Unauthorized Picks for Pacific War Flicks-Episode 318
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- Опубликовано: 29 янв 2024
- This week Seth and Bill take a step back from the battlefields to discuss an oft-requested topic, our picks for WWII Pacific-themed movies. Many of you have asked what our favorite, or in some cases not so favorite, films are that relate to the Pacific theater of WWII, well here you go. The team gives their go-to's, some known and some relatively unknown when they want to watch a Pacific flick. Sit back and listen and give us your feedback. What are your favorites?
Here are our list of go-to flicks:
- Five Came Back
-Empire of the Sun
- Midway (2019)
- Torpedo Run
- Tora Tora Tora
- Sands of Iwo Jima
- From Here to Eternity
- In Harms Way
- Best Years of Our Lives
- Run Silent Run Deep
- Destination Tokyo
- Hellcats of the Navy
- Bridge over River Kwai
- The Caine Mutiny
- Mister Roberts
- Operation Pacific
- The Gallant Hours
-They Were Expendable
-Air Force
-Dive Bomber
-The Pacific
-Operation Petticoat
-Bataan
-Back to Bataan
-Flat Top
-Task Force
-The Great Raid
-Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
-Unbroken Path to Redemption
-Pride of the Marines
-The Railway Man
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As a child I remember my Father had nightmares, waking up screaming from his time as a Navy Corpsman who was in six Pacific theater invasions with the Marines.
He would be glued to the TV when Victory at Sea was first broadcast. The public had not seen most of the footage used in that series. He would point out places where he was. He really detested most WW II movies of the 40’s & 50’s with few exceptions.
In 1969 he told me he would cut off my right hand trigger finger in my sleep if I tried to enlist in the Marines “ because this family had suffered enough”.
He passed away in 1988 from cancer misdiagnosed as complications of having malaria many times.
I have to share this story. My father was an actor after he came back from the pacific. He was at PH with the 19th inf during the attack, did the whole New Guinea campaign as a sgt. He was rehearsing his lines half the night with my mother for a war movie with John Wayne about the pacific fighting. I'm not sure which movie it was - this was 49-59.
He walked in and before he said a line, the director told him he wasn't the type (it was a sgt. in the pacific). He flashed his silver star ribbon, called the guy a stupid SOB and never went for another rehearsal in his life. You're narratives bring him back to life for me. Keep the faith -
Love these narratives. Cant be long enough! My father was an artillery man in the Bulge , My kids Grandfather served with Patton (his brother died in Korea), my Uncle was in the 82 AB and wounded in Market Garden and my Godfather was with the 1st Marines on Guadalcanal.
I am a Vietnam vet.
My hoochmate died of Agent Orange expodure two years ago. Ive had many friends with PSTD. Americans should know for many Vets their wars didnt end with discharge papers.
A good Japanese movie of the period is The Emperor in August. Definitely eye opening into the dysfunction of the Japanese government/war council of the time, to the point where it is farcical.
The heart that you both display for combat veterans is something I truly appreciate. Thank you both.
SEMPER, brother.
One day decades ago I watched Sands of Iwo Jima with my dad. At one point as TBMs flew over, he sat up and said ther is my plane. I said that was the kind of plane you were in. He responded, "no that is my plane, I remember the tail number."
LMAO - your redeeming feature of 'Pearl Harbour' is Kate Beckinsale - absolutely true!!! :)
Hell in the Pacific was an interesting movie about a Japanese and an American Marine stranded on a Pacific island fighting it out. It starred Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune.
Marvin, a Marine playing a Marine (pilot).
Both Pacific veterans
I thought that was a great movie.
Also the name of a Pac war documentary
I loved Hell in the Pacific. While both actors were old to be playing WW2 combatants, it is neat that both were actually WW2 veterans in real life. It was fascinating to see how their relationship developed, from trying to kill each other to competing with each other to finally realizing that they would need to cooperate in order to survive. And it was interesting to see how they learned to communicate although neither knew the other's language.
My guilty pleasure is “Father Goose” starring Cary Grant. It is Cary Grant at his Cary Grantiest. It may not be realistic, but it is entertaining.
