World War II Movies

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Nov 11 1918 :: WW-I ends with Allied powers imposing a hard treaty of Versailles on Germany.

Jan 16 1920 :: ‘League of Nations’, a body to promote world peace is formed, as a part of the treaty is formed. Germany is excluded, while Soviet Union and US don’t take part.

Apr 3 1922 :: Stalin elected as General Secretary of Soviet’s communist party by Lenin. He assassinates most rivals and until his death n 1952, he has transformed Russia into an industrial and military superpower but at a cost of more civilian deaths than Hitler.

Oct 31 1922 :: Benito Mussolini assumes dictatorial powers in Italy.

Nov 8 1923 :: Hitler is imprisoned after initiating a right wing revolution. In prison, he writes ‘Mein Kampf’, which is published in 1925.

Oct 29 1929 :: Stock markets crash in a democratic US, aiding Hitler to gain power in Germany.

Sep 18 1931 :: Japan invades a weak and divided China in a town called Manchuria and establishes a state of ‘Manchukao’.

Nov 8 1932 :: Franklin D Roosevelt(FDR) elected as president of the United States. The only president to be elected for four terms, leading America out of the Great Depression and the World War II.

Jan 20 1933 :: Growing popularity makes President Von Hundenberg appoint Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany. He immediately moves to remove Versailles treaty and remilitarize Germany. Jews, Leftists and Homosexuals are harassed/jailed while handicapped people are euthanized.

Aug 19 1934 :: President Von Hundenberg dies and Hitler assumes absolute powers in Germany and appoints himself as the ‘Fuhrer’.

Sep 15 1935 :: Nuremberg law strips Jews of all rights.

Oct 3 1935 :: Italy invades Ethiopia – Italy’s first attempt to build an Italian empire. League of Nations urges sanctions, but Britain and France waffle on the issue, not compromising their African empire.

Mar 7 1936 :: Hiter occupies Rhineland (demilitarized zone according to Versailles treaty). Even remilitarizing Germany was against the treaty.

June 17 1936 :: Nationalists(supported by Germany and Italy) rebel against Leftist Government(Russia and US) in Spain. Nationalists prevail in 1939, overthrowing rightist regime and establishing Fransisco Franco as Spain’s new leader, Spain remains neutral in World War II.

Nov 25 1936 :: Anti Comintern (Communism) pact is signed between Japan and Germany. Italy, Spain and Hungary join it later.

June 7 1937 :: Japan invades China

July 15 1939 :: Buchenworld, a german concentration camp is opened.

Dec 13 1937 :: 100 thousand Chinese are killed and thousands of women raped by Japanese soldiers in the Rape of Nanking.

Mar 13 1938 :: Germany invades Austria(welcomed there) and seizes it.

Sep 29 1938 :: To avert war, British PM ‘Neville Chamberlam’ and French premier ‘ Edoward Deladier’ meet with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich. Hitler assures that he intents no aggressive aims, and just wishes to expand his territory until Czechoslovakia’s Sudentenland, to safeguard German population residing there.

Oct 15 1938 :: germany not only occupies Sudentenland, but entire Czechoslovakia. Britain and France are outraged providing Poland security, drawing a line that Hitler can’t cross without war.

Nov 9 1938 :: ‘Kristallnacht’, the night of the broken glass – A German diplomat is killed by a French Jew sparking off anti Jewish terror.

May 22 1939 :: Hitler and Mussolini formally aligned.

1939

Aug 23 1939 :: An aggression pact between Soviet Union and Germany stuns the world.

Sep 1 1939 :: Germany invades Poland in a Blitzkrieg (lightening war). France and Britain declare a war on Germany two days later.

Nov 4 1939 :: US reaffirm their neutrality during world war II. However, they supply arms to Britain and France because of monetary gains. US steadily moving towards allies.

1940

Apr 9 1940 :: Germany invades Norway and Denmark. Britain and France make their landings on Apr 14. Germany, by annexing Norway gain vital shipping source of Swedish ore, and gain air and naval bases within striking distance of Britain.

