ON THE SET OF LEGENDS OF THE FALL
WITH "G" COMPANY

PART TWO - FIRST WEEK ON THE SET

ALL SMALL PHOTOS ARE THUMBNAILED - CLICK TO ENLARGE

     Filming on the set was not done sequentially; rather, the scenes involving the most extras were filmed first; once those scenes (primarily the tent camp scene and the battle scenes) were finished, the non-cadre extras could be released from their service.  All cadre members stayed on for the two weeks of the shoot.   Pay was average, done on an hourly basis, though overtime was paid after eight hours and made the long periods of waiting a little more bearable.
The daily routine was straightforward.  At the start of the day, schoolbusses arrived at the parking lot of the Southern Alberta Insititute of Technology (SAIT) in central Calgary.  Members of the filmcrew checked the rolls with the company officers, and then everyone was off on the 45 minute ride north of town to the set.

    The set itself was large, with not only the trench/No Man's Land set, but also a large tented camp set, as well as the large marquee tents housing the uniforms, equipment and weapons, as well as serving as a lounge/mess area.  There were many other areas inaccessible to the extras, including the stars' and crews' trailers, equipment storage facilities, etc.

    Upon arrival at the set, all the extras filed into a large marquee tent, three quarters of which was filled with folding tables and chairs. 

       At one end was a large cage where cardboard boxes were set up for each company.  Each extra was required to strip to his underwear and leave his civilian clothes (including watches and other non-period items) in the boxes.  Once all the extras had changed, the cage was locked until the end of the day.  The extras then filed in stocking feet over duckboards and carpetting to a metal detector, beyond which was a passageway to another tent. This ensured that no live ammunition was being brought onto the set.      

       The second tent contained racks of uniforms and equipment, and the extras changed into their uniforms, after which they were issued weapons. Every man had his own uniform and equipment, which was hung on a hanger and tagged with his name.  Weapons were not assigned permanently.  Bayonets were not to be attached to weapons except for certain scenes.  Instead, when being issued weapons, extras were also given sheet metal cutouts of bayonets that were zap-strapped to the rifles and thus not removable.   The zap straps were brittle enough that they would give way and not injure anyone if two extras happened to collide.  The edge of the bayonets were rounded, and camouflaged with black paint to look like they were sharply pointed.

    The final step before leaving the stores tent was makeup; Brylcreem was applied to hair to give it an unkempt appearance, "dirt" was applied to uniforms, and all exposed skin (faces, necks, hands, and legs) was blackened and coated with fake mud, both "wet" and dry.  The "wet" mud kept a shiny appearance well after application.  Uniforms rapidly dirtied on the set, and were not cleaned for the duration of the shoot.   Wrapping muddy puttees came to be a chore, as was putting damp boots and hosetops on each day.

BRAD PITT'S HAIR

Roger Ebert, famed movie critic of the Chigaco Sun-Times, in his review of the film, wondered what was more unlikely: "That all three would end up on the same battlefield, or that Tristan would not be required by the British (sic) to cut his flowing blond locks."

There were instances of brothers serving in the same unit, in combat, in the Canadian Exepeditionary Force (Canada's overseas army during World War One), but the question of Pitt's hair is an interesting one. 

It is true that the Canadians gained for themselves a reputation for unruliness; the Canadians arrived in England in 1914 and immediately took to the pubs.  For at least half of the men, it was a homecoming (50% of the men in the first Canadian drafts to England had actually been born in the UK).  Units of the CEF ended the war four years later by rioting in their repatriation camps in England.

The reality, however, was that discipline was stricly maintained, and especially in the Tenth Battalion, which is the unit depicted in the film.  Upon arrival at Salisbury Plain in 1914, the Commanding Officer assembled the battalion, threw off his coat, and announced "Now, I'm the same as you fellows.  I'm just an ordinary private, as far as you're concerned, as far as I'm concerned.  There were four men on the boat (who) said they'd like to punch the hell out of me.  Now I invite you four men, if you have the guts enough to come up, and we'll have it out right here."  No one took him up on it. 

In fact, discipline in the CEF could be brutal; the death penalty was imposed for various crimes, unlike the Australians who refused to impose capital punishment.  Sentences to penal servitude "at hard labour" were not uncommon for those found drunk and absent from the trenches.

For other offences, a variety of punishments were imposed, the most notorious perhaps being "Field Punishment Number One."  To the soldiers who had to witness or endure it, it was known as "Crucifixion."  Miscreants were tied to a wagon wheel for several hours at a time. Field Punishment Number One was banned in Canada shortly after the outbreak of war, but was practiced in France and Flanders, to the disgust of veteran soldiers who felt that as volunteers, they should be entitled to better treatment. Other punishments included Pack Drill, loss of leave, and "fatigues" or extra duties.