Leslie Caron is 92! Loved Trevor Howard and the young actress, "Harry"! A comedic encomium to our WWII Coastal watchers.
I agree...a fun movie!
"No, she's alive.....the snake's dead!"
"Married!? Goody Two Shoes and the Filthy Beast?"
Operation Petticoat is my Pacific war movie guilty pleasure. As ridiculous as it is, it always puts a smile on my face when I watch it. Two thumbs up for Joan O'Brien and Dina Merrill!
I agree! "We sank a truck!" Combined with Cary Grant's expression is one of the best scenes out there!
Wasn't Operation Petticoat about the service and sacrifice of Seaman Hornsby as he was facing his dangerous assignment?😀
I kind of group it with "Father Goose", another Cary Grant war movie that doesn't put much focus on the war itself.
"Away All Boats" (1956) deserves honorable mention as a study in the loneliness of command, the desire to do the best with reduced circumstances, dealing with being passed over for "more glorious" front-line service, the importance of logistics, the horror of unstoppable kamikaze attack, and never giving up.
And in the "Other" category, I'd nominate 1941, Father Goose, and Heaven Knows Mr Allison.
Thank you for including The Best Years of Our Lives. The verisimilitude of the entire film is undeniable. It is at the top of my list of best movies ever made.
Actor Glenn Ford was born in Canada, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in the summer of 1941, enlisted in the Marine Corps on Dec. 10, 1941, and served until medically discharged in 1944. He enlisted for a THIRD time in 1958 and entered the U.S. Naval Reserve. In Vietnam he served as a Marine Corps liaison from the DMZ to the Mekong Delta. He finally retired in the 1970's at the rank of Captain.
The Gallant Hours does what few war films do, by thoughtfully revealing the burden of command; specifically, through the eyes of Halsey, during his early tenure as commander of the South Pacific Area. Dramatic tension comes from seeing him struggle to sustain the fight for Guadalcanal, often making difficult decisions, and then living with the consequences of those decisions. The film doesn't fully explain all of the tactical details, but fans of this podcast should know those details, and find this film doubly rewarding as a result. Thank you so much Seth and Bill for this wonderful film recommendation.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence". Yet another take on the POW experience in the Far East. Based of a book written by a Dutch East Indies survivor from these camps, it dives deep into the many moral questions of war. And its simply a very good movie!
The movie that was never made but should be made: Taffy 3 based on Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, especially now that cgi can show what it looks lile to be shot at by an 18in naval gun.
My dad was on a CVE in Taffy 2.
I agree. That is a story worthy of film!
I watched 5 came back early last year and I was stunned at the emotional damage done to everyone of these Directors. A really good movie.
😂 Hey Bill!
It's, " We got ourselves a real mother lovin', gut bustin' Navy War!"
*lovin'*
"They Were Expendable" Glad to hear you two talk about this film as it embraced a historical event, the loss of the Phillipines, that was not paid its due respect for decades. I too appreciate your perspectives on McCarthur and John Wayne in this movie. Wayne must have felt small in the shadows of Ford, Montegomery and the PT boat crews who surrounded him during its making.
However, whenever I consider the subect of war movies I am always reminded of something said by Tom Hanks in an interview from a few years back. At the end of the making Band of Brothers, Hanks asked Richard Winters about his thoughts on a screening of the series. He said that Winters was very careful being polite but, in essance, he thought they had left way too much out of the story. Hanks response was something like this - This is Hollywood and if you get it 10-percent correct they think you are a genius. We're aiming for 13-percent. I think Hanks was acknowleding Winters observation and, in his own respectful way, communicating Hollywood's shortcomings in accurate story telling. The work of history is best left to historians and Hollywood is the work of entertainers. And for me, the true lessons come from the former and not the latter.
Sadly, though, for the vast majority of the population, the only "lessons" they get that they remember come from the latter...
Great episode. Many films mentioned as worth watching were unknown to me and now i plan to watch. I report with pride to Bill that my daughter-in-law Kirstin is a Captain in the Marine Corps and Naval Academy graduate. She has just secured a posting to be an instructor at the Naval Academy. They are closing on a home in Annapolis today.