May 10 1940 :: Germany invades France Besides Luxemberg, Holland and Belgium. Germany emerges victorious everywhere. Germany conquers Paris in a month against four years it took in world war I.

May 10 1940 :: ‘Neville Chamberlain’ is replaced by Winston Churchill as the British Prime Minister. His strong hearted resistance against Hitler marks him as one of the greatest leaders of world war II.

May 26-Jun 4 1940 :: France retreat to Dinkirk as they face annihilation. Inexplicably, Hitler gives commands to bring his divisions to a halt, giving allies time to evacuate across the English channel. Allies abandon vast amount of military warfare and are now ill equipped to defend England.

Jul 10- Oct 31 1940 :: Germany tries to control skies over the English Channel but faces tough resistance from Britain. Royal Air Force shoots down far more planes of Germany and this marks as Germany’s first setback in World War II.

Sep 27 1940 :: Germany, Italy and Japan sign tripartite treaty, an alliance binding them as axis powers. They agree to aid each other if they are attacked by a country other than they are not currently at war with (Target : America)

Nov 25 1940 :: In retaliation for Japanese aggression on China, America cuts off all trade supplies to Japan which is considered hostile by Japanese counterparts.

1941

Mar 11 1941 :: Franklin D Roosevelt in a bid to offer allied powers greater support contributes $12 billion in weaponry to Allied powers after land-lease act is passed in US.

Apr 6 1941 :: Germany and Italy invade Yugoslavia and Greece in a bid to secure southern flank before a surprise attack on Russia. By Apr 25, New Zealand, Australia and Britain begin to evacuate from Greece.

Apr 10 1941 :: Germany tries to capture North Africa’s Mediterranean ports and Suez Canal. German general Erwin Rommel (Desert fox) lays siege to the Libyan port of Tobruk. However, he faces stiff resistance from the Australian troops(‘rats’ of Tobruk) and abandons his mission.

Jun 22 1941 :: Germany invades Russia in a massive invasion. He plans a blitzkrieg to gain over Russia’s raw material and oil reserves. This invasion ultimately led to Russia’s downfall.

Sep 8 1941 :: Germany advances to Leningrad and instead of fighting, blocks off supplies to Leningrad. 1 million Russian civilians die.

Oct 1941 :: Germany opens up Auschwitz extermination camp. Mass murders of Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Russian prisoners of war takes place.

Dec 7 1941 :: Japan attacks naval bases at Hawaii – Pearl harbor killing 2280 American servicemen, sinking 19 ships. The attack is intended to put US Navy out of action. However, US aircrafts carriers are safely at sea and Pearl Harbor’s fuel supplies and repair facilities aren’t hit. WW-II is now a truly global war.

Dec 8 1941 :: Millions in US volunteer for army, navy and marine recruitment.

1942

Jan 8 1942 :: German’s U Boats sink 400 US ships on east coast of US during night. Germany loses only 7 U Boats.

Jan 20 1942 :: Wanser conference makes Jewish killing official. Six million Jews are murdered besides gypsies, homosexuals and Prisoners of war.

Mar 18 1942 :: US legalizes confinement of Japanese Americans into relocation centers without any evidence of disloyalty.

Apr 9 1942 :: For three months, American and Pilipino troops fight of Japanese attacks on Philippines(for raw materials since US had blocked trade supplies to Japan). General MacArthur(US) escapes while his eighty thousand troops surrender on a sixty five mile Bataan death march.

June 4 1942 :: American code breakers uncover Japan’s next target – Midway island and US carrier task force intercepts the Japanese off midway and achieves one of the greatest naval victories. US now gains in Pacific.

Aug 7 1942 :: America occupies Guadalcanal, a vital Japanese air base. For every man wounded in the battle, five fell to Malaria and other tropical diseases.

Oct 23 1942 :: British troops under Bernard Montgomery defeat Rommel’s German and Italian forces. This is Allied’s first decisive victory.

