelmed.
ANDREW (CONT'D)
Albie.
Andrew grabs Albert and holds him up,
embracing him. Albert can barely whisper:
ALBERT
We made it. We made it.
A moment later, the pair of them hurry
through the trenches. Albert spots more comrades around a corner and calls
ahead to Andrew.
ALBERT (CONT'D)
Andrew, this way out!
Suddenly ANOTHER SOLDIER leaps from a
trench branch between them, shouting in panic.
SOLDIER
Gas! Gas! Gas!
An instant later, a gas cloud blasts
through the trench. Andrew and Albert look in horror. It spreads towards them, too
powerful to avoid. Andrew is closest, turns to Albert with a helpless -
ANDREW
Albie...
- before he takes the full power of it. An
instant later, the white, deadly cloud encompasses Albert, too...'
This scene is very moving and I love how the actor manage to convey so much emotion even when they say just one word or no words at all. This has shown me the importance of creating a strong atmosphere and that you don't need massive blocks of dialogue to explain how a character is feeling. Sometimes, it is better for them to say nothing at all. This leads on to also demonstrate the importance of clear and well thought-out stage directions. Some lines are all about delivery and this example shows that well. In my monologue, I need to set the scene clearly and thoroughly and select my words and structures with great care. The imagery in the descriptions is beautiful and haunting at the same time ('the white, deadly cloud encompasses Albert') and I think this helps the audience to paint a clearer image in their heads and experience similar situations to the characters/ their reflections. What is said between these character is quite informal and you can tell that they know each other well and they are reliant on each other for support. It is quite personal because the reader feels like they have just experienced the war situation too but the reader is not directly spoken too or addressed. The speech is simple and minimalistic but every word is weighted with emotion and meaning.
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