Saving Private Ryan?

[John Lansford]

Thin Red Line was a Vietnam movie dressed up in 1943 scenes.  It was almost as bad as that other movie, but not quite.

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

Thin Red Line was a Vietnam movie dressed up in 1943 scenes.  It was almost as bad as that other movie, but not quite.

Actually, the original "Thin Red Line" was the "Private Ryan" of its time... i remember seeing this back in the 60's (iirc)... my Dad said it was about the most accurate depiction of combat he had seen (i.e. - mortar shell going off and guys some distance away getting it from shrapnel, unlike the usual Hollywood WW2 movie depictions of the time.)

[jcjordan]

There is some truths to the "Ryan" but most of it is Hollywood. If you've read the book Band Of Brothers, it's mentioned somewhere after DDay & before they were sent back to England. I'll have to go find my book on it & see what it say's but from what I can remember from all these years ago was that one of the BOB people new the "Ryan" from training & the guy came by & told him a bit after DDay that he was being sent home as his brothers were KIA. But this might just be a false memory by one of the BOB people due to time involved & all the events that happened in that time.

[Hornblower]

DO NOT MENTION THAT MOVIE...  BAD... BAD POSTER...[:-]

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: Juggalo

Or if somebody would like to do a story about determined Dutch resistance fighters, nothing stopping them.

Saw this movie last year about the Dutch Resistance....wasn't too bad!

Black Book is a 2007 Dutch film set in occupied Holland toward the end of WWII.

The film revolves around a beautiful young Jewish woman who struggles to remain hidden from the Gestapo, and eventually joins the Dutch Resistance.

Yes, there is a bit of a love story in here, but it's not the central theme of the movie.

The twisting, turning plot keeps the movie going at a good pace. I also liked how it's portrayed that even though the Reich is on its death-bed, it's business as usual for the Germans in occupied Holland.

Not for the squeamish though....graphic killings, a few nudey scenes (including full frontal shot of a very fat German dude), and a very disturbing "Jackass" type scene that might make you re-taste your popcorn.

Curious what the experts in here thought of the German vehicles and uniforms...were they authentic looking?
I think maybe they used the same German reenactor group used in Saving Private Ryan. I recognized a few vehicles that looked like the same ones in this film.

Also, 90% of the film is spoken in Dutch with English subtitles. However, there are no a-list Hollywood actors in this film to muck it up.

Overall, not the most interesting war movie I've seen, but far from the worst!

Excellent movie, couldn't take my off the screen[:D]

Reading the subtitles of course.

Took a dislike to the Canadians at the end of the movie.

Personally, I don't care if the uniforms are not 100% or they substitute vehicles etc.

As long as its a good yarn.

[TOMLABEL]

I thought the movie Battleground was good for its time - but 'yes' it was Hollywood. It was probably the most closest thing to SPR or BOB for that time period.

OK - correct me if I'm wrong!!!![:D][:'(]

[Anthropoid]

What's wrong with Thin Red Line? I kinda liked it; so much so I own it on DVD and watched it twice! And Pearl Harbor was fun too [&:] Granted it was about half 'chick-flick,' but any movie that manages to be a patriotic tear-jerker and effective wife-satisfier can't be all bad.
 
Now granted I like movies like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the whole Austin Power's series, and UndaCuvah Bruthah too, so I'm not asserting my taste in movies are 'good'  . . . but I am nonetheless curious what exactly you'd identify as being so 'bad' about either Affleck or Penn in either of those two movies?

[witpqs]

Doctor Evil would crush Affleck & Penn.

[Ian R]

The original soldier used as the (loose) inspiration was in fact as stated above the last of 4, two were killed on D-day, one (pilot I think) was missing believed dead in Burma, and a padre was sent to finf the real private "Ryan"... and if I remember correctly the pilot who was MIA in Burma was not in fact KIA and made it back to friendly lines later on.

And yes, there were no Tiger I tanks (or even Panthers) over in the airborne division's operating areas early on at the relevant time, and OK the air support would more likely be P47s or P39s than P51s, and a whole lot of other details, but it was pretty good.

Can't wait for the new 'Pacific' version of Band of Brothers.

[String]

Hah, I actually liked TRL. A lot. But then it's been my experience that it's a love or hate kind of film. Whenever it's been brought up some people love it, others hate it. It's rare to see a simple "meh".

[51st Highland Div]

Looks like the series "The Pacific",made by the Band of Brothers crew, is looking like a March 2010 release on our screens.....

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Good Lord, The Thin Red Line was awful...

I like the "Thin red Line" a lot! [:)]

Why do you think action scenes are wrong in that movie?