You forgot Windtalkers on the trash list.
Love Bill’s take on Mister Robert’s!! Couldn’t agree more.
I’d like to add a recommendation with “Too Young the Hero” about the 12 year-old sailor on SoDak, Calvin Graham.
I’d be interested in your take on Too Late the Hero, about the Brits, as well.
Well done as always! Two flags up.
Don't worry about it. We are not going anywhere. Take your break and take your time. We appreciate so much what you are doing for us.
One of my favorite WWII Pacific movies is "Away All Boats". I am a bit surprised it wasn't mentioned.
Yeah that's a great one. And it does get overlooked...lol, which is oddly if sadly symmetrical since it's about the equally-overlooked Gator Navy (amphibs).
I voted for it too, in comments up above. I really did like the movie
Thin Red Line is my personal favourite, I know its controversial, but I love it. I also quite like Guadalcanal Diary! Guilty pleasure. Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima also excellent.
I'd love to have Thin Red Line edited into a normal war movie. The Terrance Malick written existential voice-overs severely detracted from the movie.
@@DannyKaffee I actually thought it felt in some way consisted with spirit of Jones' book.
Attack on village with Zimmer's music for me is especially a war-immersing piece.
@@Gregolec, that’s the one thing I love about Thin Red Line is Zimmer’s score.
I used to have Direct TV, and I nearly exclusively watched TCM, I love movies that are older than I am. I truly loved TCM's war movie marathons on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, the late, great Bob Osborn would open most of the featured movies with details of the filming, directors and actors in those films. I had a DVR and a DVD recorder, so I made copies of dozens of movies, I even got my niece hooked on watching Charlie Chaplain's silent movies.
I've seen every one of the movies mentioned here multiple times, excepting those made in this century. I have to second "Away All Boats," "Father Goose," and "Heaven Knows Mr Allison," and I'm compelled to add "The Wackiest Ship in the Army." (1960)
A note about "Father Goose," although it's a comedy, the part where Walter Eckland is taking Catherine Freneau and seven school girls across the open ocean at night in a tiny outboard motor boat and is passed by two Japanese destroyers running at high speed, nearly swamping their boat, is pretty danged spooky.
"The Wackiest Ship in the Army" starred Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson as two Navy officers who were assigned the task of training a crew of sailors to disguise a racing sloop as a native sail boat in order to deliver a replacement coast watcher to an island where the coast watcher had gone off the air. It's a comedy, but it has its serious side too. A good portion of the movie is spent with Nelson trying to convince Jack Lemmon to accept the job, at one point, Ricky Nelson shows off his singing talent at the officer's club singing "I Miss New Orleans" with Jack Lemmon at the piano. The coast watcher was played by an Australian actor with the coolest name ever, Chips Rafferty.
I'm a John Wayne fan too, Nelson had just come from making the movie "Rio Bravo," with Wayne and a 20 something Angie Dickinson, I'm guessing Seth has seen that one a few times himself. Shortly after making "The Wackiest Ship in the Army," Nelson dropped the holdover Ricky from his "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" days and went with Rick, focusing on his singing career.
I loved "Dive Bomber" and "The Caine Mutiny" also, and have to mention Fred MacMurray. Later on, MacMurray starred with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in "The Apartment." He played a womanizing jerk in that movie, but had done a bunch of Disney flicks and the original Mister Nice Guy on "My Three Sons," he said he got a ton of fan mail begging him to never play such a nasty guy like that again. It seems fans had forgotten that he'd played a skunk in "The Caine Mutiny."
Since "Some Like it Hot" got a mention, I must toss in Jack Lemmon in "How to Murder Your Wife." Not a war movie by any stretch of the imagination, but a must see movie.
Lastly, I must give a shout out to the most fun war movie ever made, "Kelly's Heroes." Yeah, I know it's not a Pacific war flick, but I'm willing to bet it's on every "real man's" favorite list. When I saw the episode about the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the radio issues talked about in it, my first thought was of Carroll O'Connor's character general Colt trying to listen to Kelly's radio transmissions when Colonel Booker says "they're hard to hear, it has something to do with the ionosphere." and Colt replies "well get the ionosphere the hell off the air and get them on!"
