"Antony Beevor opines on 'War Movies' as a genre" Topic
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31 May 2018 5:49 p.m. PST by Editor in Chief Bill
- Changed title from "Antony Beevor opines on "War Movies" as a genre " to "Antony Beevor opines on 'War Movies' as a genre"
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Martin From Canada | 31 May 2018 10:00 a.m. PST |
For a long time now, my wife has refused to watch a war movie with me. This is because I cannot stop grinding my teeth with annoyance at major historical mistakes, or harrumphing over errors of period detail. She only made an exception when Valkyrie came out, with Tom Cruise playing Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg. Such a folly of miscasting was bound to be a hoot, and we were not disappointed, especially when Cruise saluted in that downward cutaway style as if he were still in Top Gun. But I was soon grinding away again when the director and screenwriter felt compelled to improve on history, by making it look as if the 20 July plot to blow up Hitler had still very nearly succeeded.I despair at the way American and British movie-makers feel they have every right to play fast and loose with the facts, yet have the arrogance to imply that their version is as good as the truth. Continental film-makers are on the whole far more scrupulous. The German film Downfall, about Hitler's last days in the bunker, respected historical events and recreated them accurately. In my view, the greatest war movie ever made is The 317th Platoon, a French film from 1965 set during the country's first Indochina war. This was the original "platoon movie", whose format later directors followed but failed to match in its portrayal of characters and their interaction, to say nothing of the moral choices and the corruption of combat. It is followed closely by 1966's The Battle of Algiers, set during the Algerian war of independence. This was one of the first war films to adopt a quasi-documentary approach, and tackle the moral quagmire of torture justified by the need to save lives. […]
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Cheers, Martin from Canada
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Mithmee | 31 May 2018 12:34 p.m. PST |
True, Hollywood does not care in the truth but wants to make it into their version. |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 31 May 2018 7:00 p.m. PST |
It should surprise no one that Hollywood tends to exaggerate and overdramatize events in movies for the sake of making the subject more exciting, tense and to coin a cliche more "cinematic." Certain liberties had to be taken to maximize commercial appeal. If you want accuracy, watch a documentary or faithful re-enactment. |
goragrad | 31 May 2018 10:47 p.m. PST |
Actually, not having seen the film, the bomb did nearly succeed. One does agree that films and other media fails horribly at depicting historical events. |
goragrad | 01 Jun 2018 10:15 p.m. PST |
And on another note, I recall reading here on TMP of blacks fighting with the rebels in the AWI. Not sure whether there were any in units in the South, but they did serve. |
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