The film is 28 minutes long and was featured on the classic "Twilight
Zone" series.It is a French film
based on the famous short story by Ambrose Bierce.It follows the story very closely.It received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film
Festival and the Academy Award for Short Film.Very appropriate because the film
is creepy.It is set in the Civil War
and opens with a military order posted on a tree warning civilians that any
sabotage of railroad bridges, tunnels, or trains will result in execution.A well-dressed Southerner is about to be
hanged from a bridge for violating that order.As the noose is tightened, he dreams of his family.What happens next is a miracle.Seemingly.
The director was Robert Enrico and he has a
distinctive style. The movie is mesmerizing. There is no dialogue and in fact,
there are no sounds. The first half is covered by funereal music which shifts
to bizarre midway through. But it’s the cinematography that stands out. Enrico
uses everything in a cinematographer’s bag of tricks. There are long shots,
close-ups, even some POV. There is some amazing underwater camera work. It is a
clinic on cinematography. There are long tracking shots as the man runs home.
During this scene, the tint of the movie changes.It is a must see for war movie lovers, fans
of film, and lovers of literature.
“68 Whiskey” is a
new Paramount Network show.It is set in
present-day Afghanistan and follows medics working in a NATO coalition
base.It is based on an Israeli series
entitled “Charlie Golf One”.Paramount
is hoping for its next big hit after “Yellowstone”, but this show has no Kevin
Costner.
The
tone is set immediately as the first words uttered are “f*** me” coming from a
slutty female clerk.Grace (Gage
Golightly) is making love to medic Cooper Roback (Sam Keeley) in the medical supply
building.Before the scene is over, we
get the words pussy and shit.Welcome to
the Paramount Network.Roback is a playa
and a schemer.He and his buddy Staff
Sergeant Davis (Jeremy Tardy) are in the war to make money.This includes betting big on a boxing match
between Roback and a hulk named Sasquatch.He happens to be Grace’s boyfriend, so a cliched love triangle is established.It is also established that Roback and Davis
are poor gamblers.This is supposed to
be a war series, so Roback goes on a medevac to recover a soldier who turns out
to be off base for black market activities.On the way back, for no good reason, Roback is forced to ride standing
on the skid.Oh, the reason was it was
cool.Sgt. Alvarez (Cristina Rodlo)
screws up and the G.I. dies.Cue the
PTSD.They also bring back a wounded
local.Maj. Holloway (Beth Riesgraf) is
the hard-ass doctor who laments having to care for a civilian.She is also not thrilled to find Roback is
hoping to cash in on the dead guy’s black market items.It seems Roback will always be one step ahead
of the law.He and Davis go off base to
meet a local warlord to do a drug deal.Medical supplies for hashish.They
manage to rip-off the warlord for a cache of hash.These are our heroes.They end up walking back to base with no one
in hot pursuit.Cliffhanger ending.
“68
Whiskey” wants to be a 2020 mashup of “MASH”, “Sgt. Bilko”, and “Three Kings”.It fails miserably.There is little humor and the drama is
laughable.I have no idea who the technical
adviser is, but he should be fired.A
medic gives shots through children’s clothing.A trio of soldiers wander through enemy territory with no noise
discipline and then threaten a goat for bleating.The same trio manages to get back on base
with packs full of hashish, no questions asked.Much of what happens has holes the size of IED craters in it.You have to suspend reality a lot.This would be okay if the show was a farce
and winked at the audience, but it appears to have no idea what it wants to
be.Other than naughty.There are three sex scenes in the first
episode, the last one to porn-style music.That medical supply building is going to get a lot of action.I mentioned no Kevin Costner.In fact, the series has no one I’ve ever
heard of.Paramount must have bust its
budget on Costner because this cast is low rent.The goat is the best actor.
