Tag Archives: war

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The Heroes of Telemark (1965)

During my holiday we stayed at a house very close to the town of Rjukan. It’s a very small town, but during the second world war it was very important. The town had a power station and the nazis took over the plant to produce heavy water. The allies feared that this heavy water would be used to create a nuclear bomb and decided to make sure they were not able to. The powerstation is still there and we payed it a visit. It is now a museum and tells in detail about the history of the town and what happened during the second world war. The events that took place were the inspiration for the Heroes of Telemark. When I saw that this movie was sold there and was also told it was shot on location I just had to get it. Continue reading →

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Das Boot (1981)

review of Das Boot
My stack of of DVDs that I still have to watch has been big for ages. Some movies have been in it for years and Das Boot was one of them. I heard amazing stories about this film, but because of its length (close to 5 hours) I never made the time to sit down for it, until recently. Continue reading →

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Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Another movie in the IMDB top 250 I’ve hadn’t watched yet and it was time I did. I’m now slowly getting to my goal of having seen 200 out of 250 movies by the end of the year (currently only 9 to go so I’m sure I’ll be able to make it).

Knowing this is a Stanley Kubrick movie I had high expectations of it, have seen several of his other ones (most of them I loved), so was looking forward to it. The only scene I had ever seen was the iconic opening scene where the drill instructor (R. Lee Ermey) is screaming against all the new recruits. It’s such an amazing scene to watch, especially knowing that a lot of it was improvised. When watching it you can’t help but laugh. Continue reading →

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Life is Beautiful (1997)

There are some movies that have something magical. Something that keeps you glued to the screen and care a lot for its characters. La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) is one of those movies that manages to enchant you. It initially is a very comedic and fun story, but slowly drama creeps into the movie and after watching it you will be heartbroken. Continue reading →

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Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Flags of Our Fathers showed the American side of the battle to conquer the island Iwo Jima, which was a very important island for strategic reasons as it would give the Americans a base to start their attack on Japan. Letters from Iwo Jima tells the other side of the story and focusses on how the Japanese prepared to protect their island. Continue reading →

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Flags of our Fathers (2006)

Images can be very powerful. The can change someones opinion or generate a specific feeling about a war. Lots of war have one iconic image which people will remember when you mention it. If you think about Vietnam, a lot of people will know the picture of a man being executed by the army. If you think about the war in Iraq, the video of Sadam’s statue being taken down jumps to mind. Countries use these images effectively to shape an opinion, even though the reality might be different.

Flags of Our Fathers focusses on the picture of American soldiers raising the flag on the island of Hiroshima. It was a picture which was used to give the American people hope, but it was also used as something to raise money to fund the war. Continue reading →

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Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

The second world war has had a big impact on Japan. It lost a lot of power, cities were left in ruins and the military was no longer important. I’ve been to Hiroshima and was at the spot above which the atom bomb was detonated and if you see that place and the accompanying museum you are really at a loss for words. I had the same thing when I visited the Tokyo war museum, in which there were a couple of rooms with the walls lined with only pictures of people who lost their lives during the war. It has made a big impression on me.

Grave of the Fireflies tells the personal story of Setsuko and Seita, brother and sister who try to survive the war. The loss of their mother has already changed their lives, but because of it Setsuko is forced to leave the town and take care of his little sister. As the Americans keep bombarding the country it is very hard to survive as there is hardly anything to eat. Every day they have to search for a way to survive. Continue reading →

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Paths of Glory (1957)

France, the first world war. Both the Germans and the French have dug themselves trenches and are in fierce fights to conquer just a few metres. With so little changing it’s bound to be a long trench war. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) of the French army receive order from his superiors to attack the “Ant Hill” and take it. Although Dax makes it clear that it is a suicide mission as more than half the soldiers will be killed before they are even near their target, his concerns are noted, but the attack still has to take place. Continue reading →

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Seven Samurai (1954)

Akira Kurosawa is one of Japan’s most famous directors. His influence on other directors has been very big, someone like George Lucas was inspired by Kurosawas movies and the Magnificent Seven is a movie that is based on Seven Samurai. With this movie Kurosawa was the first to use various techniques in one movie. Examples are the shot of the bad guys appearing on top of a hill or the slow motion shots.
Seven Samurai is set in feudal Japan. When the villagers of a small town find out that there is a gang about to raid the village just when the crops are harvested, they decide to search for samurai that can defend their village. Continue reading →

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Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

It’s not often that movies based on someone’s life are funny. I Love you Philip Morris is one example I can think of, but so is Charlie Wilson’s War, despite the serious subject of the tension that was brewing in Afghanistan between the local people and the invading Russian army.

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a politician from Texas who lives a very luxurious life while he has his seat in the American Congress. He likes his women, booze and drugs and really has fun with it all. When he sees the situation in Afghanistan on TV something changes. He decides to do something about it and finds out that America is hardly spending any money on getting the Russians out of Afghanistan.

He’s helped by Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) who, although she’s not a politician, does know the right people to get things done. There is also help from CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who really doesn’t care what the people within the CIA think of him. Together they try to make some money available for Afghanistan. Continue reading →