Posted on 05/30/2004 4:15:31 AM PDT by ken5050
If you happen to turn your TV set on at any time this Memorial Day weekend, there's a strong probability you'll come across a World War II war movie..... the classic Hollywood genre. There are many of them, and, happily a lot of very good ones. So, on this weekend of remembrance, and the dedication of the WW II memorial, what's your favorite, or favorites, and why?
I don't know if you ever seen it, but "Uprising" is also a great television movie which deals with the resistance of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. Hank Azaria turns in a tour-de-force!
Also check out
The Hiding Place.
This was a great film focusing on the heroic actions of Corrie ten Boom and her family, who were the spitting definition of "righteous gentiles."
Anne Frank wasn't the only brave person in Holland at that time.
Any film starring Lee Marvin or John Wayne is worth taking a look at.
I'm not a big Spielberg fan, but "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" were two of the most brilliantly conceived and executed films of the 20th Century.
They were definitely two of the best films dealing with their respective subjects.
Our paper listed some other good ones that are being rereleased:
Stalag 17
No Man an Island
The Naked and the Dead
The Enemy Below
Desert Fox
Compare these classics to later revisionist anti-war films such as:
Deer Hunter (Vietnam)
Platoon (Vietnam)
Apocolypse Now (Vietnam)
The Thin Red Line (Guadalcanal)
Three Kings (Iraq I)
I'm not sure what film you're referring to specifically, but I'm postitive that it was not nearly as good as "Charlotte Gray". It probably came out before, considering that this film was only released in 2002.
I don't know if she's beautiful in the conventional, socially approved sense of the word. I don't think a "classic" definition of beauty is possible, unless you take the sculptures of Myron to be the standard for classical beauty.
Personally, I think Blanchett is drop-dead gorgeous, in the same way that Rachel Grififths is.
Did not read the thread -- but the one about the Sullivan's from when I was a kid was my favorite. I don't go to anything today, so can't say about any of the recent ones.
You're generally correct about the other four, but there's no way you could characterize "The Deer Hunter" as an "antiwar" film.
It was a film about the sheer determination of Americans, the strength and endurance of the human spirit, and the persistent bond between male friends.
If you just take the scenes with the returning Marine and Christopher Walken in the military hospital and focus on them, then I guess you could characterize it as an antiwar picture.
However, that is not the essence of the film. The core of "The Deer Hunter" can be found in DeNiro's and Walken's resistance to their NVA captors, and the closing scene, which takes place after Walken's funeral.
I’ve read a few books about the Warsaw uprising, and the heroism never fails to affect me. They definitely had the odds against them - but it was better than dying like slaughtered farm animals.
Didn't see "Murphy's War" mentioned. 1971
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067458/
Thoroughly enjoyed Peter O'Toole in this one. He takes on a German U-boat with an old sea plane that he puts back together.
I enjoyed the photography and the grand scope of it, in spite of all its flaws.
I also left out a classic WWII movie, of sorts:
Judgment at Nuremberg
There were also several attempts at mass escapes by people inside of concentration camps-at least one of them successful-and armed resistance-both open and subversive-in several European nations.
Though the partisans of Poland and Yugoslavia, and the actions of the Dutch and Danish, are by far the most noteworthy examples, there were other pockets of resistance to Nazi tyranny.
The example that immediately comes to mind is the case of Norway and several other Scandinavian countries.
Hungary stands out as the only Nazi-occupied country-though it was nominally an ally of the Germans-not to have manifested an opposition of any kind.
The Soviet republics of Chechnya, Belarus and the Ukraine were also very eager to collaborate with Hitler's military regime. The same goes for the Baltic states.
For those who are interested, TLD will be instructive for generations as to what happened on June 6, 1944. PATTON was for the most part historically accurate, at least according to the historians. (Possible exception: Portraying Omar Bradley as a saint, but that does depend on whom you ask, and Bradley was an adviser to the movie.)
IN HARM'S WAY was a fictional work set in WWII. Except for casting Henry Fonda as Admiral Nimitz, it was best IMO in terms of developing characters (think "Kirk Douglass"), although it probably didn't have much to do with historical accuracy. Had an excellent soundtrack.
You didn't ask, but what was the most disappointing? BATTLE OF THE BULGE, hands down. It took the biggest, if not the most important land battle ever fought by the US Army and trivialized it as only Hollywood can.
Most underrated? 13 RUE MADELEINE with James Cagney, about the OSS.
Many others too, like TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH and THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN.
Biggest complaint about most of them? They were made in Hollywood.
DELIVERED FROM EVIL: The Saga of World War II,
-written by Robert Leckie.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR,
-written by John Keegan.
and, finally,
THE END OF FREEDOM: New Deal Liberalism in Recession and War,
-written by Alan Brinkley
I realize that the last recommendation doesn't focus entirely on WWII, but it's such an amazing read that I'd thought I'd mention it anyway.
Ok, here is another one, and this one is down
right spooky.
The Stranger.
Orson wells,
Loretta Young,
and Edward G Robinson.
Loretta young is the wife of college professor Wells.
A stranger Robinson comes to town and begins asking pointed questions, turns out Wells is a former nazi, Young can't believe it at first but things eventually add up to the
truth, the final fight scene in the clock tower is just awesome!
What was the film, think it was "555 Squadron" about the British mosquitos bomibn the Nazi heavy water plant in Norway?
Norway was an outstanding example of resistance to Germany, as was France.
I also have an outstanding book about the Soviet resistence - Soviet Partisan Movement 1941-1944. It’s DA Pam No. 20-244. It’s not a novel, but a military report - but it still makes interesting reading.
Fat Man and Little Boy
and
Hiroshima (directed by leftist Roger Spottiswoode, but technically quite satisfying)
If someday it is released on DVD, grab a copy of Oppenheimer with Sam Waterston, a tv miniseries from 1980.
Yes, I'm a navy fan. Those are excellent movies. I would also add "Action in the North Atlantic", "Away All Boats", and "PT 109".
From a personal standpoint, A Bridge Too Far, ranks at the top of my list. It came out a few months after I graduated from Jump School at Fort Benning. EVERY TIME I watch it, I physically cringe at the sight of Gen. Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) opening his legs just before landing. If I learned anything in Jump School, it was KEEP YOUR FEET AND KNEES TOGETHER!!!!
The Hartenstein Hotel was rebuilt/renovated after WWII, and is now a museum.
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