De Gaulle - Part One

I'd seen a previous movie on De Gaulle in 2012 at the French Film Festival here in Perth, Western Australia. It covered the critical six weeks in May/June 1940 plus back story to De Gaulle's family. I found it to be a very moving film due to the scenes with his family fleeing as refugees with a handicapped daughter.  This new film, while not associated as far as I know, effectively takes off from were that movie finished.  

The political twists were amazing and also how De Gaulle was able to bounce back after various setbacks.  There was much I didn't know and while I am sure there was a good deal of artistic licence (which generally makes for an engaging movie after all) I consider it an excellent war movie, up there with anything the Americans have produced.  

One thing I found interesting was only one passing reference to the Russians and nothing that I can recall about the Italians.  The major battle depicted, Bir Hakem, certainly involved, on my follow up research, significant action against Italian forces.

I am looking forward to part two.

The Pacific

Disclaimer: I have just found a heap of posts that got left/lost as drafts.  This one was from sometime in 2021 I think. 

I had purchased the deluxe (it came in a tin) DVD boxed set a good many years ago after thoroughly enjoying Band of Brothers.  So I knew I had something to look forward to if I was ever laid up.  Thankfully the opportunity has only recently arisen, when I was in need of some convalescence after some hi-tech medical intervention to tune up my heart (AF ablation - highly recommended if you have an irregular heartbeat and advancing years.  Get in before it becomes an issue and you have to compete in with Covid clogged emergency departments.)

It then became a race against time to finish the series before I went away on some r&r (which seemed to be in keeping with the pace of the series and perhaps deployment in the Pacific Theatre).

Not as good as BoB as I found it muddy in both ability to follow dialogue (wish I had used subtitles) and to recognise who was who (as in combat one marine looked very much like the next).  By halfway through I had started to understand what was happening (and it also helped that I knew a little about the Pacific campaign).  Certainly brings home the horror and senseless destruction.  A quality production, although I was conscious that it had been filmed in Australia and that knowledge, rather than any visual flaw, kept springing to mind.

As it neared to a conclusion I found myself wishing that it had been a proper documentary with non fictional characters.  I was totally surprised when the end credits popped up showing the actors and the real person they were based on and a small note about that person subsequent life.  Thankfully most of the marines who survived went on to lead decent lives.

Palestine 36

An excellent movie in its own right and covering a generally forgotten bit of history - the early Palestinian fight against the loss of their homeland.  Very much focussed on the British presence and actions.

What really impressed me was what I can only assume was existing photos and newsreels from the period that had been coloured and enhanced and skillfully blended to give a real sense of it being 1936/37 in Palestine.

Blucher - The Battle of Oslo

Part of the 2026 Nordic Film Festival, this excellent movie almost got away from me.  I was really pleased that I had the chance to see it, front row with all the full-on sound effects. 

Told in two interleaved parts: the 1946 military inquiry (shot in black and white) and the actual engagement in April 1940 (shot in colour)

The location and atmosphere really brought things to life as a setting to the command decisions faced by Colonel Birger Eriksen who was in charge of the Oscarsborg Fortress.

Being in the cinema with its superior sound really made an impression as the big guns in the fortress fired and the subsequent air attack by the Luftwaffe on the fortress.

A fascinating bit of history, but also with lessons for our time, particularly around being prepared.

Until 1940 Norway had been at peace for 120 years.

Comandante

This screened as part of the Italian film festival here in Perth.  Not quite Das Boot, but still a good watch and based on a true story.  Great for foodies!

One thing that confused me was the status of Belgium and Italy in late 1940 when this movie is set.  A check of Wikipedia reveals Belgium (in-exile) declared war on Italy 23 November 1940.

C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas Napoléon

Having seen the shorts and one interview I was keen to see Ridley Scott's Napoleon.  I have very fond memories of The Duelists.  I read one very good review, but then there came a stream of rather negative reviews, so my expectations were not high.

