War Movies
Katyn (2007) – A horrific true story
All clickable links in red Genre – War Movie (true story) Time : 2 Hours Platform: You Tube Free Language : Polish Director : Andrzej Wajda There is a Cold War joke that goes like this Its 1981 and the Soviets are making threatening noises to invade Poland (like they did with…
Read MoreApocalypse Now (1979) – Timeless Classic
All Clickable links are in red Genre – War Movie Time: 3 Hours , 20 minutes (Redux). 3 hours, 5 minutes (Final Director’s Cut) Platform: You Tube Free Director : Francis Ford Coppola Some films are easily forgotten after watching. Then there are films that have a lasting impact on you and remain…
Read MoreLetters from Iwo Jima (2006) – Superb view of other side
Genre – War Movie (true story) Time: 2 Hours, 20 minutes Platform: Amazon Prime (on rent), You Tube (on rent) Language: Japanese, English Director : Clint Eastwood It’s a rare Hollywood / Western film that shows the enemy’s view of the same battle. There have been some examples in the past (and covered…
Read MoreFlags of our fathers (2006) – Superb retelling of war’s cost
All clickable links in red Genre – War Movie (true story) Time: 2 Hours, 12 minutes Platform: Amazon Prime (on rent), You Tube Free Every world event, be it social, political, technological, has a defining moment and defining image. The Berlin Wall being knocked down by ordinary people symbolized people power over…
Read MoreWil (2023) – Morality or Survival
Genre – WW2 resistance film Time: 1 hour 50 minutes Platform: Netflix Language: Dutch. German. All clickable links are in red Every country occupied by the Nazis (and Japanese) between 1940-45 had indigenous Resistance movements of various shapes and sizes. Some, like the Norwegians, had some stunning successes (refer to the post on…
Read MoreNorsk Hydro / Operation Gunnerside – three movies
All clickable links in red What would have happened if the Nazis had developed the Atom Bomb? The results are there for us to see in the superb alternate history TV series, The Man in the High Castle, which ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2019 (and is available on Amazon Prime). Though the…
Read MoreThe Sea Wolves – 1980 – A charming true story
All Clickable links in Red Genre – War Movie (true story) Language – English Time: 2 Hours Platform: YouTube (Free) Throughout history, many nation have depended on goods carried by merchant ships trade for their daily survival. It is more accurate for island nations like Britain and Japan. Britain was almost strangled by…
Read MoreFighter (2024) – Stretcher
All Clickable links in red Genre – War Movie Language – Hindi Time: 2 Hours, 45 minutes Platform: Theatrical release It’s impossible to keep a balanced perspective while watching an Indian Film with an Armed Forces background. Rare is the film that professionally shows the Armed Forces, as most films settle for “dialogue…
Read MoreBattle of Stalingrad – Multiple films
ALL CLICKABLE LINKS IN RED The Battle of Stalingrad is considered – rightly – as one of the biggest Nazi Germany defeats and the turning points on the Eastern Front. It started in August 1942 and the last German troops surrendered on February 2, 1943. It proved once and for all that the Russians…
Read MoreThe Ultra Secret – Superb Slow Burn Films on Enigma
All clickable links in red In 1974 a book, The Ultra Secret, was published. The contents were nothing short of sensational for anyone who bought it. Lest people thought it was a joke, more documents under The Thirty-Year Rule were released on the topic. Simply put, The British were reading ALL GERMAN-CIPHERED SIGNALS, SOMETIMES IN NEAR…
Read MoreThe Navarone Films – One, a Classic. Its Follow-up Mediocre
All clickable links in red Alistair MacLean was an exceptionally successful writer who crafted a series of adventure-war-spy stories. His experience as a sailor in the “Arctic Convoys” resulted in his first – and probably his best – book, HMS Ulysses (1955). After that, there was no looking back, as many of his 1960s…
Read MoreNapoleon (2023) – Grand yet underwhelming
Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Joaquin Phoenix. Vanessa Kirby. Rupert Everett. Tahar Rahim. Genre: Biography and War Drama Platform: Theatrical release Duration: 2 Hours 38 minutes Ridley Scott’s range of film subjects is enormous. His genres include almost all types of films. Some of his most famous films include Blade Runner and The Martian…
Read MoreTora Tora Tora (1970) – A Classic
Dir: Richard Fleisher. Kinji Fukasaku. Toshio Masuda Cast: Martin Balsam. Jason Robards. Multiple Stars. (All clickable links are in red) When 9/11 happened, many, including US President George Bush Junior, said that it was Pearl Harbor of the 21st century. The comparison may only have been for the devastating surprise attack on December 7, 1941.…
Read MoreThe Battle of Britain – 1969 – Accurate and entertaining
Director: Guy Hamilton Producer: Harry Saltzman Script: James Kennaway. Wilfred Greatorex A common legend among the British is the trope of a “small bunch of British men against the might of the ugly bad …….. ” . In the blanks, you can insert Africans (Zulu and Khartoum), Pathans and Indians (Gunga Din, The Bengal Lancers),…
Read MoreSeventeen Moments of Spring (1973) – Excellent
Story : Yulian (Julian) Semyonov Direction : Tatyana Lioznova Cast : Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Most of us are used to spy stories where Western Heroes set out to slay the evil Soviet Empire and save the Western Way of life. The Spy fiction genre has its rules in that the Western characters are usually the…
Read MoreWAR SAILOR (KRIGSEILEREN) (2022) – TV Series (3 Parts) – Absorbing
In his six-volume autobiography, Winston Churchill said that the one thing that caused him maximum anxiety THROUGHOUT THE WAR was The Battle of the Atlantic. This was the battle by merchant ships, escorted by the British (and, after 1942, American) Navy, to bring supplies to Britain, to continue the war. These supplies came from…
Read MoreWansee Conference – Two Movies – CHILLING
Almost everyone knows what happened in The Holocaust – the systematic extermination of Undesirables and “Untermenschen”. These included anyone who opposed the Nazi philosophy and ideology, targeted groups like Jews, Gypsies, Communists, Homosexuals, Mentally unwell people, and opponents of the regime – in short, anyone and everyone the Nazis thought didn’t fit or opposed…
Read MoreSobibor Escape – two films
One of the Third Reich’s most significant and darkest achievements was the efficient transport of “Untermenschen” to the gas chambers. Even with the tide turning in 1943 and the Russians pushing the Germans back to the Polish frontiers from where they started in June 1941, the gas chambers in Eastern Poland and Russia were busy.…
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