52 replies to this topic

[colt21a]

well i really enjoy'd....................


and that one was good,and the one with the naked lady and the 21ac................

and the one that ended with the 1921ac in his mouth............{don't pull the trigger don!!!}



but this one was the best.......................ron

[21 smoker]

Hey,.. how about `The Big Red One`... there`s an oldie but goodie, Lee Marvin as the wily old sarge... and a band of recruits who listen and learn how to survive...not bad for hollywood,out.

[Walter63a]

Arthur, you reminded me of one I've wanted to see again, for years: Where Eagles Dare. I haven't seen it in quite a while. If I remember correctly, it has a very complicated plot involving impersonation of German officers, espionage, etc. Also, I think it had a very lush, detailed, very well done feel to it, if I'm thinking of the right movie. I didn't recognize any of the others that you mentioned, but that doesn't mean I haven't seen them, or that they are not good. Could you detail some of them? Regards, Walter

[Walter63a]

Treborsnikwad, that was a very chilling depiction of Heydrich, in Conspiracy. If any of you haven't seen it, I would recommend it. It is a reenactment of the Wansee Conference, at which the 'Final Solution' was discussed and the fates of many Jews were decided....scarry (sickening) stuff. [The men at this meeting were almost all Doctors, Lawyers, and military officers!] All the more so, since it is taken, line for line, from the one surviving copy of the transcript of the meeting. They (the transcripts) were all supposed to be destroyed, and Hitler didn't want to know of the details of the meeting, 'officially'. Regards, Walter

[Hawkeye_Joe]

Ok every movie mentioned so far...especially the list by MG08MAXIM...

Here's a few that were left out that I thought were good :

"Hell is for Heroes" / Steve McQueen with that M3

"None But the Brave" / Steve McQueen with the stockless 28A1

"Darby's Rangers" / James Garner

"Merrills' Marauders" / Jeff Chandler

"Tora Tora Tora" / The more I watch this the more I dislike "Pearl Harbour"

Has to laugh at the "Battle of the Bulge" being listed.. damn thing started ok in the snowy woods then it freakin' ended in the desert.. *LOL*

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

Walter,
That Nazi bastard Albert Speer was at the Wansee Conference , but in traditional Speer style, said he left before Heydrich discussed the extermination plan. He conned the Nuremburg authorities to 20 years in Spandau instead of a date with the rope.

As for the WWII films, I think the ones that depict the clandestine activities are some of the best.

"Five Fingers" (1952) is the factual story of Turk Alysa Bazera (James Mason) who used his position as valet to the British embassador to photograph secret documents for German embassador Von Pappen. He handed the Krauts the Normandy Invasion plan "Overlord", but the Krauts thought it wasn't legitimate.......Bazera was paid 100,00 pounds by the Germans, which he later discovered were counterfeit.

"The Train" (1965) with Burt Lancaster is about saving French works of art from Nazi looting during the summer of 1944 and whether it is worth the lives of resistance fighters.

"Crash Dive" (1943) about submariners Tyrone Power and Dana Andrews vying for Anne Baxter's affections and blowing up a Nazi oil depot along the war. Just watching Power persue Baxter is a lesson on how to pick up girls 40's style.

"Ice Cold In Alex" (1958) British Army Captain John Mills and South African Anthony Quayle as the German spy with Sylvia Simms trying to make it through enemy lines in an ambulance after Tobruk fell. The scene where they have to get the truck over a steep sand dune is one of the best filmed and truly inspiriing. (

[Walter63a]

Thanks Arthur and all of you guys! Keep 'em comin'!! Good stuff, especially the reviews. Regards, Walter

P.S. I, too, have heard the only reason old Albert Speer didn't meet up with the rope was that he, was a 'gentleman' (read patrician)! Gentlemen don't use slave labor to make war armaments! Disgusting reason!!

[wolfer113]

Band of Brothers
Saving Pri. Ryan
Wind Talkers
and about all the others everyone has listed already

[rjb1]

My favorite WWII movie is "Battleground". About the 101st Airborne at the Battle of the Bulge...Nominated for Best Picture of 1949... All equipment is dead-on perfect and they use a lot of GI slang... Since the WWII vets were a large part of the audience they had to do it right (and they did). (Correct down to the details of the helmet markings...)

Sgt. Kinney (the squad leader) has a 1928 Thompson, so there is some good Tommy-gun action in it.

It's the best, in my opinion.

*******

If you've seen it, or are familiar with the "Nuts!" episode in real life, this may be of some significance:

The German emissaries asking for the US surrender were escorted by Col. Harper of the 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment. By chance I happened to be at the 101st Airborne Museum when Col. Harper's WWII personal effects came in to the museum.

It was very remarkable to look through that material - especially his map of the Bastogne perimeter.

