Dunkirk

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  2 Responses »
May 312018
 
Dunkirk

Rating: ★★½☆☆
The portrayal of the evacuation of more than three hundred thousand British soldiers from Dunkirk, France across the Channel back to England, Dunkirk is a disappointment, despite an excellent start. Essentially forty minutes of story shown three times from different perspectives, the film’s main weakness is that it takes a script suitable for a television episode and transforms it into a movie by simply showing the same scenes over and over. Director Christopher Nolan had a vision of a waking nightmare, a mix of terror and confusion. Since he wrote the screenplay and directed the film, he succeeded in transferring his vision from his mind to the screen. As a work of art, that is an admirable achievement. As a portrayal of a key moment in WWII, it is less successful. Read More…

The Battle of the Bulge

 T-Z, WWII (1939-1945)  No Responses »
May 122016
 
The Battle of the Bulge

Rating: ★½☆☆☆
The film was publicly criticized by former President (and former supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe) Dwight Eisenhower as grossly inaccurate, which is a bad sign. Eisenhower’s anger is understandable. Viewers would think that the Battle of the Bulge was a close call, saved only by a few brave, bright men, especially Henry Fonda’s character Kiley, the hero of the film, who has to figure out the Germans’ entire plan by himself. Read More…

Battleground

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  4 Responses »
Apr 172014
 
Battleground

Rating: ★★★½☆
A young recruit is assigned to a platoon in the 101st Airborne Division the night before the division is rushed to Bastogne to block the German surprise offensive during the Battle of the Bulge. Unlike the patriotic war movies produced en masse by Hollywood during WWII, the film is an honest look at WWII, portraying the soldiers as human beings with faults. Battling fever and frostbite, the men constantly grumble and dream of wounds that would send them home, but they endure and continue to fight. In particular, the script captures the perspective and confusion of the soldiers. Throughout the film, the men have no idea what is going on. Read More…

Attack

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  2 Responses »
Mar 062014
 
Attack

Rating: ★★★½☆
As the Allies drive the Germans back to Germany in late 1944, morale is low in Fragile Fox Company because an entire squad was slaughtered when Captain Cooney, the company commander, was too scared to lead the rest of the company to support them. When the Germans launch a surprise offensive, Cooney leaves Lt. Costa’s men dangerously exposed, and the death of each soldier sends Costa further over the edge. Although set during the Battle of the Bulge, viewers will learn little about the battle. Director Robert Aldrich had a lifelong hatred of traditional authority, and the enemies in the film are the American authority figures who repeatedly fail the men. While Jack Palance’s vengeance-driven Lt. Costa is suitably intimidating, the standouts are Lee Marvin as a manipulative, corrupt battalion commander and Eddie Albert as the cowardly, bullying company commander. Read More…

Run Silent, Run Deep

 O-S, WWII (1939-1945)  5 Responses »
Feb 202014
 
Run Silent, Run Deep

Rating: ★★★☆☆
The story of the captain of an American submarine who disobeys orders to take revenge against the Japanese destroyer that sunk his previous submarine, it is a good movie with a remarkably tight script and very tense action scenes. Written by an ex-submariner, Run Silent, Run Deep’s greatest strength is its amazing technical detail and cramped interiors which were actually filmed on a sub loaned by the Navy. Read More…

Wake Island

 T-Z, WWII (1939-1945)  4 Responses »
Sep 122013
 
Wake Island

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
The initial script for the movie was finished on December 22, 1941, before the garrison had surrendered. The screenwriters knew the basic outline of the situation but all of the participants were either dead or in Japanese captivity when the film started production, so they took a fair amount of artistic license with the story. However, there is less exaggeration than would be expected, and the script is faithful to the overall chronology of the Battle of Wake Island. The key problem is that director John Farrow is simply competent, so it is a bland film. Despite the heroic portrayal of the garrison, the actual survivors called the movie fiction and were not impressed. Read More…

A Walk in the Sun

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  7 Responses »
Aug 292013
 
A Walk in the Sun

Rating: ★★★½☆
During the Allied invasion of Italy in WWII, an American platoon is ordered to land on the coast of Italy and march six miles inland to capture a farmhouse and destroy a nearby bridge. Most of the movie consists of the men complaining and arguing among themselves, punctuated by brief moments of terror that produce more casualties, but it soon becomes clear that the soldiers adjust to the pressure by griping, otherwise they would all crack.
Made near the end of the war, and based on a novel written in 1943, A Walk in the Sun is a dramatic shift away from the whitewashed propaganda films that were churned out by the dozens during the war. The film did not strain the limits set by the Production Code, there is no swearing or gory wounds, just a clear-eyed depiction of life on the front for a platoon. An excellent movie, there is no fake heroism, no personality conflicts, just tired men trying to do a dangerous job they don’t want to do. Read More…

Atonement

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  No Responses »
May 092013
 
Atonement

Rating: ★★½☆☆
At first glance, Atonement appears to be a compromise movie, which is primarily a tragic romance to attract women, but has a battle scene to satisfy their husbands and boyfriends. Unexpectedly, the earlier scenes of the romance between a young couple separated by the social divide in England before WWII are much more interesting and coherent than the scenes set during the Dunkirk Evacuation. Far more comfortable with sexual tension and class issues, director Joe Wright’s emphasis on stunning images rather than actually explaining how the British army was successfully evacuated from France at the beginning of WWII proves that he does not know how to direct a war film. Read More…