I
am not that familiar with Paramount Network, so I can not tell you who its
target audience is. I would guess, based
on this series, it is not aiming for conservatives. If you love the troops, you will find Roback
and Davis less than medal-worthy. They con
a naïve kid soldier into going with them, not telling him about the drug deal which
involves them trading medicine they stole from the base. Then they introduce him to hashish. Roback is insubordinate much of the time. He’s supposed to be a likeable rogue, but he
is not appealing. A subplot has Alvarez
being discharged and deported because she is an illegal alien. Liberals will be incensed by her
treatment. Roback complains about the “asshole
who wants to be reelected”. There is a
Blackwater type organization doing something nefarious. (I’ll never find out what.) Surprisingly, their Col. Potter is a firm, but
fair leader. The series is not trying to
lampoon the brass. I guess the
satirizing is meant to be of the system.
Roback and Davis’ entrepreneurship is meant to be a thumb in the eye of
the corrupt war effort. Too bad you will
root against them. They ain’t Hawkeye Pierce
and Trapper John. In fact, the logical
approach would have been to bring “MASH” to Afghanistan. Now that’s a winning formula. This is a mess.
1. What movie is the picture from? 2. What movie is this quote from? "Sir, I got lost
on the way to college, sir." 3. What movie is this?
In
some ways it is a dinosaur marking the end days of the epic old school war
movies like “The Longest Day”. Similar
to that film, it features an all-star cast and tells the story from both the
American and enemy perspectives. Unlike
“The Longest Day”, it is not based on a book by Cornelius Ryan and thus does
not have Ryan’s deft blending of commanders and grunts roles. The
movie was a disappointment at the box office in spite of its revolutionary
Sensurround technology that was supposed to make the audience “feel” the
battle. (It was one of only 4 movies
made with this dead-end technology).
SYNOPSIS: “The Birth of a Nation” is the story of
two families during the Civil War and Reconstruction.The Stoneman’s are Northerners and the
Cameron’s are Southerners and slave-owners.Ben Cameron is in love with Elsie Stoneman. The war breaks the friendship of the
families.The movie concentrates on the
Cameron family as it has a pro-Southern point of view.Ben Stoneman goes off to war and the film has
a grand depiction of a battle.During
Reconstruction, Congressman Stoneman is a Radical Republican who is interested
in turning over the South to black rule.Ben fights against this by joining the KKK.
BACK-STORY: “The
Birth of a Nation” was the first major motion picture and is both famous and
infamous. It was directed by D.W. Griffith and the innovations he
incorporated into the production are mind-boggling. The movie created
cinema as we know it today. Relative to its budget, the movie became one
of the most profitable films in history. When it opened in New York City,
tickets were an astronomical $2 (equivalent to about $18 today). The
success was in spite of the controversy with regard to its treatment of blacks.
The NAACP encouraged boycotts of the film and it was banned in some
cities.
TRIVIA:Wikipedia,
imdb, TCM
1.It was based on Thomas Dixon’s novels The
Clansman and The Leopard’s Spots.The original title was going to be “The Clansman”.
2.The NAACP tried to have it banned.It was banned in some cities like Los Angeles
and Chicago.
3.It was the first movie ever screened in the
White House. President Wilson was a Southerner and not noted for progressive
ideas on race, but he is incorrectly credited with the famous quote:“It is like writing history with lightning.
And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true.”Most likely, Dixon made up the quote and
attributed it to Wilson.However,
his historical take on Reconstruction appears on a title card in the movie and
the plot fits his pro-segregation views.
4.Director DW Griffith was the son of a
Confederate officer and had a negative view of Reconstruction.Surprisingly, he was taken aback by the
backlash to the film’s racism.
5.West Point provided the artillery and
technical advice.
6.The movie cost the enormous sum of $110,000.
7.It was the highest grossing film until “Gone
with the Wind”.It’s premiere engagement
at a NYC theater cost $2 a ticket which would be equivalent to $17-20 today.
8.Most of the African-American characters were
played by whites in black-face.Especially if the character came in contact with a white actress.
9. Joseph Henabery, one of the assistant
directors, played 13 characters, including Lincoln.
