Days of Glory (1944) Review

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(More customer reviews)Here's a film that no decent Gregory Peck fan should be without. Perhaps this is why the video is OUT OF STOCK?? Or perhaps the subject matter - The Great Patriotic War - is unpopular in these days of glory in occupied Iraq? The things that strike me about this film, apart from Peck's rawboned, wide-eyed performance (yes, his VERY FIRST) are the deep B&W photography and the treatment of children in the movie.... it's as though much of the story is seen through their eyes. Indeed, "Enemy at the Gates" owes a plotline to "Days of Glory". In fact, I am gonna go ahead and put this on my list of grand all-time war movies 'about' children, right up there with Boorman's "Hope and Glory" (similarity intentional, Bro. John?); "Come and See"; "Empire of the Sun"; "The North Star"; "Back to Bataan"; and of course "Mrs. Miniver". Perhaps YOU can add others?

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Gallipoli (1981) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's unfortunate in the extreme that the First World War has largely fallen by the wayside. If we hear anything about the conflict at all, it's usually on the History Channel or another network airing a documentary full of grainy, black and white clips of men stumbling over the top of trenches. Interest in historical events tends to drop off significantly when those involved pass away, and in the case of the generation that fought this horrific war not only have they exited the stage, they have left the building as well. I developed a life long interest in "the war to end all wars" after seeing Peter Weir's 1981 film "Gallipoli" in a small, run down art house theater at the age of ten. I didn't understand the historical context at the time, but this dramatic interpretation of events that unfolded in the Dardanelles during 1915 left a lasting impression on my impressionable mind. I recently rewatched the film and can say that it still works as an intense drama and as a serious antiwar statement. Weir's overt hostility toward the British commanders at Gallipoli, however, doesn't stand up as well. By the way, this is one of the films that propelled Mel Gibson to international stardom.
Weir decided to focus his film not on the massive armies battling away in Europe, but on two individuals living in Australia. Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) and Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson) are two of the fastest runners in the country. Hamilton trains with his demanding grandfather, who promises the young lad that if he works hard he may yet go down as the next national sports hero. Frank, on the other hand, wanders around the country with a few buddies taking any job he can get and generally just having a lot of fun. News of the escalating war in Europe is vague and distant, referenced only when someone brings up a news story they saw in the paper. Archy wants to go and fight, attracted by the lure of glory that has suckered millions of young people since the dawn of time into disaster. Frank doesn't think of war as glory, and when his pals bring up the idea of enlisting he quietly makes his position known. Both of these young men's lives are forever changed after the end up competing against each other in a foot race at a regional fair. Archy barely wins, but a friendship develops between the two that soon finds Frank tagging along when Archy decides to enlist in the illustrious cavalry. Frank agrees to join with Archy, once he discovers that the ladies love a soldier, but goes into the infantry after failing to qualify for the light horse unit.
It really doesn't matter anyway since horses won't make a bit of difference when the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers head first to Egypt and then the Dardanelles for combat against the Ottoman Turks. What the war effort needs are bodies capable of running headlong into a withering wall of machine gun fire, and cavalry troops minus their steeds will work in this capacity just as well as infantrymen. Before they reach the killing fields, Archy and Frank reunite during a training exercise in Egypt. Hamilton convinces his commander to enlist Dunne in the cavalry, claiming that his skills as a runner rival his own and that both men will make a major contribution to the regiment. Weir shows us plenty of carefully crafted scenes of the men having a good time in Cairo, of the deepening camaraderie taking place even as the war looms larger and larger in the background. The movie takes a doom and gloom turn as the ANZAC forces land at Gallipoli to take part in the fighting. Casualties mount as attacks designed to expand the beachhead fail under Turkish machine guns. Soon, Archy and Frank know they will have to go over the top too, and realize they will certainly perish in the process. The conclusion to "Gallipoli" is one of the most emotionally grinding, soul shattering denouements in motion picture history.
The only thing I found extremely irritating about "Gallipoli" is the cheesy synth musical score, which now sounds so early 1980s that it dates the picture terribly. I think the message about how people join up to go to war for all the wrong reasons, however, is still highly relevant. And if there was any war that everyone should have avoided, it was World War I. Generals and leaders still subscribed to antiquated notions of warfare, never taking into account machine guns, poison gas, and airplanes would decimate the troops. The fatalities were truly appalling, with millions perishing in muddy trenches during the four year conflict. Weir expertly depicts the squalid conditions of the trenches, but he goes too far blaming the film's fatal charge on the British commanders. First of all, far more British soldiers died during the campaign in the Dardanelles than did members of ANZAC. Second, why place the onus for the war on the British? Plenty of commanders on all sides made mistake after mistake in this conflagration, mistakes that resulted in so many fatalities that it's a wonder humanity didn't rise up and cast their leaders into the fire.
"Gallipoli" wins the day in the end thanks to the charm of Mark Lee and Mel Gibson. Weir's cinematography sinks its claws in as well. Check out the shots of the Australian outback, the Red Cross party, and the landing at Gallipoli to learn why. The transfer looks good, but the only extra on the disc is a short interview with Weir about the making of the film. I wanted a commentary track for this film desperately, and still hope a special edition will arrive on the market in the near future. If you haven't seen "Gallipoli," check it out soon.


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O.S.S. (1946) Review

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(More customer reviews)A great supporting cast which makes the movie happen and a great semi-documentary story of action and drama. A real cliff-hanger based on files of the OSS so it plays well.
Alan Ladd and Geraldine Fitzgerald (who's worth the price of admission just to look at) both early in career's do a great job. He was an exceptional natural athelete which shows well in the movie, and their obvious acting talent really come out.
Well worth seeing. She is also excellent in that time in Watch On The Rhine, a real classic of the war and the movies.

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Darling Lili (1970) Review

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(More customer reviews)Paramount Home Video had originally scheduled to release "Darling Lili" on DVD in April, but it was pulled from the release schedule with no explanation. Now they have just announced that the film will be released October 25, 2005!
As you probably know, this movie bombed when released in 1970, and it was never released on home video in any format. However, anything with Julie Andrews in it has a cult following, and I've always felt that it was just a matter of time before this film was finally made available.
Darling Lili is not a great movie by any means, but it's quite enjoyable with pretty music, nice cinematography, costumes, and set design. The story's not especially memorable, but Julie and Rock Hudson have good chemistry and give it their best shot. This was the sort of sophisticated, light comedy/drama that was popular in the Sixties and, if made just a few years earlier, would have starred either Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, or Shirley MacLaine. However, by the time of its release in 1970, this type of film had fallen on hard times--plus being a musical did not help its appeal at the box office.
Let's hope that Paramount decides to finally release the full-length version on DVD soon (as opposed to the shortened version that turns up occasionaly on cable) and gives us a beautiful transfer that is sharp, saturated, and free from debris.

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A German spy masquerades as a singer during World War I to obtain secrets from an American pilot and she begins to fall in love with him.Genre: MusicalsRating: GRelease Date: 25-OCT-2005Media Type: DVD

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Platoon (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)"I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves. And the enemy was in us."
Thus the summation of Private Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) at the end of this film, a film about war, hate, self-realization, and survival. PLATOON tells a powerful story that moves beyond the horror and gore of the Vietnam War, a story that ultimately depicts the demise and disintegration of a dysfunctional combat unit. We see young Chris change before our very eyes, from a green, idealistic "grunt" to an embittered, disillusioned soldier. Chris' platoon is dominated--and subsequently divided--by two strong, yet very different men: Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). Barnes is cold, calculating, brutal, intolerant; Elias is compassionate, humanistic. The battle of wills between these two men is just as challenging as the Viet Cong out in the bush, and just as deadly. The film's climatic ending is powerful, spellbinding.
I dismiss naysayers of PLATOON as a soapbox for writer/director Oliver Stone's political agenda just as much as I dismiss Mr. Stone's politics. PLATOON hits you between the eyes with its depictions of warfare and human conflict, again and again. There's nothing to feel good about by watching this movie, just as there is nothing to feel good about by fighting a war. It is a dark, negative film--a negative film that happens to be compelling, thought-provoking, and very riveting.

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The Devil's Brigade (1968) Review

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(More customer reviews)This fact based WW2 film is one of the great whip 'em into shape movies. When the call went out for U.S. and Canadian volunteers for a commando unit many commanders used this as a oppurtunity to unload their trouble makers. Choir boys don't make good commandos so the right men were available for the job. This film shows the tough training that these men endured including skiing, mountain warfare and advanced hand to hand combat. I've read a few books on these men and the film accurately potrays the bonding developed between the US and Canadians as they teamed up in the local bars to fight lumberjacks and miners. After their harsh training the force is sent to Italy. The film makes no mention that the force's first mission was against the Japanese in the Aluetion Islands. The climax of the film is an assault on a mountain top in Italy. These scences are so well done that when I attended the USMC mountain warfare school at Bridgeport CA. they used this clip as a training tool. The film has a great soundtrack and lots of hero type actors. Just one problem-where did those red berets come from? Read the 2001 published book, "The Black Devil Brigade" told by the men themselves.

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They were misfits, rebels and heroes. Oscar(r) winners* William Holden and Cliff Robertsontopline this riveting World War II saga based on the true story of the First Special Service Force.Capturing the drama of combat with "outstanding" cinematography and an "exceptionally strong cast" (The Hollywood Reporter), The Devil's Brigade is a thrilling tribute to this renowned fighting unit.Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick (Holden) takes on the daunting task of melding a renegade group of American and Canadian recruits into a crack team of commando warriors. Frederick's superiors doubt the rookies until Frederick volunteers them for a perilous attack on a Nazi stronghold in the mountains. His men will be outnumbered and outgunned, but that's a fair fight to "the devil's brigade."

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Platoon (Special Edition) (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)"I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves. And the enemy was in us."
Thus the summation of Private Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) at the end of this film, a film about war, hate, self-realization, and survival. PLATOON tells a powerful story that moves beyond the horror and gore of the Vietnam War, a story that ultimately depicts the demise and disintegration of a dysfunctional combat unit. We see young Chris change before our very eyes, from a green, idealistic "grunt" to an embittered, disillusioned soldier. Chris' platoon is dominated--and subsequently divided--by two strong, yet very different men: Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). Barnes is cold, calculating, brutal, intolerant; Elias is compassionate, humanistic. The battle of wills between these two men is just as challenging as the Viet Cong out in the bush, and just as deadly. The film's climatic ending is powerful, spellbinding.
I dismiss naysayers of PLATOON as a soapbox for writer/director Oliver Stone's political agenda just as much as I dismiss Mr. Stone's politics. PLATOON hits you between the eyes with its depictions of warfare and human conflict, again and again. There's nothing to feel good about by watching this movie, just as there is nothing to feel good about by fighting a war. It is a dark, negative film--a negative film that happens to be compelling, thought-provoking, and very riveting.

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Winner* of 4 Academy AwardsÂ(r), including Best Picture, and based on the first-hand experience of OscarÂ(r)-winning** director Oliver Stone, Platoon is powerful, intense and starkly brutal. "Harrowingly realistic and completely convincing" (Leonard Maltin), it is "a dark, unforgettable memorial" (The Washington Post) to every soldier whose innocence was lost in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam.Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him. While his two commanding officers (OscarÂ(r)-nominated*** Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, the conflict, chaos and hatred permeate Taylor, suffocating his realities and numbing his feelings to man's highest value life.

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Full Metal Jacket (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're a fan of this film like me and had bought the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD before and thought "This is hi-def?", then you're in for a treat. This newly remastered version has a sharper picture and better color image and new commentaries to boot. While not as stunning a transfer as "The Shining" or "2001", this is still a much improved re-release. Trade in your old copy and purchase with confidence.

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The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

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To Hell & Back (1955) Review

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(More customer reviews)The single biggest reason to watch this movie is that the star himself was in fact the single most decorated war hero of World War Two, and he is convincing here playing himself with dignity, sincerity, and humility, which, of course, Audie Murphy always had in spades. The movie was adopted from his best-selling autobiography, which my Mom let me read after blackening out all of the four letter slang (as she called it). Perhaps it shows that he was my childhood hero, and I still have a personalized autographed photo somewhere reading "Thanks, Barry, for being my fan" that a friend's mom got for three or four of us ten year olds at the time this movie was released in the mid 1950s. It was the first movie I saw ten times. And I wasn't alone; Murphy was a national icon.
The movie truly is a classic; tightly directed, poignant, honest, accurate, and showing gripping combat without being gory or maudlin. It sometimes decends into travelogue movie-theater type newsreel moments, but these are thankfully rare and forgiveable. On the other hand, this is an interesting and absolutely true story of a common and uneducated boy from rural Texas who wanted more than anything to be a soldier and serve his country, and his subsequent deeds and patriotism above and beyond the call of duty inspired a whole generation of us who wanted to imitate his call to country. Unfortunately we walked into another time and the miasma of Vietnam. But that's another story for another time. Escape back to a time when the moral choices were clearer, and a real live hero was available to act his way memorably through an accurate recounting of his extraordinary if abbreviated military career. He may be gone too soon, the victim of a plane crash in the early 1970s, but his lifetime admirers remain. Enjoy!

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War Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)The "classics" in the WAR CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK must surely be the many contemporary documentaries included in this set. These chronicles of a war in progress are both American and foreign made-- the most unusual for Western eyes being those from the USSR. The theatrical films included here aren't blockbusters by any means, yet they should still have appeal to fans of the war genre.
The 1 to 10 rating for this box set was determined by accumulated pollng data located at a film resource website. Based on these numbers, the current average score for WAR CLASSICS is: 6.4.
The alphabetized program list that follows includes individual poll scores, country of origin (if other than USA), year of release and principal actors.
(6.7) The Adventures Of Tartu ("Sabotage Agent") (1943) - Robert Donat
(4.1) After Mein Kampf (1961-doc.)
(6.9) Appointment In Tokyo (1945-doc.)
(7.3) Attack In The Pacific (1944-doc.)
(6.9) Attack! The Battle For New Britain (1944-doc.)
(???) The Avenger (Yugo/Italy/France-1962) - Steeve Reeves
(7.9) The Battle Of Britain (1943-doc.) - d. Frank Capra
(7.3) The Battle Of China (1944-doc.) - d. Frank Capra
(7.4) The Battle Of Russia (doc.) 1943 - d. Frank Capra
(7.7) (The Battle Of) San Pietro (1945-doc.)
(6.3) The Big Lift (1950) - Montgomery Clift/Paul Douglas
(6.3) Blood On The Sun (1945) - James Cagney/Silvia Sidney
(5.4) The Bushwhackers (1952) - John Ireland/Wayne Morris
(4.7) Captain Scarlett (1953) - Richard Greene
(6.1) Combat America (1943-doc.) Clark Gable
(6.8) December 7th(, 1941) (1943-doc.) - d. John Ford
(7.5) Desert Victory (1943-doc.)
(4.0) The Devil's Cavaliers (Italy-1959) - Frank Latimore
(7.4) Divide And Conquer (1943-doc.)
(7.0) Eagle In A Cage (USA/UK/Yugo-1972) - John Gielgud/Ralph Richardson
(2.9) Escape From Angola (1976) - Stan Brock
(5.7) Flying Blind (1941) - Richard Arlen
(6.8) Go For Broke! (1951) - Van Johnson
(???) The Great Battle Of The Volga (USSR-1962-doc.)
(6.0) Gung Ho! ("The Story Of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders") (1943) - Randolph Scott/Noah Beery
(4.8) Hell In Normandy (Italy/France-1968) - Guy Madison
(5.9) Kansas Pacific (1953) - Sterling Haydn/Eve Miller
(???) The KGB Connections (1982-TV doc.)
(8.3) The Last Chance (Switz.-1945)
(6.9) (With The) Marines At Tarawa-Return To Guam (1944-doc.)
(4.5) The Mark Of The Hawk (1957) - Eartha Kitt/Sidney Poitier
(7.7) The Memphis Belle: A Story Of The Flying Fortress (1944-doc.) - d. William Wyler
(7.3) The Nazis Strike (1943-doc.) - d. Frank Capra
(6.7) Nuremberg Trials (USSR-1947-doc.)
(???) Payoff In The Pacific (1945-doc.)
(7.3) Prelude To War (1943-doc.) - d. Frank Capra
(3.4) The Proud And The Damned (1972) - Chuck Connors/Cesar Romero
(6.8) Report from The Aleutians (1943-doc.) - d. John Huston
(9.0) The Secret Life Of Adolf Hitler (1958-TV doc.)
(5.3) The Stilwell Road (1945-doc.)
(???) Submarine Warfare (1945-doc.) - n. Gene Kelly
(5.6) This Is The Army (1943) - George Murphy/Joan Leslie
(7.3) Three Came Home (1950) - Claudette Colbert/Patric Knowles
(7.7) Thunderbolt (1947-doc) - d. John Sturges/William Wyler
(7.7) To The Shores Of Iwo Jima (1945-doc.)
(5.7) The Torch (Mex./USA-1950) - Paulette Goddard/Gilbert Roland
(8.2) The True Glory (1945-doc.) - d. Garson Kanin
(7.0) Tunisian Victory (1944-doc.) - d. Frank Capra
(5.2) Warhead (1972) - David Janssen
(3.6) Yellowneck (1955) - Lin McCarthy

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Includes the following films or documentaries:1. Adventures of Tartu, The2. After Mein Kampf3. Appointment in Tokyo4. Attack in the Pacific5. Attack! The Battle for New Britain6. Avenger, The7. Battle of Britain, The8. Battle of China, The9. Battle of Russia, The10. Battle of San Pietro, The11. Big Lift, The12. Blood on the Sun13. Bushwhackers, The14. Captain Scarlett15. Combat America16. December 7th, 194117. Desert Victory18. Devil's Cavaliers, The19. Divide and Conquer20. Eagle in a Cage21. Escape from Angola22. Flying Blind23. Go For Broke!24. Great Battle of the Volga, The25. Gung Ho!26. Hell in Normandy27. Kansas Pacific28. KGB Connections, The29. Last Chance, The30. Marines at Tarawa-Return to Guam31. Mark of the Hawk, The32. Memphis Belle, The33. Nazis Strike, The34. Nuremberg Trials35. Payoff in the Pacific36. Prelude to War37. Proud and the Damned, The38. Report from the Aleutians39. Secret Life of Adolf Hitler, The40. Stilwell Road, The41. Submarine Warfare42. This is the Army43. Three Came Home44. Thunderbolt45. To The Shores of Iwo Jima46. Torch, The47. True Glory, The48. Tunisian Victory49. War Head50. Yellowneck

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The Longest Day (1962) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Longest Day (1962 film)
In 1959, 15 years after the Allied invasion of Normandy, former war correspondent Cornelius Ryan wrote The Longest Day, his popular and critically-acclaimed account of the D-Day landings. Based on painstaking research and interviews with Allied and German veterans and the French civilians swept up in the events of June 6, 1944, The Longest Day remains among the best books on the topic.
It is not surprising, then, that 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck bought the film rights and asked Ryan, (who, besides having been a reporter, had also written plays) to adapt The Longest Day into a screenplay for a major motion picture. Zanuck, who had served in the Army Signal Corps as a lieutenant colonel and helped document the D-Day landings, had always wanted to make a feature film about the invasion. He also had another pressing reason to make what he thought would be a big hit: 20th Century-Fox, nearly crippled by box office flops and the costly production of Cleopatra, was on the brink of bankruptcy.
In order to attract audiences, Zanuck and his massive production team assembled a cast almost as large as the actual invasion force. 48 major international stars from three countries were signed on to what a World War II trivia book described as "the most expensive black-and-white movie made." Shot in studios near Paris and on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, The Longest Day required not one but three directors. Andrew Marton shot the American exterior episodes, Bernhard Wicki handled the German exterior episodes, and Ken Annakin directed the British exterior episodes. Overseeing the entire project were Zanuck and Associate Producer Elmo Williams, who would later executive produce the Japanese-American Pearl Harbor classic, Tora! Tora! Tora!
The movie basically follows the book's structure in its three major acts: The Wait, about the preparations on both sides for the invasion; The Night, about the night airborne assault; and The Day, about the landings on the five invasion beaches. The DVD breaks these three acts into 12 chapters.
While by early 21st Century standards The Longest Day's combat scenes are rather tame - there are no extremely gory scenes as explicit as those in Saving Private Ryan - they do capture the vastness and complexity of the Normandy landings. Shot in a semi-documentary style (major characters are introduced with identifying "credits" so we know who is who), The Longest Day is as accurate as a 1962-era film studio could depict an actual event. The black-and-white presentation allows insertion of a few snippets of actual documentary footage (mainly of German soldiers marching through Paris and running to their fortifications near the beaches) seamlessly into the film. Of course, some characters (such as Eddie Albert's Col. Thompson) seem to be composites or even fictitious, and some actors (such as John Wayne and Robert Ryan) look nothing like the officers they are portraying. Wayne plays Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandenvoort, who in 1944 was in his 30s, while Ryan plays Brig. Gen. James "Slim Jim" Gavin, who at 38 was the Army's youngest general. (The more accurate, but far less popular sequel, A Bridge Too Far, cast Ryan O'Neal as Gavin.)
Accuracy goes out the window in at least one respect, and this one is at the top of most D-Day veterans' list of gripes. While the movie does mention the awful conditions on the transports and landing craft ("Man, that stink! Diesel oil, backed up toilets, vomit. And there ain't no place to get sick in!" gripes one soldier to Roddy McDowell), when the Allied soldiers get out of the landing craft, they hit the beaches running and screaming like banshees. In Stephen E. Ambrose's 1994 D-Day, June 6, 1944, veterans scoff at Zanuck's fanciful depiction, pointing out that they were too tired and too sick to run across the beach, much less yell like Confederates at Gettysburg.
Nevertheless, The Longest Day remains one of the best war movies ever made. Released in October of 1962 and enjoying a long run at the theaters, it was the box office's top draw for 1963, earning an Academy Award for special effects and, luckily for Zanuck, saving 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy.
The DVD presents The Longest Day to its original CinemaScope wide screen presentation, improving on the CBS-Fox two-cassette VHS version, which was released on the usual pan-and-scan "full screen" re-edit. Other improvements are a sound remastering by THX and a few tiny bits of additional footage. The single disc, however, has very few extra features; only the theatrical trailers to The Longest Day, Patton, and Tora! Tora! Tora!

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Hamburger Hill (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a combat medic who served in the 101st Airborne Division just three months after the events depicted in this film took place, I can tell you that it is absolutely the most realistic Vietnam war film to date. I cannot address the issue of the absolute truth of the way specific events are depicted in the film because I wasn't involved in this particular action, but I can say with no equivocation that the characters and combat shown in this film are absolutely realistic based on my experience. The fictional soldiers shown in the film talk like we talked, and all aspects of combat shown are much like my own experience. Some aspects of this film may seem cliched to some viewers (see below), but that is just the common reality of war and reveals the simplistic views of the times. Soldiers in combat were young and not especially astute in their views. We really did say "it don't mean nothin'." I cried on the way home after I first saw this film in the theatre, and finally achieved the catharsis I needed to leave Vietnam behind me. I am grateful to the director and producers for providing that. Someone finally got it right. "Doc" Cooper, B company, 2/502, 101st airborne division

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Graphic portrayal of the ten day assault on Hill 937, beginning on May 10, 1969, that took 70% casualties from the Men of the 101st Airborne Division.Genre: Feature Film-Action/AdventureRating: RRelease Date: 21-OCT-2003Media Type: DVD

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Twelve O'Clock High (1950) Review

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I do not recall another film whose opening and closing scenes are more effective than those in this brilliant portrayal of the 918th Bombardment group based in England which flew almost daily missions to Germany during World War II. The character of General Frank Savage (Gregory Peck) is reputedly based on Brigadier General Frank A. Armstrong, Jr. Sy Bartlett co-authored the screenplay with the book's author, Berney Lay, Jr. Brilliantly directed by Henry King, we are introduced to a combination of combat fatigue and self-pity which results in the replacement of Colonel Keith Davenport (Gary Merrill) by his friend Savage who is told by his commanding officer, General Pritchard (Millard Mitchell), to shape up the 918th while avoiding Davenport's problem: Becoming overly involved emotionally in decisions to send B-17 crews on exceptionally dangerous missions, day after day after day. Savage immediately establishes his authority and almost immediately loses whatever goodwill he may have had. He applies and then maintains constant pressure on the crews to improve their performance in all areas of flight operations. Underachievers are reassigned to one B-17 renamed "The Leper Colony." Morale deteriorates to such a point that those at headquarters become concerned. A formal investigation of the situation is conducted. This is a critical moment for Savage. If he has "lost" his men, he cannot continue. In fact, he expects to be relieved and begins to pack his personal items. However, for reasons best revealed in the film, Savage remains in command. And then....
It would be a disservice to those who have not as yet seen this film to say any more about the plot. Suffice to say that brilliant direction, great acting by everyone involved (notably by Dean Jagger who received an Academy Award for best actor in a supporting role), superb cinematography (Leon Shamroy), and haunting music (Alfred Newman) are seamlessly integrated in this analysis of effective leadership (especially decision-making) under wartime conditions. The film begins when Harvey Stovall (Jagger) makes an especially significant purchase in an antique store and then proceeds to what has by then become an abandoned air base. As we begin to hear the bombers' propellers whine as the engines roar to life, we are transported back in time. Later, as the film ends, civilian Stovall climbs back on his rented bike and departs what is again an abandoned air base. Stunning images throughout both sequences.
Peck included this among his favorite films, while adding that he was especially proud of his performance as Frank Savage. When first released more than 50 years ago, it did not receive the recognition (much less the appreciation) it so obviously deserves. Whenever CEOs and other senior-level executives ask me to suggest war films which offer important lessons about leadership and management, Twelve O'Clock High is first on the list, joined by (in alphabetical order) Command Decision, The Dirty Dozen, The Enemy Below, Fort Apache, The Hunt for Red October, Paths of Glory, Pork Chop Hill, The Red Badge of Courage, They Were Expendable, and Zulu.

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This gritty World War II action drama staring Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an air force commander (Gary

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Windtalkers (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Windtalkers is the story of two American soldiers (one played by Christian Slater, the other played by Nic Cage) who are assigned to protect two Navajo soldiers who work as windtalkers, transmitting messages past Japanese codebreakers using their code based on Navajo language.
Yes, there's a lot of violence. Yes, it's grim. The bodyguards, Cage and Slater, are instructed to kill the windtalkers rather than let them fall into enemy hands.
This is a big war movie, not quite on the scale of Saving Private Ryan, but somewhere between something that grand and magnificent and, say, Behind Enemy Lines. Cage and Slater do a good job with their parts, which aren't very fully fleshed out characters.
Woo's direction used to be so over-the-top and artsy... the fight scenes used to be like cartoons, with bad guy and good guy blazing away at each other with two pistols... the most violent scenes were often preceded by or accompanying flocks of birds taking to flight, and bullet-riddled bodies always seem to pirouet in slow motion before they fall down dead. Woo has left a lot of the old personal director's style out of this one, actually. There ARE a lot of bullets, and a lot of the fighting scenes are very unrealistic (true to old Woo there), and there is one scene very reminiscent of old John Woo, where a butterfly floats gracefully above a river then suddenly a bloody body falls into that river, destroying the gorgeous image, juxtaposing a graceful natural image with a gory violent one, etc.
ANYWAY, mostly this is a shoot 'em up war movie, and the old John Woo style is MOSTLY absent.
The story has that one feature going for it, the protection of the Navajo codetalkers, but otherwise it's a very standard war movie, in terms of plot. Still, this movie comes off surprisingly well.
If you're a fan of the American John Woo movies, like Broken Arrow, or Mission Impossible II or Face/Off, or you liked some movies recently like Black Hawk Down or Behind Enemy Lines, you ought to take a look at Windtalkers. It's not the best war movie of the last few years (I'd vote for Saving Private Ryan for that), or the best action movie, but it is entertaining and memorable...

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In the brutal World War II Battle of Saipan, Sergeant Joe Enders (Academy AwardÂ(r) winner*Nicolas Cage) guardsand ultimately befriendsBen Yahzee (Adam Beach), a young Navajo trained in the one wartime code never broken by the enemy, the Navajo Code. But if Yahzee should fall into Japanese hands, how far will Enders go to save the military's most powerful secret? John Woodirects this "exciting" (Premiere),

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Flying Tigers (1942) Review

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(More customer reviews)I think the aspect that I enjoyed most about this movie is that even though it is a John Wayne movie, we see a lot of character development from the other actors as well. In 1942, John Wayne was not yet a top 10 movie actor, so the director did not have to have the whole movie spin around him (not that there's anything wrong with that!). But this movie gives us insight into a number of men the Duke have under his command, and the movie is a much richer experience for it. As for the transfer to DVD, it varies from good to excellent. Certainly not as good as Republic's 50th anniversary version, released on Laserdisc. But the DVD has behind the scenes information on the cast members, after the movie finishes. All in all, a great John Wayne movie that no fan should be without!

