War movies
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Just rewatched Billy Wilder's Stalag 17 (1953). Kind of wacky at times. Lots of great POW films, (The Bridge on the River Kwai is already mentioned), Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped (1956), Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion (1937), John Sturges' The Great Escape (1963), Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn (2006), and Brian Forbes' King Rat (1965).[h=3][/h]
Same here, but the movie was Sophie's Choice. A "friend" told me it was such a great movie, I had to see it. Broke my heart.
~ Chance
Man, I forgot about Rescue Dawn. Another great one.
Thanks 5S.
Thanks 5S.
Hondo
Flashlight Enthusiast
Anthropoid.
Hacksaw Ridge.
Red Tails.
And of course Band of Brothers, with all of the commentary from the Easy Company survivors.
Honorable mention as it is not an actual story, but The Big Red One. Can never forget the scene in the crematorium.
Hacksaw Ridge.
Red Tails.
And of course Band of Brothers, with all of the commentary from the Easy Company survivors.
Honorable mention as it is not an actual story, but The Big Red One. Can never forget the scene in the crematorium.
Samuel Fuller films. From someone who was there. *
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Run of the Arrow (1957)
Merrill's Marauders (1962)
The Big Red One (1980) *
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Run of the Arrow (1957)
Merrill's Marauders (1962)
The Big Red One (1980) *
Watched Zero Dark Thirty tonight.
Yeah they got most of it pretty correct, but SEALS don't yell out "breach" during stealth tactics. (They use hand signals)
Yeah they got most of it pretty correct, but SEALS don't yell out "breach" during stealth tactics. (They use hand signals)
Rescue Dawn was OK, but controversial in the way Air America kicker Gene DeBruin was, apparently unjustly, portrayed.
The scene I remember the most from Bridge Over the River kwai, is the goofy British Colonel character freaking out over blowing up the bridge – pure BS. The POW's and the real life Lt. Colonel Toosey, did everything they could to undermine and delay the construction, using rotten timbers for key components, collecting termites to infest the timbers, improperly mixing concrete – if they could have blown it up they would have.
Some other good POW films:
SCEMan
Flashlight Enthusiast
Okay movie adaptation of the incredible best selling autobiography. Some scenes were extremely well-done (e.g., B24-zero attack), but so much was condensed or omitted. The first time I read the book I thought "how could this unbelievable story ever be made into a movie?". IMHO it can't; a mini-series like The Pacific or BOB would be required to do Zamperini's amazing life justice.
I had the pleasure of meeting (and shaking hands) with Louie at a book signing several years ago and was humbled and honored by his graciousness.
Wow! Louie sounds like a great guy, it is sad that there are so few of the WW2 vets still around, it's always interesting to hear them tell their stories.
StarHalo
Flashaholic
That's the granddaddy of WWII stories, I very strongly recommend the book even if you're not much of a reader, you will be for this one..
Saw 1917 a while ago - the cinematography is amazing, but the plot is hoaky and far fetched. With a halfway decent story line this could have been a great film but as it is it is disappointing.
Journey's End was much better, being based on the novel by R.C. Sherriff who drew heavily on his own combat experience while serving as an officer in the East Surrey Regiment during the war.
Journey's End was much better, being based on the novel by R.C. Sherriff who drew heavily on his own combat experience while serving as an officer in the East Surrey Regiment during the war.
I watched 1917 but it seem to drag on and on and on almost like a reality show more than a war movie. It was more like the story of a guy trying to survive the war than about the war and a guy trying to survive it to me. Way, way too much wandering around with rather weird circumstances happening I personally think were put in just to try and make this into more of a thriller than a war movie.
I ended up selling the movie as I couldn't drink enough caffeinated drinks to ever bother sitting through it again. They could have shortened the movie by almost a half and it would have been just as good.
Here's a good movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkkJZweYaLI
and these 5 pieces in a row
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZlzMhfx2hQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0t5CHhsuaM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glz5ZJLEPgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEfxAE6dTDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqJEMXbRgdw
And a good 20 episode series - The Unknown War (1978)
he is in english
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ibizxvxgaY&list=PLhs30iGhgICncex8qB-_Fmej-0HSwy4fH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkkJZweYaLI
and these 5 pieces in a row
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZlzMhfx2hQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0t5CHhsuaM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glz5ZJLEPgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEfxAE6dTDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqJEMXbRgdw
And a good 20 episode series - The Unknown War (1978)
he is in english
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ibizxvxgaY&list=PLhs30iGhgICncex8qB-_Fmej-0HSwy4fH
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Kestrel
Flashaholic
Thanks for that link; I've had the DVD for that documentary on my Amazon list for years but never got around to ordering it. :thumbsup:
Platoon. While it wasn't historically accurate showing any specific events, the two Vietnam Marine Corps veterans I worked with said it was close. One just didn't see the need for a protagonist, antagonist between Barnes and Elias.
