By Geo on Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 12:47 am:
I got caught up watching the 1959 film "Pork Chop Hill" on Sunday during Turnet Classic Movies' Memorial Day war film marathon. It's with Gregory Peck and directed by the guy who directed All's Quite on the Western Front. Even though it's an anti-war movie by all means, there's a lot of riveting combat sequences. Perhaps the most riveting comes near the end as the last surviving members of the company barricade themselves against a Chinese flamethrower.
It's no Saving Private Ryan in terms of realistically showing violence on the battlefield but for its day it was pretty dang stark. And it shows some of the madness of the battlefield, a rarity in those days.
Anyway, it's about the best Korean War movie out there. And I sometimes think that if the U.S. and U.N. hadn't intervened, my dad would never have met my Korean mom in the late '50s. And I wouldn't be here to type this. Food for thought. :)
By Geo on Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 12:57 am:
The Bridges of Toko-Ri (1954-55) is another good Korean war flick, based on James Michener's novel. William Holden plays a U.S. Navy fighter pilot (flying F9F straight-wing jet Panther).
This goes the Pearl Harbor route of having a romance between Holden and Grace Kelly, but it's not too cheesy. :) And Holden battles with his conscience over participating in the war, being called back into service from his job as a lawyer.
The film won an Oscar for its then cutting edge special effects, which featured some really well done miniature work spliced with some real footage of Panther jets and F4U Corsairs (used for ground support during the war). The final sequence is quite riveting and showcases Panthers, Migs, Corsairs and a helicopter. I'll shut up in case someone actually goes out and sees this. :)
By Alan Au (Itsatrap) on Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 01:23 am:
Das Boot. I mean, I actually felt bad for the U-boat guys. Plus it's got pre-Wing Commander Jurgen Prochnow.
- Alan
By Jason Levine on Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 10:25 am:
As a contrast to Pearl Harbor, how about two WW2 films that managed to be dramatic while sticking to the facts and not adding a hokey romance: The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far.
By Desslock on Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 01:38 pm:
>while sticking to the facts and not adding a hokey romance: The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far.
Agree with you on Bridge Too Far. Longest Day is notoriously inaccurate, historically.