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Reviews
Taras Bulba (1962)
Sad and beautiful
I love this movie. The theme song called the Wishing Star by Waxman caps it all off. I think it one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. The mass cavalry charges set in Argentina will never be repeated again. Similar scene are shown in the Soviet films War and Peace and Waterloo, both made around 1968. Christine Kaufmann is very beautiful and her later husband, Tony Curtis also as beautiful. Yul Brynner of course plays these sorts of parts with Aplomb. The only other actor I could think of is Kirk Douglas. Then again, they were always similar in these epic roles, weren't they. They just don't make movies like this any more.
Force of Arms (1951)
A realistic war movie
As a combat veteran, I can tell you that this movie is one hundred percent authentic. The action is certainly more realistic than modern day movies like Saving Private Ryan, which was full of gimmicks. In Force of Arms, nothing much is happening most of the time, then all hell breaks loose and your pals mostly die. You do not see the enemy most of the time and when you do, they appear for a split second as a target. It seems that the closer a film is to the actual events, the more realistic it is. This film was made only 7 years after the event. Saving Private Ryan was made some 60 years after WW2, which is too big a gap. The acting by Nancy Olsen and William Holden is superb. The film also depicts Clark's triumphal entry into Rome. Clark was probably the best general of WW2. He brilliantly bypassed the places where the Germans were anticipating an attack and bravely went straight through to save Rome. He was given the title of American Caesar.
Band of Brothers (2001)
Very good and realistic
This is shows D-Day the way that saving Private Ryan should have. I didn't like Saving Private Ryan one bit, but love "Band of Brothers". There is good army type humor there, and anyone who has had military training will appreciate that the situations ring true. There is a certain amount of escapism with the idealized settings in Britain, France and New York, etc. However, this is not overdone. The war scenes also are very realistic, The tension amongst the members of the 101st are there, but they also come together as true friends. The historical events are closely followed, and the story is truthfully told. All in all, very enjoyable.
Siege at Red River (1954)
Dramatic film. Original theme.
I think this film is highly underrated. I cannot believe it has only been given a rating 4.9. There are many inferior films with much higher rating, which are not half as good as this film, and not as well acted. The film covers all sorts of new themes for a 1954 movie. There is espionage, love, civil war, patriotism, gallantry, Indian wars, state of the art weaponry and of course great acting. The film flows nicely and there is always a feeling of mystery and suspense. Van Johnson is a great actor in any movie, and Richard Boone is the archetypal bad guy. The film ends up with a theme of reconciliation and chivalry. It is a theme which does not appear in modern day movies, where bad and treachery always seems to triumph.
Charlotte Gray (2001)
Based on the true story of "the White Mouse"
The story of Charlotte Gray is based upon the real life exploits of New Zealand heroine Nancy Wake, the most decorated Allied woman of WW2. Compared with Nancy's exploits, it is said that "Charlotte Gray" is an Enid Blyton story.
The Nazis called Nancy "the White Mouse" and she was number 1 on the Gestapo's wanted list in France. Nancy was also later became the leader of 7000 French Resistance fighters who took on 22,000 German troops. She led a small group who stormed the Gestapo headquarters and she personally killed the German sentries with karate chops. She also rode a bicycle 700 km to deliver an urgent dispatch.
The acting of Cate Blachett in this movie is excellent as usual. The period setting is also very good. It is a pity that American audiences did not like this film. It is time for some of them to grow up and recognize that the whole world doesn't revolve around American people.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
My 12 year old daughter raved about this film
I just saw this movie for the first time. My daughter watched it first when she was 12 when it first came out. She went on and on about it saying how great it was then in about 1995. She also loved "Trading Places". I guess the moral of both of these stories is that the good guys win in the end. I now know what she was talking about. It is a great movie, and I can see why it appeals to women.
The movie is set in a prison, with the time old tradition of a close friendship over many years of an innocent young man as the hero and an "old lag" who knows all the ropes, in this case Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. This is the same formula earlier used in the films "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "An Innocent Man", both films which are highly recommended, if you liked this one.
The film, although made in 1994, goes back to a time when good wins out over evil. unfortunately the fashion for a long time in the nineties movies was for bad to win out, as in "the Terminator" and other movies. The bad guys are as usual the prison boss, The Warder and his Second in Command, the Uniformed Chief Officer. There is a highly unusual twist at the end of the movie, in which the good guys win out. This is a highly improbable situation, but fantasy is allowable in movies. One character of note is that of an old man, played by James Whitmore, who rescues a tiny bird, and nurtures it for years. Thank goodness it doesn't get killed by some other evil person, as usually happens. The old man has to cope with pressures in the outside after he is released.