Nov 8 1942 :: Us lands in Algeria and Morocco (North west Africa) and Allied have Rommel’s Afrika Corps surrounded from two sides.

1943

Jan 12 1943 :: Casablanca Conference is held where Roosevelt and Churchill meet to chart the course of the war. The two plan to attack Italy, seek unconditional surrender from Germany, plan to bomb German cities and start researching on an atomic bomb.

Feb 2 1943 :: Germans face defeat at Stalingrad, two million soldiers die in a six month battle. German Sixth army is not allowed to retreat and told to fight until death. Finally only Ninety One soldiers surrender.

July 10 1943 :: Us, Britain and Canada invade Italy in Sicily. They face German and Italian troops.

Nov 20 1943 :: US invades Tarawa, a pacific airbase of Japan ( Betio air strip) but face stiff resistance. Twenty five US mariners are killed while four thousand Japanese soldiers die, while only seventeen surrender.

Nov 28 1943 :: Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill Meet in Tehran to open up a second front in Europe to relieve pressure on Russia. Roosevelt and Churchill plan an invasion in 1944. However, they are still undivided as to who will control the Eastern Europe and Baltic states thus laying roots for a cold war.

Dec 12 1943 :: Enrico Fermi achieves the first self sustaining fusion atomic bomb. It was tested in Alamogordo(New Mexico). Werner Heisenberg’s parallel Nazi research fails to produce promising results.

1944

June 6 1944 :: Thousands of American, British and Canadian troops storm the French beach of Normandy (D-day- Three thousand ships, ten thousand planes , thirteen thousand paratroopers).

July 20 1944 :: German military leaders, in an attempt to promote peace terms, try to assassinate Hitler. Two hundred conspirators including Erwin Rommel are exposed. Rommel is allowed to commit suicide.

Sep 17 1944 :: Allies try airborne landings inside Germany held Holland. Thirty nine thousand paratroopers were sent, but their ambitious objectives are halted and five thousand paratroopers die(Operation Market Garden).

Oct 23-26 1944 :: General MacArthur (US) returns to Philippines that leads to one of the greatest naval confrontations of WW-II. Japanese lose far more aircrafts than US does and have to make first use of their kamikaze suicide attacks.

Dec 16 1944 – Jan 28 1945 :: Allied forces occupy forty eight division along a six hundred mile from Switzerland to the North sea. Nazis make a last ditch effort and counter attack through Adrennes in Southern Belgium. Panzer lead assault bulges into Allied lines and Germans press further. However, by Christmas, attack falters due to lack of fuel supplies and allied resistance.

1945

Jan 26 1945 :: Russian led army soldiers liberate Auschwitz concentration camp. Other survivors proceed to death march towards Germany.

Feb 13-14 1945 :: Germany is bombed. Dresdan, a city famed for architectural beauty is bombed. More than a hundred thousand are killed while two hundred thousand die in Japan due to similar raids.

Feb 19 1945 :: Iwo Jima, an island serving as an air base for B29 bombers in Japan is invaded by Americans. Although heavily guarded by Japanese (twenty thousand soldiers), US achieves victory while Japan loses all its defendants.

Apr 12 1945 :: Roosevelt dies during his fifth term. Untested harry S Truman becomes the president.

May 8 1945 :: Russian red army march into bomb ravaged Germany. Hitler commits suicide. Within a week, Nazis surrender. This marks Allied victory in Europe.

Aug 6 1945 :: Under Harry S Truman, an American B-29 drops an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, killing an estimated One hundred thirty five thousand. Three days later, a second bomb is dropped over Nagasaki leading to a complete surrender by Japan.

Aug 14 1945 :: Japan surrenders officially, WW II is over. Estimates of total death ranges from Thirty five million to Sixty million worldwide.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Patton(1970)

Patton(1970)

Director Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers Francis Ford Coppola/Edmund J North

Genre Drama/History/War

Language English

Runtime 2 hr 52 min

IMDB Rating 8.1 ( 38,008 votes , Top 250 : 227)

Personal Rating 5/10

Major Actor(s)

George G Scott ( General George S Patton)

Historical Relevance George S Patton, born on Nov 11, 1885 in California, is regarded as one of the most successful US field commanders. He is remembered for his fierce determination and ability to lead soldiers, apart from his controversial outspokenness.

Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1909. He represented US in Stockholm Olympics of 1912, securing an overall fifth position in a multisport participation, despite a disappointing development in the shooting portion. In 1916-17, he participated in the unsuccessful Pancho Villa Expedition, a US operation which attempted to capture the Mexican revolutionary. In World War I, he was the first officer assigned to the new United States Tank Corps and saw victory in France. During intermittent years between the two world wars, Patton graduated from the Command and General Staff School in 1924, and completed his military schooling as a distinguished graduate of the Army War College in 1932.

Patton was commanding the Western Task Force, the only all-American force landing for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. After succeeding there, Patton commanded the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and in conjunction with the British Eighth Army restored Sicily to its citizens. However, the “slapping incident” of 1943 where Patton slapped and labeled a battle fatigued soldier a ‘coward’ jeopardized his military career. General D Eisenhower relegated Patton to act as a decoy in Operation Quicksilver rather than letting him participate in D-Day landings. However, in 1944, he was given the command of the third army in France where he dashed over Europe covering 600 miles across France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia and along the way, liberated the Buchenworld concentration camp.

Review The performance of George Patton by George Scott stands out in such a manner that the movie, although a genuine attempt, does not stand at par with the performance. However, George’s performance overshadows any whatsoever slip up that the movie possessed. It's not the battle that stand out but it's Scott's virtuoso performance that carries the film.

General George S Patton is commissioned to Kasserine, North Africa after previous force fared poorly in an encounter with Germans. He tries to instill discipline through little things and names Bradley as his number two man. Soon, he gets engaged in a battle with Erwin Rommel, the ‘Desert Fox’ who attacks him before getting attacked by Patton. He defeats German forces, only to realize later that Rommel was not a part of the troops.

North Africa now has two prima donnas – Field Marshall Montgomery and an egoistic Patton. Both of them dislike each other intensely, and their egos clash when both of them propose a separate plan to capture Sicely. Patton’s plan is rejected and he is asked to land in the west to cover up Montgomery’s flank. However, Patton has other ideas and takes a long way around Montgomery to beat him to the finishing line at Messina creating a dissent among his commanders.

This controversial flavor takes a serious turn when Patton, during one of a routine hospital videos smacks a young soldier fatigued by realities of war. The command makes him apologize for his actions and despite, he is stripped off his command and not allowed to command any army during the D-Day.

General Patton helps Patton by him under probation and a chance to redeem his lost ground. In his final campaign, he is given charge of the third army to march into France, where, once again he displays his flamboyancy by dashing over Europe in quick time.

In the end, the movie presents a mixture of entertainment and history, being provided by the character of the man ‘Patton’, that pervades all and the workmen like direction by Franklin Schaffner.

Memorable quotes Patton : “ Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

Patton: “Thirty years from now, when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks you, "What did you do in the great World War II," you won't have to say, "Well... I shoveled shit in Louisiana."

Patton: “There's only one proper way for a professional soldier to die: the last bullet of the last battle of the last war.”

General Omar N. Bradley: “There's one big difference between you and me, George. I do this job because I've been trained to do it. You do it because you LOVE it. “

Watching Guide Miniscule levels of bloodshed when compared to typical war movies. No adult content whatsoever.

Letters from Iwo Jima(2006)

Letters from Iwo Jima(2006)

Director Clint Eastwood

Genre Drama/History/War

Language Japanese

US Box Office $ 13.7 M

Runtime 2 hr 21 min

IMDB Rating 8.1 ( 55,742 votes , Top 250 : 211)

Personal Rating 7/10

Academy Awards Won : Best achievement in sound editing (Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman)

Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEawk_8SEIM

Kazunari Ninomiya (Saigo)

Ken Watanabe (General Kuribayashi)

Historical Relevance The battle of Iwo Jima was fought between United States of America and the Empire of Japan from 19th Feb 1945 – 26th Mar 1945. United States emerged victorious in one of the fiercest Pacific battles of WW-II and acquired tactically important airfields of Iwo Jima from Japan.