I was both impressed and disappointed by the movie.

On reflection it is ridiculous to think that the span of 20 plus years of turbulent history can be rendered in two and a half hours.  To accomplish this too many liberties had to be taken and that spoilt it for those of us with some knowledge of the subject.  

Napoleon's military greatness was based on strategy and operational manoeuvrer.  Watching the film it is reduced to various tactical ploys that just didn't happen. A great pity as a lot of effort had gone into the battle scenes which were magnificent, but not Napoleon.  

The romance between Napoleon and Josephine was a key part of the movie and I think it would have been better to concentrate on that and make the war aspects into a separate companion movie which would have been innovative.  In fact the whole thing should have been more structured like Game of Thrones to cover the full breadth of the historical subject.  I would be interested to know how the budgets compared.  Of course doing it in that format maybe entertainment, but it is not necessarily art.

More interesting still in these modern times would have been to have Josephine played by an actor of colour which would be perfectly in keeping with English propaganda of the time.

Joachim Phoenix's portrayal of Napoleon was mixed.  In fact if that was all you had to go on you would be wondering why Napoleon is such a great historical figure.  A real negative for me, and I am a confessed Bonapartist, was how they made Napoleon appear Trump like.  Yuck!  

They went to all the trouble to set up the Egyptian campaign and after a few minutes must have come to some decision about what to do now and some bright spark said "let's fire on the Pyramids".  Obviously he had read the chapter headings in his research and noted the "Battle of the Pyramids" and took it literally!  Again, magnificent cinematography, but not Napoleon.  And as to the the bit with the mummy, wtf?  Egyptology was a major trend in those times, but I don't think that was the right way to portray it.

The scale was grand and I thought the coronation scene was particularly impressive, although I understand the sequence might have been a bit different, but that's what you get when you condense 20 years of history into 180 minutes of entertainment.  Pity.

Not a patch on Waterloo or Rod Steiger's Napoleon which brought true gravitas to the man who was involved in so much killing.  Why they had to list all the deaths at the end I am not sure.  Napoleon wasn't always the aggressor and it was more the aristocrats of Europe not wanting the foundation of their political systems threatened by an alternative.  While it was imperial splendor that Napoleon created, he did so to deal with his contemporaries who other wise wouldn't engage with a republic.  That was something I got from the movie and maybe true. It then of course generated the need for an heir and all the trouble that caused.

I was really irked by the chap playing Wellington, not a patch on Christopher Plummer.  I wonder if the people involved in this movie watched Waterloo?

All the same, looking forward to taking my partner to see it and find out what she makes of it all.

Best part was I found a really good Japanese restaurant near the theatre complex. 

Lancaster Skies

Stephen lent me this DVD a while ago along with a documentary on the Spitfire, after we went to see the Lancaster documentary (see this post).  Sadly this movie (which was not a documentary) was a bit flat.  Pity.  At least I found the opportunity to watch it which was an achievement in of itself.  Annoyingly I see that I didn't make a post on the Spitfire documentary.  It was good, but not as good as the Lancaster documentary.

One of the more poignant moments

In the movie's favour they didn't shy away from showing the prevalence of smoking or the indulge in pampering to the desire to show diversity when it wasn't there.

Lancaster

Part of the British Film Festival screening here in Perth.

These reviews do this excellent program more justice than I can:

https://www.aerosociety.com/news/review-lancaster/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/29/lancaster-review-a-sobering-first-person-history-of-bomber-command

In these busy times it was great to have been able to get one's act together and see this show on the big screen and have some friends along to see it as well.

John Carter of Mars

The DVD I had was titled "John Carter of Mars".

Always keen to check out Barsoom related material and so when the opportunity came to watch this movie I couldn't resist.  My bad, at least I had other things I could do at the same time.

The premise might have been interesting if I could have heard what they were saying, but even at max volume it was hard to hear.  Something about climate change and maybe tribal conflicts in Afghanistan.