I've seen "Kelly's Heroes" so many times, I can nearly quote the entire dialog by heart...
"I told you to bring me a good looking kid, not some fat sausage chewing wino!"
This was a fun to listen to podcast, all the best to everyone.
Dave
Seth gets an A for his Cary Grant impression, A+ for his Tony Curtis impersonating Cary Grant Impression.
Ha. Thanks
Air Force was directed by Howard Hawks. Good look at Early B-17s. Tora Tora Tora is one of the best for historical accuracy. Earnie Borgnine was a sweetheart in real life. He re-enlisted in the Navy when WW II started
Air Force is one of my favorites
Air Force is awesome! Even today.
Paul Mantz was Warner Bros. chief pilot on "Air Force". I don't know if he was flying the beach ditching scene near the movie's end, but his asking price for a belly landing - "12 O'Clock High" - was reportedly $5,000.
Air Force was interesting in that it was a propaganda film for the Army Air Forces and, for many reasons, it tried to make out the the Japanese out to be poor pilots who would run from a fight unless they had superior numbers. James Brown, who played Lt Rader, claims a Japanese delivery driver had tried to cut him off as the sister one of the B-17 crewmen was driving him to the airfield and then blasted at them with a shotgun. The colonel at Hickham Air base points wrecked P-40s saying another Japanese delivery driver went down the row of fighters, smashing the tails so they couldn't take off. It turned out that there was never any proof that Japanese Americans ever did any sabotage at all.
I'm glad they made the film though, I've watched it several times lately because I'm in the process of building the Academy B-17D.
@@uberduberdave The only sabotage was done by General Short. While I'm slightly equivocal about how much Kimmel was responsible for the unpreparedness of the Navy at Pearl Harbor, General Short was nothing short of gross negligence.
I'm glad you guys are taking a break. There is such a thing as vicarious PTSD.
My father was a Pacific veteran, he went to go see Empire of the sun when it came out because he was sent to Shangai to take their surrender after the war ended instead of invading Japan. He came back crying. He was on Iwo Jima and at Okinawa, when I was a kid, he always wanted to watch Sands of Iwo Jima , but wouldnt go see Flags, not because he thought it was bad, he was near the end of his life then.
The movie Mr Roberts was my gateway drug into being a history nerd, I watched it and then read the book which my father had a copy of, along with many other books about the Pacific war and the rest as they say is history. I take Flags and Letters for what they are, movie adaptions from books, they didnt know about the mistakes with the flag raisers yet, though I do agree that Letters really glossed over how horrible the Japanese were to their prisoners.
One that doesnt get mentioned often enough is the British Mini series Tenko, which is about women prisoners of the Japanese after the fall of Malaya and Singapore.
China Marine? They have interesting stories to tell
@@rfreitas1949 Navy. I know he was back in the states by 46 because that’s when he started his career as a printer
This is the one podcast that I look for every Tuesday morning. Grew up an Air Force brat, dad fought in Korea, my uncles were both US Army combat vets of Europe. Both were Purple Heart recipients, one awarded the Silver Star (we are not sure why, because he would never, ever talk about it) during action near St. Vith in the Bulge where his unit was almost completely destroyed. Love history! And you guys present it in an entertaining and informational way! Should be required viewing for all young folks!
While going to submarine school in 1977, I saw Destination Tokyo and Torpedo Run among others at the Dealy Center Theater. Seeing these movies in a theater on a large screen, made a huge emotional impact on me. They are some of my strongest memories while attending submarine school. After the movie, I would stop and look at the WWII submarine battle flags on display In the Theater.
One WW2 Pacific movie that, and I think this is underselling it, absolutely haunted me watching it was an animated movie from Japan that was made in the late 1980s called Grave of the Fireflies.
It's about a young boy trying to be an adult and take care of his baby sister while Tokyo is being firebombed. It is heavily critical of the Japanese government for putting it's citizens in that situation and is absolutely tragic. Highly recommended.
