Favorite WWII Movie
 

This is the Memorial Day weekend, and several movies will be on television.

What is your favorite WWII movie, and why?

I'll go first.

"The Best Years Of Our Lives", with Myrna Loy, Federick March, Dana Andrews, Theresa Wright and Harold Russel, (a real WWII veteran who lost the use of his arms). Also with Kathy O'Donnell and Hogey Carmichael.

I like it because it shows the difficulties adjusting back to civilian life, and it has great acting. Bette Davis said it was the best film ever made, but then she was in love with the director, the great, Billy Wilder.

Playing on TCM, Monday at 10:30 PM.

Saving Private Ryan
 

Mine would be Saving Private Ryan because of its very well done and extremely graphic depiction of the horrors of war while also showing the heroism of those drawn for the most part unwilling into it. Very little false flag waving in this film. They fight for their brothers-in-arms for the most part.

There is even a Villager whose daughter worked on this movie. She was in charge of casting. According to her father, she was quite shocked when it did not win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The things you learn at Doggie Doo Run Run from fellow dog lovers.

My uncle Bill fought as a scout in Italy in WWII and lost an arm, a leg, and part of his skull to a German tree burst shell. It killed all of his squad except for one other man. He was talking to these men when I took care of him just before he went into a nearby nursing home. He had some kind of brain damage that caused dreams while he was awake. This was only when he was much older though. The squad still seemed to be the most important thing to him even though he came home a small town hero in Itasca, Illinois.

Casablanca with Bogie and Bergman

Play it again, Sam.

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That's probably my favorite romance movie. And, up there in my Top Ten list.

Battleground with Van Johnson

There is one I remember seeing called "The Victors" made in 1961. Once again the look of end of war & reality of war on people.

I liked the movie " Von Ryan's Express". I thought it was a very well done movie.

Saving Private Ryan. I have it & I think its time to watch it again.

A Walk in the Sun has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid.

"Red Ball Express." My father was on the committee that conceived and implemented the convoy. He would talk about the logistics of operating it and the courage of the drivers. So, this movie became very personal to me although not all that historically correct (but enough facts to show how amazing this feat was).

Dirty Dozen, Stalag 13, Great Escape, Sands of Iwo Jima, Halls of Montezuma, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Wake Island, The Guns of Navarone, and on and on.

There are too many to mention.

Z

I had never heard of that one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_...un_(1945_film). http://www.allmovie.com/movie/v53181 I put it in my Netflix queue. They do have it but the line is very long.

A lot of those movies can be seen on Youtube.

Airborne
 

The Longest Day based on the book by Cornelius Ryan.

It is the story of the D-Day invasion of Europe with true-to-history characters and events.

It gives the story from both the Allied and the German points of view.

I like having the Germans speak German (with subtitles) rather than speaking heavily accented English.

I like it being in black and white rather than color, making it more gritty.

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The man who was for years my Congressman in Tampa was an Airborne trooper who jumped into France on D-Day. A few years ago the Tampa Tribune ran a feature story about him and printed a photograph of the "cricket" that he carried on that jump. He has kept it ever since then as a souvenir.

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