[SgtMartin]

arthur,
i saw an interesting documentary on the history channel - hitlers henchmen...i think, all about speer. quite interesting, not sure wether or not i beleive the whole story of him leaving before the 'final solution' discussion. who knows...is it proven?

rjb1, the nuts comment is a classic quote from history, i laughed everytime i read it in ambroses - citizen soldiers, burgetts - currahee and also on band of brothers

[Walter63a]

Sgt. Martin, Patton, in the movie Patton , says, of the officer who made that "Nuts" remark, "A man that eloquent (Gen. McCullough or MacCauliff, I think) has to be saved!" Regards, Walter

P.S. I'm not sure if that is an acurate quote in the movie, using his (Gen. Patton's) memoirs, diaries, Gen. Omar Bradley's memoirs, etc. Maybe? I do know that Bradley's memoirs were used as a source for that movie.

[SgtMartin]

i think it was general mcaulif(sp) of the 101st during the bloody battle for bastogne. dont hold me to that though. 'nuts' was the reply given in response to the german commanders demands, that the surrounded airborne g.i's surrender. if i remember correctly.

[Walter63a]

That is correct, Sgt. Martin. I'm not sure of the spelling either. It may be McCullough, or MacCauliff? Regards, Walter

[Walter63a]

Thanks, Hardrede!

[hawksnest]

Gunner (and anyone else who is interested) The Bridge (Die Brucke) is available on DVD from Belle and Blade for about $20.00. Belle and Blade has about any obscure or popular WWII movie you have ever heard of. Lots of newsreal stuff. Look on their website.

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

Actually it's McAuliffe, General Anthony Clement (acting commander 101st)

[Hurridale]

OK, I've stayed quiet long enough. Most of the above are great flicks. My favorite is "Battle of Britain". "Tora Tora Tora" is also outstanding.

"Kelly's Heroes" is a great one. I really appreciate the honest comparison of armor, and the attempt at making a Tiger really look like a Tiger (not just an M47). To me, it somehow conveys the sensibilities of guys caught up in something bigger than themselves, without hokey patriotism or simplistic anti-war messages.

All the comments I've read about "Saving Private Ryan" ring true for me. Really good, though flawed. My dad was a WWII vet. He'd never talk about it, which would frustrate me as a teenager in the late '60s (wanting to hear how cool it all was!). I saw SPR, and afterward, didn't want to talk about the movie. It was like a light bulb clicked on in my head. This was only a MOVIE, a fabrication, and I didn't want to talk about it afterward. I got just a glimpse of what Dad must have felt. I'll never be able to say I'll be able understand my dad's feelings, but SPR did allow a greater respect for his hesitantcy.

At the bottom of the list is "Battle of the Bulge" -- pure crap because it was so technically unauthentic! Just above it at the bottom of the heap is "Windtalkers". For me, the ONLY thing that saved that movie was the Thompsons! It was so predictable that it was downright boring (c'mon, who couldn't guess the demise of the flame-thrower guy, or that the other interpreter team wasn't going to get whacked?). After the second battle scene, I recognized there would be a total of four battle scenes: first, Nicholas Cage gets his ass kicked. Then the Navajo does poorly in his baptism of fire. Then there's a traumatic loss scene, and it ends with the blaze of glory scene.

After the third battle scene, I decided to count how many Japs Cage kills. In the last battle, I counted 27 (as I remember). With guys like that, WHY did it take us 4 years to beat the Japs??? Hollywood wants us to think that they were as easy to kill as crumpling origami swans. That kind of exaggeration does an incredible disservice to those guys who gave so much to fight a determined enemy. That POS movie totally failed so many opportunities. It's just a damn good thing that they had Tommies instead of Reisings, or I'd never have wasted my money.

It seems WWII movies fall into four categories: WWII-dated propaganda (which still made some great and hard-hitting examples), anti-war flicks, money-seeking "action" flicks, and true appreciation-of-sacrifice pieces. The last category seems to be the rarest, and it is the one I enjoy most.

I'll close with best wishes for those who wish to disagree with my opinion. Afterall, failing to respect a different opinion does a disservice to why the war was fought in the first place.

Regards,
DC

[85th Engineer]

Anybody heard anything about the new movie Saints and Soldiers? I've heard it is winning a lot of awards in Europe (which probably means it's no good). I think it's about the Americans who escaped from the massacre at Malmady. Any idea of a release date in the states?

[mp40]

Hurridale, that's cool that you mentioned the "tigers" in Kellys Heros, they are T34's in disguise! Infact, they used one of the Kellys Heros Tigers, in "Saving Private Ryan". My favorite WW2 movies are 1. Band of Brothers ( they used a real jadgpanther in it supposedly) 2. Saving Private Ryan 3. Das Boot 4. Castle Keep 5. Stallag 17 6. 1941 and so many more that I can't write them all down!

[must]

One of my favorite WW2 movies I didn't see mention is "Ojective Burma". Alot of cool Thompson action to boot!