Remake a War Movie?

Herr Straße Laufer · 11-23-2009, 06:19 AM,

LOL! He had the worst English accent in Longest Day. ;)
Almost sounded Scottish to me. :smoke:

RR

Iwo Jim · 11-23-2009, 07:39 AM,

I don't know if any have been made on this subject, but I would like to see a really well made film on the battle for Berlin

Von Luck · 11-24-2009, 05:36 AM,

:cool:lol something Sean Connery will never be good at is accents no matter what film he has that Scottish accent is there somewhere.

Von Luck · 11-24-2009, 05:41 AM,

Sorry Ed nice to see my Irish cousin is still there not well you say but not dead yet.Hopefully you will improve and get back to gaming if not then back to a few drinks take care.

Herr Straße Laufer · 11-24-2009, 05:55 AM,

I heard that Eddie is so sick that he was walking down the street saw a fight and he did not ask to join in. :rolleyes:

I do hope he gets well soon. :thumbs_up:

cheers

RR

Crossroads · (This post was last modified: 11-28-2009, 06:09 PM by Crossroads.)

Guys, I have the winner for you cheers

Just bought the DVD: Tali-Ihantala 1944. It *IS* that bad.

The "movie" is about Stalin's fourth strategic offensive taking place immediately after D-Day with the purpose of destroying the Finnish Army (in which it failed) and forcing the country out of war (which it did).

With the limited 3 million dollar budget, and with the "direction" the director took with the movie, it turns out to be a series of 10 minute re-enactments of various key battles or events taking place in June-August 1944.

Amateurs, limited budget, etc etc. Truly awful :(

But with immaculate attention to detail! Everything IS real in this "movie". KV-1s, ISU-152s, T34-76s and -85s, Stu-40s, gear, uniforms. All the persons represented are real, all the events actually took place.

Here's a part where corporal Lagus destroys four T34s in 30 seconds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyr99Yte0yE&NR=1

Edit: Updated my signature to add the original picture of Ps.531-29 laying destroyed in a ditch, having re-joined the battle with a jammed gun elevation control. (Bottom left, middle quadrant). Cpt Kvikant, having barely bailed out from his own wagon a moment earlier, was fatally wounded in the head in another wagon he commandeered. Unlike in the clip, from 5'00", he was carried to safety but died shortly after. (I read a book about the assault gun battalion, and the counter-attack filmed here was detailed in the book).

KV-1s and T34s in action (Parental Advisory - Terrible Acting!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Qw_pkYL...re=related

Ah, the-could-have-been potential that was all but wasted here... :hissy:

But the authentic equipment appearing here is just awesome. Enjoy :)

Jim von Krieg · 11-29-2009, 04:41 AM,

I found it interesting... the tanks were definitely the stars...

Dan Caviness · 11-30-2009, 12:25 AM,

I agree JB, the Longest Day, while a good movie in many ways and a joy simply for some of the performances (a young "Irish" Sean Connery going off again and again about how screwed up the English Army was keeps coming to mind...classic stuff) the movie didn't really capture much more than the fact that Normandy was a really big fight. Watching Johnny Wayne getting rolled around in a wheelbarrow didn't seem to help win the fight either but at least the draft dodger got a chance to wear a uniform.

Saving Private Ryan certainly managed to revisit the beach landings with quite a bit more impact, and it really is a story about Normandy and the hedgerows, so I guess it counts. It also manages to get everyone in the right armored vehicles, shooting the right weapons, wearing the proper gear, etc, etc.

Ivan's earlier comment about M-48's at the Battle of the Bulge hit a sore spot and I can still remember looking at that movie and going "say what?" when I saw those American tanks. Even a 14 year old knows the difference...and it was equally frustrating watching Patton for many of the same reasons.
Still, I imagine it may be difficult to scrounge up a 100 or so authentic German WWII tanks to shoot the Tunisian Battle of El Guettar, so I'll give them credit for at least whitewashing and attempting to camoflage those.

