mariposagerl and I watched The Great Escape tonight. I'd never seen it before. It was a lot of fun. Eddie Izzard was right. The American "didn't escape but lived to tell the tale, while the brittish were lined up and shot in the head!"
Never seen a movie with Steve Macqueen before. He's damn cool indeed, I see what all the hype is about. James Gerner was quite dashing when he was young, though he really should have shot the costume person for putting him in that stupid turtleneck.
Yes we had a wonderful time; watching Donald Pleasence make tea, quoting Eddie Izzard, and of course making nazi jokes. My favorite:
God, why to the Germans have to be such nazi's all the time?
I had this realization as I was watching it though. In all WWII movies that I've seen the Germans are always so imcompetent. That's rather unrealistic. They're fascists. That's the whole point efficiency over humanity, why would they be so incompetent? Made me wonder if in German WWII movies the American and British soldiers are portrayed as incompotent? It seems to belittle your own win when you portray the ennemy as dispicable but wonderfully imcompetent pricks.
P.S.
Nobody expects the spanish tunnel king.
Never seen a movie with Steve Macqueen before. He's damn cool indeed, I see what all the hype is about. James Gerner was quite dashing when he was young, though he really should have shot the costume person for putting him in that stupid turtleneck.
Yes we had a wonderful time; watching Donald Pleasence make tea, quoting Eddie Izzard, and of course making nazi jokes. My favorite:
God, why to the Germans have to be such nazi's all the time?
I had this realization as I was watching it though. In all WWII movies that I've seen the Germans are always so imcompetent. That's rather unrealistic. They're fascists. That's the whole point efficiency over humanity, why would they be so incompetent? Made me wonder if in German WWII movies the American and British soldiers are portrayed as incompotent? It seems to belittle your own win when you portray the ennemy as dispicable but wonderfully imcompetent pricks.
P.S.
Nobody expects the spanish tunnel king.
- Current Mood:
pleased
Page Summary
- (Anonymous) : (no subject) [+1]
mr_stubbly : Re: Nice To See That You're Studying History! [+1]
Comments
Mariposagerl had me watch it.
I understand that whole Eddie Izzards= bit so much more having seen It. Infact I think I'm going to to watch the Izzard bit right now.
I recomend it, but see it with a friend.
If you Liked McQueen, See Bullitt sometime.(I'm biased as a Mustang Fan.) The Getaway is another good McQueen film. Peckinpah was a movie master...
The Germans were overconfident with their huge military machine. The world wouldn't take yes for an answer and F.D.R., Churchill and Stalin made a great team. An uneasy Alliance but the world was different then. Look at Today's Machines, Fascism is all around us and Hitler is revered by many emerging nations.
My Father didn't attend his H.S. graduation as he was on a Destroyer in the Pacific at 17.
Movies are great but they are biased and a bit out of touch at times. They broadcast war history films constantly on cable. take it with a grain of salt but we must learn from the past. Look at Kelly's Heroes for a laugh...
Patton, Battle of the Bulge and many other movies have been down in it: Try, All Quiet On The Western Front, Stalag 19, Sargent York etc. personally I like Sam Fuller's war Films from The Steel Helmet to The Big Red One. His experience made the films vital: Gritty, "War Noir".
Probably more than you wanted to hear...
As for war movies, I'm really not a fan, partly as a generational thing, and partly becasue of being a girl who's not into it. It is a very guy thing. The ones with John Wayne in them were so cleche. Though I'm sure there are some of those old movies that were historically accurate and/or good films.
I like the first 2/3 of Apocolypse now. but different war. I watched some of the band with brothers with my dad when those came out on HBO about five years ago. Some of those kept my attention.
Of course movies are biased an never a firm resemblence of reality. I'm well aware of that. I just find it fun to see how culture portrays charecters to make thier own archetype in American film (Indiana Jones films had some incompetent nazis too) I understand why it happens too, the bad guys are more bumbling so the hero can get get away more easily and believeably.