I recommended that one too, glad someone else did. Everyone should see that movie. It's one of the saddest movies I have ever seen but definitely shows some of the true costs of war.
Love this episode. I know it's an Atlantic movie but Enemy Below holds a special place in my heart because my grandfather was a carpenter's mate on a DE in the Atlantic during WWII.
"I miss you more than Michael Bay missed the mark when he made Pearl Harbor. I miss you more than that movie missed the point, and that’s an awful lot girl. And now, now you’ve gone away, and all I’m trying to say, is "Pearl Harbor" sucked, and I miss you." You can't say it better than that.
Amen
Pearl Harbor,Boy was that a bad film
"Pearl Harbor sucked just a little bit more than I miss you" 😄
👏👏👏Bravo!!
All Michael Bay films are shot like porn and.........explosions.
That was fun. My favorites-Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and They Were Expendable
Nice change of pace--enjoyable to watch as usual. You guys deserve a break yet you choose to entertain and educate us instead--THANKS! I was surprised though that 3 movies were omitted--(1)"A Wing and a Prayer" (2) "Frogmen" and (3) "Away All Boats". Not sure of the historical accuracy of any of them but #3 is my personal 'Pacific' favorite.
😂Oh Bill. You got me today. “ You’ve wasted another perfectly good hour listening to car talk”. Haha My dad and I listened ever Saturday together. Good memories. Thanks for what you do fellas!!
I found a CD of "The Best of Car Talk" at a yard sale many years ago for 25 cents. When I listened to it, it opened with something to the effect of "You are listening to The Best of Car Talk, which you probably bought at a yard sale for 25 cents."
This was great. Like you, I also needed a break after the harsh realities of the Marianas Campaign. I’m a retired history teacher who’s Dad (ETO)and Uncles (2 in PTO and 1 in ETO)were all WWII veterans who all suffered from PTSD. I really respect and have recommended your pod cast to all my fiends and family. Thank you for your hard work.
Like you Seth. The 1976 midway was my gateway into war movies and after I read my first war book “Rendezvous at Midway” which lead to a lifetime love of war history books. Also like you I could never get into “the thin red line” no matter how hard I tried
I am a voracious reader of Ww2 history. Your podcast is a wonderful addition to my education. But I love love LOVE this one about the movies! Can't wait to see some of the oldies I didn't know about. I'm really looking forward to your book recommendations as ones you've mentioned in podcasts I've really enjoyed. I appreciate you both...this is some of the best the internet has to offer. -Elizabeth Happel
It seems you are an avid reader of books about WWII.
Five Came Back was great on several fronts. Those directors had what Hollywood lacks now. Men, this was a great episode !
I'm an American living in Germany and a Desert Storm veteran (U.S. Army Military Police). I've raised four kids here and, having remarried to a beautiful Filipina, have resurrected my huge love for history! My wife and I run a channel: Franci & Tad here in our area. But my real goal has been to find out more of what happened on the other side of the world in the Pacific. My excitement, naturally, has only been growing stronger the closer that you two reach the Philippines. Just know that since we are watching from a foreign country doesn't automatically mean that we are foreigners, just expats.... lol Take care and God Bless. Franci & Tad
"Tora, Tora, Tora" is probably the best WWII Pacific War movie of all time with a surprising amount of good history for a movie.
"In Harms Way" is brilliant but because of all of the adult content it was always cut to pieces on TV. If you can see the full movie it is worth it.
Balderdash!!! The 1970's "Midway" movie is excellent. It was based on the then understanding of what happened at the battle and is a good depiction of Jack Fletcher and Raymond Spruance. The Japanese girlfriend is a fairly small part of the movie. She was added because the internment of the Japanese Americans was coming into the news at the time, and the romance was a ploy to get women to come and see the movie. Heck they even added a girlfriend for Charlie Heston in the TV version for the same reason. Considering what you forgive in older movies I don't understand your reaction to this movie.
"The Great Raid" & "King Rat", are both very good. For something completely different try an Australian movie, "The Highest Honor".