The length of Brad Pitt's hair is more a testament to overindulgent directors than it is a reflection of the state of discipline in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

    The cadre had a chance to come out on their own to take training on the set before shooting started.  This included a test shoot of the weapons.   Cameras were allowed on the set on this day, but thereafter were banned.  Officers were held responsible for their men.   Communication between the film set and the extras was done by walkie talkie, each company officer having a haversack to carry his walkie talkie in.  Mister Sherwood was similarly equipped.
    The trench set was constructed such that trenches near the camera locations at one end were highly detailed, with duckboards, dugouts, and period signage and props.  Some of these areas were used for scenes other than the large battle scene.  Trenches further down the line, or farther from the cameras, were less detailed, and became more and more shallow as the line progressed.  Scaling ladders were equipped down the length of the trenches.  Most of the trench line was used as deep background only.  "A" Company was closest to the cameras, with the other companies being spread down the line of trenches in order; "G" Company was thus deep background as well.
Monday 9 August 1993
       On the first day, only cadre personnel were required for filming.  Filming for the night shift started in the afternoon, on this day at 2:30 pm, and typically lasted until very early, in this case 7:00 am the next morning.   The cadre marched down to the camp set where the post-battle scenes were actually filmed first.  The set was well dressed, with a motor car full of French officers (which manages to show up on screen) and a hospital full of props.  The blankets came in handy later that night when the extras were required to sit outside waiting.      

         When extras pointed out that the Union Jack flying over the hospital was flying upside down, none of the film company paid much attention; the error is not noticable on film in any event.  Most of the extras were used as background for the scene in which Brad Pitt's character rides off to look for his brother.  In order to ensure realism, the film company made sure all the extras had something to do while the cameras were rolling, and it was a bit surprising to see how the smallest details were carefully planned out.

      A number of camp scenes were shot, similar to the scenes shot by Mister Zwick for Glory, showing basic camp life.  It was disappointing to some to see them not appear on screen.  The pipers and drummers in "G" Company prepared period music in hopes of having a "pipe band scene" but such a thing never materialized.  Some drummers were tasked in one of the camp scenes, walking casually past the camera, but that scene was also not used.   Other background scenes included a soccer game (for which the prop people went to the lengths of issuing period dog tags to the shirtless team), a match of tug of war (which can be briefly glimpsed as Pitt rides his horse past the camera), a shot of some men washing pots and pans, and other small slice-of-life scenes. Oddly, the mud makeup was liberally applied to all extras for these camp scenes, despite the fact that soldiers in a rear area such as that would have been washed and clean shaven.

       Later that night, the cadre moved out to the trench set to practice the assaults that would be filmed there the next day.     "G" Company had not come in contact with any of the principal actors during the filming of the camp scenes, and their position on the battlefield would ensure the same state of affairs during the large scenes.  The extras were given a chance to look over the set before hand.  Barbed wire was strung liberally, though the barbs were actually soft wire that would not injure anyone who came in contact with it.  No Man's Land was strewn with large metal pans called "mortars", which were packed with explosive, which when touched off would send peat moss and chunks of cork into the air.   On film, the explosions looked realistic.   All explosions were set off elecrically, by a human controller.  Several bunkes were built for the controllers, which were invisible to the cameras.  In this way, no explosions were set off dangerously close to any of the extras.  Stuntmen, with rifles cast from rubber, performed more elaborate stunts using air ramps, but for the most part, the extras were encouraged to "die realistically." 

       During certain scenes, casualties would be designated by one of the assistant directors instructing that everyone whose birthday was between January and June would die, the others would live.  It was an effective and easy way of randomly deciding what would happen on screen.  Extras were encouraged to die "realistically" without injuring themselves, but there were many twisted ankles and bruises among the eager to please extras. 

From the Calgary Herald, 5 February 1995
ANATOMY OF A BATTLE

  • Battle Scenes in Legends of the Fall...(were) staged in a 2.5 km x 1.5 km clay field near Bearspaw, northwest of Calgary.  There was so much rain that a swamp formed at one end of the field and had to be bridged.

  • About 800 men played soldiers for the first two days...(In subsequent days the numbers were gradually reduced to a core of about 300)...The men smoked hand-rolled cigarettes and drank coffee from period tin cups.  Their haircuts and mustaches had to be historically accurate.   A "rat wrangler" was hired to bring in live rats and release them in a trench for one shot which was cut.

  • The network of trenches was precisely modeled (sic) on photographs of Canadian trenches...Historically authentic signposts labelled the maze of trench laneways, with names such as Bloody Alley, so extras wouldn't get lost.  "We ate, slept and urinated in those trenches," says military adviser Simon Sherwood.

  • A "cadre" of 25 to 50 extras with military experience was issued functioning First World War rifles...The bayonets, made by the props department, were aluminum with rounded edges, designed to pop off if accidentally used.