The overarching theme of the movie is one of hope. No matter how bad things get, there is always hope that thing will get better. It also shows that it is possible to have a friendship between black and white people, as the older man, the main character's friend, is a black man. The thing that this movie gave me, is that I can see how wise my daughter already was at 12 years of age, and more importantly, it gives hope and a good philosophy for the rest of my life. I'm sure that it will do the same for those of you who see this movie too.
I am unsure as to whether it deserves to be rated the best movie of all time. However movies with hope and goodness as their main themes are generally up there, take "Gone With the Wind", "Schindler's List" and "Lord of the Rings" as examples of this.
Rosewood (1997)
A salute to the Medal of Honor
There were two themes in this film. The first was the suppression of African-Americans by the Ku Klux Klan and by English-Americans. the second was that the sheer glory of the Medal of Honor shone through.
The setting was like a tinderbox with Americans mainly from England had hatred for those from Africa. The racist violence and widespread burning if the African part of the town is triggered by the rape and beating of a white woman by an African, who she describes in the most vile racist terms. Most of the English population goes on the rampage, murdering, burning and raping the Africans and their property. One of the Africans, Mann, had made a lot of money, and has earned the world's highest bravery award, the Medal of Honor while fighting for his country in WW1.
The main heroes in the story are two Train Conductors, both English, who save many Africans from certain death, plus Mann himself. Our hero, Mann, re-wins the Medal of Honor several times over by cutting himself down from a hanging, rescuing the villagers, taking on the entire English population who were bent on wiping out all Africans. At the end another reluctant helper, the General Store owner played by Jon Voight salutes Mann, but the viewers know that he is really saluting the Medal of Honor.
The film is an indictment of the brutal President of the United States, Warren G Harding, who encouraged these activities. Fortunately we do not have these sort of leaders any more.
Eye of the Needle (1981)
Kate Nelligan steals the show with her beauty
This is a great WW2 movie with a sub-plot of love between an isolated woman and an enemy spy, played by Donald Sutherland. The real star of the show is the extremely beautiful Kate Nelligan who falls in love with German spy "Die Nadel" or "The Needle". he kills everything that gets in his way. In the earlier part of the film, he discovers that the equipment set up for the invasion of Calais, tanks, landing craft, jeeps etc is all fake, and must convey this to Amiral Canaris in the Abwehr.
The most interesting part of the movie is that although he is totally ruthless, he will not kill Lucy, played by Kate. This is most odd since she is hell bent on killing him with shotguns, axes, revolvers, in fact anything she can get her hands on. Here is a man with the greatest secret of the war, a German patriot, who lets a small woman stop him. He could have killed her and helped the Germans defeat the Yanks in D-Day about 10 times over.
Although the story is completely unbelievable, it is excellently written. The acting displays of the main cast of Casenove, Sutherland and Nelligan is very good, with Nelligan giving a convincing performance. 10/10
Gallipoli (1981)
A very good war movie
I just saw this great movie. This film was most probably used as a model for Oliver Stones epic "Platoon".
The film is more shocking than other war movies, as it shows an allied nation in total defeat which Australia experienced at the hand of Turkey. The Americans and British have never experienced defeat, so people from these countries would be hard pressed to create such a film.
The film's central theme is the total disdain that the English have for Australian troops. The Australians are to sacrifice all their men so that the English can land without incident at Suvla Bay. In fact, they have already landed, and are enjoying themselves drinking tea.
The English don't care if all Australians are killed. The ensuing victory will be hosted by the English anyway. Other the other side is the relationship with "Johnny Turk" who is portrayed in a much better light that the allied Generals. The Turks are considered a noble enemy, with similar ideals of mateship to the Aussies.
When compared with other war movies, this movie comes out tops. "Saving Private Ryan" shows initial casualties when the beachheads are stormed. In that film, total victory is assured. In "Platoon", the American soldiers are at all times in control, as this is an American operation. In "Gallipoli" the film shows the killing depicted in these other war movies, not once, but again and again. The main moral of the story is, if you have to go into battle, make sure your countrymen are in charge, and only follow the English, if you are English yourself.
American History X (1998)
A good study of racism
OK. I got this movie out from the library, and was watching it and feel asleep just after the black guys got killed and the film changed to color. It just looked like another one of those crazy American youth type films. I saw the comments on this site, however, and thought I'd better have another look as I still had it out.
