Movie Forums Top 100 War Movies - Group Watch

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I went with Three Came Home (1950) as I just watched it two nights ago for the first time and was impressed. It's a true story based on a novel written by the American woman who was held in a POW camp near Borneo in WWII. I thought it was pretty balanced in it's cruelty and humanity.



Looks interesting. I might check it out tonight.
I really hope people will join in and watch Three Came Home and that way they are then entered into the pool to be selected for the next group watch war movie.

People who haven't done this before or done it only once get priority over those of us who've already had several turns, which is both fair and should encourage people to give this a go!....See the 1st post in this thread for details.



I watched Three Came Home today. Good performances, especially by Claudette Colbert, in this effective and engaging war drama. Good nom, Citizen! It won't make my ballot, but it would be nice if it makes the list.



I watched Three Came Home today. Good performances, especially by Claudette Colbert, in this effective and engaging war drama. Good nom, Citizen! It won't make my ballot, but it would be nice if it makes the list.
Glad you liked it. I hadn't ever seen it until a couple days ago.



Three Came Home



Wow what a find this was. I looked it up for just a second after it was picked and figured sure I'll like it. I had never heard of it before as far as I remember. My favorite movies are ones that either shock me or make me emotional. There are very few that do both but this one managed to do it. For anyone who watches it, the emotional aspect is self explanatory. As far as shocking, we've all watched plenty of films with this content, and it's usually much worse. The difference here is that it's an old Hollywood film with the typical music and a Hollywood star known for rom-coms. There's a contrast that can easily fail, but in this case it made every scene that much more effective and powerful. Claudette Colbert is a stud and the locations were a huge plus. I'm sure this makes my ballot and not on the tail end either. I loved it.




Three Came Home



Wow what a find this was. I looked it up for just a second after it was picked and figured sure I'll like it. I had never heard of it before as far as I remember. My favorite movies are ones that either shock me or make me emotional. There are very few that do both but this one managed to do it. For anyone who watches it, the emotional aspect is self explanatory. As far as shocking, we've all watched plenty of films with this content, and it's usually much worse. The difference here is that it's an old Hollywood film with the typical music and a Hollywood star known for rom-coms. There's a contrast that can easily fail, but in this case it made every scene that much more effective and powerful. Claudette Colbert is a stud and the locations were a huge plus. I'm sure this makes my ballot and not on the tail end either. I loved it.

You made my day! I'd never seen this until a few days ago. I knew when they scrubbed the makeup off Claudette, that this film was promising. Then when I seen the torture/interrogation scene in the commander's office I knew it was pretty hard hitting. I've seen lots of strong stuff, but I believed so much in the story and knowing that it was true made seeing her arm bent almost out of the socket really hard to watch....I was sure that this would be my next group watch choice after I seen the Hiroshama story as told by Sessue Hayakawa.

This will make my ballot too. But I not sure it has a chance for the countdown...I mean how many people here have seen it three? (me, you & Speling)...We need a couple more people to watch this and post here.



As to Three Came Home, I don't think I have ever seen it. But you generally can't go wrong with a Jean Negulesco and Nunnally Johnson movie.



As to Three Came Home, I don't think I have ever seen it. But you generally can't go wrong with a Jean Negulesco and Nunnally Johnson movie.
It's on YouTube if you want to watch it



While I found the film emotional and disturbing, I wouldn't say it nailed these aspects enough for it to become a new favorite. I did find that it handled those elements very well though to the point I enjoyed it quite a bit. The most effective scenes to me were the Australian prisoners attempting to climb the fence and the final scene. I would put it in the 8/10 range.



This summarizes the entire thread
I've been a bit demoralized lately and this thread has really helped me stay positive...and I'm having a great time discovering films I've never would've seen otherwise.



I've been a bit demoralized lately and this thread has really helped me stay positive...and I'm having a great time discovering films I've never would've seen otherwise.
I'm happy this thread has been brightening your days. I know it's not super active in here, but I do appreciate you and the other posters who have been contributing to it, even if it's only for a couple rounds.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I've been really busy with work over the last few weeks but should have more time for movie watching now. I wonder if a slight tweak to the format might increase participation if we did it again... Maybe nominating two or three films and having a week to watch them would make it easier for people?



A 5/5 rating by cricket.. Brighten up CR's day.. two solid reasons to jump back in this round.. Already found a Three Came Home DVD rip..
I have an obligatory birthday party tonight .. hopefully I can sneak away early to watch it..



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Three Came Home


I wasn't sure if I would like this at first, mainly due to my aversion to the overwrought strings that seem to make up the majority of 50s movie scores. Thankfully, part way through the film the score calmed down and the movie was all the better for it.


I liked Claudette Colbert 's performance in the lead role, she was very good as was Sessue Hayakawa as the colonel. I liked the nuance in his character as well; he doesn't really help her but you still feel for him by the end. The scene where he breaks down was really quite touching.


The film pulls its punches a little in its depictions of the camps - the voiceover tells us it was awful but it doesn't really show that as much as it could (up until the scene where she is attacked, at least) and it is a little sentimental at times. The children don't quite seem like real characters must of the time, for example.


Overall though I really liked it and felt moved by the story.


It reminded me a bit of A Town Like Alice (1956) which is worth checking out if you liked this.



Three Came Home 1950

I've heard stories about these camps, I agree they definitely held punches showing the cruelty that took place. But that didn't take away from the realism or the engaging story for me, it was well balanced and not too 'heavy' to get through. The authentic Borneo locations, score, Colbert's performance and classic cinema final scene/shot make this film really stand out. Only 2K viewers on imdb, truly a hidden gem. Good find that deserves countdown placement.

Trivia
It was while filming this movie that Claudette Colbert sustained the back injury that forced her to give up the part of Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950) to Bette Davis.