  • For massive assault sequences, the field was mined with mortars - pots about two feet deep filled with explosives.  Each extra was told to run along a certain route to avoid injury.   Twelve explosives experts were hidden in underground holes with tiny slits to watch the action.  Each would randomly set off 10 blasts, checking first to make sure they wouldn't maim an extra.  "They said, 'If this blows up and you're near it...die gloriously, don't hurt yourself and watch where you fall,'" says extra Andrew Burden.

     The battle scenes were filmed at night, with large stadium style lights illuminating the set, as well as large flashing lights to simulate gunfire.  Pen flares were shot over the heads of the extras, as well as airbursts that gave a loug band and a puff of white smoke.  Instructed that soldiers in 1915 did not wear glasses, several extras (this author included) had to brave No Man's Land without being able to see clearly.    Many takes were done of the large scene, which for "G" Company involved climbing out of the trench and walking through No Man's Land.  Despite orders that the entire Canadian force was to advance in one line, dressing between the companies was often poor.   Several different waves were designated, part of the tactics of the time, but the end results were a little disjointed.  As with much of what was filmed, little of it appeared in the final film in any event.
       In between takes, bayonets were repaired or replaced (the breakaway bayonets often bent or came off when their owners became casualties, and pliers were shared around to remove the old zap straps.   The lights of the city of Calgary were visible on the horizon behind the Canadian trenches, so smoke generators were used to mask them.   Small fires were sometimes started in the trenches to keep warm between takes.   Bags of pretzels and apples were shared down the trenches, and jugs of water were kept inside the trenches as well.  Unfortunately, raingear was not provided, and on the few occasions where it did rain, garbage bags were given out.

Tuesday 10 August 1993

       Between June and September of 1993, according to the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association, 129 inches of rain fell in the Calgary area, an increase of 35% over normal precipitation rates.  Consistent with the conditions in France and Flanders, the mud was everywhere.  Unfortunately for the extras, long periods of rain meant long periods waiting in the marquee tent on folding chairs with little to do.  The midday meal on a film set is always called "lunch" no matter what time it is actually served; on this day lunch was at midnight. 

    During the large battle scenes, William Bailie played his bagpipes and led the charge of "G" Company, playing without his glasses on and through explosions and finger-numbing cold.  He was much respected by the other pipers, due in large measure to the fact that they did not want to have to play themselves!  Bailie also piped for the company during trips between the mess tent and the set, a short march of ten minutes duration.  The trench scenes filmed all involved the Canadians leaving their own trenches.

     One of the noticable errors in one of Edward Zwick's most famous films, Glory, was the scene in which the 54th Massachussets fights its first battle.  They engage enemy infantry without fixing their bayonets, and in an instant, bayonets magically appear on their muskets when they are given the order to charge.   The same error occurs in Legends of the Fall, with bayonets magically appearing.   There were some scenes filmed specifically showing officers ordering their men to fix bayonets, but these (understandably) were cut from the final film.

  Wednesday 11 August 1993

    Starting as normal at 2:30 pm, this turned out to be a short day, filming only going until 4 am.  More filming was done, though the trenches were left behind and scenes of the Canadians advancing were filmed.  Stuntmen carrying rubber rifles were launched off of air ramps in some scenes, which were very carefully choreographed, set up, rehearsed and finally executed.  One stuntman landed slightly wrong in one scene, and to the extras who don't rely on their bodies for their livelihood, presented an odd spectacle for all the cursing he did.  Members of the Highland Company cadre also fired four rounds of blank ammunition during the night's shooting.

Thursday 12 August 1993

    During a stretch of filming lasting from 4:30 pm until 7:00 am the next morning, several scenes with the principal actors were shot.  The Highland Company was used to populate a stretch of trench in which Brad Pitt's and Henry Thomas' characters appear the morning after the battle.  This scene was shot in the evening while there was still daylight.  Even as such, large reflective screens were placed over the trench to aid in lighting the scene properly.  The author's tattoo was the subject of some debate; it was eventually covered with mud, and the author was put on an ammunition box, acting as a sentry.  The scene called for Pitt and Thomas to roll into the trench, and embrace each other as if glad to be alive.
    There was a small debate as to whether the two should wear their equipment.  The director, it seemed to this author, was very keen on keeping Brad Pitt happy, and Pitt decided that his character lost his equipment in "some barbed wire."  The director, speaking in a soothing tone, reassured Pitt that whatever he wanted would be fine.  There was a deal of resentment towards Brad Pitt among the extras, though in fairness this author never saw anything to warrant it.  It appeared there was one member of the crew whose sole duty was to carry a carton of Marlboros for Mister Pitt, and a rumour (possibly spawned by jealousy) was rampant that Pitt had referred disparagingly to the extras as "the unimportant people."  Nicer things were said about Quinn and Thomas, though they too fall into the realm of rumour.
    During the trench scene, the extras were told to act naturally, though most were embarrassed and afraid to move; the proximity of the two actors didn't affect them as much as the thought of doing something wrong to ruin the scene.  Several takes were made; in one scene the author was brave enough to say "Give them a hand, you men," as Pitt and Thomas rolled in.  His words were added to the soundtrack and made it into the final version of the film.  During one take, one of the extras was brave enough to say "do you want a medic?"  He was reproved by an NCO with the words "you don't say medic," which was also picked up on the soundtrack, but that phrase and take was not used in the final product.   In 1915, the proper word to use would have been "stretcher-bearer."   Without music or context, the scene seemed rather silly to the extras, but on the screen, the scene played well and all involved were proud of the part they played in helping create it.

