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Money! that's the problem. I do have Roku and I just looked but it's not available free.
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Citizen Goes To War!!!
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Days until War Countdown deadline: 16
Strategic Air Command (1955)
Director Anthony Mann
Strategic Air Command (1955)
Director Anthony Mann
Watch this one for the eye candy! No I don't mean June Allyson though she's kinda cute...I mean the magnificent B-36 Peacemaker which was the USAF strategic bomber and a key component in SAC (Strategic Air Command) which was a fast response nuclear strike force to be used as a deterrent against a first nuclear strike from the USSR. If you've seen Fail Safe (1964) you have an idea of how SAC worked. SAC was also eluded to in Dr. Strangelove.
Strategic Air Command has probably the best aerial to aerial color footage of the B-36 flying. Also the B-47 Stratojet along with some neat in air refueling procedures are shown. Best yes this movie has people too and was directed by one of the great visual directors of the 1950s Anthony Mann. Staring another great Jimmy Stewart who actually flew B-36s and B-47s and the aforementioned cute as a button June Allyson.
Strategic Air Command has probably the best aerial to aerial color footage of the B-36 flying. Also the B-47 Stratojet along with some neat in air refueling procedures are shown. Best yes this movie has people too and was directed by one of the great visual directors of the 1950s Anthony Mann. Staring another great Jimmy Stewart who actually flew B-36s and B-47s and the aforementioned cute as a button June Allyson.
The story of a air force reservist being called back to duty while his wife is anxiously waiting for her husband to return from long arduous flights, might sound cliched...it all works thanks to the charm of the two leads. But the real star is the SAC aircraft and much time is devoted to them.
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I've seen enough war movies to be ready for something other than the cliches, dramas, villains, heroes and stereotyped dialog, so my favorite was this one, a post-war movie, 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives. It follows several guys, coming back from WW II, all of whom have their injuries, bad habits and psychological traumas. First, it's all hugs, flag waving, bar celebrations and parades, but when civilian life kicks in and the celebrations are over, and these guys have been away from town life, fighting for their lives, it's not as easy to come back as you might think.
I can recall old folks when I was a kid, who didn't want to talk about those years and the war at all. They said that they thought this was their favorite "war movie", thinking that most of the rest of them were about times they didn't want to go back to. I didn't see it until much later, but was amazed at how pithy and direct it was.
I can recall old folks when I was a kid, who didn't want to talk about those years and the war at all. They said that they thought this was their favorite "war movie", thinking that most of the rest of them were about times they didn't want to go back to. I didn't see it until much later, but was amazed at how pithy and direct it was.
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Agreed, I haven't seen many of her movies but of the ones I've seen I've enjoyed them and often in large part because of June Allyson...Lucky bastard that Dick Powell
Powell was a workaholic which June came to resent. They lived in Ojai, Calif. for many years, which is NW of L.A. There must have been very few people living there then. I think she kept the place after he died in '63. She lived until 2006!
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Days until War Countdown deadline: 13
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
Director Peter Jackson
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
Director Peter Jackson
Incredible! My hat is off to Peter Jackson for his efforts on bringing long forgotten film footage of WWI to light. And what a job he did! I read that he spent a year going through 100 hours of WWI film footage, much of it never seen as it had been stored in the vaults of London's Imperial War Museum. He also went over 600 hours of interviews with WWI soldiers all to produce this amazing 90 minute BBC documentary.
What boggled my mind was how this old faded b&w silent film stock of WWI was restored, HD scanned and then colorized using new state of the art methods. We're not talking the old Ted Turner crayon look and it's not that cheapy YouTube colorized effect. This looked real! The detail was amazing, just look at that photo above. What's equally amazing is that the silent film now has sound. Jackson had lip readers determine what the soldiers were saying and then hired voice actors from the appropriate locals of the UK to give these silent men a voice...Even sound effects for explosions or horse carts or the lighting of a match is added in. This works so well that I had to remind myself that I was seeing real footage from WWI and not some recreated scenes using modern actors. The effects are haunting and the death and destruction of WWI becomes all the more real.
Some of the stories that the actual soldiers told hit me like a ton of bricks. This might be the hardest watch I've seen as I knew everything I seen and heard was absolutely real.
@seanc thanks
What boggled my mind was how this old faded b&w silent film stock of WWI was restored, HD scanned and then colorized using new state of the art methods. We're not talking the old Ted Turner crayon look and it's not that cheapy YouTube colorized effect. This looked real! The detail was amazing, just look at that photo above. What's equally amazing is that the silent film now has sound. Jackson had lip readers determine what the soldiers were saying and then hired voice actors from the appropriate locals of the UK to give these silent men a voice...Even sound effects for explosions or horse carts or the lighting of a match is added in. This works so well that I had to remind myself that I was seeing real footage from WWI and not some recreated scenes using modern actors. The effects are haunting and the death and destruction of WWI becomes all the more real.
Some of the stories that the actual soldiers told hit me like a ton of bricks. This might be the hardest watch I've seen as I knew everything I seen and heard was absolutely real.
@seanc thanks
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Very cool. Glad you liked it so much, had a feeling you would. Excellent review as always.
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Thanks, I wanted to say more but it's almost dinner time. Have you seen it recently?
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I've seen enough war movies to be ready for something other than the cliches, dramas, villains, heroes and stereotyped dialog, so my favorite was this one, a post-war movie, 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives. It follows several guys, coming back from WW II, all of whom have their injuries, bad habits and psychological traumas. First, it's all hugs, flag waving, bar celebrations and parades, but when civilian life kicks in and the celebrations are over, and these guys have been away from town life, fighting for their lives, it's not as easy to come back as you might think.
I can recall old folks when I was a kid, who didn't want to talk about those years and the war at all. They said that they thought this was their favorite "war movie", thinking that most of the rest of them were about times they didn't want to go back to. I didn't see it until much later, but was amazed at how pithy and direct it was.
I can recall old folks when I was a kid, who didn't want to talk about those years and the war at all. They said that they thought this was their favorite "war movie", thinking that most of the rest of them were about times they didn't want to go back to. I didn't see it until much later, but was amazed at how pithy and direct it was.
Harold Russell (the guy with no arms) waited 34 years between his role in The Best Years of Our Lives and his role in Inside Moves.
This was only partly by choice but also due to the fact that Hollywood didn't have a lot of roles available for guys with no arms. Russell decided to do other things with his life in between these two movies.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751174/?ref_=tt_cl_t_10
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Days until War Countdown deadline: 12
*I watched this last night and had reviewed it before so I'll just rewrite & tweak my old review*
*I watched this last night and had reviewed it before so I'll just rewrite & tweak my old review*
Bombers B-52 (1957)
Director: Gordon Douglas
Another film about the Strategic Air Command (SAC) set during the height of the Cold War, in 1957. Karl Malden is a no nonsense Master Sargent in the U.S. Air Force.
All is going well until his new Commanding Officer arrives one day, played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. It seems the Sargent blames the Lt. Colonel for the death of his men in the Korean war some years earlier. He considers his C.O. to be a hotshot who doesn't care about the men beneath him.
When his C.O. starts dating his daughter (Natalie Wood) he's furious and decides to resign from the military. This is where the films message comes into play that the Strategic Air Command and its cold war mission of maintaining a nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union is all important, more important than family or personal interest.
We do see for the first time in any movie the then, state of the art, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber, which seems to have a lot of problems in this movie. There's a stuck landing gear that about destroys the plane and later a fire in the new top secret control board that most likely is used for the on board nuclear weapons, yikes!
I preferred the more realistic Strategic Air Command (1955). This one is more of a Hollywood entertainment type film which is OK as it's a fun watch...I enjoyed it, it's main claim to fame (besides the B-52) would be a young Natalie Wood. That's not Natalie below it's Marsha Hunt who latter appeared in Star Trek TNG episode Too Short a Season
Karl Malden is good at being a stubborn non commissioned officer who won't budge from his position and won't listen to his wife and daughter, even though they know what's right and he doesn't.
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Last edited by Citizen Rules; 07-15-23 at 03:05 PM.
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Quite enjoyed binging this thread and saw a couple of very interesting ones, like They Shall Not Grow Old, The One That Got Away, and The Cruel Sea. Battle of the Bulge has been forever on my radar should REALLY try to see that one either before or during the countdown when I feel confident it'll show up on. On an espionage/spy level (I SOOO do love them) The Man That Never Was seems VERY intriguing.
I was going to attempt Gettysburg as I was always fascinated by the Civil War growing up and remember the length of the film being very daunting when I've tried in the past.
At my last job, there was a guy who vacationed at Gettysburg with his son every year. He'd bring a metal detector and find bullets and all sorts of things and come back with various souvenirs like an officer's letter to his wife that was very difficult to read but the wording was fascinating. They'd also go Ghost Hunting as well. Video/Audio, the whole bit. Some of it pretty incredible.
Also, SERIOUS kudos to @Captain Steel for sharing the fencing duels responsible for the face scars that were commonplace in old war films. Never knew that and chalked it up to wounds in war or perhaps to appear more sinister in Hollywood films. THANKS, CAP!
Anyone know the film they used clips from featuring Malcolm McDowell?
I was going to attempt Gettysburg as I was always fascinated by the Civil War growing up and remember the length of the film being very daunting when I've tried in the past.
At my last job, there was a guy who vacationed at Gettysburg with his son every year. He'd bring a metal detector and find bullets and all sorts of things and come back with various souvenirs like an officer's letter to his wife that was very difficult to read but the wording was fascinating. They'd also go Ghost Hunting as well. Video/Audio, the whole bit. Some of it pretty incredible.
Also, SERIOUS kudos to @Captain Steel for sharing the fencing duels responsible for the face scars that were commonplace in old war films. Never knew that and chalked it up to wounds in war or perhaps to appear more sinister in Hollywood films. THANKS, CAP!
Anyone know the film they used clips from featuring Malcolm McDowell?
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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio
Last edited by edarsenal; 07-15-23 at 12:53 PM.
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Quite enjoyed binging this thread and saw a couple of very interesting ones, like They Shall Not Grow Old, The One That Got Away, and The Cruel Sea. Battle of the Bulge has been forever on my radar should REALLY try to see that one either before or during the countdown when I feel confident it'll show up on. On an espionage/spy level (I SOOO do love them) The Man That Never Was seems VERY intriguing.
I was going to attempt Gettysburg as I was always fascinated by the Civil War growing up and remember the length of the film being very daunting when I've tried in the past.
At my last job, there was a guy who vacationed at Gettysburg with his son every year. He'd bring a metal detector and find bullets and all sorts of things and come back with various souvenirs like an officer's letter to his wife that was very difficult to read but the wording was fascinating. They'd also go Ghost Hunting as well. Video/Audio, the whole bit. Some of it pretty incredible.
Also, SERIOUS kudos to @Captain Steel for sharing the fencing duels responsible for the face scars that were commonplace in old war films. Never knew that and chalked it up to wounds in war or perhaps to appear more sinister in Hollywood films. THANKS, CAP!
Anyone know the film they used clips from featuring Malcolm McDowell?
I was going to attempt Gettysburg as I was always fascinated by the Civil War growing up and remember the length of the film being very daunting when I've tried in the past.
At my last job, there was a guy who vacationed at Gettysburg with his son every year. He'd bring a metal detector and find bullets and all sorts of things and come back with various souvenirs like an officer's letter to his wife that was very difficult to read but the wording was fascinating. They'd also go Ghost Hunting as well. Video/Audio, the whole bit. Some of it pretty incredible.
Also, SERIOUS kudos to @Captain Steel for sharing the fencing duels responsible for the face scars that were commonplace in old war films. Never knew that and chalked it up to wounds in war or perhaps to appear more sinister in Hollywood films. THANKS, CAP!
Anyone know the film they used clips from featuring Malcolm McDowell?
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I believe the Malcolm McDowell movie is Royal Flash (1975), I might have to watch that someday it looks fun. How cool to visit Gettysburg and use a metal detector and find all sorts of neat stuff! My dad once had a metal detector and we would use it and find stuff even in our own backyard, but it was just stuff we had lost like pennies or an old wrench, still neat to dig up and discover. He sold that metal detector but I still think about it from time to time.
I also found an average-rated war film with McDowell called Aces High that has me a bit curious due to the actors in it regarding biplane pilots in WWI.
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THANK YOU! Went wandering through McDowell's films and could not locate it. It's directed by Richard Lester a year or so after doing my favorite rendition of The Three Musketeers and looks to be very similar in style and rambunctious slapstick humor that endeared me to that version so I've got that bookmarked. After seeing Cap's youtube vid about the dueling I thought it would be centered around that but that is merely a minor spot in the narration of Oliver Reed replacing a prince with the "ne'er do well" coward played by McDowell.
I also found an average-rated war film with McDowell called Aces High that has me a bit curious due to the actors in it regarding biplane pilots in WWI.
I also found an average-rated war film with McDowell called Aces High that has me a bit curious due to the actors in it regarding biplane pilots in WWI.
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Watched one last night that just may be my #25.
"Sisu"(2022)
"Sisu"(2022)
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Like in hope of making the one pointers? Or just squeezing onto your ballot?
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Gotcha ya. My #25 has changed a number of times. My problem is I need a ballot with 50 choices! Just too damn hard to cut so many great war films
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Days until War Countdown deadline: 11
The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
Director John Guillermin
The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
Director John Guillermin
This one didn't do it for me. It was unfocused and lacked a sense of connection to the story. It was like the director had a number of shooting scenes to achieve, then included dialogue that didn't for the most part move the story forward or ground it in the moment. At one point I couldn't tell if the Americans had crossed the bridge or just where they were at, alot of the movie is muddled like that. Making things worse the film is full of late 1960s cynicism with soldiers and attitudes that seemed more fitted for a movie about Vietnam. There are several late 1960s war movies that literally are an allegory for the Vietnam war.
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Saw it in theater, and was definitely something. Don’t know how you even go about something like this. May be a bit on the outside looking in as far as my ballot goes. Just talking about it makes me want to make room though.
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