The negative reaction to "Letters from Iwo Jima" / "Flags of My Father" is a bit overblown but I also don't understand the praise of 2019 "Midway" either. The 2019 "Midway" was a hyper-dramatic piece of... up there with "Pearl Harbor" and "Red Tails". "Thin Red Line" is just silly weirdness.
Fun show but looking forward to getting back to the war.
My grandfather, my mother’s dad, came to the US from Germany in 1906 with my great grandparents. He lied about his age to join the Navy for WW1. In WW2, being in his late 30s, he volunteered and served in the Navy as a Seabee. He was at Iwo Jima during the battle. My Mom told me that after the war he would brew his own beer and when the corks started popping off the bottles he would disappear from the family for several days at a time. I think us grandkids helped him to start to get past some of this. I was quite young when he died of bone cancer, but I always remember him as a gentle, old man.
I had never heard of The Gallant Hours! That opening/closing scene, the men singing, Halsey/Cagney being rowed ashore....THANK YOU!!!!! THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
There needs to be an aloha shirt made in Jon’s wallpaper pattern. I’d buy it!
Isn't there already? Isn't that the shirt which Jon usually wears sitting in front of that wallpaper? 😛
Great episode. I agree with most of your lists. As a native Philadelphian I always liked Pride of the Marines. A more obscure movie, but nonetheless a great film is So Proudly We Hail. It's about the nurses during the seige of the Phillipines.
36:10. Don't let Drach hear you praise the Emmerich Midway. He hates it with a passion of 1000 suns.
"He hates it with the passion of a thousand suns." Ah, spoken like a true Irish man.
I think his hatred has to do a lot with the FX, where they have like a dozen Yamato class instead of accurate cruisers and destroyers escorting the carriers. Someone just did cut-and-paste from WoW for their effects.
@@gregorywright4918 that and he got drunk by the time of Coral Sea.
@@gregorywright4918and, all the usn screening cruisers was Northamptons, and the sinking Lexington was a Yorktown class, which I didn't like either.
Drach isn’t perfect.
May I add another great film to your list - one that covers another aspect of the pacific war.. the logistics, in particular the support vessels...
This film is 'Away All Boats' with Jeff Chandler (1956) about an Amphibious Attack Transport ship...
I added this one too.
The flying P-40's, B-17's and PBY's in Tora Tora Tora were real. The B-17 Crash was a real accident, the aircraft couldn't get one of its main gear down, so it stayed aloft to burn off fuel, while the film unit set up a load of cameras to capture the landing. The Aircraft that were wrecked deliberately were mock ups. The Japanese stuff were various US aircraft modified to look like Kates, Vals and Zeros. The Zeros and Vals were modified NAA T-6 Texan's while the Kates were based on Vultee BT-13 Valiant's.
I think one of the Kates was actually a heavily modified plane that ended up looking close to the real thing. Back in the 70s when I was taking a train through the LA area I saw it a few times parked at, I think, the Burbank airport. I think it's at Chino at the Planes of Fame museum now. It used to fly regularly in SoCal airshows.
Thank you Bill and Seth.
No time was waisted here gentlemen.
Binge watching in my future.
"Five Came Back" is one of my favorite documentaries of all time.
My two favorite WW2 movies are both POW stories.
"The Bridge On The River Kwai" and "Stalag 17".
edit: and "The Great Escape" ain't bad either.
King Rat is good, too.
Read the biography of the real Cooler King ,William Ash makes the movie version pale
OK, if you're going to go into the European Theater and want a laugh, here's "The Secret War of Harry Frigg!."
I have learned the hard way, "dark humor" is a very valuable tool for "vaccination" against PTSD. Sometimes, the inappropriate, is appropriate.
Really appreciated John Ford, the Searchers and Operation Petticoat.
Wings of Eagles-the Duke again..."gonna move that big toe"...hits home with difficulties walking thank you guys for what you do
The scene where Ensign Pulver blows up the laundry is one of my favorite scenes, period. But I have to say, for pure comedy, I loved the modern frigates and the commissioned officer in the US Army fighting in Britain before the US entered WWII in Pearl Harbor, didn't you?
