orpheum

Probably one of the greatest war films is All Quiet On The Western Front.

Moor Larkin

.Major Eric Thomas Moss was born in Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow on 4th September 1910. He died on 29th June 2003 at Glencoe Hospital................ Eric was taken prisoner by the Japanese at the ‘Fall of Singapore’ and was forced to work on the notorious Burma Railway (nothing like ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ which he said was “balderdash”)
http://www.argylls.co.uk/trl/trlautumn03.pdf

Is nothing sacred ?

Moor Larkin

Isn't there some footage of men going over the top, which was presented for years as documentary footage, that turns out to have been from this, or some other movie?

foha80

And I have had many discussions with people who think that it is the resposibility
of film makers to teach history.If someone can't critically evaluate what they read or see then the fault lies with them or maybe with their educators.'Based on Fact'
is the same as 'Beanz Meanz Heinz' it is a tool of advertising.

Terry

orpheum

I think you might be thinking of hte footage from Battle of The Somme where British soldiers are shown going "over the top" and one falls back as if shot.It is widely thoght that this was staged.This footage seems to be shown in any documentary film on WW1.

Hackett

I worked with a man who was captured by the Japanese and worked the Burma railway. He never said a lot about it but I remember a row he got into with another workmate after he refused a lift home in thier Japanese car. It almost got to blows and when it calmed down I as a know it all seventeen year old told him how silly he was being. He then told me how the Japanese would have treated me for just being tall. I don't recall a film that covered his war and if I did I don't think I would like to watch it. A documentary maybe but not as a piece of entertainment that kind of realism would be too sordid.

Steve Crook

And that's usually followed by the shot of one man carrying the body of another along a trench. He looks up at the camera as he passes and there's just a bleak, blank look on his face

Steve

Steve Crook

Yes, there were some US troops in Burma as you say. But not very many. That second Chindit operation was a bit of a disaster, unlike the first under Wingate which was a great success. Especially as a morale booster for the rest of the army in Burma. They liked to see that something was actually being done to take the fight to the enemy rather than just retreat and fight defensively.

Steve

Steve Crook

I thought Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) was a good portrayal of WWI <wry grin>
So was Blackadder Goes Forth, epecially that last episode.
What could you put in a film though? There was a lot of hanging around and then the men lined up to be slaughtered.
All Quiet on the Western Front made a very good attempt at it by following the story of one man. But that didn't show much else, like how many others had similar things happen to them.

I always think of that as Band of people shouting a lot. Do any other armies shout as much, or argue as much, as the Americans do as portrayed in that series?

Seconded

Steve

orpheum

My local, football club is named Wingate in memory of a great man.His bust is in the boardroom and it was unveilled by his son some years ago

Bilmo

Perhaps we're expecting a bit too much from some of the older war films. Don't let us forget, that a lot of them were created in or just after a time when Britain was in a desperate situation. The country's morale was at an all-time low and many people were suffering as a result of the war. A lot of these films were made to boost morale and to be propaganda (let's face it, in any war situation, the public become disillusioned with what is happening to them and it is essential to at least have them "on side"). Furthermore, a lot of the filmes showed how courageous the people were, who were caught up in the conflict, as well as to arouse patriotism and show a sense of national pride at the ingenuity and perseverance of a desperate nation.

Don't forget, also, that many films were made to make money, so they had to have at least a little "embellishment", in order that people shouldn't go away with a complete sense of doom and gloom!

It cannot be easy, to accurately portray everything that happened during the war, with 100% accuracy, not least because so many never returned to tell the full story. If one takes the films "The Colditz Story" or "The Wooden Horse", they do give a true sense of danger and realism and it is only due to history and the courage of those who were involved in reality, that the endings are not as unhappy as they might have been.

However, in the case of "The Great Escape", the true ending seems almost to pale into insignificance, compared to the building of the tunnel and the remainder of the processes that had to be carried out, in order for the escape to go ahead. Not enough emphasis was made on those that were murdered after their final capture, but I suspect if that part had been over-emphasised, the film wouldn't have been as memorable (and put on almost every Easter in the UK!) as it is.

Conversely, if one considers "Schindler's List", the horror is well portrayed and the realities set out for all to see: whilst Schindler is, of course, portrayed as the hero, his private life and real persona are well shown. It is made clear how his own goals changed and how he changed from being the astute, ruthless businessman and unfaithful husband, into a real-life, but very humble hero. It is this very reality that makes the film stand out and as memorable as it is. However, it is a different story and we live in different times.

If "Star Wars" didn't have a happy ending, would the public have watched it so frequently and would there have been others in the series?

In any film, there is a degree of "poetic licence". Understandably, we want reality, but reality doesn't necessarily interest the audience all of the time!

ChristineCB

A lot of great points of discussion here, folks. Thanks. Most of these translate into all other films, too - realism vs. escapist-entertainment, what goals are being set by filmmakers and their budget constraints, etc.

dylan

It was withdrawn for two years in the UK due to a press campaign - to add insult to injury it was released as I CONQUERED BURMA!

I think it was probably the best war film made by Hollywood during the course of the war and was even used as an Israeli Army training film.

Jim

Harleybloke

I worked with a guy who'd been captuered at Singapore. Our MD tried to get a JV going with a Japanese company. When Les found out he'd have to escort them he told the MD er, well, it wasn't going to happen. MD said he'd be sacked. I won't tell you what Les said. Japs arrived. Les didn't take them around. he kept his job.

WW2? Thank God I wasn't there.

No judgements about Japan today. We're sooooooo lucky. Thank you Lord.

.....You couldn't hear it, if they were shooting at me with howitzers!

silverwhistle

Unfortunately, the emotional impact of fictional treatments can linger and 'bleed into' non-fiction treatments. I've read the work of 19-20C mediæval historians who have retained emotional impressions derived from Walter Scott, & c, which have coloured their treatment of real-life characters and events, and their approach to genuine primary sources.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor...!"