Paths of Glory and the Grand Illusion are two oldies whose messages never fade.
SCEMan
Flashlight Enthusiast
I just read Oliver Stone's autobiography and both characters were based on platoon sergeants he served under. Neither knew each other but they were both very effective.
I liked "Tora Tora Tora" for a wwII Pacific War film.
Regarding Vietnam, I was in High school, and watched it unfold each night on the news.
i read a number of books, later as an adult, some of which were made into movies, or documentaries.
VietNam a Television History" a history book... the companion to the 13 part TV miniseries.
"The 10,000 Day War" the companion book to a 8 part TV miniseries. I like that one much more... it was not as politically correct as the 13 part series, and spoke of the secret negotiations to end the war, and the funds promised to the North (that were beyond Nixon's authority to promise).
"The 13th valley" The story of a platoon, who humped the hills and valleys, take an area, only to relinquish it and take it again. The frustration of being a grunt, seeing your brothers get killed or maimed, and never seeing the enemy. When I watched the movie "Platoon" (which I also liked), I wondered if it was based on the 13th Valley. Certainly not, but the experiences were similar. If you like the movie Platoon, you'd likely enjoy the book the 13th Valley.
"Chickenhawk" huey helicopter pilot. They were heroes. It was planned to make it a movie, but wasn't.
Marine Sniper: Carlos Hathcock. There have been a number of sniper movies. None of them bad.
"The Flight of the Intruder" ...read the book, saw the film. I enjoyed them both.
"The Tunnels of Chu Chi" The Tunnel Rats. The book helps to understand how determined the enemy was to fight a gorella war. How they would crawl underground, pop up, and ambush a patrol, and disappear, frustrating our patrols.
More recently... "Black Hawk Down" They had GPS capability, but didn't bring it. If only they were as small and lightweight as our cell phones are today!
Regarding Vietnam, I was in High school, and watched it unfold each night on the news.
i read a number of books, later as an adult, some of which were made into movies, or documentaries.
VietNam a Television History" a history book... the companion to the 13 part TV miniseries.
"The 10,000 Day War" the companion book to a 8 part TV miniseries. I like that one much more... it was not as politically correct as the 13 part series, and spoke of the secret negotiations to end the war, and the funds promised to the North (that were beyond Nixon's authority to promise).
"The 13th valley" The story of a platoon, who humped the hills and valleys, take an area, only to relinquish it and take it again. The frustration of being a grunt, seeing your brothers get killed or maimed, and never seeing the enemy. When I watched the movie "Platoon" (which I also liked), I wondered if it was based on the 13th Valley. Certainly not, but the experiences were similar. If you like the movie Platoon, you'd likely enjoy the book the 13th Valley.
"Chickenhawk" huey helicopter pilot. They were heroes. It was planned to make it a movie, but wasn't.
Marine Sniper: Carlos Hathcock. There have been a number of sniper movies. None of them bad.
"The Flight of the Intruder" ...read the book, saw the film. I enjoyed them both.
"The Tunnels of Chu Chi" The Tunnel Rats. The book helps to understand how determined the enemy was to fight a gorella war. How they would crawl underground, pop up, and ambush a patrol, and disappear, frustrating our patrols.
More recently... "Black Hawk Down" They had GPS capability, but didn't bring it. If only they were as small and lightweight as our cell phones are today!
Watched 1917 recently. Not bad in my view. My favorite part was while the main charcters walked through a German bunker "pooof" a flashlight lit the place. Now as Hollywood would have it, the light lit the place up very well when in reality lights of that era were not very bright.
I wasn't watching out for authenticity or not, but was just watching a story being told with moving pictures.
Not as gripping as some war flicks but I'll watch it again.
I wasn't watching out for authenticity or not, but was just watching a story being told with moving pictures.
Not as gripping as some war flicks but I'll watch it again.
