Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.
Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers concerns the violent struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France, where the film was banned on its release for fear of creating civil disturbances. Certainly, the heady, insurrectionary mood of the film, enhanced by a relentlessly pulsating Ennio Morricone soundtrack, makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. With the advent of the "war against terror" in recent years, the film's relevance has only intensified. Shot in a gripping, quasi-documentary style, The Battle of Algiers uses a cast of untrained actors coupled with a stern voiceover. Initially, the film focuses on the conversion of young hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to FLN (the Algerian Liberation Front.) However, as a sequence of outrages and violent counter-terrorist measures ensue, it becomes clear that, as in Eisenstein's October, it is the Revolution itself that is the true star of the film. Pontecorvo balances cinematic tension with grimly acute political insight. He also manages an even-handedness in depicting the adversaries. He doesn't flinch from demonstrating the civilian consequences of the FLN's bombings, while Colonel Mathieu, the French office brought in to quell the nationalists, is played by Jean Martin as determined, shrewd and, in his own way, honourable man. However, the closing scenes of the movie--a welter of smoke, teeming street demonstrations and the pealing white noise of ululations--leaves the viewer both intellectually and emotionally convinced of the rightfulness of the liberation struggle. This is surely among a fistful of the finest movies ever made. --David Stubbs
The brutal legacy of the Algerian war forms the heart of filmmaker Florent Emilio Siri's stark action epic concerning a young French soldier confronted by the horrors of war.
Directed by William Fairchild, The Silent Enemy is a newly restored 1958 war film based on the real Lionel 'Buster' Crabb who vanished during a reconnaissance mission for the MI6, played by Laurence Harvey. In 1941, Britain was sustaining enormous losses fighting a war on three fronts against an ever increasing Axis power. To add to their problems, the Italians have recently created a new form of warfare - Frogmen - an intrepid band of men who travel astride small torpedo-type vessels, and attach explosive charges to the hulls of enemy ships, below their waterline. A young Naval Lieutenant, 'Buster' Crabb, an expert in mine and bomb disposal, is sent to Gibraltar to try and combat this new threat. Never having dived before, he sets to work to master the technique of underwater operations, and soon he and his team are able to locate many of the frogmen's charges and render them harmless. But with an invasion of North Africa imminent, time is not on the Allies' side. Product Features The Real Commander Crabb: Interview with author Tim Binding Commander Crabb Mystery (1956) Behind the Scenes stills gallery
A Bridge Too Far: In September 1944, flush with success after the Normandy Invasion, the Allies confidently launched Operation Market Garden, a wild scheme intended to put an early end to the fighting by invading Germany and smashing the Reich's war plants. But a combination of battlefield politics, faulty intelligence, bad luck and even worse weather led to the disaster beyond the Allies' darkest fear.The Great Escape: One of the most ingenious and suspenseful adventure films of all time, The Great Escape is a masterful collaboration between director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven), screenwriters James Clavell ('Shogun') and W.R. Burnett and composer Elmer Bernstein. Based on a true story.The Battle Of Britain: This is a spectacular retelling of a true story that shows courage at its inspiring best. Few defining moments can change the outcome of war . But when the outnumbered Royal Air Force defied unsurmountable odds in engaging the German Luftwaffe, they may well have altered the course of history!
Director Robert Wise chose to film Robert McKenna's award-winning novel The Sand Pebbles as his follow-up to the success of The Sound of Music. Shot in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the film combines historical sweep and intimate human drama in several parallel stories, all revolving around US Navy machinist's mate Jake Holman (Steve McQueen), a skilful but fiercely independent sailor who joins the "sand pebble" crew of the USS San Pablo, a Navy gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River on the eve of the Chinese revolution in 1926. The San Pablo's inexperienced captain (Richard Crenna) obsessively defends the Navy's mission-however unnecessary or unwanted--to protect American missionaries and businessmen, blind to the more dangerous implications of American involvement with China's opposing political factions. Holman is a defiant voice of humanity in this clash between outmoded values and inevitable change; his final line of dialogue ("What the hell happened?") is a tragic summation of misguided policy, expressing the film's criticism of the Vietnam War. Rather than preach, however, Wise lets McKenna's potent drama emerge from finely drawn relationships: between Holman and a young American teacher (19-year-old Candice Bergen, in her second film); between Holman and the Chinese "coolie" (Mako), whose heart-breaking fate transcends all issues of racial or political difference; and between crewmate "Frenchy" Burgoyne (Richard Attenborough) and the Chinese woman he's sworn to love and protect at all costs. Combined with the film's colourful supporting cast, adventurous scope, and climactic battle scenes, these personal dynamics bring substance and spirit to a complex story of good intentions gone awry. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
From this day to the ending of the world we in it shall be remembered. We few we happy few we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. Based on the book by historian Stephen Ambrose this ten part series at '87 million the most expensive TV production ever follows the US 101st Airborne Division's E 'Easy' Company from initial training through operations involving D-Day Market Garden and the Battle Of The Bulge across Holland Belgium Germany and Austria until the end of the war. Episodes Comprise: 1. Currahee 2. Day Of Days 3. Carentan 4. Replacements 5. Crossroads 6. Bastogne 7. The Breaking Point 8. The Last Patrol 9. Why We Fight 10. Points
A shell shocked veteran returns home to Canada where he is assigned to help the on-going recruitment drive needed to feed the war machine. As he recovers from his experiences he falls for a war nurse whose younger brother cannot enlist due to a medical condition. Desperate to serve his country David uses a fraudulent medical certificate and joins the army. Michael feels he has no option but to follow him back to the Western Front and protect him from harm. Both men are dispatched to the front line of Passchendaele - a battle that became synonymous with the misery of the First World War and claimed over 600 000 casualties.