Belle and Blade =
N/A
Brassey’s=4.0
Video Hound=3.8
War Movies=N/A
Military History=no
Channel 4=#92
Film Site=yes
101 War Movies=yes
Rotten Tomatoes = no
OPINION:How
can a movie be both great and terrible? Watch “Birth of a Nation” and
see. If you changed the word “writing” to bullshitting and the word
“true” to false in the Wilson quote, you’d be spot on. The film did hit
the nation like a lightning bolt. If it had come out ten years later, it
would not have been successful. It was the spectacle that drew people to
the theater outside the South. This is the best explanation for why the
movie did well in the North. Griffith was a master movie-maker. His
innovations helped cinema take off. The movie was the “Citizen Kane” of
its day.The cinematography is
astounding even today.The battle scenes
are epic.The score is grand.The problem is the plot is ahistorical and the
stereotypes are vile.It may be great
filmmaking and entertaining story-telling, for that time.But it is a reprehensible work of
racism.I strongly feel it does not
belong on this list.
Last year I went to the WWII museum in New Orleans for a
special advanced showing of Hulu’s miniseries “Catch-22”. It was an ambitious attempt to bring the
famous Joseph Heller novel to the small screen.
The 1970 film is highly respected, but the novel is massive and
complicated so a two-hour movie could not really do it justice. The miniseries is more than twice as long as
the Mike Nichols’ movie. This new
version was developed and written by Luke Davies and David Michod. They took on the difficult task of
transforming the nonlinear, farcical novel that Buck Henry had ably adapted for
the movie. George Clooney got involved
as an executive producer and directed two of the episodes. He also took on a minor role. Although a prestige production for Hulu, the
rest of the cast was fairly unknown except for Kyle Chandler and Hugh Laurie in
small roles. The miniseries got good
reviews, but only Emmy nods for Sound Effects and Special Visual Effects. It was filmed in Sardinia and Italy. The film used some authentic B-25s.
Davies
and Michod decided to make the miniseries linear, probably as a sop to Hulu’s
audience. It opens with the main
character Yossarian (Christopher Abbott) in training to be a bombardier. He is having an affair with his commanding
officer Scheisskopf’s (Clooney) wife. He
tells her that he chose the air corps because he figured that by the time his
training was over, the war would be over. So it is established early that Yoyo is a
coward. The rest of the show covers
enough bombing missions to prove he would have to be very brave to handle his
job without being affected by it. Although the movie runs for 270 minutes, it
basically covers two storylines. One is
Yossarian’s attempts to get sent back home and the other is the black market
machinations of Milo Minderbinder (Daniel David Stewart). There are ten missions spread out through the
narrative and one montage. Interspersed
with these are some scenes that develop some of the other characters. Col. Cathcart (Chandler) is a martinet who is
constantly upping the number of missions necessary for ending your tour. It starts at 25, but will go up throughout
the miniseries. Major Major (Lewis
Pullman) is a mousy incompetent who is appointed squadron leader. Maj. – de Coverley (Laurie) is in charge of
renting rooms when new cities are occupied.
The
writers had some options when they took on Heller’s book. Buck Henry decided to do a greatest hits
wrapped around the Yossarian / Minderbinder threads. Snowden’s death was his nonlinear device to
explain Yosarrian’s breakdown. Davies and
Michod could have simply replicated that with their own take on the characters
and added more scenes and characters from the book. They could have amped up the black humor and
silliness of the novel. Instead, they
decided to play it relatively straight and concentrate on Yossarian’s efforts
to get to the mission goal. There is
little added from the book and some scenes were not in the book or movie. This was a poor decision because the movie is
not so well known or recent that Hulu’s viewers would have wanted a different
approach. And then you have the fans
that did not want the novel tampered with.
With 270 minutes, the logical approach would have been to cover more of
the book and allow the actors to give their own takes on the books’ characters.
