90th Anniversary of the Somme

[sol_invictus]

Well I watched 2 of the 5 dvds of Trenches tonight and I quite like it so far. It is more concerned with the battles than the Strachan series; which went into detail about subjects away from the battlefield, such as German atrocities in Belgium. I think I might end up liking Trenches better.

[spence]

Couple of good Aussie feature films about WWI: ANZACS and THE LIGHTHORSEMEN...some of the trenchfighting scenes in ANZACS were done really well and the final cavalry charge in THE LIGHTHORSEMEN was rivetting.

To tell the truth it's incredible to me that the DVDs are only available in Region 4 format so you have to have an All Region or Region 4 DVD player to watch em (there is a shortened version of ANZACs on VHS that's sort of available in Region 1 (out of print).

Just an aside: I ordered ANZACS from some outfit in New Zealand and a flick from a Canadian company on the same day (both shipped by mail). Got the one from NZ a week before the one from Canada. [&:]

[sol_invictus]

I just got All Quiet on the Western Front and The Blue Max yesterday. I think I have spent close to $100 in the last month on WWI documentaries and films in anticipation of GOA. If the game doesn't come out soon, I will be broke.[:(]

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: Arinvald

Well I watched 2 of the 5 dvds of Trenches tonight and I quite like it so far. It is more concerned with the battles than the Strachan series; which went into detail about subjects away from the battlefield, such as German atrocities in Belgium. I think I might end up liking Trenches better.

I'm in a book club that has this series available for $50.00. Are your impressions still positive? Did you get The Blue Max on DVD? Always liked that movie......

[sol_invictus]

Trenches was really good, but sorta trailed off in the end. I am still glad I got it. It was certainly worth the $16.00 it cost me. I got The Blue Max on DVD for $11.00 at Amazon. I have always liked this movie very much. I watched All Queit on the Western Front last night, always liked that as well.

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: Arinvald

I watched All Queit on the Western Front last night, always liked that as well.

The original or the re-make with Ernest Borgnine and John-Boy Walton?

You may already have it but if not, grab Paths Of Glory with Kirk Douglas. I think it was Stanley Kubrick's first film. IMHO, one of the greatest movies ever made and certainly the best WWI flick I've seen. In fact, I may just load that baby up tonite.....

[wodin]

Paths of Glory is a superb film. It set the standard for battle scene's and it wasn't until Saving Private Ryan that any film had matched it.

Its the first film where the camera runs along with the action so you feel like your there.

Cant stand the remake of All Quite..........The original is so much better.

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: Bossy573

That's incredible. Living through something like that and tacking another 90 years onto his life. The guy should be knighted.

Not in Britain m8...you have to do something really incredible in the UK to get a knighthood...like...like...be on telly alot or get a medal for some obscure sport that no one else gives a shit about!

[sol_invictus]

I watched the remake, haven't seen the original, but now you have forced me to rent the original.[;)] I guess I will have to get Paths of Glory as well. I like Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick. I wasn't aware that Kubrick directed Paths of Glory.

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: Arinvald

I guess I will have to get Paths of Glory as well.

You're in for a treat! In fact, I've been working too hard lately so I may just take a day off, send the wife n' kids off somewhere, and have a personal Kubrick Festival: Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and top it off with Full Metal Jacket. Been a while since I've seen any of those movies.

[sol_invictus]

Yeah, I like all of those. To bad Kubrick went out on a sour note with Eyes Wide Shut. Maybe it was Tom's fault but I just didn't like that movie.

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: Arinvald

Yeah, I like all of those. To bad Kubrick went out on a sour note with Eyes Wide Shut. Maybe it was Tom's fault but I just didn't like that movie.

Nor did I. Maybe he was going soft.....

TMC is running a 2 hour special on The Battle of Jutland this Friday. Hoping it is good. Their stuff usually is.

Hey Arinvald, do you have TOAW3? Maybe we could get a PBEM game of one of the WWI scenarios going...

[sol_invictus]

I am desperately waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail. I expect it in a day or so. I would really like a pbem game after I get reaquainted with the game rules; it has been quite a while since I played the original. I will get in touch with you when I am ready to start a game. Thanks for the offer.

[Skeleton]

Kubrik, in my humble opinion was a true genius. A word that is used far too carelessly nowadays. Paths of Glory was on PBS HD late this weekend and unfortunately I caught it with about thrity minutes left. Refresh my memory, this is the one in which French officiers were condemned to death during WW1, correct?

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: Marcus the leper

Kubrik, in my humble opinion was a true genius. A word that is use far too carelessly nowadays. Paths of Glory was on PBS HD late this weekend and unfortunately I caught it with about thrity minutes left. Refresh my memory, this is the one in which French officiers were condemned to death during WW1, correct?

Very briefly, The French try to take an impregnable position from the Germans (The Anthill). They are thrown back and the commanding General of the regiment in question goes looking for scapegoats. They end up picking 3 enlisted men to face charges of cowardice in the face of the enemy and are they quickly convicted by a drumhread court martial and shot. Kirk Douglas plays the regimental colonel and is basically a foil to the hypocrisy and double-dealing throughout. There are half a dozen more sub-plots throughout but you get the picture.

Kubrick was a genius in every sense of the word. His movies are diverse and almost all are brilliant.

[Skeleton]

The plot somewhat reminds me of "Breaker Morant" (I believe that was the spelling and title), another great movie about the hypocrisy of war. I will have to check it out. It is one of the few Kubrik movies I have not seen. Thanks for the info. Though the TOAW 3 invite was not directed at me, I also played TOAW COW to death and have TOAW 3 on the way. Should either of you need or want a third PBEM game, feel free to drop me a line. Cheers.

[sol_invictus]

That sounds good to me. I got my copy in the mail today. Getting the manual printed at Kinkos is on the agenda for tommorrow.

[Bossy573]

[:)] Matrix did a solid job bringing TOAW back to life. There are a ton of WWI scenarios to keep us occupied until GOA is ready.

[Skeleton]

Wow, I know this is a little late, but the series you both (Arinvald and Bossy 573) recommended (The First World War-The Complete Series) is outstanding and first rate. Thanks for recommendation, much appreciated.