That scene makes me laugh every time
The scene with the young sailor returing from liberty at the end of the pier kissing the native girl, single-handedly made me want to enlist in the navy. It's a great movie on so many levels.
@@josephgilorma6979 That character, Bookser, was played by Patrick Wayne.
And how the crew reacts. Sailors wondering where their battle stations are.
Thanks for the change of pace.
Thanks! You guys are awesome. My dad flew B29s off Guam. My uncle died near Manila during the recapture of that town in 1945.
Could not agree more about "The Thin Red Line"
I called it dime-store philosophy posing as deep thoughts rattled off in voice-over torture for two hours.
The Railway Man is one of the best movies ever made dealing with PTSD. Unlike the Bridge on the River Kwai (which was filmed in Sri Lanka), at least part of the film (the final scenes) were filmed in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, ( with having the added benefit of being a true story) where the actual Thai-Burma Railroad (still known as the Death Railroad) was located. Walking the old railway path, where the prisoners cut through 45 feet of solid rock by hand will give you goosebumps. This area is shown in the final scenes where Colin Firth and Hiroyuki Sanada meet. Having watched the movie and then visited this as well as the cemetary for the victims, as well as the actual bridge, give an incredible insight into what these brave men went through during the brutality of the Death Railroad. Since the majority of the prisoners were British and Anzac troops, most Americans may have missed this film. Never has a war movie touched me as much. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. I can't recommend it highly enough. Keep up the great work gentlemen.
Seth and Bill - you 2 are crazy with a great sense of humour. Agree that you and we needed a change of pace. As film critics you are both absolutely fantastic. Two films my wife and I ALWAYS watch when they are on are Mr Roberts and Operation Petticoat...classics. Our tastes are about 1 degree apart. Great episode and waiting for 319. Best series on You Tube. keep them coming
That was fun guys and a nice break for many of us watchers I would imagine. Great job as always gents!! Seth - I was so happy you had Operation Petticoat, it's a favorite fun WWII movie for me and when I saw the topic for this week I said out loud there was no way anyone had that movie on their list.
Another great show fellas...They Were Expendable tops my list as well. Btw as i recall, they selling feature on the 1976 Midway was it had Sensurround! Cheers
After your intro to "Five Came Back" I immediately went to Netflix to watch it. I'm still a bit breathless and will be for a while. What a great recommendation to start this episode. After I catch my breath, you better believe that I'll be back to catch the rest of your choices.
This episode was a good palette cleanser coming down from Forager. Btw, I took my son to see Midway the night it opened back in 2019, and we’ve been touring museum ships together ever since. Also after having read Shattered Sword I can’t help but notice John Parshall’s fingerprints on that movie as far as how the Japanese are portrayed.
On a lite note;
Was it over, when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Thank you, Seth and Bill.
And a Huge; Thank You!
To the Greatest Generation!
Animal House. Don't stop him, he's on a roll...
😂
On the documentary front, “The Eleven” and “Fighting Lady” (which you did briefly mention) provide a lot of insight into carrier ops/personnel. I look forward to Tuesday mornings for your new episodes.
I loved this topic! Being a submariner, I collect and watch all submariner movies and Documentaries.
One correction for Bill, Tora, Tora, Tora was filmed in the late 1960s, not mid 1970s. The reason I know is that my earliest memories of living in Aiea, overlooking Pearl Harbor, were to plumes of black smoke. As a 3 or 4 year old, I didn’t know at the time what was happening. I obviously learned soon afterwards.
I have always been a WW2 enthusiast from a very young age. I Love your channel. I recently watch "Best Years of Our Lives", a recommendation from a buddy I served with. Wow it's everything you got through readjusting after coming home and or getting out. I am retired from the Army, all my career was I was in the infantry and I can relate to the movie. After 4 combat deployments, that movie hit's home like nothing I have ever read or seeing. Thanks for you guys for all you do!
A favorite . The ride home in the nose of the bomber is 4 stars
This movie had me sobbing. It is so good.
One movie that you didn't mention, but is worth watching is "Away All Boats." Growing up it came up on Saturday TV when I was growing up.
The Best Years of Our Lives is truly one of the best WWII movies, period.