On watching it a second (first?) time, I overlooked the lecturing (American style) and bad language, and got through to the end. I also found out why the color was being switched on and off. The here and now was in color and the past events in black and white.
The film actually got better as it went on. It has an important message of forgiving your enemies and that race hatred doesn't pay. It is also best to get along with everyone if possible, and not try to annoy others.
The film also acts as a sort of documentary of American city life, and the problems that young people have. I guess that racism is alive and well in most places.
Unfortunately things don't turn out as expected, but they never do in real life anyway. I think it is a good film for people to watch, but it may have limited appeal for women due to the extreme violence, continual shouting, and bad language. I can see now why it is so highly rated, and it is a very good film. 9/10
The Patriot (2000)
This story had to be told
This is the film we were all waiting for. It tells the history in a clear and concise way of possibly the most important war of all time..
Mel Gibson plays a humble farmer who becomes a patriot for his people in fighting against a brutal oppressor, in this case, the British Army. The film depicts the horrors of war, including the burning of a church by the British, with the poor women and children brutally burnt within it.
The movie contrasted the hierarchical and snobby ways of the British, with the down to earth manner of the American and French patriots. All were welcome to fight for the cause, whatever class, creed or race you were, all were equal under the flag of the patriots, the flag of the United States of America, which is the film's true hero.
The climatic end where good overcomes evil in the Battle of Yorktown is one of the greatest battle sequences in movie history.
The reaction of the movie on audiences in Switzerland was of note. People, mostly women and children, were crying, mostly in the scenes where the families were being oppressed by the enemy, and naturally in the scenes where house, farms and village buildings were torched. At the end of the film I watched in Zurich, the many people at the theater jumped up, clapped, and let out an almighty cheer. Others were still stunned at what they had witnessed and were still crying.
What a film for the master director! Bravo, Mel Gibson. You are the best!
War and Peace (1956)
Realistic portrayal of the horrors of war
What a wonderful film this is. Its greatest achievement is the depiction of the Russians as human beings. Too often they are portrayed by the western people as ignorant and stupid slobs. The best character is Kutusov, the brave Russian soldier who saves his country.
The film shows the effects of invasion of a people and how families are destroyed by these epic events, which films like Saving Private Ryan do not. The film is narrated by the character Pierre, who sees all the horrors of war, including drumhead executions. Audrey Hepburn is memorable as Natstha, and her sense of timing is perfect. Modern day actresses, such as Paris Hilton or Angelina Jolie would find difficulty playing this part, as they would appear too precious. These main characters are all humble and decent folk, who just want to survive.
I can thoroughly recommend this film to younger people, who have been bought up to think badly of the Russian people, and well of people from the European Union. This movie may make them reflect.
Task Force (1949)
Realistic stuff, and a tribute to heroes
This film depicts the reality of war, better than the turn of the century films, like Pearl Harbor and Saving Private Ryan. The kamikaze attacks what looked like the USS Franklin are very realistic, as were the attacks on JNS Akagi. It also shows realistic views of the USS Missouri in action in the storming of Okinawa. The film just shows Americans in their best light, fighting against the odds, and their own superiors at the same time. Not like Operation Overlord and the Ardennes Offensive, battles more often depicted, which by comparison were cakewalks where the outcome was never in doubt. In this movie, the Japanese are also seen as being a creditable and respected adversaries.
Gary Cooper is much more convincing as a WW2 leader than say, Ben Affleck. The leaders at the time were modest men, just doing a job. There was also a lot of technical planning involved in WW2, not just gungho American soldiers and sailors in continuous and unrealistic action. It is also far more dangerous at sea than on land, as you can't go anywhere. The danger element and the general communication between the CVs was bought out well in this movie.
This film is a historical recounting of the greatest naval episode of all time.
Volcano (1997)
A timely warning
Watching this in the aftermath of Karina makes this film a very timely warning. I have been in a volcano eruption, and the scenes are very realistic, specially the ash falling on the cars. You have to wash your car all the time. It also shows you how quickly FEMA can react, if they want to. They were able to react in 20 minutes to build a major dam for the lava flow.
Many people would think this could not happen, but then again these people same people did not imagine the effects of Katrina. Los Angeles is built on a very dangerous geological area. However, the authorities in California seem more equipped. Note how they were moving pictures out of the museum, and saving animals. They seemed incapable of this, when freeing Bagdhad. The animals were also given low priority in Katrina.