    Other scenes that night involved one in which Brad Pitt and Henry Thomas crawl through No Man's Land after the battle; this scene was cut from the film.

Friday 13 August 1993

    The weather again played havoc with the extras; since the previous shooting had been done without rain falling, continuity demanded that subsequent shooting also be done without rainfall.  A small group of "G" Company extras, only 4 cadre and 11 non-cadre, arrived on the set at 3:15 pm.  After a march to the set, where rain and hail forced everyone into dugouts in the fully developed area of the trenches nearest the cameras, the extras marched back to the mess tent at 8:30 pm for "lunch."  The rest of the extras arrived at that time.   One of the film company, a bespectacled redhead named Cheryl, had Happy Birthday sung to her by the extras.  This author took the opportunity to also play it on his bagpipes, for which he was rewarded with a peck on the cheek, inspiring a certain degree of jealousy among the rest of the extras.  Like soldiers in a war, the extras found themselves deprived of feminine company during their sojourn on the set, due both to the absence of women while at work, and the short length of time they had to spend away from the set.

     Rain prevented the extras from going anywhere until midnight; a brief respite in the weather allowed them to march to another tent set up nearer to the trench set.  While the cast walked around in parkas and warm boots, the extras were left to shiver in thin wool tunics and garbage bags.  Seeking refuge in the smaller tent, this author was able to chat with a fellow Crescent Heights High School alum, who swapped stories about the reserves with him; Channing Knull had been a naval reservist while the author was an army reservist.

    When the rain finally stopped, some more charges were filmed on the battlefield.  Eventually, the scene where Brad Pitt and Henry Thomas tumble into a shellhole during the battle was filmed.  Several extras were needed to run around the shellhole; they would only be visible from the ankles down.  The author took the opportunity to sit out and watch the filming.  After filming this scene, an hour break was taken while cameras and equipment were shifted around, and another scene was shot, showing the Canadians being shot at by German troops and dying on the barbed wire.  It was chilling to have to advance into German rifles and machine guns firing directly at the extras.  The final scene was finished just as the sun came up, and "G" Company marched back to the tents in perfect step.  It was a good way to end a long and tiring week.

 

 

PARALLELS BETWEEN LIFE ON THE SET
AND LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

While it is true that none of the extras faced mortal danger at any time, nor were they required to take lives, become infested with vermin, or even sleep  away from home, there were certain parallels between their existence on the set, and the miseries that the men of the CEF actually endured.  Each hardship, no matter how small, couldn't help but instill in the extras not only pride in what they were doing, but also respect and deeper understanding for the far greater sacrifices and hardships endured by those who served in harm's way in France and Flanders.

Sleep was at a premium, with working days often going from early afternoon to dawn the next day, not including transit time to and from the marshalling area in Calgary, nor the time it took extras to travel from their homes to and from the marshalling area (each and every day).  The author and his friends on the set also found that after only a couple of days, their sleep was marked by "army dreams," a rather disturbing phenomenon.

Inadequate protection from rain and cold was a problem (no coats or gloves were issued), as was hunger and thirst.  Towards the end of the shoot, food supplies dwindled, and even the occasional pretzel or apple were few and far between.  Shopping for snacks on one's own time simply robbed an extra of an extra few minutes better spent sleeping or showering.  The Highland extras especially found their bare legs covered in mud every day, yet the rigorous schedule often allowed only five or six hours at home in which to bathe, eat, sleep, wake up and dress again in order to be back at the busses the next day.

Waiting, and a strict regimen of discipline, were two more conditions reminiscent of the military.  Extras who complained or who did not perform up to standard were subject to immediate dismissal.  Like their 1915   forebears, all the extras were volunteers who wanted to be there, so this was a very real threat, despite the low wage.

Above all, though, the cameraderie between extras, though sometimes marked by petty squabbles, was very real.  Like the CEF, where reservists formed the cadre of the overseas battalions, here too the reserve army cadre formed the nucleus of a very solid and reliable group of "soldiers."  The ensemble of extras earned the highest praise from the filmmakers, for their dedication and enthusiasm.

END OF PART TWO

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