War Movies
The Hill (1965) – Brutally Stunning
Director: Sidny Lumet Cast: Sean Connery. Harry Andrews. Ian Bannen. Ossie Davis. Platform: Internet Archive (free) War films usually talk about the glory of dying for the flag and country. Very few talk about what happens when someone questions the system or the superiors. In every Armed Force , infractions or indiscipline is…
Read MoreThe Tuskegee Airmen – Two different films
All clickable links in red Lest people think that only we Desis screw up war movies by adding all sorts of unnecessary masala, think twice. Hollywood is equally if not more guilty of the same fact. The two different films on the real-life story of The Tuskegee Airmen prove this. One, a TV movie…
Read MoreSky Force (2025) – Some Force Some Farce
Genre – War Movie (based on true stories) Time: 2 Hours Platform: Theatrical release Cast: Akshay Kumar. Veer Pahariya. Sharad Kelkar. Nimrat Kaur. Sara Ali Khan. Fact: On September 7, 1965, 12 Mystere combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force attacked the Sargodha Airfield Complex of Pakistani Air Force. One of the attacking pilots…
Read MoreThe Wild Geese (1978) – Provocative yet engaging
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen Cast: Richard Burton. Roger Moore. Richard Harris. Hardy Krüger. Stewart Granger Genre – War Movie (based on true stories) Time: 2 Hours, 14 minutes Platform: You Tube Films about mercenaries are generally one dimensional. The (usually) “WHITE” mercenaries are bringing hope and light to the “DARK” continent of Africa, who…
Read MoreTo Catch a King (1984) – Slow burn thriller
All Clickable links in Red Genre – Spy + International Intrigue Time: 1 Hour 53 minutes Platform: You Tube (Free) Director: Clive Donner Cast: Robert Jackson. Teri Garr. Horst Janson. John Standing. Barbara Parkins. Facts: Edward the VIII, King of England abdicated the throne as he was not allowed to marry a…
Read MoreThe Six Triple Eight (2024) – Worthy war drama
Clickable links in red Genre – WW2 Drama Time: 2 Hour 10 minutes Platform: Netflix Director: Tyler Perry Cast: Kerry Washington. Ebony Obsidian. Milauna Jackson WW2 has millions of untold stories which are still being revealed. While the war was usually viewed through the lens of “Allied Good vs Axis Evil”, there are…
Read MoreHell in the Pacific (1968) – A unique film
Clickable links in red Genre – War Movie Time: 1 Hour, 43 minutes Platform: You Tube Free Director: John Boorman. Cast: Lee Marvin. Toshiro Mifune. There are war movies and then there is Hell in the Pacific. A unique film with ONLY two characters onscreen. The American cannot speak Japanese while the Japanese…
Read MoreEast (2020) – Unique film on a forgotten war
Genre – War Movie (based on true events) Time: 2 Hours 20 minutes Platform: Amazon Prime Language: Dutch Historical background: World War 2 showed to the colonial subjects that their Colonial Masters were not a hundred feet tall and could be defeated. This was especially so in the Asian colonies,…
Read MoreIll Met by Moonlight (1957) aka Night Ambush – Unbelievable but true
All clickable links in red Genre – War Movie (true story) Time: 1 Hours 30 minutes Platform: You Tube Director: Michael Powell, Emrich Pressburger Powell and Pressburger, forged their collaboration during World War 2, as they produced war propaganda films, including the wartime classic 49th Parallel (1941). Their films epitomize British cinema and…
Read MoreDanger Close (2019) – War is hell
All clickable links in red Genre – War Movie (true story) Time: 2 Hours Platform: Amazon Prime Director: Kriv Stenders. Platform : Amazon Prime Whenever we think of the Vietnam War, the popular image is the American image, with helicopters ferrying troops, US air force combat planes blasting and napalming jungles and pictures of various…
Read MoreDie Gustloff (2008) – Slow but poignant
All clickable links in red Director: Joseph Vilsmaer Genre: Drama – WW2 True Story Language : German Time: 1 Hour 41 minutes Platform: You Tube Free – with hard coded English subtitles Cast: Kai Wiesinger. Valeri Niehaus. Heiner Lauterbach. Which was the world’s biggest maritime disaster? With three movies on this topic, it…
Read MoreEye of the Needle (1981) – Superb spy thriller
All clickable links in red Genre: Spy Movie Time: 1 hour 50 minutes Platform: Amazon Prime (rent or subscription) Director : Richard Marquand Cast : Donald Sutherland. Kate Nelligan. Christopher Cazenove. Ian Bannen. It’s the proud boast of British Intelligence that they controlled all the German agents in Britain during…
Read MorePilecki’s report (2024) – Harrowing and tragic
Genre – War Movie (true story) Time: 1 Hour, 58 minutes Platform: Netflix Director: Krzysztof Lukaszewicz Language: Polish During WW2, every occupied country in Europe suffered untold horror and privations but none so more than Poland. It was the first to be occupied by armed conflict (Austria and Czechoslovakia were occupied without a…
Read MoreThe Longest Day (1962) – Superb; a perfect blend of history and film
ALL CLICKABLE LINKS IN RED Genre – War Movie (true story) Time: 2 Hours, 58 minutes Platform: Amazon Prime (on rent) Director: Ken Annakin – British and French segments. Andrew Marton – American segments. Bernhard Wicki – German segments. D-Day means a particular date on which some operation or event is supposed to…
Read MoreEastern Front – Part 3 of 3 –Eastern Front
All clickable links in red The Eastern Front was a charnel house with unparalleled brutality on both sides . The German propaganda of treating all Soviet citizens as subhumans had some unusual self-goals. Latvia, Estonia , Lithuania and Ukraine, who considered the Russians as “occupiers”, actually welcomed the Germans as Liberators. The foolish…
Read MoreEastern Front – Part 2 of 3 – Hollywood and Eastern Front
ALL CLICKABLE LINKS IN RED When Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the British and then the Americans sent material aid to the Russians. By late 1943, the effects were evident as the Soviet Army swiftly gained higher mobility thanks to the trucks supplied by the Americans. In the spirit of cooperation, Hollywood made…
Read MoreThe Eastern Front – Part 1 of 3 – a brief history (and some movies)
All Clickable Links in red May 8 is an important date for Europeans. On this day in 1945, the European part of WW2 ended. VE day as it is known to the Western Allies, is celebrated in various ways. In Russia , it is celebrated as Victory Day with a huge military parade that…
Read MoreOperation Valkyrie– Three films on the July 20, 1944 plot
All clickable links in red Never disturb your enemy when he is making a mistake – Napoleon The above quote aptly summarizes Hitler’s overall non-professional conduct and oversight of the German wartime effort. It could also be a description of the July 20, 1944 plotters when they tried to assassinate Hitler at his Headquarters…
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