Filming of Brad Pitt war saga offends veterans

The director of Brad Pitt's new film has offered his 'heartfelt apologies' after filming Nazi war scenes in an English village on Remembrance Day (Getty Images)

The director of Brad Pitt’s new film has offered his “heartfelt apologies” after filming Nazi war scenes in an English village on Remembrance Day, provoking outrage.

US film-maker David Ayer staged pre-dawn explosions and had extras act out battle scenes dressed as Nazis as the rest of the UK readied itself to honour the nation’s fallen heroes on Sunday. The team behind the film, called Fury, were said to have refused to stop filming over the weekend, despite a plea from the nearby Watlington Parish Council.

Ayer wrote online after a backlash: “My heartfelt apologies for any disrespect on Remembrance Day. I am a veteran myself. It is an honour to film here in the UK.”

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said the decision to film was disrespectful. “At the very time a nation pays tribute to those who gave their lives to stop Nazis rampaging across our land it seems grossly insensitive to impose such scenes on villagers,” he told the Daily Mirror.

PA