Leo "Apollo11"

[Terminus]

I didn't specify that, Leo. I hated the whole film, from start to finish; every single aspect of it was repugnant.

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: Terminus

I didn't specify that, Leo. I hated the whole film, from start to finish; every single aspect of it was repugnant.

I don't know... the "Thin Red Line" was very fascinating movie... it had something different and special about itself...

#1
The cinematography is superb

#2
The actions scenes are top notch

#3
There is aspect that all other war (action) movies miss - inner thoughts / feelings of a character...


IMHO the "Thin Red Line" movie by Mallick is, for me, closer to what I felt when I read the book (and other similar books made after WWII - for example "Naked and the Dead") !


Leo "Apollo11"

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: 51st Highland Div

Looks like the series "The Pacific",made by the Band of Brothers crew, is looking like a March 2010 release on our screens.....

Not if the AE team does the fact checking on it [:D]

[Ron Saueracker]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

ORIGINAL: Juggalo

Or if somebody would like to do a story about determined Dutch resistance fighters, nothing stopping them.

Saw this movie last year about the Dutch Resistance....wasn't too bad!

Black Book is a 2007 Dutch film set in occupied Holland toward the end of WWII.

The film revolves around a beautiful young Jewish woman who struggles to remain hidden from the Gestapo, and eventually joins the Dutch Resistance.

Yes, there is a bit of a love story in here, but it's not the central theme of the movie.

The twisting, turning plot keeps the movie going at a good pace. I also liked how it's portrayed that even though the Reich is on its death-bed, it's business as usual for the Germans in occupied Holland.

Not for the squeamish though....graphic killings, a few nudey scenes (including full frontal shot of a very fat German dude), and a very disturbing "Jackass" type scene that might make you re-taste your popcorn.

Curious what the experts in here thought of the German vehicles and uniforms...were they authentic looking?
I think maybe they used the same German reenactor group used in Saving Private Ryan. I recognized a few vehicles that looked like the same ones in this film.

Also, 90% of the film is spoken in Dutch with English subtitles. However, there are no a-list Hollywood actors in this film to muck it up.

Overall, not the most interesting war movie I've seen, but far from the worst!

Excellent movie, couldn't take my off the screen[:D]

Reading the subtitles of course.
Took a dislike to the Canadians at the end of the movie.

Personally, I don't care if the uniforms are not 100% or they substitute vehicles etc.

As long as its a good yarn.

Eh???? Why? I've not seen the movie but can't imagine an issue. The Dutch still send Canada tulips every year for Canada's wartime services to their country and just try to pay for a beer in Holland as a Canuck!

[MkXIV]

At the time Private Ryan came out I was dating a girl whose grandfather had been in the Normandy landing. I asked him if he was going to see the movie. He said "No, I saw it the first time and hated it"
It gave me pause....

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

I didn't specify that, Leo. I hated the whole film, from start to finish; every single aspect of it was repugnant.

There are times I think I might be T's evil twin.

BTW, my dad was on Omaha beach on D day, and when he and I saw the much touted "The Longest Day", he thought it was a great film but the pyrotechnics were less than a training exercise, lacking the intensity of the real event.

I have no doubt in my ex-military mind he would have been satisfied with "SPR".

I rate that film 5 stars, as do most "dirt-eaters" who have seen it...

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: Terminus

I didn't specify that, Leo. I hated the whole film, from start to finish; every single aspect of it was repugnant.

I don't know... the "Thin Red Line" was very fascinating movie... it had something different and special about itself...

#1
The cinematography is superb

#2
The actions scenes are top notch

#3
There is aspect that all other war (action) movies miss - inner thoughts / feelings of a character...


IMHO the "Thin Red Line" movie by Mallick is, for me, closer to what I felt when I read the book (and other similar books made after WWII - for example "Naked and the Dead") !


Leo "Apollo11"

Leo I thought it was a horrible aspect of the movie. It seems very few manage to pull that off successfully. In TLR the 'thought' monologues were just too disjointed from the ongoing scene. I don't mean that the characters were thinking something unrelated, I mean that the audio + audio effects used for the thoughts were a failure. Instead of pulling you deeper into the scene and/or character they had the opposite effect and threw you out of the scene.

Most of the cinematography was good, but the only actual good part of the movie was the beautiful scenery. I hated TLR and thought it was worse that 'That Other Movie'.

[JWE]

Yeah witpqs, I was pretty disappointed in TRL too.

It seems that the people who suffered the most, made some of the best films about it. The Germans and Russians have some really grim, gritty, gut twisting stuff.

Anybody seen Joseph Vilsmaier’s Stalingrad?