Archive for February 2023
The Enemy Below (1957) – A fascinating battle between men (or machines?).
In 1957, World War 2 was only twelve years old. The general depiction of Germans and Japanese in 1950s films was of brutal, nasty savages hell-bent on doing all sorts of bad things to “clean” “decent” Americans and or British, the epitome of “Western civilisation”. This 1957 film changed that. It was one…
Read MoreThe Outpost (2020) – Edge of seat
After twenty years, trillions of dollars, and thousands of deaths on all sides, the U.S. finally replaced the Taliban with the Taliban. This was an actual WhatsApp message circulating in August 2021 when the Taliban finally took over Afghanistan for the second time in 20 years. The comparison with Vietnam in 1975 (below top)…
Read MoreThe Day of the Jackal – 1974 – RIVETING (even now)
Fact: The OAS – The Organisation Armee Secrete (the Secret Armed Organisation), was composed of ex-French Army soldiers who opposed French President Charles de Gaulle’s policy of granting independence to Algeria as they considered it and its French population as French. The organization aimed to kill de Gaulle and bring Algeria back under French rule.…
Read MoreNarvik – Hitler’s First Defeat (2022) – Disappointing
I got at least three messages asking me to take a look at the latest Netflix release and so watched the film. First: the plus. This is a Norwegian production with Norwegian actors, thus devoid of the typical Hollywood “showbiz” angle. However, there are some war movie cliches. Second Plus: while the…
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