Surprisingly,
the best thing about the series is the missions. The B-25 interiors are authentic. The CGI flak is intense. The sound effects match. You can see and feel why Yoyo is worried
about his life expectancy. At one point,
a fellow bombardier gets splattered on his windscreen. The problem here is the experiences do not
match Yossarian’s reactions. His is not
a consistent descent into PTSD. He
remains dedicated to his bombing with some exceptions. Bizarrely, after doing his best to avoid
missions, Yoyo changes strategy and does multiple missions to reach 50 (the
montage). He is dedicated on all of them
and gets off each bomber with a smile on his face. (Unlike the Yossarian of the book, he does
not care which pilots he flies with.) By
the way, even though he is freelancing, he is always the lead bombardier. The key mission where Yoyo decides to go
around a second time to bomb a bridge is placed too late to make sense. Even more perplexing, the death of Snowden is
in the last episode! It is not used to
explain why Yossarian is so motivated to get out of combat. Instead, it is treated as a breaking point
that leads to Yossarian adopting a no clothes policy. Here is one example of the series going beyond
the movie/book, but this does not happen enough to become a characteristic of the
show. The writers were too tame in this
respect.
The
critics have been kind to the series, although the Emmys were not impressed. However, if you have seen the movie and/or
read the book (which I have, twice), this miniseries is a severe disappointment. The movie’s characters channeled the book’s
well and the cast was outstanding. This
ensemble is definitely second-rate, but the script gives them no opportunity to
make their characters interesting. It
was a poor decision to cast actors that mostly look alike. And, in spite of the expanded length, the
other air crewmen like Nately, Orr, Arfy, McWatt, etc. are short-changed. Hell, we don’t even get Gen. Dreedle. Clooney’s Scheisskopf is substituted as a
mustache twirling villain. Only
Minderbinder makes an impression and only Daniel David Stewart is in a league
with his cinematic equivalent (Jon Voight).
The series adds two Italian lackeys for Milo and forgoes many of the
unseen characters from the book, like Hungry Joe. Across the board, the characters are boring
in comparison to the book/movie. It is
infuriating for fans to see the Chaplain depicted as a typical chaplain! Nately’s whore likes him! Did the writers even read the book? Christopher Abbott is adequate as Yossarian,
but his performance lacks nuance. Yoyo
is unlikeable and much more of a straight coward than Alan Arkin’s portrayal.
This
series needed to be as black, if not blacker, than the movie/book. There is little humor in the series. In a telling moment, Yossarian’s scrotum
surgery (not in the book) forces him to wear silly pants. It was
too late to shift to farcical.
Why would you add a scene where Yoyo spends some time in an Italian
village and skip some of the iconic scenes? You had 270 minutes! There is no briefing with Dreedle’s WAC being
the focus. Milo does not have a cotton
problem. There is no Luciana. Arfy does not visit Yoyo during a
mission. The key scenes that are
reenacted are all inferior to the movie. For example, Kid Sampson’s death is played for
shock value and makes no reference to Doc being on board McWatt’s plane.
I
do not understand the critics who have complimented the miniseries. To me, it is a big disappointment. The decision to disregard the tone of the
book and not simply expand on what the movie covered is head-scratching. To take beloved characters and remove their
quirks is inexcusable. The changes that
were made to the story dilute the satire. There’s no verve. Next time, use “MASH” as the template.
Well,
it finally arrived in town.Was it worth
the wait?“1917” has been on war movie
fans’ radar for some time now.You’ve
probably seen the commercials and already know the basic plot.Two British soldiers must deliver a message
halting an attack that will be walking into an ambush.The idea came from a story director Sam
Mendes’ grandfather told him.Mendes
went on to co-write the story with Krysty Wilson-Cairns.This is Mendes’ second war film after “Jarhead”
in 2005.He shouldn’t wait so long for
his next one.“1917” recently won the
Golden Globe for Best Drama.He won for
Best Director.He owes a lot to his cinematographer
Roger Deakins.This was their fourth
collaboration.Deakins is one of the
premier cinematographers and this may be his masterpiece.He won the Best Cinematography Oscar for “Bladerunner
2049” and has won four BAFTAs and 14 Oscar nominations.In 2011, the American Society of Cinematographers
presented him a Lifetime Achievement Award.He is the surest of bets at the upcoming Academy Awards.