Best war movie, like any "best" category, is highly subjective. I'll say Cross of Iron is at the top of my own list as well, but agree, good luck on doing it better. Hell, the Big Red One is a fun watch as well, probably more for watching Lee Marvin than any military insight garnered during the show...
And of course there was always the chance they could have shot Mark Hamill and avoided a 12 movie entertainment franchise which failed to give R2D2 and C3PO top billing...

War movies, maybe more so than most, rely on performances?
Yes, I think I'll stand by that one....even if argueable...

In a group like the Blitz....we'll all need to put aside the historian hats...forgiving the movie directors for foolishly not knowing the late war Kurt Tank Focke Wulf 190 "Dora" or D9 wouldn't have an oversize prop spinner since he was heading towards his ultimate Ta-152 inverted vee design...etc..etc..
Normal people don't care.
We are...by definition...mine at the very least..."ab"normal at this point...

So if we put our critical hats aside, and try to enjoy a movie as it is and avoid using it for historical research not to mention accuracy... What the heck...enjoy the ride and watch "300"...which while serving no real military purpose does convey the importance of flank attacks and to stop frontal assaults when you can't climb over the dead bodies from the last assaults...etc..etc...

For the record, Kate Beckinsale should be in every war movie ever made.

Jim von Krieg · 11-30-2009, 02:26 AM,

Dan,

You bring up some very good points...

My biggest pet peeve is not the military equipment... It would fall in your performance category...

When the military is depicted in movies and TV there are two things they do that will make or break a military movie for me... Especially when depicting the US military... Capture the individual appearance...

Learn how to salute! Get a haircut!

those are the basic fundamentals of presenting yourself as a Soldier... and if the movie doesn't get it right, I consider the director failed to do his/her "due diligence" to get it right. It costs nothing, but it will demonstrate they made an effort to portray a Soldier...

You can always tell when an actor/actress in a military movie has served and/or is serious about his/her craft... watch them salute in a military associated/war movie... It's why I enjoyed Saving Private Ryan... I saw it when it was released at the base movie theater in Korea... those first few minutes on the beach were extremely sobering...

Me, I was extremely dubious of this movie at the time... Tom Hanks Soldier? TOM HANKS Soldier??? After the movie, it was clear to me he is someone that is serious about his craft... One of my favorite actors now.. from hilariously funny to extremely serious...

One of my favorite Lee Marvin movies... Hell in the Pacific with Toshiro Mifune.

Regards,

Jim

Dan Caviness · 11-30-2009, 05:29 AM,

Jim:

We're on the same page...performances make or break it.

Good old Lee Marvin...a Marine Sniper during WWII was he not?
Might explain his ability to "act".

Hell in the Pacific was reminiscent of "None But the Brave" but much more powerful...no doubt in part due to the two great actors involved...Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune (a Japanese veteran of WWII...thank you IMDB!).
I think the entire movie is shot in silence....or at least with damn little dialog...since they accurately depict the language barrier....which forces the movie to send it's message in a different, more profound way.

Sorry I brought up "None but the Brave".
There is a case of a good start and a train wreck of an ending.

MASH drives me up the wall these days...looking at all those long hairs trying to act like they are in the Army...and your right Jim...not a one of them appeared to be able to salute...except for Colonel Potter.

One of my favorite war movies...although not a performance as much as a realistic movie....was "The Dam Busters"...
For this Yank...that one defines the stiff upper lipped British soldier mentality..."oh bloody Hell...they've shot my leg off...get that will you?"...(:O)....and the scenes are really quite well shot considering how old it is. The scenes of the "dam"ned strikes are good stuff...and if you look carefully you'll be able to spot where Lucas came up with his Star Wars attacks on the Death Star...seriously...

Lawrence of Arabia?
I know...it's not really a war film....or is it?
Definitely a performance.

Regards,

Dan