It is only when you get to see a cheap movie that you appreciate how spoilt we are for quality productions.  This one looked like it was made with reject Star Wars costumes.

Where's Jabba the Hutt? 

Just too awful.

The trailer can be seen here: Traci Lords: Princess of Mars Trailer.  It includes the best bit with the flying craft being shot up and the torture scene were Traci is punished for giving her name to such a crappy movie.

The Disney John Carter movie was much better (and I must watch it again as I need some inspiration to tackle my backlog of Barsoom inspired miniatures and games).

A Bridge Too Far

Nothing like watching a movie of the battle one is currently gaming.

Somehow I had missed this movie when it came out in 1977, but I've made up for it now.

A decent movie, once I could stop myself from trying to work out what type of representative vehicles/planes were being used (curse of the wargamer).  The all star cast made it very entertaining.

Amazing to think this was made before all the computer aided special effects we have in current movies.  The mass scenes of paradrops and armoured vehicles on the move (or not as was the case) were awesome.

The female role played by Liv Ullmann was historic and unlike two recent historical movies I've seen (Mary Queen of Scots and The Favourite, both of which turned out to be more historical than I realised when watching them - based on subsequent reading up on Wikipedia of Queen Mary and Queen Anne) there was not the (how can I put this politely in these politically correct/charged times?) token unnecessary (and highly misleading) representation of minority groups. 

And with all the death and destruction certainly not a glorifying war movie.

Waterloo movie from 1970 - Review from Military Modelling magazine Issue No 1

Following on from my previous post, Military Modelling isse No 1 had a review of this seminal movie that so inspired me (and still does).

I can't recall if I saw the movie before or after receiving the magazine.

The Red Badge of Courage 1974

I enjoyed this movie that I found on You Tube.  It was very close to the book and had good atmospherics.  However there was something that didn't quite work for me.  Having given it some thought, and in watching some modern TV, the acting style in this movie was too reminiscent of soap operas.  Not that it was melodramatic or anything like that, it just rang false.

The reason I went for the 1974 version was that it was in colour. I'm now thinking that Richard Thomas as "the youth" aka Henry Fleming, looks better in black and white rather than blue and gray.
Next is to watch the 1951 version, available on You Tube.

Weekend At Dunkirk

This 1964 French movie screened as part of the recent Alliance Francaise de Perth classic French Film Festival.  Having just seen the Dunkirk movie, and with a passion for French, I couldn't resist.

In fifty years movies have improved their pyrotechnics.  Apart from that I considered these movies fairly equal.

When I watched the trailer for Weekend at Dunkirk I was struck or rather concerned that the recent movie might have just been a remake.  Having now seen the movie I think that was just due to some salient features of the event (it seems wrong to call it a battle): troops moving through the streets, leaflet drops, abandoned equipment and troops massing on the beach.

But with that the similarities ended.  Whereas in the new movie the British troops seemed to be worried about what the folks would say back at home, in the French movie it was more about what they were going to do now that they had been defeated.  There were a lot more cameo/vignettes in the French movie covering different reactions to the situation.

This was one of my favourite, a chap called Pinot with his machine gun

played by Georges Géret (1924-1996) holding a Chatellerault M1924/29

The beautiful corpse of a neatly attired French girl 

perhaps is more horrific than all the bloodied soldiers in the movie...

Yes, this movie contained women!  But none of colour, so there is still something to complain about for those so inclined. There were a good few French colonial troops included in the crowd scenes.

Catherine Spaak as Jeanne and Jean-Paul Belmondo as Julien Maillat

Their relationship amplified the central tussle of the movie - stay or flee.

In one scene there is a chap carrying a souvenir back to England.  A crated rocking horse.  It doesn't make it.  James of the ANF sent me a link to the Dunkirk scene in the movie Atonement and that very much has a fairground element to the beach scene.  I'm guessing that Zuydcoote (the French title of the movie was Week-end a Zuydcoote) is a seaside resort or that Dunkirk is more than just a port.

