The Trench

Play trailer

The Trench

2000

1h 38m

War

History

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

4 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

On the eve of a massive battle with the Germans, Sgt. Telford Winter oversees a company of British soldiers too young and naive to be properly terrified of their coming mission. Prominent among the recruits is Billy Macfarlane, a patriotic teenager who struggles to reconcile his homesickness with his sense of duty. Meanwhile, their commanding officer, Lt. Ellis Harte, squirrels himself away in his tent sipping brandy and reading poetry.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Jul 11, 2004

3/5

atmospheric and uneven

Go to Full Review

Chuck Rudolph

Matinee Magazine

Jul 27, 2002

1/5

Loaded with soggy, overused war movie cliches.

Go to Full Review

Jason Clark

Matinee Magazine

Feb 4, 2002

C-

Ian Mantgani

UK Critic

Jan 1, 2000

6/10

Read all reviews

Oaklee D

@ODie63 Oct 20, 2026

A stirring WW1 drama that focuses not on the action but the psychological toll and paranoia life in the trench took on the troops. worth a watch if you're a history buff, really strong performances by Daniel Craig and the rest of the cast, a very solid film.

See more

John A

@Kapellmeister66 Aug 28, 2026

Not the greatest movie but I appreciated it for the WWI story

See more

Rory W.

@Raughdri Nov 2, 2025

Visually, this movie is fantastic. Every scene seemed to be shot with great detail. Unfortunately for the rest of the movie that detail wasn’t there. Dialogue was choppy and hard to follow. Acting was subpar overall, but a few scenes did hold some weight.

See more

Daniel O

@RT17643365 Feb 6, 2025

Decent movie about soldering on the eve of the most disastrous British offensive of the War to end all wars (It ended nothing) with young recruits who never saw action. The only thing missing from the the trenches was the worst three things that made their lives miserable was the Rats, the Lice, and the muddy conditions that caused more casualties than (with Trench Foot). If they depicted this in these elements I would rate it higher.

See more

Edward F

@edwillfite Dec 19, 2024

I expected more from this movie. It was boring, and the ending was very anticlimactic.

See more

Maya W

@RT63033957 Mar 18, 2024

Great production. It's certainly not the usual family entertainment (unless you're interested in the topic) but the film is very unique and believable. It allows you to understand the situation the characters are in and unlike a lot of war movies, it neither feels exaggerated nor played down. I thought it was a very good movie.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

William Boyd

Director

Paul Nicholls

Pte. Billy Macfarlane

Daniel Craig

Sgt. Telford Winter

Julian Rhind-Tutt

2nd Lt. Ellis Harte

Danny Dyer

Lance Cpl. Victor Dell

James D'Arcy

Pte. Colin Daventry

View more photos

Synopsis

On the eve of a massive battle with the Germans, Sgt. Telford Winter oversees a company of British soldiers too young and naive to be properly terrified of their coming mission. Prominent among the recruits is Billy Macfarlane, a patriotic teenager who struggles to reconcile his homesickness with his sense of duty. Meanwhile, their commanding officer, Lt. Ellis Harte, squirrels himself away in his tent sipping brandy and reading poetry.

Director: William Boyd
Producer: Steve Clark-Hall
Distributor: Somme Productions, Entertainment International Pictures
Production Co: Arts Council of England, Blue PM, Bonaparte Films Ltd., Le Studio Canal +
Genre: War, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 8, 2019
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings