Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 07:38:31 PM

Login with username, password and session length

"Broadsword calling Danny Boy": The definitive WW2 films thread

Started by Blinder Data, March 12, 2015, 04:18:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Blinder Data

Over Christmas I partook in the (objectively a bit odd, no?) tradition of watching war films, specifically those set during World War 2. The films' languid pace, exotic and evocative locations, bursts of CGI-free action and comfortable sense of nostalgia combine to make the perfect way to fill your empty dreary post-lunch holiday afternoons. Once you start watching them I've found it hard to stop, so I need some recommendations, lads.

The Eagle Has Landed (1976)


I caught this a few months ago and it's ace. An astonishing cast: Michael Caine as a Nazi squadron leader; Robert Duvall as an eyepatch-wearing Nazi schemer; Donald Pleasance as Heinrich bloody Himmler; Donald Sutherland as a slimy IRA collaborator against the hated British; Jenny Agutter as a conflicted English country rose; Larry Hagman as a gung-ho American general; and Jean Marsh as an ice-cool double-crossing vixen.

It looks like your typical WW2 film and it's quite old-fashioned in that there's an awful lot of build-up before the fantastic action begins, but it's quite remarkable to see a film told entirely from the POV of the Nazis featuring all your typical British and Hollywood movie stars as the bad guys. There's humour, there's romance, death, gore, guns, a beautiful English country church getting shot to pieces - what more could you ask for?

The ending is a bit of a cop-out - like many of its contemporaries - and some of the story strands are tied up in a rather unsatisfying way, plus there seemed to be something a little off with the editing (according to Wikipedia, it was John Sturges' final film and he just couldn't be arsed). But it's a very enjoyable way to spend two or so hours if the rain doesn't look like stopping.

Now give me more WW2 films to watch, the less celebrated the better.

kidsick5000

You title the thread "Broadsword calling Danny Boy" then don't even reference the magnificence that is Where Eagles Dare? The film it took until my early teens to figure out the whole deal with the pocket book?

Blumf

None of that cosy shit! Get The Cruel Sea down yer. Grim with a side order of cold despair.

"Bloody murderer!"

kngen

The One That Got Away, based on the true story of the only German POW to escape to freedom. The plot is kind of given away in the title[nb]and my description, naturally, but the damage has already been done, surely? [/nb], but, bloody hell, it's a fair old rip-roaring ride along the way. Also notable for, like The Eagle Has Landed, the tale is told from the perspective of the bally hun. It's a belter!

Blinder Data

Quote from: kidsick5000 on March 12, 2015, 05:01:15 PM
You title the thread "Broadsword calling Danny Boy" then don't even reference the magnificence that is Where Eagles Dare? The film it took until my early teens to figure out the whole deal with the pocket book?

Confession: I have not seen Where Eagles Dare. I will be rectifying this oversight soon. I included the famous quote because it's perhaps the most iconic piece of WW2 film dialogue - plus I'm trying to sniff out the lesser known WW2 films, and hasn't everyone (bar me) seen Where Eagles Dare?

Force 10 from Navarone is another one that I very much enjoyed, and it was the film that made me realise Robert Shaw is one of my favourite screen actors. As a sequel made years after the original film and having never heard of it, I thought it would be naff, but there are some great moments of tension and action, plus tonnes of stunning mountain shots[nb]I only saw maybe half of it though, so I'm afraid I can't tell you whether it all hangs together.[/nb].

biggytitbo


El Unicornio, mang

Saving Private Ryan probably has the best battle scenes, shame the rest of the film is a bit lacking. I'd opt for Cross of Iron though. You can't go wrong with Peckinpah doing WWII. Come and See is possibly my favourite war film of all time, but it's horribly bleak.

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on March 12, 2015, 08:00:30 PM
Saving Private Ryan probably has the best battle scenes, shame the rest of the film is a bit lacking. I'd opt for Cross of Iron though. You can't go wrong with Peckinpah doing WWII. Come and See is possibly my favourite war film of all time, but it's horribly bleak.

Come and See is a magnificent film and extremely bleak as you say. Do watch the subtitle version though as the dub is awful and detracts a lot from the film.
I just lent the DVD of it to a friend last week, him being a war movie fan but never hearing of this.

Where Eagles Dare is another fine rainy day afternoon movie to lob in with this lot.

Blinder Data

It's funny: in my head for this thread I only really considered WW2 films made pre-1980. All the modern ones are too full-on to be considered alongside the classics and rarely have the charm and nostalgic factor needed for a Sunday afternoon film.

Plus, as pulsating as Saving Private Ryan is, I can only ever compare it to The Thin Red Line, which is easily the better film. SPR may have its grim moments, but it's visceral and exciting to the extent it's a sort of glorification, while TTRL is the most powerful, affecting and cerebral war film I've ever seen. A film that's really about war, rather than simply depicting it[nb]I did watch it coming off an acid trip though, which probably colours my judgment somewhat.[/nb].

Blumf

I have tried a couple of times to watch Escape to Victory, but I just can't do it. I must really not like football.

biggytitbo

What's great about WW2 films prior to about 1970 is most of those involved actually fought in the war. Certainly lends a whole different frisson to them knowing they were there for the real thing.

kngen

Quote from: Blumf on March 13, 2015, 11:46:32 AM
I have tried a couple of times to watch Escape to Victory, but I just can't do it. I must really not like football.

It's pretty fucking awful, but I do love it, and will watch it whenever it's on. As a child, I couldn't understand why nobody thought the nazi applauding Pele's overhead kick was one of the all-time great cinematic moments (and as an adult it still puts a big, stupid grin on my face, even though I know it's essentially a load of manipulative bollocks).

studpuppet

Probably should watch these back to back, but A Bridge Too Far has the cast, the set-pieces, the direction, the length and it stays fairly close to the story (with a couple of changes). And the story is an extraordinary one. But possibly the more extraordinary film is Theirs Is The Glory - made just after the war on the same streets using individuals that had taken part as some of the cast. It makes it more of a re-enactment rather than a film, and I'm still not sure if the result is glorious memorial to their departed colleagues, or something more ghoulish. Anyway, it's on YT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3e6S8rg9_c

studpuppet

Actually, I'm talking bollocks; I forgot about 'Come And See' which is a far more jarring film than Private Ryan (during one scene the director shot live ammo over the actors' heads to 'keep it real'). Not very good quality version here in three parts:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvgqu8_come-and-see-1985-pt-1_creation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_See


Tapiocahead

It's objectively dreadful (it even includes the line 'For you Tommy, ze var is over' played straight) but I always enjoyed Hannibal . It's got Oliver Reed and Michael Pollard so you can't go wrong.

Norton Canes

'Overlord' is an affecting little curio, well worth 84 minutes of your time.

zomgmouse

It's interesting cause WWII encompasses a whole lot of subgenres; there's the straight-up fighting on the front stuff (also split into Europe and Pacific, I suppose), there's the POW stuff, there's the Holocaust stuff, there's the home front stuff, and then all sorts of things in between, which is personally what I find the most fascinating.
Something like Lacombe Lucien would fit that bill - it takes place during WWII but it's set in occupied France and focusses on the Collaborators/Resistance. Au revoir les enfants, also by Louis Malle, deals with a Jewish boy being hid in a Catholic school during the occupation. I find it hard to watch a lot of American WWII films which really just feel like a sack of propaganda. Vietnam films I can stomach more because they're a lot more introspective and less self-aggrandising usually.

mothman

You might then be interested in two quite introspective, generally anti-war films set during World War 2 but made during the Vietnam War, and, strangely, both directed by actors: None But The Brave (1965) directed by Frank Sinatra, and Beach Red (1967) directed by Cornel Wilde.

Gulftastic

I am a big fan of 'The Hill', featuring, to my mind, Sean Connery's finest ever performance. It also features Roy Kinnear. Set during the Second World War but not actually featuring any of that conflict, it's a belter.

I'd never heard of it until about 5 years ago when I caught it on TCM. It's a corker.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Gulftastic on March 14, 2015, 04:45:54 PM
I am a big fan of 'The Hill', featuring, to my mind, Sean Connery's finest ever performance. It also features Roy Kinnear. Set during the Second World War but not actually featuring any of that conflict, it's a belter.

I'd never heard of it until about 5 years ago when I caught it on TCM. It's a corker.

I'd argue that Connery's greatest performance is in The Offence, his later Lumet team-up, but yeah, The Hill is brilliant. I'd love to know what it was about Lumet that made Shir Sean really go all out, and what it is about other directors that he basically did it for the pay

Yep The Hill is a fantastic film and has quite an array of talent in it. TCM seem to show it on a regular basis.


Blinder Data

Well, I saw Where Eagles Dare and it was brilliant. Clint is cool as a cucumber and Richard Burton is the don. Surprisingly violent too. 2 and half hours flew by, even with the relentless third act. On a par with The Great Escape for favourite 'Sunday afternoon' WW2 film, though that may change when I whack on The Hill soon.

Catalogue Trousers

No mention of Kelly's Heroes yet? A great little number, almost a WWII The Italian Job. Not that surprising, considering the scriptwriter...and what a cast!


Gulftastic

Kelly's Heroes reminds me of The Dirty Dozen, due to Telly appearing in both.

Speaking of which, does anyone know why they took him on the mission in the latter? The rest of the dozen are all hard nuts. He's just a total mental.

Catalogue Trousers

That's partly the point. He's a dangerous mentalist. Every do-or-die mission needs a gung-ho psychopath.

great_badir

Some of my faves:

Cross of Iron
Come and See
Thin Red Line
Mckenzie Break
The Train
Catch-22
Soldier of Orange
Battle of Neretva (patchy, but mostly good)
Too Late the Hero (hugely under rated, in my opinion)
Hell In the Pacific
Black Rain
Das Boot
Stalingrad (now finally available over here with subs instead of a dreadful dub)
Longest Day (natch)
Patton
1941 (not ashamed to admit I genuinely like it)

DukeDeMondo

My favourite WW2-related film is probably Grave of the Fireflies. I watched it again recently and it's just sublime. There's a live action version from 2005 that I've had for about eight years but I never actually watched it so shit knows if it's any good or not.

Barefoot Gen deserves a nod, an' all.

Harrowing, is the thing to say about both of them.

gatchamandave

True story.

In his last scene in The Longest Day Richard Todd, actor, has a discussion on Pegasus Bridge with an actor. Said actor is playing Richard Todd, paratrooper, who on D Day led the assault on Pegasus Bridge.

I'd nominate Play Dirty as worth a watch. And the Olly Reid film mentioned above is Hannibal Brooks, which is the best film Michael Winner ever...even...churned out.

marquis_de_sad

I really like Jiang Wen's Devil's on the Doorstep. Set during the anti-Japanese War in China, but doesn't feature any battles. Nor does it feature the Red Army, only a faceless voice who hands over two Japanese prisoners to a terrified villager and demands he hide them from the local Japanese soldiers. Great B&W cinematography and great performances all round. It was "banned" at the last minute, if you find that sort of thing exciting.