Smokey Stover
Banned
Diamond Dogs..? Maybe its a temporary mental block, but remind me what kind of film this is plz....
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Diamond Dogs..? Maybe its a temporary mental block, but remind me what kind of film this is plz....Great choice Smokey Stover. Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence is one of those movies that provide a different perspective on the war. Your post also makes me want to put on my CD of Diamond Dogs.
There is a BBC mini series called "First light" about the memoirs of bob ace Geof Wellum. It's not heaped in historical inaccuracies as other bob films and has a lot more realism about the huge and daunting job of repulsing the Luftwaffe and negating any chance of invasion of the British mainland. Not to mention of course the German armed forces, especially the Army and Navy were highly dubious about the barges and canal boats that would have been used to ferry the Wehrmacht across the channel that at best can be highly volatile. Not to mention without total air supremacy the Royal Navy would have surely annihilated the German attempted landings on mainland Britain. The biggest blunder made by the luwftwaffe and its leaders was not understanding the huge importance of Radar and the English ability to not have to fly continuous fighter sweeps/patrols over the south coast. And i have read many accounts of German aircrew who were shocked to see RAF formations vectored right onto the approaching bomber/fighter formations that Germany were convinced would prove the turning point. Also worth noting all the British commonwealth pilots were drafted in and put straight into combat during those tough summer months. Also should be noted of the volunteers from neutral countries such as the USA + its Eagle squadrons. I think as well once the American people seen how much devastation had been caused in London, it kind of sent a wave of sympathy towards the British public for standing strong in the face of such devastation. And not only was the mood changing towards England, more and more Americans sympathise with another nation that looked and talked like the US. And i imagine the feeling was, if little Britain can stand firm and repulse the nazis, then America would surely have the belief they could smash and control German aggression if indeed the US did ever enter the war.Kelly's Heroes
Battle of Britain (despite miserable editing, pan/scan and 60's hairstyles)
Saving Private Ryan (despite the main sob story)
Das Boot
Der Untergang
The Eagle Has Landed
Where Eagles Dare
Flammen og Citronen (The Flame and the Lemon)
And my all-time fave, even though it's a mini series: Band of Brothers.
I'd wish - oh I wish! - that messrs. Spielberg Hanks would give the Battle of Britain the same treatment...but that's just a daydream, I'm afraid. Just imagine the production costs...*yelps*
The US at the time was almost as polarized and gridlocked as it is now. The "progressive intelligensia", mostly clustered near the coasts, were paying attention to what was going on in Europe and the far East, and shuddering in their shoes, while the "conservative heartland", comfortable in their isolation, and aghast at the heresies of the New Deal, were leery of "foreign entanglements" and committed to "America First". It took Nanking in ruins, and then London in flames (London, epicenter of the English-speaking world!) to hit Americans at a gut level and start to elevate "America First" from a national to a global ambition, which resonates to this day.I think as well once the American people seen how much devastation had been caused in London, it kind of sent a wave of sympathy towards the British public for standing strong in the face of such devastation. And not only was the mood changing towards England, more and more Americans sympathise with another nation that looked and talked like the US. And i imagine the feeling was, if little Britain can stand firm and repulse the nazis, then America would surely have the belief they could smash and control German aggression if indeed the US did ever enter the war.
Personally i think Roosevelt did a fantastic job. And lets not forget, The US were basically fighting a major war on two fronts. The ETO & PTO at the same time. The resources needed to do that as well as send tons and tons of supplies not just to Britain but to Russia and many other nations under threat of invasion/occupation. Roosevelt went out on a limb to help Britain despite his need to keep American opinion stable and away from what was really happening, with regards to lend lease and constant steady supplies of military hardwear. I heard in early 41 something like 50% of US aircraft production was switched ove to helping the British stay in the war. Some could argue that had England been defeated the outcome might have been so different. But thankfully the bravery and tactical savvy of the RAF fooled the Germans into a war of attrition. And despite the very real fear of invasion. I still think it would have been a bloobath for the Germans had they attempted to invade the British coastThe US at the time was almost as polarized and gridlocked as it is now. The "progressive intelligensia", mostly clustered near the coasts, were paying attention to what was going on in Europe and the far East, and shuddering in their shoes, while the "conservative heartland", comfortable in their isolation, and aghast at the heresies of the New Deal, were leery of "foreign entanglements" and committed to "America First". It took Nanking in ruins, and then London in flames (London, epicenter of the English-speaking world!) to hit Americans at a gut level and start to elevate "America First" from a national to a global ambition, which resonates to this day.
Without the images of St Paul's against a flaming sky, Roosevelt could never have gotten away with Lend-Lease or swapping destroyers for bases, or escorting convoys, or most importantly, "a hundred thousand planes next year".
Cheers,
Wes
Isolationism and its opposite were somewhat unrelated to the left-right spectrum, with isolationist Progressives and internationalist conservatives. Also, many isolationists were more than happy to intervene, especially in places like Central America and the Caribbean. There were also people quite happy with Germany slaughtering its way through Eastern Europe and offended by Japan behaving similarly in China. The politics were very confused.The US at the time was almost as polarized and gridlocked as it is now. The "progressive intelligensia", mostly clustered near the coasts, were paying attention to what was going on in Europe and the far East, and shuddering in their shoes, while the "conservative heartland", comfortable in their isolation, and aghast at the heresies of the New Deal, were leery of "foreign entanglements" and committed to "America First". It took Nanking in ruins, and then London in flames (London, epicenter of the English-speaking world!) to hit Americans at a gut level and start to elevate "America First" from a national to a global ambition, which resonates to this day.