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We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I live with a Vietnam Vet who served in the late 1960s with 1st Cav. Medivac. During service he earned two Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal. Since WE WERE SOLDIERS concerns the 1st Cav., Randy wanted to see it. I reluctantly agreed; I am not partial to war films and I dislike Mel Gibson, and Randy is very hard on Vietnam War films. He dismisses PLATOON as a Hollywood 8x10 glossy; says APOCALYPSE NOW is an interesting movie that captures the paranoia, but all the technical details are wrong; and describes DEER HUNTER as excellent in its depiction of the strangeness of coming home but so full of plot holes that he can hardly endure it. And about one and all he says: "It wasn't like that."
He was silent through the film, and when we left the theatre I asked what he thought. He said, "They finally got it. That's what it was like. All the details are right. The actors were just like the men I knew. They looked like that and they talked like that. And the army wives too, they really were like that, at least every one I ever knew." The he was silent for a long time. At last he said, "You remember the scene where the guy tries to pick up a burn victim by the legs and all the skin slides off? Something like that happened to me once. It was at a helicopter crash. I went to pick him up and all the skin just slid right off. It looked just like that, too. I've never told any one about it."
In most respects WE WERE SOLDIERS is a war movie plain and simple. There are several moments when the film relates the war to the politics and social movements that swirled about it, and the near destruction of the 1st. Cav.'s 7th Battalion at Ia Drang clearly arises from the top brass' foolish decision to send the 7th into an obvious ambush--but the film is not so much interested in what was going on at home or at the army's top as it is in what was actually occurring on the ground. And in this it is extremely meticulous, detailed, and often horrifically successful. Neither Randy nor I--nor any one in the theatre I could see--was bored by or dismissive of the film. It grabs you and it grabs you hard, and I can easily say that it is one of the finest war movies I have ever seen, far superior to the likes of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, which seems quite tame in comparison.
Perhaps the single most impressive thing about the film is that it never casts its characters in a heroic light; they are simply soldiers who have been sent to do a job, and they do it knowing the risks, and they do it well in spite of the odds. Mel Gibson, although I generally despise him as both an actor and a human being, is very, very good as commanding officer Hal Moore, and he is equaled by Sam Elliot, Greg Kinnear, Chris Klein, and every other actor on the battlefield. The supporting female cast, seen early in the film and in shorter scenes showing the home front as the battle rages, is also particularly fine, with Julie Moore able to convey in glance what most actresses could not communicate in five pages of dialogue. The script, direction, cinematography, and special effects are sharp, fast, and possess a "you are there" quality that is very powerful.
Randy did have a criticism. "I don't think there would be time for casualty telegrams to actually get home while the battle was going on," he said. "After all, it only lasted three days." I myself had a criticism; there were points in the film when I found the use of a very modernistic, new-agey piece of music to be intrusive and out of place. And we both felt that a scene near the end of the movie, when a Vietnamese commander comments on the battle, to be improbable and faintly absurd. But these are nit-picky quibbles. WE WERE SOLDIERS is a damn fine movie. I'll give Randy, who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, the last word: "It may not be 'the' Vietnam movie. I don't think there could ever be 'the' Vietnam movie. But they get everything right. That's how it looked and sounded, and that's what I saw, and this is the best movie about Vietnam I've ever seen."

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TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: World War II - Battlefront Europe (Kelly's Heroes / Where Eagles Dare / The Dirty Dozen / Battleground) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)As I've mentioned before this TCM greatest classic film series is all about bringing classic film to the masses at an affordable price. These four films are bare-bones releases of Warner Home Video's WWII classics. Three of them can be found in the boxed set World War II Collection, Vol. 1 - Battlefront Europe (The Big Red One Two-Disc Special Edition / The Dirty Dozen / Battle of the Bulge / Battleground / Where Eagles Dare). For some reason Kelly's Heroes has not been upgraded since 2000. It is one of the great offbeat wartime comedies, so I can't imagine why it has been ignored. Thus in this particular case you are probably getting a better deal than those of us who own the stand-alone DVD of this film. The Dirty Dozen now exists as a two disc special edition - The Dirty Dozen (Two-Disc Special Edition) for those who are interested. Although "Dirty Dozen" is indeed one of the great war films, I think my personal favorite is "Battleground". Directed by William Wellman it is about the 101st airborne while it is being besieged by the Germans during the Christmas of 1944. I highly recommend this set for its economy and quality.

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KELLYS HEROES They were goldbricks until they found out about the gold bricks a fortune in Nazi-confiscated bullion! Clint Eastwood reups with the director of his Where Eagles Dare for this alternately action-filled and tongue-in-cheek tale of GIs who decide to get something extra out of the war. Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Don Rickles co-star. THE DIRTY DOZEN Lee Marvin portrays a tough-as-nails major volunteered in the Army way to command a squad of misfits on a suicide mission against Nazi brass. Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Trini Lopez, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Clint Walker are among the 12 jailbirds who will earn their freedom if they survive. WHERE EAGLES DARE The mission is clear. Get in. Get the general. Get out. Commandos charged with freeing a U.S. general from an Alpine fortress should also be told to trust nothing including the search-and-rescue orders just issued. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are in command in this twisty wartime thriller from a book by action master Alistair MacLean. BATTLEGROUND William A. Wellman directs a gripping tale of 101st Airborne troops resisting Hitler's fierce, final counteroffensive at Bastogne. James Whitmore as a feisty sergeant and Van Johnson as a wisecracking private star in this rugged and unsparing look at men in combat. Winner of Best Story, Best Screenplay and Best Cinemtaography Oscars (1949).

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