I'm really looking forward to this movie.
Dunkirk [July 21, 2017]
- Thread starter SouthWestOKPoke
- Start date
Love the director, love his choice of historical event.
I've always been a bit surprised that no one has made a movie focusing on Dunkirk. (I looked it up, it appears there was a 1958 British movie, but didn't look to be big-budget or get much recognition.)
I remember a film called the "Snow Goose" that aired on the CBS Children's film festival back in the early 70's. It starred Richard Harris and Jenny Aguter, her as the young orphaned girl who helps nurse back an injured snow goose with the help of a local artist who is a hunchback and a recluse as a result. He answers the call and takes his small boat to rescue the soldiers who stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk. Although more about the friendship formed between the two, it was the movie that introduced me to what happened at Dunkirk and helped form my interest in the history of WWII. Great movie by the way, I see on IMDB, it's got a rating of 8.8/10 placing it in the top 300 movies of all time.
It's considered a "children's film" so your kids might enjoy it and help you give them an introduction to WWII history.
I remember a film called the "Snow Goose" that aired on the CBS Children's film festival back in the early 70's. It starred Richard Harris and Jenny Aguter, her as the young orphaned girl who helps nurse back an injured snow goose with the help of a local artist who is a hunchback and a recluse as a result. He answers the call and takes his small boat to rescue the soldiers who stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk. Although more about the friendship formed between the two, it was the movie that introduced me to what happened at Dunkirk and helped form my interest in the history of WWII. Great movie by the way, I see on IMDB, it's got a rating of 8.8/10 placing it in the top 300 movies of all time.
It's considered a "children's film" so your kids might enjoy it and help you give them an introduction to WWII history.
I've always wondered that too. I think there aren't a lot of movies involving storylines prior to the U.S. entry into WWII. For example, there aren't a lot of movies about the Eastern Front during WWII - Battle of Moscow, Battle of Stalingrad, Siege of Leningrad, etc. The only one I can think of is Enemy at the Gates and it was . . . ok.
This one does look incredible though.
J.R. Murphy's it's always interesting to talk to my wife about WWII (she's a history buff as well) in that she received her education under the old Soviet regime, which basically ruled Mongolia as a puppet regime. With them, their version of WWII starts actually with Japan invading Manchuria /China in 1931.
Then picked up again with Hitler invading and declaring war on Russia in June of 1941.
One interesting thing I learned from her was how imporant the Mongolian Cavalry was to helping the Russians ward off the Germans during the siege of Leningrad. When the weather conditions were so bad that neither German or Russian vehicles could get started, Mongolia dispatched a few of their cavalry units with several hundred horses to assist the Russian troops.
Those horses were used to that type of weather (or worse) and they used them to actually transport the Russian field artillery around where they could hit at the Germans. The Germans artillery was basically locked in place because even if they managed to get a vehicle running, the snow and ice made them virtually worthless. It made the German troops sitting ducks at times and the Mongolian cavalry could use those same horses to launch attacks in blizzard like conditions, pulling off guerrilla attacks against the Germans.
I guess when you're used to dealing with -40F conditions, the -20 temps at Leningrad didn't seem so bad by comparison.
Then picked up again with Hitler invading and declaring war on Russia in June of 1941.
One interesting thing I learned from her was how imporant the Mongolian Cavalry was to helping the Russians ward off the Germans during the siege of Leningrad. When the weather conditions were so bad that neither German or Russian vehicles could get started, Mongolia dispatched a few of their cavalry units with several hundred horses to assist the Russian troops.
Those horses were used to that type of weather (or worse) and they used them to actually transport the Russian field artillery around where they could hit at the Germans. The Germans artillery was basically locked in place because even if they managed to get a vehicle running, the snow and ice made them virtually worthless. It made the German troops sitting ducks at times and the Mongolian cavalry could use those same horses to launch attacks in blizzard like conditions, pulling off guerrilla attacks against the Germans.
I guess when you're used to dealing with -40F conditions, the -20 temps at Leningrad didn't seem so bad by comparison.
Most German artillery in WWII was horse drawn....only the elite units (many of them not yet formed in 1941) were fully mechanized.
