Operation Anthropoid – multiple versions of a grim story
Czechoslovakia was the first country to be occupied by the Germans before WW2 started. The Germans partly occupied it in 1938 and fully annexed all provinces into the “German Reich” in March 1939, six months before the official starting date of September 3, 1939. The Czechs thus had the longest history of Resistance against the…
Read MoreOn The Beach (1958) – Humanity loses.
The 1950s saw The Cold War take off spectacularly. The two sides kept staring at each other and made worldwide alliances based on ideology. For all its talk of “Democracy”, the US supported unpopular dictatorships with terrible Human Rights records (Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, Zaire, etc.). The Socialist Bloc wasn’t far off, often crushing democratic dissent…
Read MoreA Bridge Too Far (1977) – A Truth Too many
I first read the story “A Bridge Too Far” when I was a teenager, in Reader’s Digest. In my college days, I bought the Cornelius Ryan book on which the film was based. The story seemed highly heroic then, full of pluck, raw courage, and determination. I looked forward to the film’s release in India…
Read MoreRough Cut (1980) – A hidden Gem
Caper / Heist movies as a genre belong to two broad categories. Either the bad guys don’t get away with it – the police catch up with them. Or the bad guys get away with it – but with consequences. They also have two broad styles – dark and bloody. Or lightweight, crispy, and crackling…
Read MoreThree films on Hitler’s last Days – EVIL’S GRAND END
“Berlin where Hitler had fought his last battles against marriage and the Red Army and, defeated by both Venus and Mars, blew out his troubled brains”. This is one of the most significant lines by my favorite writer Len Deighton which appears in the Bernard Samson series of spy thrillers. This post will show why.…
Read MoreLittle Miss Sunshine – 2006 – Losers …. With Spirit
I bought the DVD of this film about 12 years ago and it was in its original cellophane wrapping to date. For some strange reason, I was too lazy to see it. I suppose everything happens at the right time. Little Miss Sunshine is simply a bittersweet, charming tale of a bunch of Sad…
Read MoreBrief Encounter – 1945 – Love hurts (and how)
World War 2 had just ended. Chance sexual encounters between men and women during the war were rampant, fuelled by the “tomorrow may not come at all” feeling. Some ended happily in marriage. Others sadly with as the men went missing or died during the war. But what does one do now that war…
Read MoreThey Shoot Horses Don’t They (1969) – Harrowing watch
“We have become a race of peeping Toms. Instead, we should go out and look inside at ourselves”. This is an excellent quote from one of the greatest thrillers, Rear Window(1954), essentially about human voyeurism that is integral to our basic instinct. Modern “reality” and “game shows” have only taken these aspects, far ahead.…
Read MoreNUREMBERG (2000) – Evil fascinates
When World War 2 ended, the Allies decided to put all the top Nazi leadership on trial. The “undertrials” would be given the best of “Western” justice – the very kind of justice that they had denied to most, if not all, their victims in the countries occupied by them. The trial of the…
Read MoreBy Dawn’s Early Light (1990) – Well-Intentioned Apocalyptic Thriller
At times a film comes along that is timely. At times the film is strangely out of place given the contemporary happenings. By Dawn’s Early Light is both, especially when you consider when it was made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFLtRIwMqxY In 1990, when the TV movie was released, tumultuous events were shaping a new world. …
Read MoreAll quiet on the western Front – Political Correctness over human savagery
Erich Marie Remarque was a German soldier who wrote about his experiences in the First World War. His books were so influential that the Nazis banned them when they gained power in 1933. The book Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the western Front) became an all-time classic. It is still regarded as one…
Read MoreThe Forgotten Battle – Predictable yet engrossing
The Historical map and background shown at the beginning of the first few seconds clarify what the film is all about. Simply put, since French ports were still in German hands and being defended resolutely, the only other port, easily captured was Antwerp in Belgium which sat at the end of the long journey…
Read MoreBhuj : The Pride of India
Bhuj – The Pride of India : Maajhi Ekdum Satakli In 1974, Kishore Kumar acted, produced, directed, sang, wrote, and scored Badhti ka Naam Daadhi. Before the film starts, Kishore himself comes on the screen, addresses the audience, and says as below (a loose translation): “Dear Friends and cinema fans This insignificant writer,…
Read MoreShershah – A mixed experience
Let’s talk about the obvious. An “Independence Day release is a neat idea, the hope being that more people will flock to see the movie. Shershah is a bio-pic of Captain Vikram Batra who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his various actions during the 1999 Kargil War. The ferocity of the engagements…
Read MoreMusical Combinations – Directors and their music
Hi All Let me share about Swar Alaap, run by Dinesh Ghate, a musician passionate about bringing forth the contributions of people “behind the screen” – the various instrumentalists who have given unique sounds and iconic fillers/introductions to various songs that we are aware of. When Dinesh asked me to write for Swar Alaap in…
Read MoreWelcome
Hi Welcome to my blog I will be mostly posting about books, music, movies . This will also serve as a teaser for upcoming projects Stay tuned . Rammesh
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