ShieldWife
Marchioness
This is a documentary, not a standard movie, but I thought it was excellent. Directed by Peter Jackson, it really shows the horrors and tragedy of war.
War Film recommendations
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@ShieldWife it's lovely that you saw it. I saw it in an IMAX special release on one of the two days it was shown, and it was quite incredible. I had seen many of the pictures in black and white before and the shocking details that the restoration revealed were emotionally wrenching. It was a very amazing experience and one which brought to bitter and horrible life the words I've read on many occasions before from books like The First Day on the Somme.
So has anyone seen Midway yet? I didn't realize it was being directed b Roland Emmerich until the other day. The reviews seem kinda lukewarm... with some folks saying it has echoes of 2001's Pearl Harbor. *shudders*
Hopefully not that bad, but if it is even average I can at least watch it for the military porn... I hope. Right? Right?!
Hopefully not that bad, but if it is even average I can at least watch it for the military porn... I hope. Right? Right?!
PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
From a user on another forum
Whelp I guess it's a maybe if only for the battles on a big screen.
Damn you Roland Emmerich!!!
I guess I'll just read Shattered Sword again in the meantime.
Damn you Roland Emmerich!!!
I guess I'll just read Shattered Sword again in the meantime.
Tyzuris
Primarch to your glory& the glory of him on Earth!
Tuntematon Sotilas (The Unknown Soldier) movie which are based on a novel written by Väinö Linna. There's actually a few movies with each era doing their own version.
Väinö Linna served in WW2 in a Finnish infantry regiment and more specifically its machine gun company. The Unknown Soldier tells a war story based on Väinö Linna's own experiences as a machine gunner in the Continuation War except the book uses fictional characters.
If you're ever in Finland staying with Finns in sixth of December, our independence day, chances are you're going to watch this film with the rest of the Finns in the house.
Väinö Linna served in WW2 in a Finnish infantry regiment and more specifically its machine gun company. The Unknown Soldier tells a war story based on Väinö Linna's own experiences as a machine gunner in the Continuation War except the book uses fictional characters.
If you're ever in Finland staying with Finns in sixth of December, our independence day, chances are you're going to watch this film with the rest of the Finns in the house.
Vargas Fan
Head over heels in love :)
I watched The Red Baron. To be honest, after trash like Flyboys etc I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It'll never win awards for being the best but was decent.
D
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Shattered Sword is legitimately more entertaining than many movies.
I took my dad to see it at Christmas. The mini-documentary on how they made it is even better. Apparently, Peter Jackson has an 18-pounder in his basement (they used it for sound effects), and nothing is as funny as watching and listening to the British diplomatic staff in New Zealand belting out Mademoiselle from Amantieres. The devotion to getting it right is palpable, and doubly so since this is a memorial to the men who fought and, all too often, didn't come back.
But it can be a hard watch, and there are some things you will only understand if you have led people into mortal peril.
They work because they get the feels right. If your blood doesn't stir when Jeff Daniels shouts "BAYONETS!," you're not human. The fighting on Little Round Top is simplified but excellently done, and a superb demonstration of how a bayonet charge actually happens. Tom Berenger is equally good as Longstreet, and Stephen Lang is a much better Pickett than Jackson. He really does a great job of conveying how Pickett's Charge broke him.
Glory is a more conventional story of proving oneself, but it gives you the feel of why men would choose to assume the post of danger, knowing the odds of coming home alive and whole are slim.
Downfall sort of qualifies. While it's now primarily known for the "Hitler learns about" memes, it's a superb look at the last days in the bunker. Bruno Ganz is amazing.
Its a fine film. Good popcorn flick, decent acting. Covers a lot of events fairly well.
On war films I'd also recommend the last Samurai. Solid flick, one of my wife's favorites actually. Not too historically accurate but it's a lot of fun and well acted and captures the spirit of the restoration fairly well.
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PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
About 90's Balkan wars, the best movie is the black comedy Lepa Sela Lepo Gore (Pretty villages burn prettily) but to fully enjoy it you really have to know Yugoslav pop culture of the 80's. It has non linear storytelling, mixing both pre war friendship of two men who are now on the opposing sides, story of the group of soldiers trapped in the tunnel and the aftermath.
Ničija Zemlja (No Man's Land) is much more ''accessible'' movie, a bit less darker black comedy, but still shows well the absurdity of situation there. It has two soldiers from opposing sides trapped in the abandoned trench between the lines, with third guy being boobytrapped with PROM-1 mine. And UN gets involved.
Since I know the language it was much easier for me to watch the movies though, as much gets lost in translation, especially the opulence of serbo-croat language swearing.
Ničija Zemlja (No Man's Land) is much more ''accessible'' movie, a bit less darker black comedy, but still shows well the absurdity of situation there. It has two soldiers from opposing sides trapped in the abandoned trench between the lines, with third guy being boobytrapped with PROM-1 mine. And UN gets involved.
Since I know the language it was much easier for me to watch the movies though, as much gets lost in translation, especially the opulence of serbo-croat language swearing.
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Just came back from Midway. It was pretty entertaining. Far superior than Pearl Harbor, which was a concern of mine. The scenes focusing on the Japanese were a bit....awkward, but if you don't know the history of Midway it provides key details for the battle, like how the Akagi was switching their planes ordinance and became a powderkeg.