Tommy Lee Jones is very convincing as a disaster manager, as are his team. When there is a disaster in California, the pieces all move quickly into place, like a symphony orchestra. The expertise for this film would have come from the State of California rescue services, the magnificent LAPD and LAFD, and possibly even from FEMA itself. If I were living in Los Angeles, I would be very confident of the authorities there, in the event of a disaster.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Not memorable and quite boring
This film moves very slowly and is not historically very accurate. The battles scenes are really done on the cheap. It relies on a certain amount of creativity to cover this up, like the flash from the French ship coming out of the mist.
I could see much action. A tsunami might have helped. Also Russell Crowe seems to have a Kiwi accent, not the cut glass one expected of a Royal Navy Commander. As usual, the French are depicted as posh idiots or as cowards.
The film tries to copy the Horatio Hornblower books, but in slow motion. If you want to see good battle scenes from the Napoleonic era, watch "Waterloo". If you want to see a film depicting a good cat and mouse game, with warships, watch "Battle of the River Plate".
Waterloo (1970)
Saved by the Red Army
This is a great movie. The battle scenes are unsurpassed, especially the cavalry scenes. These scenes reminded me of "War and Peace" by Sergei Bondarchuk. Other memorable scenes are the forming of squares by the British behind the mound, the looks on the faces of the old guard at the end, the sight of the Prussians coming out of the forest, the endless line of redcoats, as observed by Napoleon through his scope, and the sight of the Scots Greys going into action on those pure white horses.
A great cast of actors like Jack Hawkins, Virginia McKenna of Born Free fame, and Ian Ogilvy. Many characters are memorable, Napoleon, Wellington, Picton, Ney, and of course Ponsonby leading the Greys.
The film was not a box office success, probably as it was not portraying an American victory. It also shows that the Soviets are able to produce a cast of thousands, when required.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Not realistic
It is very clear to me that Mr. Spielburg has never fought in a war situation. The film did not depict D Day as it was at that time. It is clearly relating to the turn of the century, and would be seen as such.
Many will think that its success is because it is purely a US affair. I thought there were about 16 countries involved, including the defense team. The battle scenes are over dramatized, and no one seems to keep their heads down to avoid being shot, especially the Germans. Also, as usual, the Germans are depicted as being cowardly, stupid and "not obeying the rules".
The whole film is an exercise in American patriotism, as told in American schools. If you must see an American war movie that is realistic, watch Task Force, which is a much more accurate depiction of war. Also, it depicts the Americans getting the worst deal on D Day. Not true. The Germans did.
This film is sometimes chosen as the greatest ever. Not by me. I would dearly love to know if these voting systems are stacked.
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)
Holds up well with time
It is now 55 years since this film was made. It presents a realistic view of the main characters and even portrays Hitler in a human light, joking about Goerings weight and being prepared to exchange small talk with soldiers, such as Von Stauffenberg, who was about to attempt to kill him. It is often a fault of later war movies that they demonise the Germans, and glorify the British.
The film starts with the famous Keyes (postumous VC) raid, which is often presented as a "boy's own" adventure by the army, but was really a foul-up, as they attacked the wrong building! The film is also in black and white, which makes it easy to interchange actual war footage with the action, especially the battles of El Alamein and Overlord. The film has the feel of a documentary, with the main characters reminiscing. James Mason definitely looks the part in the role playing Rommel.
The whole film shows the respect that both sides of the conflict had for Rommel. It is interesting that Churchill has so much respect for him. Probably excusing the fact that Rommel was beating him in the earlier stages of the war.
For historical buffs, I can definitely recommend this film.
Operation: Daybreak (1975)
Simply the best War Movie
This is a fantastic movie. It has history, spies, action, SS, the lot. The film is a factual account of Heydrich's assassination, and the aftermath. Heydrich was named as the architect of the Final Solution, which ended in the Shoah. He was also subjugating the people of Czechoslovakia. His part is played by Anton Differing, the archetypal high up Nazi, who also appeared in the film "Where Eagles Dare".
British agents were trained, and eventually killed Heydrich by a bomb in the middle of Prague. Many years later, documents were released to indicate that the SOE (now the MI6) doctored the bomb with botulism, a biological warfare agent! If this is true, it makes the plot even more exciting.
The response of the Nazis is quite unusual, possibly unprecedented.
If you are in to War Movies, there is none better.