Tag Archives: WWI

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The Red Baron aka Der rote Baron (2008) The Guilty Pleasure of an Enjoyable Air Combat Movie

The Red Baron a German/UK production with an international cast (two famous German actors, Matthias Schweighöfer (Schiller, Valkyrie) and Til Schweiger (King Arthur), and two British ones Lena Headey (300) and Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love, Enemy at the Gates) is a real guilty pleasure. I am aware that it took a lot of liberties with the historical facts. Especially in Germany it was highly criticized for being too glorifying. The Red Baron exists in two versions, an English and a German one, that are quite different. In the English version this sporting hunter mentality of the Baron is much more accentuated while it is toned done in the German version. This might explain why the reception in the UK was far better. This and the German´s obsession with historical accuracy when it comes to their own history. And, last but not least, it is more appealing to hear the German actors speak English than German. It takes the edge out of their voices.

I am neither British nor German and just enjoyed this movie a great deal. A lot of gripping air combat scenes, an appealing cast, stunning cinematography and a great story.

The movie depicts Baron von Richthofen as a tragic hero. And a very noble man. Maybe that is not what he was… I don’t know. He was certainly not as good-looking as the actor Matthias Schweighöfer.

We see Baron von Richhofen´s early fascination with planes and flying. He is a rich aristocrat and once war breaks out it is only natural he should join the German airforce. To him the war is at first only a game, a sport. May the better one win. He is also capable of admiring others´, even British pilots´, exploits.

It is only after quite a long time, and through the beautiful nurse Käte (Lena Headey), he falls in love with, that he realises that the war in the air and the war in the trenches fought by the common man are two completely different things.

He also  realises that he is mainly used for propaganda purposes. He is the most succesful German fighter pilot and a national hero. Germany facing defeat needs someone like him to look up to. His superiors want him for propaganda only; he should not fly anymore as this is much too dangerous.

But The Red Baron loves nothing more than flying. And he does not want to be used.

Defying everything he flys again…

If your historical conscience will allow it, this movie is just something to enjoy. I truly like it and watched it more than once. We dont have many good air combat movies and even less that depict WWI.

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Company K (2004): Most Probably one of the Worst War Movies Ever

I have watched the reaction of many men to pain, hunger and death, but all I have learned is that no two men react alike, and that no one man comes through the experience unchanged. (William March)

The above quote is taken from William March´s novel Company K on which this movie is based. The book is largely autobiographical and apparently one of the most convincing anti-war statements that has ever been written. That sounds like a great premise and, boy, was I looking forward to watch this. But unfortunately great intentions don´t guarantee a good movie. If they did this would not have turned out to be one of my very worst war movie experiences. Company K is horribly bad.

As I am a sucker for great score the music was one of the first things I noticed while watching Company K. Awful music. Maybe great in a horror movie or to illustrate what it sounds like to go to the dentist. Honestly, this score drove me up every single wall of my apartment.

It is a pity as the intentions behind this sorry effort are good, and the first few minutes when we see Joseph Delaney, aka William March, the main character how he  tries to tell his story, are promising but from then on it gets worse and worse. The acting is as bad as can be and the idea to just let us catch glimpses of the men Delaney served with is exasperating.

Delaney volunteered with the Marine Corps in WWI. Soon after arriving his company is attacked near Verdun. Trench scenes, battle scenes, mustard gas attacks, all quite eloquent if it wasn´t for the acting and this mad jumping from one character to the next.

Company K is one of those movies who gets either 1 or 5 stars. Odd, right? I hated it but if anyone who liked it reads this, tell me why.

For anybody who would like to read more about it here is  Company K´s Homepage.

If you watch it and are bored out of your mind and annoyed by the pesky music… Don´t come here complaining, I warned you!

1 star.

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WWI Movie Quotes Film Quiz 7

Today´s movie quotes quiz will lead us into the realm of  WWI movies.

The quote is followed by the solution underneath but first comes the random list for you. Anyone who wants a real challenge, skips this list!