The
film opens on April 6, 1917. (I am not sure if it is a coincidence that that is
the day the U.S. declared war.)We meet
mates Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) as they walk
and talk their way to headquarters.Thus
begins the soon to be legendary continuous shot that will take us through the
movie.The general needs the duo to halt
an attack scheduled for the next morning.The Germans have withdrawn from their front-line trenches and the
British plan to take advantage of this.Unfortunately, intelligence discovers that it’s a trap and two
battalions of 1,600 men will be slaughtered if the attack takes place.Blake and Schofield will have to make a trek
through no man’s land to deliver the message.As an incentive, Blake’s brother is in the doomed battalion. At this point, the viewer needs to treat the
movie like an odyssey.Think Odysseus
with his adventures.None of that could
have really happened, right?Same with
this movie.They cross a no man’s land
that checks all the boxes for the mise-en-scene -dead horses (with flies, nice touch), dead
body on the wire, rats eating dead bodies, destroyed tank, etc.You do not want to see this movie in
smell-o-vision.Or right after
eating.The odyssey includes stops in
the deserted German front-line trench for a haunted house vibe, a deserted
farmhouse for an encounter with a German fighter pilot (the only CGI), crossing
a bridge under sniper fire, a chase scene in a German occupied village, and riding
some rapids.There’s even a siren’s song
by a British soldier (“Poor Wayfaring Stranger”).Only one of the buddies will make it.This needs no spoiler alert if you have seen
the trailers or the first ten minutes of the movie.
“1917”
is a movie that can be nitpicked.The
sniper angles don’t match his position, for instance.As in most episodic war movies, no one person
could have had all these experiences.Mendes is up front about his grandfather’s reminiscences being enhanced
and the movie does not start with a claim that it is based on a true story, so
you will enjoy it more if you just go with the flow (like Schofield in the
river).Try not to imagine what the
front lines must look like to set up the scenario, you’ll get a headache.The central premise is flawed as Operation
Alberich (February-March, 1917) was a planned withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line,
but did not involve a feint to draw Allied forces into an ambush.Plus, the British advanced cautiously, and
not beyond the vacated front-line trenches. While it is likely none of the incidents
happened as portrayed, none of them is unbelievable.It’s easy to overlook the implausibilities if
you have an eye for brilliant cinematography.It is mesmerizing.But not in an
overly showy way.Some viewers, who don’t
read up on movies before seeing them, may not even notice the continuous
take.It is so seamless.Note the transitions from the camera
following to camera leading the duo.Non-cinephiles
will probably remember the realistic sets and gruesome details of trench
warfare.The set designer deserves a lot
of credit.For the continuous take, it
was necessary to have an extensive trench system.Imagine “Paths of Glory” multiplied by
ten.No movie has depicted the trenches
more accurately.This includes the German
trenches, which are shown accurately as superior to the British ones.You will also see the most realistic no man’s
land on film.
Nothing
can match the technical virtuosity of the movie.The plot is molded to the perspective of just
two men, and then one.This limits the
narrative.It also limits informing the
audience about soldier life and behavior.There is a soldier banter scene in the back of the truck, but the movie
is much stronger on the visuals of the war than on the men.There is some exposition between the leads
and some cursory character development.We do know that Schofield is a decorated veteran of the Somme who
regrets a trip home.He is the cautious
one whereas Blake has the motivation of saving his brother.The actors are fine, if unspectacular in
these roles.There are some showy cameos
by the likes of Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.Mark Strong makes the best impression as a
captain that Schofield runs into.In the
movie’s most insightful exchange, he tells Schofield to make sure there is an eyewitness
to his delivering the order because some officers just want to fight.Other than this spot on take on command decisions
in the Great War, the movie is not a typical WWI hate fest on the donkeys
leading the lions.This is not the Iliad,
it’s the Odyssey, after all.