An intense drama of life and death amongst fighter pilots in World War I. A moving story of comradeship and bravery loneliness and fear from award winning director Jack Gold 'Aces High' contains some of the most magnificent aerial battles ever staged leading to a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography and Best Film at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.
Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers. In particular he must handle the difficulties created by a reckless hot-shot pilot named Woody Jason who not only wants to fight a one-man war but to waltz off with Gordon's girlfriend too.
On March 20th five years ago the UK and US went to war. Thousands of Iraqis died millions were displaced and cities were practically destroyed. But why and how? Now a groundbreaking drama goes behind scenes of the countdown to the Iraq war. Part thriller part political drama 10 Days to War has a relentless ticking-clock intensity with all events unfolding in real time. From Tony Blair selling the idea of war to his sceptical party and cynical public and the American marketing of Ahmed Chalabi as the George Washington of Iraq to the shock and awe of the first strike this distinctive and compelling film lifts the lid on the back-room bullying and gripping human dramas played out privately in the corridors of power. On March 20th five years ago the UK and US went to war. Thousands of Iraqis died millions were displaced and cities were practically destroyed.
Oscar-winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe clash in this true life gangster story set in 1970s Harlem.
Echoing the sentiments of Schindler's List Auschwitz is a hard-hitting but respectful war film which shows life as it really was at the death camp. Including documentary footage controversial German director Uwe Boll (Rampage Darfur) says 50% of the German population doesn't know anything about the Holocaust. When I realized that there were many people who deny the Holocaust or who had a distorted point of view about it I decided to make this movie and get straight to the point without any metaphors.
Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 classic tale of the Viet Nam war, re-released with almost an hour of additional footage. Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is given the task of sailing upriver to find and execute renegade military officer Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Br
All 26 episodes of the groundbreaking British television series loosely based on the novel by H.G. Wells and produced by Ralph Smart. Scientist Peter Brady (voiced by Tim Turner) has developed a formula that turns him invisible but is unable to develop an antidote. While trying to cure himself of his invisibility Brady agrees to undertake top secret missions for the government. Episodes comprise: 1. Secret Experiment 2. Crisis In The Desert 3. Behind The Mask 4. The Locked Room 5. Picnic With Death 6. Play To Kill 7. Shadow On The Screen 8. The Mink Coat 9. Blind Justice 10. Jailbreak 11. Bank Raid 12. Odds Against Death 13. Strange Partners 14. Point Of Destruction 15. Death Cell 16. The Vanishing Evidence 17. The Prize 18. Flight Into Darkness 19. The Decoy 20. The Gun Runners 21. The White Rabbit 22. Man In Disguise 23. Man In Power 24. The Rocket 25. Shadow Bomb 26. The Big Plot
This gritty World War II action drama starring Gregory Peck Oscar winner Dean Jagger Hugh Marlowe Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an Air Force Commander is at breaking point Brigadier General Savage (Gregory Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. At first resentful and rebellious the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon
A classic tale of bravery and courage during WWII, Odette tells the true story of female war hero Odette Hallowes. After volunteering her services to the Special Operations Executive, Odette is dispatched into Nazi occupied France and thrown into an intense world of espionage. Whilst on a deadly mission working for the French Resistance, her cover is blown and Odette is captured and interrogated by ruthless Gestapo officers. But, even after being brutally tortured and sentenced to death in a concentration camp, Odette still refuses to reveal any information concerning her original mission and her fellow spies. Extras: Those British Faces: Anna Neagle, New interview with Sebastian Faulks, Afternoon Plus with Mavis Nicholson - Interview with Odette Sansom (1980), Captain Peter Churchill And Odette Sanson Get Married In London (1947)
Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday. While the chaotic world around him careers toward the madness and folly of World War II, Oskar pounds incessantly on his beloved tin drum and perfects his uncannily piercing shrieks. The Tin Drum, which earned the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for best foreign-language film, is a visionary adaptation from VOLKER SCHLÃNDORFF (Young Törless) of Nobel laureate Günter Grass's acclaimed novel, characterized by surreal imagery, arresting eroticism, and clear-eyed satire. SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the complete version, approved by director Volker Schlöndorff Newly remastered 5.1 surround soundtrack, approved by Schlöndorff and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio New interview with Schlöndorff about the making of The Tin Drum and the creation of the 2010 restored, complete version New interview with film scholar Timothy Corrigan German audio recording from 1987 of author Günter Grass reading an excerpt from his novel The Tin Drum with musical accompaniment, illustrated with the corresponding scene from the film Television interview excerpts featuring Schlöndorff, Grass, actors David Bennent and Mario Adorf, and co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière reflecting on their experiences making the film Trailer New English subtitle translation PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Atkinson and 1978 statements by Grass about the adaptation of his novel
The Round Up takes place within a detention camp in the remote Hungarian countryside after the collapse of the 1848 revolution against Austrian domination. A formal variation on the main patterns of ritual power Jansco deliberately side-steps revolutionary heroics and focuses on the persecutions and de-humanizations which always accompany conflict. Filmed in hungary's desolate sun scorched landscape Jansco's formidable technique - his austere formalism and stark cinematic vision - has produced a remarkable and terrifying picture of war and its cost.
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