In the beginning of the movie in response to the question "what will we do now", Julien answers "might as well enjoy a weekend at Dunkirk" (or words to that effect).  I certainly did.

In researching this post I came across this post which I felt was worth sharing:

Before Dunkirk there was Weekend at Dunkirk

Dunkirk

This is a good movie.  I liked how it was set in three parts: in the air, on the land and in the sea.  Once I twigged to it I also enjoyed how the three parts were interlinked and backtracked.

The initial scene and how the gun fire turned into the film score I found annoying, but it ceased to be noticeable after this.  I think I'd been listening out for the high pitch of the German machine gun which is quite different to the drum/bass line that eventuated.

The story was secondary to the visuals, but the cinematography built structure with the interleaving of the air, land and sea.  Occasionally this was let down by positioning of the vessels and men close and then distant, but this would also be part of the backtracking of the time lines.

The air segments were the best.  The naval segments impressive and the land, with its large crowds, was seamless.

This was not a movie about the battle, but about the rescue.  No heroes, just people doing their duty.  No glory, just plenty of the horror of war.  It might not have been intentional, but by the end all the soldiers started to look the same, further emphasising the absence of glory and heroes.

Zulu Dawn

Some one left this at the club and I took it for safe keeping.  I thought I better watch it.  Impressive.

The colonial period is not one I know a lot about, but I can certainly see the attraction.

"Behind you!"

Dog Girl

Only the most tenuous link to wargaming with this post, but check out my 8mm film debut for a laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpioMF80sug&list=PLb_P8VLfc-sVPardEyYpIw5bMLuJ8nVGd&index=8

I starred in my sister-in-law's entry for the Perth Film Festival's Revel 8 Super 8 segment.

I salvaged a bag of stuffing from the shoot and hoped I could reuse it for explosions etc, but initial tests have not been so successful.

The King's Choice

The King's Choice is a wonderful portrayal of politics, diplomacy and leadership during the Nazi invasion of Norway.  There are only limited battle scenes and so I wouldn't really call it a war movie.

It is a long movie and in Norwegian and German with subtitles.  And as I impressed on the young ladies that accompanied us to see it, it was all true.

Blitz Street - movie

I watched Blitz Street on DVD recently, it was interesting, but fairly repetitive.  The interviews were good and the historical footage excellent.

The bombs just kept getting bigger and I had no real appreciation of just how powerful the V1 and V2 were in terms of explosive power.  Information on the manufacture and total tonnage dropped would have been interesting, particularly in comparison to other conflicts.  Might have been a bit dry, but also, perhaps, a bit too relevant to the potential futility of recent bombing actions.

In the DVD there is a speech from Hitler saying "...if the British Air Force drops two, three or four thousand kilos of bombs, then we will now drop 150,000, 180,000, 230,000, 300,000 or 400,000, yes, one million kilograms in a single night."  I don't know what the final totals were, but I know he lost.

The anniversary of the bombing of Dresden occurred around the time I was watching this program. I must admit my level of care factor was pretty low after watching Blitz Street (and this from someone who rates Slaughterhouse 5 as one of his favourite books).

Such waste.

Makes me wonder why I like wargaming so much.  Perhaps its the quest for understanding.

1920 Battle of Warsaw - movie

Not a period I know much about.  For some reason as a person who grew up with scares of "reds under the bed" and toppling dominoes (my takeaway from the reason Australia was involved in Vietnam), this battle that stopped the spread of communism in the early days when it was trying to take over the world by force, this was critical battle never got mentioned.

I enjoyed the movie.  This trailer gives you a good feel for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DstyaGotWFM

Lots of massed infantry and cavalry charges.  Like WW1 but with movement and less artillery.  Would be interesting to game, if you could get the scale right; I'm thinking something like Megablitz.