Iwo Jima was Japanese home soil, part of Japan, only 650 miles from Tokyo. It was administered by the Tokyo metropolitan government. No foreign army in Japan's 5000 year history had successfully trod on Japanese soil. To the US, Iwo Jima's importance lay in its location, midway between Japan and American bomber bases in the Marianas.

General Kuribayashi,, Commander of Iwo Jima was an aristocrat, who was educated in Canada and had toured the US before. His preparations, fortifications and strategy were marvels in the history of warfare. Although Japanese defeat was assured from the start, the soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. They didn't fight above but from beneath the ground digging up 1,500 rooms into the rock and the network of rooms was connected with 16 miles of tunnels. Japanese strategy called for "no Japanese survivors", of more than 18000 Japanese soldiers , only 216 were taken as prisoners. Further, Japanese strategy required them to kill at least 10 American soldiers before dying for their country.

Iwo Jima remains the only U.S. Marine battle where the American casualties exceeded the Japanese although Japanese combat deaths numbered three times that of Americans.

Review Clint Eastwood has emerged as one of the foremost American directors to pick up the war of ‘Iwo Jima’ for his cinematic thirst. His artistic ordeal began with ‘The Flags of Our Fathers’ which represents the American point of view of the battle and terminates at ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ which describes different facets of human emotions through the eyes of a diverse group of Japanese men. Eastwood’s humanity roars through the film in the silhouette of Saigo, be it as an innocent in battle or in flashbacks in which he hovers over his wife’s belly and whispers love to his unborn child inside.

Classic Eastwood tries to reproduce a pie of humanity within a bundle of inhumanities existing in an armed conflict. Eastwood movies depict a shade of shattering violence with a tandem also exploring human behavior during such legalized carnage. Yamashita’s technical expertise together with screenplay derived from picture letters of Commander in Chief unearthed from the site present not an anti war tract or glorification but a considerable estimate of how different persons with different set of objectives confront a war.

Sixty one years later after a fierce battle ensued between US and Japan, several letters were unearthed from island’s soil which provided faces and voices to the brave Japanese souls who fought the historical battle of Iwo Jima.

The Japanese soldiers were sent to Japan although they knew that probability of them returning was stark. Among them are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker who only wanted to return home to see his newborn baby girl; Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), an Olympic equestrian champion ; Shimizu (Ryo Kase), a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito (Shidou Nakamura), a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender.

Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. Kuribayashi’s travel to America before gives him a strategic insights as to how to take on the vast American armada streaming from the Pacific. His follows a pretty unique strategy different from conventional Japanese War strategies despite resentment from the lower subordinates. Kuribayashi’s unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 35 days of heroic combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished.

Eastwood, as classic as ever, Eastwood displays one of the most amazing visual experiences showcasing the scenes beautifully, reminding viewers of magnificent glimpses of black and white, desaturated and bleached of all its color once the war begins. The camera refuses to leave the side of Japanese. Eastwood displays both human and physical geographies in a non confusing manner unlike other war epics and it is easy to recognize who the soldiers are, where they are and what is going through their minds. Eastwood doesn’t take any political polls but goes ahead where his heart -- and especially his mind -- took him. And It's a good place.

Memorable quotes Saigo(In a letter to his wife) – “We soldiers dig. We dig all day. This is the hole that we will fight and die in. Am I digging my own grave”?

General Kuribayashi – “If our children can live safely for one more day it would be worth the one more day that we defend this island”.

Saigo- “We can die here, or we can continue fighting. Which would better serve the emperor”?

Watching Guide Brief moments of violent encounters associated with a typical war.