Merry Christmas aka Joyeux Noel, The Lighthorsemen, The Blue Max,  All Quiet on the Western Front, Regeneration, Gallipoli, Flyboys

Quotes

[wondering why Cassidy is offering a pistol] “What’s this for?”
“Plane catches fire you got three choices: You can burn with it all the way to the ground; You can jump several thousand feet; or you can take the quick and painless way out.”
[Handing gun to Beagle]
“Good luck, gentlemen.”

Solution 1

“Everyone to their posts!”
[a moment of indecision] “Every man to his post!”
“Quickly!”
[the Scottish soldiers get in position along the trench wall]
[Someone in the German trench stands up and walks into No Man’s Land]” No, stay here! What’re you doing? Come back!”
“Well, what the hell are you doing! Shoot the bloody Kraut!”
[the Scottish soldiers look at each other; they don’t fire]
“What are you waiting for? Shoot him, God damn it! Holidays are over!”
[the soldiers shoot in the air to warn the man in No Man’s Land, who begins to run toward the French trench]
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at? Shoot him!”
[Again the soldiers look at each other, shake their heads, and don’t fire]
“Shoot him!”
[Jonathan shoots the man, who falls midway between the French and German trenches]
“Stand down from your posts.”
[They do]
“Shame on you, Gordon. Shame on you.”
[Ponchel’s alarm clock rings in No Man’s Land. Gordon looks out to see Lieutenant Audebert running to help the man Jonathan shot – Ponchel in a German uniform]
“Be silly to die disguised as a German, eh?”
“What the devil were you doing?”
“I had a German help me. I saw my mother. We drank a coffee, just like before… You have a son.”
[Lieutenant Audebert can no longer keep from crying]
“His name is Henri.”
[Ponchel dies, and Lieutenant Audebert sobs even harder. Gordon and the Major look on from their trench, Gordon grave, the Major baffled]

Solution 2

“I find it interesting that you don’t stutter.”
“I find it even more interesting that you do.”

Solution 3

“Ah, the French certainly deserve to be punished for starting this war.”
“Everybody says it’s somebody else.”
“Well. how do they start a war?”
“Well, one country offends another.”
“How could one country offend another?”
“You mean there’s a mountain over in Germany gets mad at a field over in France?”
[Everyone laughs]
“Well, stupid, one people offends another.”
“Oh, well, if that’s it, I shouldn’t be here at all. I don’t feel offended.”
“It don’t apply to tramps like you.”
“Good. Then I could be goin’ home right away.”
“Ah, you just try it.”
“Yeah. You wanna get shot?”
“The kaiser and me…”
[the others laugh]
“Me and the kaiser felt just alike about this war. We didn’t either of us want any war, so I’m going home. He’s there already.”
“Somebody must have wanted it. Maybe it was the English. No, I don’t want to shoot any Englishman. I never saw one ’til I came up here. And I suppose most of them never saw a German ’til *they* came up here. No, I’m sure *they* weren’t asked about it.”
“No.”
“Well, it must be doing somebody some good.”
“Not me and the kaiser.”
“I think maybe the kaiser wanted a war.”
“You leave us out of this!”
“I don’t see that. The kaiser’s *got* everything he needs.”
“Well, he never had a war before. Every full-grown emperor needs one war to make him famous. Why, that’s history.”
“Yeah, generals, too. They need war.”

Solution 4

“Tell Major Barton that the attack must proceed.
“Sir, I don’t think you’ve got the picture. They are being cut down before they can get five yards.”
[hits the phone]
“Bloody line! Our marker flags were seen in the Turkish trenches. The attack must continue at all costs.”
“But…”
“I repeat, the attack must proceed!”

Solution 5

“By the way, Stachel… there’s an impression around that… you care more about your unconfirmed kill than you do about Fabian’s death.”
[long pause]
“Perhaps it’s force of habit. In the trenches, we couldn’t even bury the dead; there were too many of them. I’ve never had the time… to discuss them over a glass of champagne.”