Even little tidbits like having director John Ford there filming the movie "The Battle of Midway" was genius.
It also gave some information about the importance of codebreaking.
Even little tidbits like having director John Ford there filming the movie "The Battle of Midway" was genius.
It also gave some information about the importance of codebreaking.
PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
That doesn't say much.
I did finally see Midway. It was resoundingly meh.
I mean the special effects were the only real high point but... it all looked like it was well done in front of a green screen to me. Like... they made it look really nice and gritty and burny and blazing but it still felt kinda fake like it looked like it belonged on a sound stage not on location or something. Kinda like a Transformer movie... you just get that feeling that it's fake and you don't get immersed into it. So it looked nice but I never lost myself in the epic battle scenes which is what I was at the very least hopeful of doing.
Everything else was pretty blah or fail. Acting. Plot. Pacing. All a big meh at best. It was all very truncated and disjointed and it felt more like a highlight reel then a war film... even during the Battle of Midway itself. Despite all of the time spent on character development there was literally no development or setup of key scenes. "We need a plan for the Marshall Islands Raid." Next scene... Marshall Islands Raid.
"Yorktown is back. Japanese are bombing Midway. Midway is bombing the fleet and almost kamikazes an IJN carrier. Japanese found our fleet! Torpedo squadron is attacking. Cut to the Nautilus. Another torpedo squad is attacking. Oh we found the destroyer and the fleet. Three for three. Oh the Yorktown is already hit. Launch another attack."
It's showing more then the previous film on Midway but felt way more disjointed and dislocated and uhhh discombobulated. They're just throwing scenes at a film and glueing it all together. I felt like this was a well developed, poorly directed documentary, like a re-enacted World War II in Color but no, they were actually trying to make a film. It's jarring.
Very average at best.
If your interested in War Movies, I'd recommend a rental I suppose.
I mean the special effects were the only real high point but... it all looked like it was well done in front of a green screen to me. Like... they made it look really nice and gritty and burny and blazing but it still felt kinda fake like it looked like it belonged on a sound stage not on location or something. Kinda like a Transformer movie... you just get that feeling that it's fake and you don't get immersed into it. So it looked nice but I never lost myself in the epic battle scenes which is what I was at the very least hopeful of doing.
Everything else was pretty blah or fail. Acting. Plot. Pacing. All a big meh at best. It was all very truncated and disjointed and it felt more like a highlight reel then a war film... even during the Battle of Midway itself. Despite all of the time spent on character development there was literally no development or setup of key scenes. "We need a plan for the Marshall Islands Raid." Next scene... Marshall Islands Raid.
"Yorktown is back. Japanese are bombing Midway. Midway is bombing the fleet and almost kamikazes an IJN carrier. Japanese found our fleet! Torpedo squadron is attacking. Cut to the Nautilus. Another torpedo squad is attacking. Oh we found the destroyer and the fleet. Three for three. Oh the Yorktown is already hit. Launch another attack."
It's showing more then the previous film on Midway but felt way more disjointed and dislocated and uhhh discombobulated. They're just throwing scenes at a film and glueing it all together. I felt like this was a well developed, poorly directed documentary, like a re-enacted World War II in Color but no, they were actually trying to make a film. It's jarring.
Very average at best.
If your interested in War Movies, I'd recommend a rental I suppose.
I liked Longest Day a lot when I was growing up but I did wish there were more pure battle scenes, like what they had going on with the long cut of the French Commandos storming the German held French village and the nuns showing up in the middle of the battle, or when Red Buttons character was dropped over another French village as paratroopers dropped into the middle of the German held town while it was wide awake during the fire. Oh and the British glider assault on the bridges. The rangers storming the cliffs to get to the gun emplacements. Scenes like those... loved them all. But in such a long movie, they felt so few and far between.
Maybe I'm just a war movie action junkie.
Maybe I'm just a war movie action junkie.
D
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@Husky_Khan no, The Longest Day, while an excellent film, did have some of the issue of its massive "ensemble cast".
Tryglaw
Well-known member
I would say:
Shtrafbat (The Penal Batallion) - very, very good Russian miniseries (11 episodes) about the titular unit.
In same venue, 9 rota (9th Company) - I liked that one very much, about Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
Admiral - story of Admiral Kolchak and the Russian Civil War / Bolshevik Revolution, shown in it's un-glory..
Brestskaya krepost - siege of Brest Fortress, WW2.
Miasto 44 - about Warsaw uprising.
Wołyń - on the subject of genocide of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in 1944 in the Wołyń province.
A bit more exotic, I loved the Red Cliff and it's sequel.
Shtrafbat (The Penal Batallion) - very, very good Russian miniseries (11 episodes) about the titular unit.
In same venue, 9 rota (9th Company) - I liked that one very much, about Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
Admiral - story of Admiral Kolchak and the Russian Civil War / Bolshevik Revolution, shown in it's un-glory..
Brestskaya krepost - siege of Brest Fortress, WW2.
Miasto 44 - about Warsaw uprising.
Wołyń - on the subject of genocide of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in 1944 in the Wołyń province.
A bit more exotic, I loved the Red Cliff and it's sequel.