The Pianist(2002)

The Pianist(2002)

Director Roman Polanski

Writers Ronald Harwood ( Screenplay), Wladyslaw Szpilman

Genre Biography/Drama/War

Language German/English

Runtime 2 hr 30 mins

IMDB Rating 8.5 ( 1,32,408 votes , Top 250 : 53)

Personal Rating 9/10

Academy Awards Best Actor in a leading role ( Adrein Brody)

Best Director ( Roman Polanski)

Best Writer, Adapted screenplay ( Ronald Harwood)

Major Actors

Adrien Brody (Wladyslaw Szpilman)

Historical Relevance September 1939 saw Germany occupy Poland in a blitzkrieg that lasted three weeks. The first decree intended to denigrate the Jewish people was introduced in November,1939 wherein Jewish people had to wear a star of David on their sleeve. Several impediments were imposed on Jewish people that reduced them to a state of slaves and chattel. They were not allowed to work in key government institutions, to make bread, to earn more than 500 zloty a month, to travel via bus or train, to possess gold or jewellery. Moreover, they were humiliated or severely beaten by German soldiers in public for little or no reason.

In October, 1940 1.13 lac Poles were evacuated from the centre of the city to make way for 4 lac Jews. This Warsaw ‘ghetto’ so formed contained 30% of the population in 2.4% of the city area. This area was enclosed by formidable wall and any Jew leaving this enclosed area was shot.

The life at Ghetto quickly got inhumane as the amount of food rationed to Jews at the Ghetto was a mere 10% of what Germans got .Richer people smuggled goods into the Ghetto whilst poorer people sent their children into the ‘Aryan side’ to steel food. Soon, more and more number of Jews flooded this ghetto and money quickly dried up, leading to a high mortality rate of six thousand people per month whose corpses were dumped naked in the street everyday.

Hitler wished to speed up extermination of Jews, for which he sent 3 lac Jews to the Treblinka Extermination camp between July and September, 1942. When the Germans prepared to extradite the remaining sixty thousand Jews to the camp, the “Warsaw ghetto Uprising” began.

Review Director Roman Polanski manages to paint an incomparable portrait of human condition and innumerable sufferings, hope within the tyrannous apathetic rule of the Germans in an elegant manner. This is one of the most brutal and unforgiving film dealing with a holocaust of the Warsaw ghetto. Numerous incidents depicting cruel tortures inflicted upon Jews by the Nazis have been depicted in this movie, none cruel than the one where a crippled man is thrown off the balcony and lands on his head as others watch and wait for their fate. In another incident, German people crossing the street are forced to dance with one another while Nazi soldiers feel entertained are amused by their sufferings to stay alive.

Underneath this horrid portrait, lies a true story of hope characterized by Wladyslaw, the best pianist in Poland, who despite odds, manages to keep Nazis at bay by constantly changing his locations through help received by his friends. Adrien Brody received a well deserved Oscar for the same, learnt to lay the Piano and lost thirty pounds just to synchronize himself with the character, apart from imparting his brilliant acting skills to the movie.

Wladyslaw Szpilman is portrayed as a wealthy Jewish Pianist living in an apartment in Poland with his parents, two sisters and a brother. At the outbreak of the second world war, condition of Jews quickly deteriorated and they were moved to a Jewish ghetto by the Germans. The family, is reduced to subsistence level , although still better than many of their fellow starving Jews in inhumane conditions of the ghetto.

Wladyslaw takes up the job of playing piano at a restaurant in the ghetto. Soon, the day comes when their family is selected to be exterminated at Treblinka extermination camp. Wladyslaw is saved from doom by a Jewish policeman while he sees the rest of his family board the train to Treblinka. He blends with the sixty thousand Jews working as slave laborers. He helps some of the Jews who are planning an uprising by smuggling weapons but escapes when he Is almost caught by a German officer. He finds Dorota, who is now married. For subsequent months, he keeps himself away by living in various hideouts with the help of his friends and Dorota. He finally lands up at ghetto, which has now transformed in desolated wasteland of bricks. He is caught by a Nazi officer(Hosenfeld) at the ghetto, who surprisingly helps him survive at the ghetto. Soon, Russians overpower Germans, and Hosenfeld is one of the German war prisoner.