Without the images of St Paul's against a flaming sky, Roosevelt could never have gotten away with Lend-Lease or swapping destroyers for bases, or escorting convoys, or most importantly, "a hundred thousand planes next year".
Cheers,
Wes
From an American perspective, it seems there were a significant number of Britons of the wealthier classes who weren't all that offended by Nazism, thinking maybe it had some good ideas, such as anti-Semitism and Teutonic superioriy. (weren't the Angles and the Saxons both of German DNA?) Then all of a sudden, there they were, just across the river, and not seeming to show any sign of friendliness toward their island dwelling cousins. In fact they were being downright nasty, jettisoning ordnance on their blood relations!it would have been a bloobath for the Germans had they attempted to invade the British coast
Aren't they always? Electoral mandates are illusory. They carry the seeds of their own undoing.The politics were very confused.
There was a society, started by Lady Astor- that leaned toward the Hitlerian concept of a Europe under Nazi rule- One of fat-boy Churchill's cabinet, Lord Halifax, and also Neville Chamberlain were trying to negotiate with Mussolini to intercede with Hitler, to keep England out of another global European blood-bath a la 1914-1918. Trying to get Hitler to keep his word (as with the Czechoslovakian 1938 "Peace In Our Time" fubar, would be a difficult task indeed.From an American perspective, it seems there were a significant number of Britons of the wealthier classes who weren't all that offended by Nazism, thinking maybe it had some good ideas, such as anti-Semitism and Teutonic superioriy. (weren't the Angles and the Saxons both of German DNA?) Then all of a sudden, there they were, just across the river, and not seeming to show any sign of friendliness toward their island dwelling cousins. In fact they were being downright nasty, jettisoning ordnance on their blood relations!
Funny how a thing like that can have a unifying and hardening effect on the public will, isn't it?
"We will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them in the streets, and on the landing fields;...we will never surrender!" And we thought Japan would have been a tough nut to crack?
Cheers,
Wes
There were — and are — a not insignificant number of Americans who view nazi racism and antisemitism quite favorably.From an American perspective, it seems there were a significant number of Britons of the wealthier classes who weren't all that offended by Nazism, thinking maybe it had some good ideas, such as anti-Semitism and Teutonic superioriy. (weren't the Angles and the Saxons both of German DNA?) Then all of a sudden, there they were, just across the river, and not seeming to show any sign of friendliness toward their island dwelling cousins. In fact they were being downright nasty, jettisoning ordnance on their blood relations!
Funny how a thing like that can have a unifying and hardening effect on the public will, isn't it?
"We will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them in the streets, and on the landing fields;...we will never surrender!" And we thought Japan would have been a tough nut to crack?
Cheers,
Wes
Yes, and to quote the USFS: "Climatic conditions are favorable for the spread of wildfires."There were — and are — a not insignificant number of Americans who view nazi racism and antisemitism quite favorably.
You know it's interesting. I spent about 3 1/2 years on a US nuke fast attack based out of San Diego. Among other times at sea, we went on deployment to the western Pacific in 79. Mission to track Soviet boomers up near the Bering Sea. The longest we spent submerged continuously was 66 days. Now I know that the ventilation and atmospheric cleanup systems were night and day different on the boat I was on compared to the U-boats in WW2. But I remember the smells... or lack of. You'd walk by the garbage facility and you'd see it was just oozing, and you knew it had to stink to high heaven. But you'd detect it faintly, but not overpowering. I guess we got used to the slow accumulation of odors over the deployment. Kind of like the frog in a pot of water....if it's hot initially he'll jump out. Start out cold and slowly heat it up, he'll boil to death. You always smelled petroleum products like fuel oil, etc.Fresh out of refit and overhaul, a diesel boat lives up to its reputation as....STINKPOT, never mind after three weeks underway. Kind of like a training command T-34 can't ever get the essence of puke completely scrubbed out of it, no matter how hard you try.
Cheers,
Wes
That was a key part of Washington's farewell address over two hundred years ago....were leery of "foreign entanglements" and committed to "America First"...
Kelly's Heroes..."woof woof'
It wasn't mere coincidence that I worded it that way.That was a key part of Washington's farewell address over two hundred years ago.
To get back to the original topic, I'd like to toss in a vote for "Shogun", the mini series. Not WWII, but arguably a pre- pre- prequel.Kelly's Heroes..."woof woof'
To get back to the original topic, I'd like to toss in a vote for "Shogun", the mini series. Not WWII, but arguably a pre- pre- prequel. Cheers, Wes
Sorry, didn't mean to hit you with negative waves, man! I was acknowledging your implication that we had drifted off topic and needed to make a course correction. Didn't make myself clear, I guess. I always get a kick out of Kelly's Heroes.Why is my favorite WW2 movie set in WW2 not suitable for the "What is Your Favorite WW2 Movie?" and your pre-pre-prequel set in the 1600s is?