I'm not doubting the benefits of the cavalry though....I'm assuming those were traditional horses from the steppes, probably could have been effectively used to haul light artillery into position.
I'm not doubting the benefits of the cavalry though....I'm assuming those were traditional horses from the steppes, probably could have been effectively used to haul light artillery into position.
haha yup!
Comes out the day after my bday. Pumped. I'm hoping they show it on the big screen at the Tulsa Warren. Gotta hear it in Dolby Atmos.
Gonna go see this for my birthday this weekend. I'm not expecting Saving Private Ryan. I just want a good story, and Christopher Nolan's mastery of his craft makes me confident this will be a great film.
I've also been eagerly anticipating this movie.
A film in the same general vein that I'm really looking forward to seeing on November is this:
A film in the same general vein that I'm really looking forward to seeing on November is this:
Just a quick note for those seeing it - this may help a bit
A "mole" is a large rock structure that extends from a beach into the sea and serves as a pier and/or breakwater.
It kind of threw me for a bit when at the beginning of the movie, they are showing a character approaching the beach at Dunkirk and there's the word "The Mole" superimposed at the top of the screen. I was thinking they were identifying the character as being a "mole" (an infiltrator) rather than the structure.
A "mole" is a large rock structure that extends from a beach into the sea and serves as a pier and/or breakwater.
It kind of threw me for a bit when at the beginning of the movie, they are showing a character approaching the beach at Dunkirk and there's the word "The Mole" superimposed at the top of the screen. I was thinking they were identifying the character as being a "mole" (an infiltrator) rather than the structure.
Stuff you Missed in History Class podcast just did two episodes on Dunkirk. One on what led up to it and one on the evacuation itself....both are worth a listen and provide some good context to the movie.
I loved the movie. I really have a hard time even describing it but it was very well done.
I loved the movie. I really have a hard time even describing it but it was very well done.
Went and saw it this weekend. Amazing movie. The minimal dialogue and three different timelines within the film worked wonderfully. Christopher Nolan is on a different level as a filmmaker.
I saw it yesterday at the IMAX. It is a very good film. Amazing to me how well it captures the intensity of the situation with hardly any blood and gore.
I saw this movie last night. I thought it was very good, but I had a difficult time with a few things.
1). Most of the soldiers, trying to get from Dunkirk to safety, looked physically similar. Dark hair, clean shaven, same uniform. I had a tough time telling them apart. Put oil all over their face and it makes it even more confusing.
2). Due to the Brittish accents, I could not understand some of what was being said. I was wishing I could turn on the Closed Captions option.
3). Normally, I enjoy movies where there are multiple timelines overlying each other. However, due to #1 (above), I felt like it was a bit hard to follow.
1). Most of the soldiers, trying to get from Dunkirk to safety, looked physically similar. Dark hair, clean shaven, same uniform. I had a tough time telling them apart. Put oil all over their face and it makes it even more confusing.
2). Due to the Brittish accents, I could not understand some of what was being said. I was wishing I could turn on the Closed Captions option.
3). Normally, I enjoy movies where there are multiple timelines overlying each other. However, due to #1 (above), I felt like it was a bit hard to follow.
Yeah, every one of the soldiers seemed to have a fresh boy band haircut. Kinda funny but it didn't detract from the quality of the film. Nolan would've been wise to turn down some of the ambient noise at points of subtle dialogue. Very hard to hear a lot of what was said on the pier.
The multiple timelines approach sounds impossible when you describe it but I was only mildly confused once the whole movie--it's all pretty brilliant.
Very good movie, somewhat different than I was expecting. I really didn't have a problem understanding the dialogue. I think I was expecting a broader look at whole Dunkirk situation and it was mainly focused on a few characters and you don't get a feel for just how grand an operation this was.
The civilian assisted evacuation involved thousands of small vessels, 300,000 English troops and 75,000 French. It lasted 5 days.
The civilian assisted evacuation involved thousands of small vessels, 300,000 English troops and 75,000 French. It lasted 5 days.
Did you see where one critic from some liberal rag was complaining because there wasn't enough people of color or women in the movie?