Destination Tokyo

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  No Responses »
Apr 252013
 
Destination Tokyo

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Starring Cary Grant in one of his less debonair roles, an American submarine sneaks into Tokyo to gather information in preparation for the Doolittle Raid, where Japan was bombed in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite the implausible plot, Destination Tokyo is worth watching for the brilliant underwater photography, taut action, sharp direction, a terrifying depth charge scene and impressive attention to detail.
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Bataan

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  No Responses »
Mar 282013
 
Bataan

Rating: ★★½☆☆
Set during the American retreat to the Bataan peninsula during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during WWII, a small group of soldiers must stop the Japanese from rebuilding a critical bridge. A workmanlike film, the plot shares much in common with The Lost Patrol (1934) but the cast is made up of an excellent group of character actors and the story moves along quickly. Read More…

MacArthur

 E-N, WWII (1939-1945)  5 Responses »
Feb 282013
 
MacArthur

Rating: ★★½☆☆
Adopting a relatively even-handed approach, the movie covers MacArthur’s career throughout WWII, the American occupation of Japan and the Korean War. While the story does show MacArthur’s self-fixation and growing paranoia, it skips over many of his mistakes because they would have required a much, much, much longer movie. Unfortunately, the limited budget meant that the movie was filmed in the United States, not Asia. Worse, most of the actors are second-rate, and the low budget meant that the battle scenes looked like they were filmed on a studio lot. Although the film looks like an ABC movie of the week in the early 1980s, it is the only full-length presentation of a controversial and extremely influential American general. Read More…

They Were Expendable

 T-Z, WWII (1939-1945)  1 Response »
Feb 072013
 
They Were Expendable

Rating: ★★★½☆
Having seen WWII firsthand, including the Battle of Midway and the Normandy invasion, director John Ford was determined that his first post-war film would show the stark truth of the failed defence of the Philippines in 1942. Although set in the Philippines, much of the movie takes place in shadowy interiors as the Japanese siege of Bataan gradually tightens. The movie may appear unbearably wholesome to modern viewers but it showed post-war audiences the hard choices and sacrifices that had been made early in the war. Based on the real-life exploits of Lieutenant John Bulkeley, commander of a PT squadron in the Philippines, Bulkeley himself was surprised by the authentic feel of the movie. Read More…

Douglas MacArthur

 Historical Background  No Responses »
Dec 172012
 
Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880-April 5, 1964) was a controversial American general. The son of a famous general, MacArthur was driven by a limitless ambition. Displaying suicidal bravery and remarkable leadership ability, he became a brigadier general during WWI. Continuing to rise, MacArthur became chief of staff in 1930, but was publicly criticized following the brutal eviction of the Bonus Marchers, WWI veterans camped out in Washington. Denied a second term as chief of staff, it seemed that his career was over and he retired from the U.S. Army in 1937. When war with Japan seemed inevitable, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recalled MacArthur to active duty in July 1941 and gave him command of the Philippines. Taken by surprise by the speed of the Japanese invasion in late December 1941, MacArthur was evacuated to Australia where he oversaw the island-hopping campaign and eventual recapture of the Philippines. Following the Japanese surrender, MacArthur was appointed American viceroy, and implemented sweeping changes in Japanese society, economy and politics. Taking command of the American response when North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, an amphibious landing at Inchon ensured victory, but he permitted American forces to approach the border with China, which provoked a massive Chinese intervention. After repeatedly defying President Harry Truman, he was relieved of command in 1951. Failing to win the Republican nomination for president, MacArthur suffered the humiliation of seeing his former aide, Dwight Eisenhower, become president. Retreating from public life, MacArthur died on April 5, 1964 due to kidney and liver failure. Read More…

Sam Fuller

 Directors  No Responses »
Apr 212012
 
Sam Fuller

A crime reporter for a New York City tabloid while still a high school student, Sam Fuller became a pulp writer, moved to Hollywood to write screenplays, served in WWII and became a director after the war. Although studio movies like Fixed Bayonets (1951) and House of Bamboo (1955) did well, Fuller became an independent. His emphasis on shock value and harsh realism attracted attention, but not large audiences, therefore his career had declined by the 1960s, but he did manage to make his dream project, The Big Red One (1980), based on his own experiences during WWII. Read More…

A Bridge Too Far

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  3 Responses »
Feb 212012
 
A Bridge Too Far

Rating: ★★★★☆

British, American and Polish paratroopers take part in a complex and risky operation to seize a series of bridges in Holland in September 1944 to enable British tanks to push through German lines and bring an early end to WWII. Read More…

Battle of Britain

 A-D, WWII (1939-1945)  No Responses »
Dec 092010
 
Battle of Britain

Rating: ★★★★☆
Battle of Britain (1969) is a grimly realistic and astonishingly accurate presentation of the outnumbered RAF’s desperate struggle to protect Britain against the powerful Luftwaffe during WWII. Read More…