Naval History Forums

OpanaPointer wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:38 pm

Steve Crandell wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:37 pm Welcome, Alick! This forum isn't always very active, and I just saw your post. I haven't seen the movie you referenced. I've just recently discovered Russian war movies and they are interesting for their different point of view. I didn't particularly like Enemy at the Gates. I thought the attempt to draw a personal connection between the two snipers was silly.

That's how you get your girlfriend to go to the movie with you.

I suppose, but that's also what creates travesties like "Pearl Harbor". I'm sure they do that sort of thing to appeal to women, but sometimes it gives the viewer a really inaccurate impression of what happened.

Steve Crandell wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:41 pm

OpanaPointer wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:38 pm

Steve Crandell wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:37 pm Welcome, Alick! This forum isn't always very active, and I just saw your post. I haven't seen the movie you referenced. I've just recently discovered Russian war movies and they are interesting for their different point of view. I didn't particularly like Enemy at the Gates. I thought the attempt to draw a personal connection between the two snipers was silly.

That's how you get your girlfriend to go to the movie with you.

I suppose, but that's also what creates travesties like "Pearl Harbor". I'm sure they do that sort of thing to appeal to women, but sometimes it gives the viewer a really inaccurate impression of what happened.

Anything can be overdone. /obvious

Yes, and some of the best war movies ever made have a romantic element to them. You don't have to sacrifice accuracy to do that.

Hi All,

Got to agree with Aurora, The Cruel Sea is still number one for me, with a nicely understated romance between the "Ops Room Lovely" Virginia McKenna and Donald Sinden as the Compass Rose's Number One. Especially poignant when she sees the ship's marker removed from the wall chart because the ship is sunk, way astern of the convoy and with little hope of rescue for any survivors.

Re: Fury the final battle segment was apparently inspired in part by the experience of the British Tank "Fray Benthos" trapped in the mud of No Man's Land at Passchendaele in 1917 for 60 hours under continual close range attack by German troops, artillery and even their own side. The unrealistic element of Fury was that the Panzerschreck-equipped infantry could have destroyed the tank easily, for little loss, whereas their First World War counterparts had nothing similar except their own bravery, to overwhelm the outnumbered defenders, of whom one was killed, one unharmed and all the rest wounded. Eventually the crew managed to escape back to British lines.

Fray Benthos was a famous brand of tinned corned beef sold in Britain, the crew's Little Joke of describing themselves as tinned meat. The story is told at https://tank100.com/tankmen/fray-bentos/

All the best

wadinga

One film shown recently in the UK was ''The Kings Choice'' which when I first saw the title assumed was about the 1936 abdication crisis and King Edward VIII.
But no, it was quite an astonishing account of the German invasion of Norway from the Norwegian perspective and the decision on King Haakon on whether to resist or surrender. I would strongly recommend this film, the scenes showing the sinking of the Blucher were as eerie and dramatic as I have seen with no hype or background ''music'' to distract from what was really happening.

wadinga wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 3:20 pm
Fray Benthos was a famous brand of tinned corned beef sold in Britain, the crew's Little Joke of describing themselves as tinned meat. The story is told at https://tank100.com/tankmen/fray-bentos/

All the best

wadinga

Fray Bentos is actually the town in Uruguay where the meat is processed and shipped out worldwide, not just to Britain, the name continues to this day.

RF wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:58 am One film shown recently in the UK was ''The Kings Choice'' which when I first saw the title assumed was about the 1936 abdication crisis and King Edward VIII.
But no, it was quite an astonishing account of the German invasion of Norway from the Norwegian perspective and the decision on King Haakon on whether to resist or surrender. I would strongly recommend this film, the scenes showing the sinking of the Blucher were as eerie and dramatic as I have seen with no hype or background ''music'' to distract from what was really happening.

Thank you for the reference! I found it on Amazon and intend to watch it soon.

Let me know what you think.

RF wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:02 am Let me know what you think.

T/O

I was absolutely engrossed by it. Brilliant film. Loved it.

RF wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:02 am Let me know what you think.

Well worth watching. Very interesting treatment of something I knew next to nothing about.

I'm an old sailor and have seen a lot of "War films", most are terrible but a few do stand out as worth watching.
The Cruel Sea and The Caine Mutiny are my coequal favorites for Navy movies.
The Sand Pebbles comes in a very close second.

For land combat I prefer Cross of Iron.

I also like Dogs of War but the book was far superior to the movie.

I guess I prefer the books over almost any movie.
But that's me.......I'm funny that way.

Command Decision, 1948 staring Clark Gable, is not an action movie, but just a great study in the power and burden of leadership.

gflotron wrote: ↑Sun Oct 03, 2021 3:11 pm Command Decision, 1948 staring Clark Gable, is not an action movie, but just a great study in the power and burden of leadership.

And "Twelve O'clock High" was a tour de force in personnel management. It was used in the NCO leadership and management course when I was on active duty (c. late '80s).