Tag Archives: War Movies

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Vietnam War Movie Quotes Film Quiz 5

Here we go once more. Let´s test your Vietnam War Movie knowledge. This time I tried to find lesser known movies. Not all high quality, I agree. However one of them is a real insider´s tip. Here is your list in random order: Tigerland, Coming Home, Rambo First Blood, Green Berets, The Boys in Company C, Off Limits. The solution, as always, just below the movie.

“The reason why I’m here is because a buddy of mine who’d been in ‘Nam took his own life today. This is kind of a funeral service. And I’m here because I’m trying to tell people, man, if we want to commit suicide, we have plenty of reasons to do it right here at home. We don’t have to go to Vietnam to find reasons to kill ourselves. I just don’t think we should be over there.”

Solution 1

“It’s strange that we’ve never read of this in the newspapers.”
“Well… that’s newspapers for you, ma’am. You could fill volumes with what you don’t read in them.”

Solution 2

“You’re floatin’ in a big sea of shit and instead of just stayin’ in the boat, no, you reach out and you pick up this one little turd and you say “This turd, well THIS turd pisses me off. I’m gonna do somethin’ about THIS turd!”

Solution 3

“Hey goddamnit! You with the pretty face! What the hell are you spitting on the ground for, what is that shit in your mouth?”
“Chewing tobacco sir.”
“Its what?”
“Chewing tobacco sir!”
“What the hell are you chewing tobacco for!”
“I chew when I play baseball sir!”
“Does this look like a baseball stadium to you!”
“No Sir it doesn’t.”
“Then what the hell are you chewing tobacco for? Did you get on the wrong fucking train, or did they draft you!”
“I enlisted Sir!”
“You did what?”
“I enlisted in the Marines Sir!”
“What the hell would you do a crazy thing like that for?”
“…..”
“Answer me goddamn it!”
“I want to fight for my country sir.”
“Fucking TURD!”

Solution 4

“Are you telling me that 200 of our men against your boy is a no-win situation for us?”
“You send that many, don’t forget one thing.”
“What?”
“A good supply of body bags.”

Solution 5

“If I told you there was a bunch of people around here who could get us to Mexico, away from the war, would you go?”
“No… no I wouldn’t. I enlisted, so there is a place for me… and if I don’t go, somebody is gonna take that place. And if they die, they’re dying for me.”

Solution 6

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Warlords (2007): So much better than expected

Warlords is a great movie. Far, far better than I expected. Not the usual at all. A wonderful example of Chinese cinema.

Gorgeous opulent pictures, a heartbreaking, thoughtful story, epic battle scenes, amazing landscapes, a very special atmosphere, poetical in tone, complex relationships and an excellent cast. Jet Li surprised me completely. I would never have expected him to be capable of such nuanced acting. Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro are superb as well and so is Jinglei Xu as Lian.

Set in 19th century China during the Taiping rebellion Warlords follows the destiny of General Pang (Jet Li). He is the only survivor of his unit ( thanks to a shameful act). All the others have been massacred. He finds refuge in the mountains among bandits and convinces their chief and his brother to follow him and become soldiers. The three men  who feel a very close bond early on take an oath to live and die for one another.

We soon follow them from battlefield to battlefield. Pang seems to have the highest moral standards that he manages to keep up even though they are constantly at war. But the longer the war lasts, the more it gets difficult for him to live up to these standards. Finally, in order to do a greater good, as he says,  he is willing to commit what one of the brothers sees as a crime. What started as a close friendship turns into the opposite developing a destructive dynamic. The core message of this film seems to be: War is ultimately ugly and nothing good can come out of it.

Warlords is really a story of Shakespearian proportions. It did also remind me of Greek tragedies. Only much darker. And still it is a compellingly beautiful movie.

Large scale cinema at its very best. I will definitely watch it again.

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African American Soldiers in War Movies

It is a fact that until recently African American actors were almost nonexistent in war movies. This is quite unfair since they were also fighting for their country. Even though they are not omnipresent in today´s war movies, they seem to get a fairer share.

The makers of Generation Kill faced quite some questioning as to the reasons why there was no African American cast in the series. As fishy as this may have seemed initially there was a very good explanation for this. Generation Kill is based on the true story of the First Recon Company, a highly specialized troop, in which there were actually no African American soldiers, or only one, as we can deduce from the group photo in Evan Wright´s book.

The questioning however was very justified since there is really no war movie on contemporary conflict in which there are no African American actors. Be it Battle for Haditha, Redacted, The Hurt Locker, Stop-Loss, Home of the Brave and many more. There are always African American actors and this is highly justified since many of the troops are of said origin.

How does the situation look regarding other wars? For example Vietnam? When it comes to combat movies – with the exception of We Were Soldiers – black soldiers are very often present. The best example is certainly Hamburger Hill that has a big African American cast. But they are not absent from Platoon or Full Metal Jacket either. Now what about We Were Soldiers? I honestly don´t know. Since it is based on a true story it might be possible that there were no African American soldiers in that company. If anyone knows the reason, tell me please.

WWII is another story altogether. Looking at the massive production of WWII movies it is incredible how absent African American actors are. Sure there are a few exceptions. A Soldier’s Story that I reviewed a while back is a good example. And then we have the Tuskegee Airmen based on the true story of the African-American 332nd Fighter Group of the Army Aircorps (see my movie review). This fine movie illustrates how unjustified the belief was that Blacks were not capable of flying modern fighters. But apart from these two examples? And what about Flags of our Fathers? It´sad to say that there were 900 black troops participating in the battle of Iwo Jima but not one of them is represented in Eastwood´s movie. He has been questioned many times and asked to clarify but he did not reply. This infuriated many people, among them the film director Spike Lee. I think his Miracle at St. Anna might be a direct response to Eastwood´s omission. It is actually incredible but the absence of African American actors in Flags of our Fathers makes Pearl Harbor look good in comparison. At least  Cuba Gooding Jr had quite an important role. Spike Lee´s just mentioned Miracle at St. Anna focuses on the 92nd Infantry Division that fought in Italy. This division was the result of the segregation of the times. It was a purely African-American division, also called Buffalo soldiers  (I must admit that I have not seen Miracle at St. Anna but read many reviews that did NOT appreciate it). I think we are still waiting for a truly good depiction of African American participation in WWII.

