[MoMo]

Dear djjeffhall,

the point about " Der Untergang " is that it was made by a German crew and therefore had to be as honest as honest could be for obvious reasons. The sad truth about the truth is that Hitler was probably the biggest bore on the planet when he was alive. His ordinariness provides a fascinating counterplay to the horrors which he perpetrated and also generates a kind of myopic disbelief in the west as to how he could hold such sway over the German nation.

Goebells was just as big a bore, but he had a brain. You can blame him for all the "SPIN" politicians generate in the world. His wife was one of Hitler's acolytes who swallowed everthing the madman told her.

The scariest part of the story was when she poisoned her six children ( her son from a previous marriage was older and at the front ). As far as I have read, this part of the story was strictly accurate.

Overall " Der Untergang" must be seen as one of the best war movies ever! The only glitch I spotted was the inevitible T34 dressed up as a Tiger. The turret was not convincing when filmed from the front and in medium close-up. Vehicles, uniforms and insignia all looked superb.

A film to compare it to is " The Bunker". Hannibal Lector ( sic ) played Hitler. A good choice. I felt that he overacted the foaming at the mouth bit rather too much. As a film/document it is highly watchable, but pales a lot when compared to the recent opus.

keep 'em coming,

MoMo

[jim]

Well MOMO you would be opening a whole can of worms with remakes of the Battle of Britain and Anzio. I agree about your comments on the Bismark film. I know the entire story about that battle from a relative who was on the Ark. Mostly the film was spot on ,its what wasnt shown that is interesting. My father was at Anzio and was very bitter about the terrible lack of leadership and needless loss of lives, that included all his friends. I dont think he ever got over his anger. (he was also at Salerno). As to Dowding and the Battle of Britain, to this day the conduct of the battle is still the cause of much debate. Dowding thank God despite the campaign against him was right on almost every aspect. That at least most historians agree on. The film was very simplistic but had to be,I think the viewing public would not generally understand what the infighting and misinformation was about and would be turned of by it all. Not many people understand that thanks to Dowdings planning the battle was already won in 1939. It is also a false that the RAF was in dire straits by the end of the battle. The RAF was actually stronger at the end of the battle than at the begining. Anyway the battle was won and those gallant few changed the history of the world.

[1250ships]

Originally Posted by MoMo

" The Battle of the River Plate" ( I love Powell and Pressburger movies, but the Graf Spee in this one was an ex US heavy Cruiser from the Brazilian Navy! )

Actually the Graf Spee was played by the USS Salem CA-139. She is preserved as a musuem ship in Quincy, MA. Brazil never received any heavy cruisers from the US Navy. She had a pair of Brooklyn class light cruisers the USS Philadelphia renamed Barroso and USS St Louis renamed Tamandare

With modern CGI capabilities I would love to see a made for TV miniseries covering the battle for Guadalcannal. Air battles, land battles, surface battles, and carrier engagements.

[MoMo]

Dear jim,

I concur with all your comments, observations and critique. I also agree that it would be difficult to stir up the politics of Anzio and The Battle of Britain, but if democracy is to be served by our media then it would be best served by a medium which at least informed those who are interested what the hell was going on.

If only for the sake of future generations who should never be put in the position of risking their lives for a plan which is based purely on the egotistical certainties of people who are only interested in furthering their own careers.

I think site hounds would be fascinated to hear about the stories of The Ark in action against The Bismark. Also, what happened at Salerno and Anzio?

Thanks,

MoMo

[MoMo]

Thanks, 1250Ships,

I don't know why I thought that it was a South American recipient of ex-U.S. ships. Probably the location of the scuttling threw me.

Thanks for bringing us up to speed on this one.

I agree with your wish list. Last I heard, Spielberg was planning to produce a mini-series about the Pacific theatre. If this is the case, and it was done with the same attention to detail and with the same degree of care, that really would be something to see!

cheers,

MoMo

[MoMo]

Adding to the pantheon of great war movies to watch, but not remake:

" The Train " ( 1965 )

This was a Burt Lancaster opus which was directed by John Frankenheimer. I enjoy watching this one every 10 months or so.

If you can't watch black and white movies, forget it because you are going to be didappointed.

If you want to watch a movie about the war, as waged by the Frech Resistance against the Germans...watch this one and enjoy!

The black and white photography is excellent. The German hardware is very good ( though inaccurate...lots of Panhards, etc. ). There is some strafing by generic two engined prop planes ( supposed to be Mosquitos, I think ) but the trains are the main attraction here, hardware-wise.

The plot centres on a character played by Paul Scofield. He is a German offiecer who wishes to steal all France's most treasured paintings as the Germans start to evacuate Paris.

Burt Lancaster plays the ' Chef ' of a railway depot who is also the 'Chef ' of the local Maquis.

A lady from the French Ministry of Culture begs Burt to save France's cultural heritage....now watch the rest!

Best bit of mayhem : when the stockyard is bombed and an armoured train is blown to pieces....lots of plywood went up they day they shot that!

Lots of train wrecks and a tense battle between Burt and Paul Schofield who both try to outwit each other.

Ya gotta see it sometime. It's available in the UK as an MGM DVD.

This is one of the best Mano a Mano ( sic ) war movies ever made.

To remake it you would need Mel Gibson V ??? bad guy????

CGI would provide the Mosquitos and Typhoons for the ground strafing role and also for the armoured train explosion.

Cheers,

MoMo

[Spinnaker]

I read in last nights' newspaper that a local compnay had just completed construction of a full-scale mould of a Lancaster, from which at least a dozen 1:1 scale Lanc's will be formed in fibreglass for use in filming the Dambusters movie.

Was thinking how cool it would be to add one of the models to my collection once they have finished using them in filming the movie .

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Spinnaker

I read in last nights' newspaper that a local compnay had just completed construction of a full-scale mould of a Lancaster, from which at least a dozen 1:1 scale Lanc's will be formed in fibreglass for use in filming the Dambusters movie.

Was thinking how cool it would be to add one of the models to my collection once they have finished using them in filming the movie .

Spinnaker, I really hope that after filming these will be donated to museums throughout the country (NZ and elsewhere is feasible) for display purposes - future generations need to have an understanding and appreciation of history .

[MoMo]

Dear Cardinal, I agree with you...let the museums have them, but only if those who reject them pass them on to Spinnaker to grace his front lawn!

If you are desperate to have one now, Spinnaker, you could construct a full-size replica from donated Coke cans and have yourself a really stunning and eye-catching piece of modern art........

.........just think!

I lived in Iowa City for a few months and, even though these small American towns are still haunted by the ghost of a youthful Clark Kent, I saw that people were willing to do crazy things!

MoMo

[mkvb]

I would be happy to see a remake of BoB.It is my all time favorite.It may well be cheaper to produce as well.Alot of the scenes in Dark Blue World were taken from BoB and remixed using CGI to great effect.One scene that stands out for me is a bunch of spits taking off on a mission.Not one of them is real but it is hard to tell the difference.The only change I would like to see is to loose the love angle.It's something I tend to skip over when watching the movie can't see the point in it.