Posted on 11/24/2009 3:17:38 PM PST by Artemis Webb
WWII HD (new series from the History Channel) was surprisingly good. Lately WWII Docs have a very liberal tang to them but this one seemed right down the middle and told a story of several people who experienced the War firsthand using their diaries and interviews.
The footage used is mostly new to the public and has been restored and encoded to HD (though the original footage is still 40s Color Film which leaves alot to be desired.)
Also I noticed the first DVD was selling for 7.95. not sure if that was an introductory offer or the price per DVD for the series.
Awesome film. My main gripe is that they could have done an 8 part miniseries and still not got all the important bits of his life. Maybe someday someone will give him the John Adams miniseries treatment!
Some great lists here.
I think all of these have been listed, but “Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” were two of the best TV miniseries ever made. “Band of Brothers” is near perfect. For older movies, you can never go wrong with “Stalag 17”, “Bridge on the River Kwai”, “Patton”, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” or “The Longest Day”.
I think the opening segment of “Saving Private Ryan” is probably the most realistic depiction of battle ever filmed, but the rest of the movie was far from realistic.
Try “World at War,” “Victory at Sea” and “Why We Fight.”
All good one you listed. “The Train’’ with Burt Lancaster is a favorite of mine. “Sink the Bismark’’ “Das Boot’’.
All the above were good. Two 1951 movies not mentioned:
Go for Broke
The Steel Helmet
Don’t know if these are on DVD.
All “Victory at Sea” episodes are available for viewing online, for free!
http://victoryatseaonline.com/video_index.html
Not exactly during the war but just after it ended, The Best Years of Our Lives is about 3 returning US servicemen to their hometown. Probably one of the greatest movies of the 1940s. The homecoming of Frederic March to Myrna Loy packs an emotional wallop as big as any put on the silver screen.
My dad was stationed in the desert in California when “Sahara” was being made, and his unit (4th Armored) transported the sets and cameras used in the movie. He met Humphrey Bogart during the process. The 4th Armored Division gets a mention at the beginning of the film.
Artemis, you might also consider Daryl F. Zanuck's classic The Longest Day.
It is pretty historically accurate; and the Germans speak real German with English subtitles.
Sean Connery actually has a bit role, but he *isn't* subtitled.
Cheers!
I recommend “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” about the Doolittle raid. It was a huge morale boost to counteract the attack on Pearl Harbor. It has actual footage in the movie from Doolittle’s raid.
That’s my biggest beef with war movies, when the Germans speak with British accents. That’s what makes The Longest Day great, the Germans speak in German, the French speak in French, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=memmVBJZnq8
The chilling opening of “The World at War” with Sir Laurence Olivier describing what happened at Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944, “The Day the Soldiers Came....”
Band of Brothers is good for a weekend marathon.
Midway and In Harms Way.
A veteran would probably be best-qualified to make a suggestion.
Vistory at Sea
The Big Picture
Silent Service
all are available on line.
At the risk of repetition:
The Great Raid
Escape From Sobibor
Band of Brothers
Tora Tora Tora
Not movies but get him the books
The Longest Day
A Bridge Too Far
The Last Battle
Escape from Colditz
Iron Coffins
The Magician
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