Solution 6

“Hey, Scotty, you’re not Scotch, are you?”
“No.”
“Then, why do they call you Scotty?
[Scotty thinks]
“Cause I’m Irish.”

Solution 7

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The Admiral aka Admiral (2008): Not a Russian Master & Commander but Anna Karenina meets the Russian Revolution

I am not sure how many people outside of Russia know Admiral Kolchak. I’m afraid not a great many. At least I did not know him. But not knowing this historical figure  may  lead to an odd situation. Either people  watch this movie for the wrong reasons and will be disappointed or they might not watch it at all. This would actually be a pity since The Admiral is a very sumptuous movie. Beautifully filmed and very gripping.

As stated in the title The Admiral is not a Russian Master & Commander. After the initial ten minutes of naval battle scenes there is no more fighting on ships. These initial ten minutes however are very gruesome and intense. After this sequence the movie starts to resemble Anna Karenina for many reasons. It is a beautiful tale of tragic adulterous love and full of portents, like the breaking glass at the ball in the beginning which reminded me of the accident scene in Anna Karenina. (By pure chance I have just very recently watched Anna Karenina,  that is why I realised how very similar they are with regards to the love story apart from the fact that this is a true story.)

The love story between Kolchak and Anna, who are both married when they meet,  is only one part of the movie. It  is interwoven with the part  that follows Admiral Kolchak.  1917 after he has  successfully fought the Germans at sea, the Russian Revolution strikes and changes everything for the aristocracy. Kolchak flees to Japan and returns after a few months to head the anti-Bolshevik white troops that were to fight the Red troops. This is the beginning of the Russian Civil War that we see in all its ugliness. If Kolchak had been succesful there would maybe never have been a Soviet Union. Well, he was not successful. In the end he is taken prisoner and sentenced. Anna, the woman he loves, follows him even though they would have let her go. Quite a sacrifice.

It is quite a fascinating story and I have a feeling I am not doing it justice here. If you are interested in history, and especially Russian history, you should watch it. If you like tragic love stories then you should watch it as well.

My only reservations regard the flow. There a quite a few breaks in the movie, it seems a bit disrupted at times.

Do not watch the trailer as it is highly misleading and gives the impression of a pure naval combat movie.

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All The King´s Men (1999): The Company That Was Said To Have Been Swallowed by a Cloud

Whatever happened to Sandringham company at Gallipoli in 1915?

Were they really swallowed up by a giant cloud? Was there really a mist so dense that they could have disappeared in it? Did angels lead them to more heavenly grounds? Many tales like these are reported from many a battle field. Angels descending, mists forming, whatever not.

This is a true story. The Sandringham company did disappear. One of the versions that is  told in  All The King´s Men of the vanishing of over a hundred men is quite spooky. It has been for a very long time the preferred version and was definitely the one that the king was meant to believe. I really do not want to spoil this movie for you and will therefore not even hint at the true explanation. It should suffice to say that it was far more tragic than miraculous.

Sandringahm was one of the residences the Royal Family liked to stay at in summer. The 150 men that formed the company were headed by the king´s  Estate Manager Capt. Beck. They were servants, grooms and gardeners. The idyllic setting of Sandringham was referred to as paradise. What a stark contrast to the burning hot plains of Turkey.

The moment the company sets foot on Turkish ground it is obvious what an ill-fated campaign this is. The maps are wrong, the terrain is too hard to handle, the enemy has been totally underestimated. With hindsight historians say that Gallipoli was one of the most futile battles of WWI that was full of senseless battles.

WWI cost over 1 million of British and Commonwealth soldier´s lives. Half of them never got a proper grave. Compared to that the disappearance of some 150 men seems little. But to the estate and the little village who lost all their young men in one moment this was a catastrophe.

The BBC has done a good job with this movie. The actors, in particular David Jason and Maggie Smith, are excellent. The first parts achieve to create a very spooky atmosphere that only vanishes when the true reasons are revealed.