Memorial Day Movies
Posted: May 27th, 2007, 3:01 pm
Here's a little teaser I did to for my wife's forum on Memorial Day a few years ago. Hopefully it will generate a bit of discussion (I guess everyone is traveling this weekend?). Have fun:
Ok, I'm not a big fan of "war" films, but in every genre there always things I like. As we reflect on this weekend (or if you find yourself on the couch), be sure to check out a few of these movies:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
One of the greatest films ever made about WW1, this movie follows the lives of German schoolboys as they join for a noble cause only to find the slaughter of no mans land.
As one man says "...we sleep and eat with death. We're done for because you can't live that way and keep anything inside you".
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The touching story of three veterans return from WW2. One of the men (Homer Parrish) is played by a real veteran (Harold Russell--the only man to win 2 Academy awards for the same part) with no hands who sits at the piano with Jazz Legend Hogey Carmichael and plays "chopsticks".
Shot in deep focus by master cameraman Gregg Tolland (Citizen Kane), the shots allow for more expression and reaction from the actors. A complex and moving story that swept the Oscars in '46.
King Rat (1965)
James Clavell's autobigraphical novel about life in a Japanese POW camp is toned down a bit for the screen here, but loses none of it's intensity.
Much of the credit goes to George Segal and Tom Courtney as Corporal "King" who lives a privileged life at the camp, and Lt. Grey who is determined to destroy him.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
An amazing anime film about 2 Japanese children who must fend for themselves when their parents and home are taken from them. A complex take on the victors and the victims--not for children!!
Open City (1945)
Roberto Rosselini's film about the Italian resistance movement was actually made while the country was still under occupation.
The whole film has a realistic newsreel look about it that definitely influenced "Schindler's List". The sight of Anna Magnani being mowed down by SS machine gun fire is one of the great shots of cinema.
Shoah (1985)
This 4 DVD documentary of the holocaust would take up your whole weekend!
Done over a 10 year period, interviews were conducted with camp survivors, German camp guards and commandants, and people in the towns nearby who knew of what was going on, but were powerless to stop it or sided with the Nazi's.
No corpses or other unsightly shots are seen. Just people telling their story (or nightmare) in front of the camera.
The Grand Illusion (1937)
"In 1936 I made a picture named La Grande Illusion in which I tried to express all my deep feelings about the cause of peace. Three years later, the war broke out".
Jean Renoir's classic film about the illusion of class and honor in WW1, is one of the most amazing films ever made. Many films such as "Casablanca" and "The Great Escape" have copied whole sequences from this movie.
Cross of Iron (1976)
Orson Welles once called Cross of Iron "The greatest antiwar film ever made". High praise indeed.
Set in 1943, the Germans are losing the war on the Russian front. A new power hungry commander arrives to take charge of the retreating German army. His opposition is Sgt. Stiener (an Oscar worthy performance by James Coburn) who is more concerned about the lives of his men than winning medals.
This is the movie "Saving Pvt. Ryan" tried to be, but failed.
Other war films you might check out:
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
Murphy's War (1971)
Pride of the Marines (1945)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Lifeboat (1943)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Schindler's list (1993)
Three Comrades (1938)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Killing Fields (1984)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Glory (1989)
The Big Parade (1925)
Shame (1968)
Mother Night (1996)
The Mortal Storm (1940)
Das Boot (1982)
Ok, I'm not a big fan of "war" films, but in every genre there always things I like. As we reflect on this weekend (or if you find yourself on the couch), be sure to check out a few of these movies:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
One of the greatest films ever made about WW1, this movie follows the lives of German schoolboys as they join for a noble cause only to find the slaughter of no mans land.
As one man says "...we sleep and eat with death. We're done for because you can't live that way and keep anything inside you".
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The touching story of three veterans return from WW2. One of the men (Homer Parrish) is played by a real veteran (Harold Russell--the only man to win 2 Academy awards for the same part) with no hands who sits at the piano with Jazz Legend Hogey Carmichael and plays "chopsticks".
Shot in deep focus by master cameraman Gregg Tolland (Citizen Kane), the shots allow for more expression and reaction from the actors. A complex and moving story that swept the Oscars in '46.
King Rat (1965)
James Clavell's autobigraphical novel about life in a Japanese POW camp is toned down a bit for the screen here, but loses none of it's intensity.
Much of the credit goes to George Segal and Tom Courtney as Corporal "King" who lives a privileged life at the camp, and Lt. Grey who is determined to destroy him.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
An amazing anime film about 2 Japanese children who must fend for themselves when their parents and home are taken from them. A complex take on the victors and the victims--not for children!!
Open City (1945)
Roberto Rosselini's film about the Italian resistance movement was actually made while the country was still under occupation.
The whole film has a realistic newsreel look about it that definitely influenced "Schindler's List". The sight of Anna Magnani being mowed down by SS machine gun fire is one of the great shots of cinema.
Shoah (1985)
This 4 DVD documentary of the holocaust would take up your whole weekend!
Done over a 10 year period, interviews were conducted with camp survivors, German camp guards and commandants, and people in the towns nearby who knew of what was going on, but were powerless to stop it or sided with the Nazi's.
No corpses or other unsightly shots are seen. Just people telling their story (or nightmare) in front of the camera.
The Grand Illusion (1937)
"In 1936 I made a picture named La Grande Illusion in which I tried to express all my deep feelings about the cause of peace. Three years later, the war broke out".
Jean Renoir's classic film about the illusion of class and honor in WW1, is one of the most amazing films ever made. Many films such as "Casablanca" and "The Great Escape" have copied whole sequences from this movie.
Cross of Iron (1976)
Orson Welles once called Cross of Iron "The greatest antiwar film ever made". High praise indeed.
Set in 1943, the Germans are losing the war on the Russian front. A new power hungry commander arrives to take charge of the retreating German army. His opposition is Sgt. Stiener (an Oscar worthy performance by James Coburn) who is more concerned about the lives of his men than winning medals.
This is the movie "Saving Pvt. Ryan" tried to be, but failed.
Other war films you might check out:
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
Murphy's War (1971)
Pride of the Marines (1945)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Lifeboat (1943)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Schindler's list (1993)
Three Comrades (1938)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Killing Fields (1984)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Glory (1989)
The Big Parade (1925)
Shame (1968)
Mother Night (1996)
The Mortal Storm (1940)
Das Boot (1982)