Closing title cards tell us that Hosenfeld died in a Soviet prison in 1952. Wladyslaw lived to be an old man, dying in Poland at the age of 88.

The movie is an old fashioned movie, not at all glamorous, but definitely an uplifting film that shows how a person can survive in a world gone mad.

Watching Guide Violent and extremely depressing scenes of inhumane cruelty. The movie does not contain graphical scenes of violence.

Memorable Qouotes Yehuda: [regarding the underground newspapers] These will start the uprising. Majorek hides them in his underpants, and leaves them in toilets.
Majorek: As many toilets as I can find. Germans never use Jewish toilets. They're too clean for them.
Wladyslaw Szpilman ( to his sister just before being deported to the extermination camp): I wish I knew you better.

Inglorious Basterds(2009)

Inglorious Basterds(2009)

Director Quentin Tarantino

Writer Quentin Tarantino

Genre Drama/Thriller/War

Language English

Runtime 2 hr 33 mins

IMDB Rating 8.4 ( 179243 votes , Top 250 : 78)

Personal Rating 6/10
Youtube trailer link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQhTVz5IjQ

Academy Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role : Christopher Waltz

Major Actors

Brad Pitt ( Lt. Aldo Raine )

Christopher Waltz (Col. Hans Landa)

Melanie Laurent (Shosanna Dreyfus)

Historical Relevance Although United States military segregated African American and Japanese American soldiers in combat units, no records of an all Jewish American combat unit has been found. Jewish American units were fully integrated with the US military during the World War, not as a separate combat unit. This film is fictional, made against the backdrop of World War II.

Review Not entirely an art epic, the war acts as a catalyst to depict what viewers had wished to happen- A revenge fantasized against the mighty Nazis. The disconnect from the usual rigors of real life is Tarantino’s greatest strength as an entertainer, offering enough skillful homage to cinematic geeks. But, at the same time, his disconnect insulates his movie from the historical realities of World War II.

The movie presents a blend of Tarantino’s artistic fragrance (Previous works include Pulp Fiction and Death Proof), Brad Pitt’s uncanny accent and Christopher Waltz’ ruthless villainy. Brad Pitt chews all the scenery with his humorous accent while many eyes catch up with Christopher Waltz, offering his tyrannous outrage as a ‘Jew Hunter’.

The opening scenes are chilling, and for the first thirty minutes, the film crawls towards the finest work of Tarantino. However, the magic leeches out pretty soon from masterpiece levels .The film opens up with an Colonel Hans Landa-SS officer (Christopher Waltz) interrogating a French farmer about a family of missing Jews. Young Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus() witnesses the slaughter of her family by the Colonel . Several years later, she is presented with an opportunity to seize revenge when a German War hero (Fredrick Zoller) takes a liking towards her and arranges his movie premiere at the theatre now run by her. The event catches attention of the Basterds-American Jewish soldiers commissioned to kill Nazis in the most inhumane ways possible. Basterds, headed by ruthless Aldo Raine, plan to establish their bloody reputation by playing spoilsport at the German premiere, attended by the Fuhrer himself.

If you have a desire to upgrade your factual understanding of the World War II, stay miles away from this movie. But, if you are a Tarantino fan, or a cinematic artisan, you won’t regret sparing a few hours for this one.

Memorable quotes Lt. Aldo Raine: You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'.

Col. Hans Landa: What a tremendously hostile world that a rat must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. Because our little foe has an instinct for survival and preservation second to none... And that Monsieur is what a Jew shares with a rat.

Lt. Aldo Raine: Well I speak the most Italian, so I'll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most so he'll be your Italian cameraman. Ans Hirschberg third most, so he'll be Donny's assistant.
PFC Gerold Hirschberg: But I don't speak Italian.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Like I said, third best. Just keep your fuckin' mouth shut. In fact why don't you start practising, right now.

Watching Guide Bloodshed is low but whatever it is, its gruesome. The movie contains no adult scenes.