Off Topic: The Red Baron
This is another in a series of off-topic geek related posts regarding interests on the periphery of our board gaming hobby.The upcoming movie The Red Baron looks like it might be the cure for the hangover still lingering from Disney's Flyboys. Germans seem to have a knack for making good war movies like Das Boot, Stalingrad, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Downfall... perhaps its their technical accuracy and willingness to show war in all its gritty detail.
Lena Headey who plays Richthofen's girlfriend, i.e., the obligatory love interest, is also the female lead in another war-related movie I'm anticipating in 2007, 300. Being the love interest of both Leonidas and Richthofen in a single year is pretty impressive.
Bringing this back to the world of board gaming, I'm feeling the need to pull Wings of War back off the shelf.
Labels: Off Topic
posted by Ben @ 6:38 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Ben: "...perhaps its their technical accuracy and willingness to show war in all its gritty detail."
I like my war movies as gritty as possible. Band of Brothers is pretty much my benchmark for the genre. I HATE movies that fluff it up and make war a sort of joke (*cough* Windtalkers *cough*). We need never forget the sacrifice and heartache war requires so we may never have to actually experience it.
"It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood...War is hell."
~General William T. Sherman
Windtalkers was awful, but I'll refrain from expounding as we do have Nicholas Cage fans in the room.
I haven't yet watched the two Clint Eastwood versions of the war in the Pacific, but apparently they're good. His old flick Where Eagles Dare was always remarkable for its ultraviolence, despite being pretty unrealistic. Still its fun to watch Clint Eastwood mow down 100 Nazis in a secret mountain fortress ala' Castle Wolfenstein (no zombies though, unfortunately).
Here's a few additional gritty war movies I'd recommend:
Steel Helmet
Alexander Nevsky
Battleship Potemkin (not really a war movie, but close enough)
Das Boot (282 minute uncut version)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 version)
12 O'Clock High
Dawn Patrol
How in the would could you have left out Kelly's Heroes?
Important omissions:
Full Metal Jacket
Apocalypse Now
Kelly's Heroes is great fun and one of my favorites, but I don't think it quite qualifies as gritty.
If you're going to add the surrealistic Viet Nam genre into the mix, then you have to include The Deer Hunter as well.
I never saw Windtalkers, but I did hear it was pretty bad.
See, it's not Nick's movies I like as much I like him and his acting. Check out Matchstick Men to see a great performance of his.
I heard the recent Pearl Harbor described as a Japanese sneak attack on an American love triangle. I skipped it, though, so I can't be sure.
While I love Kelly's Heros, any movie that makes you say "Hey that looks like fun" is probably not very honest about warfare.
While I have issues w/ the larger movie, Spielburg's depiction of the D-day landing was amazing.
There's a famous saying about war movies. It's hard to make an anti-war movie because the action always argues for itself. The action is exciting, and it's hard to make it look anything but fun. Some of the above movies have succeeded.
Saving Private Ryan??? Anyone????
*chirp, chirp....tumbleweed
The first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of Private Ryan were awesome.
I hope if Combat Commander adds tanks, they'll have a "Sticky Bomb" card that give you a bonus to close combat against armor!
The middle of Private Ryan... well... the middle was greatly surpassed by Band of Brothers.
Band of Brothers....excellent. Will probably watch a couple of episodes tomorrow if no one is avail for daytime gaming.
On our first date, Amy and I went to see Saving Private Ryan.
Make of that what you will...
Amy likes board games AND war movies??? Are you certain she's not actually Sasquatch? (reference early SABG post)
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