And WWI? I am lost. Have no clue if there ever was  a WWI movie with African Americans in it.

Let´s rewind some more: The Civil War. And yes here we finally find an outstanding movie with a largely African American cast. One of my Top 10. Yes, I am talking about Glory. If you haven´t seen it yet, watch it.

Looking at the whole picture again we can say, it is getting somewhat better, but a contemporary movie, based on a conflict younger than the civil war, with an African American main actor is still outstanding. Now, don´t mention Hotel Rwanda (Don Cheadle was actually also in Hamburger Hill). Although it is an impressive movie  there was really no chosing a white main actor. Not even Clint Eastwood would have had the insipidity to do so.

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The Poet aka Hearts of War (2007) or Don’t Let the Movie’s Poster Trick You

The Poet is a flawed and a much despised movie. Set in Poland in 1939 the central theme is the love story between  a German officer and a Jewish girl. I read comments and reviews that would make me feel ashamed if I had been part of this production. Funny enough people either give it a 1 or 2 star rating or 5 stars. Odd, right? Are they really being fair? What infuriates them so much? That Roy Scheider has only a mini-role even though he is on the movie poster?  I was not enthused but I did not mind watching it. Sure there is  a lack of logic and actors who speak in heavy accents that are not their own is annoying. Still, it is nicely filmed and I found it shows  one of the most beautiful depictions of a mother/son relationship. That the mother on top of that is played by the  beautiful Daryl Hannah does help as well. These two people are really close. They have a very open relationship. Unlike the one they both have with the father, a German general and Nazi. Unlike her husband mother and son are totally opposed to the German politics of the time. The movie has furthermore  some tragic story elements, decent fighting scenes and a female Russian Resistance leader one would not want to mess with.

At the opening we see Oscar, the son, on his mission in Poland. He should infiltrate resistance groups. On a trip to the woods he finds an unconscious girl in the snow and rescues her. What Oscar finds out very soon is the core element for the melodrama that will follow namely the fact that Rachel is  Jewish.

They fall in love at the greatest speed I have ever seen people fall in love in a movie, even though Rachel is already engaged.

They are separated early on, as Rachel has to flee.

If you want to find out whether they will meet again and if so, under what circumstances, you might have to watch it.

Did I mention that Nina Dobrev stars as Rachel? That might actually lead to a more generous viewing of this movie as fans of the Vampire Diaries might want to check out what else the young actress has done before. She is actually quite good in The Poet.

Maybe it is all about the poster. People seem to have felt tricked into buying a movie with Daryl Hannah and Roy Scheider as the main protagonists when in truth they have only minor roles. We resent feeling tricked.

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The Army of Shadows aka L´armée des ombres (1969): The Classic Movie on French Resistance

Bad memories, I welcome you nevertheless,  you are my distant youth.

If you are really interested in the topic of French Resistance there is no escaping this movie.  If you are truly interested in film there is no escaping this movie either. Especially not since there has been a recent wave of Resistance movies (Les femmes de l´ombre (Female Agents), L´armée du Crime ( The Army of Crime), Flame and Citron, Black Book, Winter in Wartime, Max Manus) and it is always good to see where they come from, what influences they had.

Jean-Pierre Melvilles´s L´armée des ombres aka The Army of Shadows (or in the Shadows) is a classic and a work of art.

It is beautiful like a foggy autumn evening, like the solitary cawing of a crow, like bare branches of a tree in winter, like the bluish colour of an early nightfall, like bitter sweet music and coffee drunk at midnight in an empty bar. (Would I  have to compare it to a contemporary movie, I think I would choose Shutter Island.  The movie as a whole and particularly the sad song during the end credits, Dinah Washington´s Bitter Earth blended with Max Richter´s On the Nature of Daylight, has a similar dense atmospheric quality.)

Gerbier (Lino Ventura) is captured by the Gestapo early in the movie. He manages to escape but knows he has been betrayed. Only one of his own could have told the Gestapo where this overly careful man was hiding.

Gerbier is head of a Resistance cell that operates between Paris, London, Lyon and Marseille. They always on the look out for people they can trust. They must always be careful, they could be betrayed anytime. They are hunted and on the run continuously. When they are caught by the Germans or the collaborators, they will be tortured mercilessly as the film shows drastically. But the group will risk everything to save one of their own.

The cell kills traitors as well  as people who become too risky. No matter how much they helped them in the past, no matter how much they like them. The group ultimately lives and dies for the cause.

Lino Ventura and Simone Signoret are fabulous in this movie. It is a pleasure to watch such assured actors.

A feeling of abandonment and utter loneliness pervades the whole film. It seems to illustrate the existentialist angst of the times. Melancholy in its purest form.

What impressed me most was the sound. No effects like we know them nowadays but so artfully and sparingly used noises and sounds and just a little bit of music. The rain in the beginning, echoing footsteps in empty streets, the ticking of a pendulum in a room, the distant cry of birds.

It is quite a sad movie and I would not recommend you watch it should you feel very blue. It would not cheer you up. But on days when you feel balanced enough you will admire these brave people and suffer with them when they find out one of them is being tortured but won´t speak, not even when he knows he is going to die.

And, please remember, this is a true story.