2019
was not a good year for war movies. The
best was probably “Danger Close” which was an excellent battle movie. “1917” is a much more personal take on war
and is more of a trek movie than a combat film.
It is superior to the last significant WWI film - 2011’s “War Horse”. While not in the top five WWI movies, “1917”
is a worthy entry into a subgenre that has a high percentage of quality. There is a much higher percentage of good WWI
combat movies than the WWII equivalents.
Probably because the war itself lends itself to a purer anti-war
feeling. “1917” will not be remembered
as a great anti-war film, but it is entertaining and more a tribute to the soldiers
than any recent WWI movies. You can’t
help but be moved as the fodder listens to that haunting song before going over
the top. It will certainly get Academy Award
recognition and is better than “Dunkirk” as Mendes substituted dazzling cinematography
for Nolan’s tri-perspective, nonlinear approach. Two directors at the top of their game. Put me in the Mendes corner.
“Cat
Shit One” is a war short.It is animated
using CGI.The film is based on a manga
comic set in the Vietnam War.There it
followed a recon unit.For some reason,
the film has been moved to Afghanistan.It is a sequel to the comics.The
main characters are Packy and Botasky.They are private contractors.(I
had to read this because it is unclear in the film.)Their mission is to rescue a hostage and a
local asset from the clutches of some jihadis.
The
film opens with Packy and Botasky observing a village where the jihadis are
holding the hostage and collaborator.Botasky is a sniper and Packy is his observer.But he’s more than just an observer, he’s a
killing machine.He’s a rabbit Rambo
without all the emotional baggage.This
bunny is a cool customer.That’s right,
he and Botarsky are bunnies.The jihadis
are camels (with towels on their heads).Packy goes into the ville and Botarsky does his thing from a hill.
This
is a fun little movie.It’s combat porn
with rabbits and camels.There is a high
body count and the violence is graphic.Blood spurts.There are RPGs for
explosions.But it’s bunnies doing it so
you can watch this with your kids (or grandkids).Just kidding, don’t do that.The plot plays out like a SEAL movie done in
animation.And what animation.It is amazingly crisp.You see the tiniest details in the terrain.The rabbits have distinct facial expressions.When they talk, it’s not distracting.And there are no poorly rendered humans.The action is non-stop.RPG rounds come flying at you and there is
slo-mo of the shells ejecting ilk.It’s
a thrill ride for 21 minutes.This does
not leave a lot of time for exposition.But the two rabbits have personalities.Packy is a veteran and imperturbable.He moves like an operative would.(All of the characters are bipedal.)Packy uses an SR-47 (an AR-15 adapted to take AK-47 magazines).Botasky is greener and a bit panicky at
first.This sets up his redemption
arc.
The
movie is one action set piece. The
jihadis are simply there to be killed.
One nice touch is they speak their own language and there are no
subtitles. Not that you need to know
what they are saying. I’m guessing it is
some variation of: “Death to American
bunnies!” The soundtrack is a blend of
pulse-pounding action music and there is some Middle Eastern thrown in. Overall, the production is outstanding. The only thing that is disappointing is if it
is one of a kind. It was released in
2010 and there has been no sequel. Pity.
1. What movie is the picture from? 2. What movie is this quote from? "Sir, Custer was
a p-ssy. You ain't." 3. What movie is this?
It was released
in 1980 and was the first of three films made in Australia that marked the
arrival of Australian cinema as a force in war movies. The other two films were “Gallipolli” (1981)
and “The Lighthorsemen” (1987). The film
was directed by Bruce Beresford, has an all-Australian cast, and was shot in
Australia. It is based on the play by
the same name. It
was a box office success in America and was nominated for an Oscar for Best
Adapted Screenplay.
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