pauleskridge

Seven stars. This isn't anything like a conventional war movie. Not even for the 1970s. Its only real comparison point is (of course!) The Longest Day; another film made from a book by Cornelius Ryan. And it suffers from the same basic problem: There are so many stories touched on that most of them can't get dug into. The only exceptions here are the Anthony Hopkins (Cnl. Frost) and Sean Connery (Gen. Urquhart) angles. I think Attenborough made the choice of emphasizing the Arnhem part of the story because that was the real disaster.

Operation Market Garden was a classic example of military overreach, and is shown as such from the start of the film. It was also such a complex operation that it demanded the approach Attenborough took. Happily, the actors in all those bits of the story were so game to chew scenery. Connery, Hopkins, and Bogarde all got a lot of time. But the rest had to do with nuggets. For my money, Elliott Gould did the most memorable job with his snippet. But Caan, Caine, Hackman, Olivier, O'Neal and Redford all nailed their moments as well.

And Ullmann was perfect. Such a world-class actress, given just one real scene to work with. She brought tears to my eyes.

This isn't a documentary, but it doesn't play fast and loose with any of the history I know. Nor does it make the mistake of demonizing the Germans (see, especially, Maximilian Schell's Gen. Bittrich for this!). I'm sure a lot of the small details were fiction, but that's okay. They turned this into a movie that doesn't drag once in its 3 hour run-time. 19 October 2020.

Six stars. Maybe 6.5, but not enough to round up. Because the whole thing was just too Capra. The Rape of Nanking doesn't need extra tugging at the heart-strings. And the overall tone was just too simplistic. It was, explicitly, a propaganda film, so that's to be expected at some level. But nuance was never Capra's strong point, and here it's too big a problem for me to ignore.

This is one of a whole series of WW2 propaganda films made by various A-list Hollywood directors. Capra was the one who didn't get his own hands dirty, so his films have less of the "you are there" quality than the ones Ford or Huston, say, filmed on location. But they do have great production values, and they are very good at providing the viewer with tactical information.

The maps showing the troop and ship maneuvers, the terrain, the rail-lines, and such were splendid. I did think it telling that there was absolutely no mention of Mao's role, other than the elliptic comments about local rebel groups.

That said, it was a great history lesson for modern viewers about why things played out the way they did. Japan didn't want a two-front war. But they ended up starting one because of pure, stubborn Chinese intransigence. In a sense, they made the same mistake the Germans did in taking on too big an opponent (see Capra's Battle of Russia for more on that).

The history lesson aspect of Capra's WW2 films is the biggest draw for a modern audience. Because they simply can't pack the wow-factor of things like Ford shooting the Normandy invasion. But, if you are interested in that history, this is well-worth an hour of your time. 25 June 2025.

Six stars. Well, that was just as stupid as the first one. There was a bit more of a plot this time. But still mostly hijinx and manly brawling. Plus some gorgeous women (although, sadly, Beverly D'Angelo didn't come back for the sequel), the worst biker gang ever, and a BUNCH more of Clyde. Also, I'll watch Ruth Gordon in anything. She basically stole every scene she was in (just like the first film). So, stupid it was, but still entertainingly stupid. The plot structure was obvious. Even the turn of having William Smith's character show up so early wasn't that much of a twist. The goons were either threatening or incompetent as needed. The outside interests were just plain ridiculous. And the climax was so over the top that it was the only way to go. I mean, of COURSE the rich Texan would drive his plane down the highway back into town. What else could he possibly do? My 11 year-old son and I both laughed a lot. That must mean it worked as intended. I wouldn't recommend you rush to see this. But if you like stupid comedy, you'll probably like it. Thank goodness Clint stopped after two films. There really isn't anything more to say about a guy like Philo. 23 October 2020.