Thanks, have seen a number of these movies over the years. What, no mention of "Victory At Sea?" grew up watching that series and "World At War" every week in the 60s-70s.
Great Catch!!!! Plus the music is 5 Stars. I love Guadalcanal March. To me it is the finest concert march ever written.
Gentlemen you have now combined two of my favorite subjects: History (specifically WWII History), and movies.
I would have loved to been sitting in a room (I know you two are several states away from each other) with you two and participated in the discussion.
We would have agreed on much, disagreed on some, but we would have had fun.
When ever the subject matter gets a bit heavy, I would welcome another episode like this to lighten the load.
Thanks again for a good episode.
PS
I would love to see you guys be the technical advisor on the definitive WWII Submarine movie, based on one of the great Submarine Skippers that you two have discussed.
Seth I did a deep dive into a comment you made a while back.
When you mentioned SoDak blowing her scout planes into the ocean! Man I gotta admit that's some awesome concussive force but I didnt realize how bad that entire battle was was SoDak. She got hammered dude.
Thx Seth Thx Skipper
The both of you are ultra high quality Americans.
This presentation was awesome, top notch and light hearted. Thanks so much for sharing.
Great show. Love listening to you guys.
I found "The Gallant Hour" only 3 months ago. Awesome movie. Also, another prewar movie to watch is "here comes the navy" filmed aboard the uss Arizona. It also shows top Naval technology of 1935.
Way back when I was in high school in the mid-80's, one of the TV stations from Spokane played war movies on Saturday afternoons. Some of those movies have stuck with me through my life, some have been long forgotten, and some of those old movies are all scrambled in my head. I can't remember if I'm mixing up movies or mixing up history and movies, or if the movies mixed up the history, or probably all three. Some of those movies were a lot and they were just too much for me, others have inspired me as much as they've inspired you. The absolutely minimum here for me to express is that I massively appreciate all of the history, all of the stories, and building on the memories and inspiration from some years long ago. Thanks, Seth and Bill, this is another meaningful episode even with a different concept. I'm going to hit each and every recommendation here again, I can not wait to see some of these anew and I'm positive there will be a few I haven't seen before! It's going to be a good month ahead.
I listened to car talk when I was young and my parents would have it on NPR. What a blast from the past
Thanks guys, as a veteran about the same age as Bill, I found myself completely agreeing with both of your up and down vote lists. I believe the "Thin Red Line" was very much an anti-war story (a product of the time it was made)and did not do the real GI's who actually fought any justice (1964, Jack Warden, Keir Dullea). I refuse to watch the 1998 version due to their choice of a certain actor.
I have been a life long non-academic student of the Pacific war. Four of Five Uncles who served during WWII did so in the Pacific. They included a Marine with the 2nd Raiders, a CB, an SM3 aboard USS Nashville (CL43) and a waist gunner on a PB4Y2. I have spent my life reading and watching everything I could find on the subject to try and understand what they had gone through.
I have enjoyed all of your episodes and anxiously await each new episode. Keep up the great work!!!
Missed a couple that I enjoyed as a kid, Halls of Montezuma and Away All Boats.
Loved the 5 came back. So powerful. Glad it made your list.
My dad was a SWO on a pacific tin can in the 50’s and 60’s - he loved in harms way and run silent, run deep.
Thank you, Seth and Bill. Greatly appreciate the movie recommendations !
Empire of the Sun is fantastic. The one part of the movie that I always think of to this day is when Jim(Christian Bale) salutes the three Japanese airmen, and they return the salute as one.
I really enjoyed this relaxed episode.
It's always fun to hear others opinions of historical movies
The Raid was a fantastic film. I read both books it was based on and it was the same. Fantasic movie
As always. Great topic. Going to look for the ones I've not seen. Love this show. Right on Seth and Cpt . Balls o iron.
Thanks for a more "light-hearted" episode. Movies are very subjective, so it was interesting to hear the likes and dislikes of you guys. I must admit that I, personally, enjoy "Guadalcanal Diary". I realize the many inaccuracies, but one must consider that it was a morale-booster movie, made shortly after the real island was secured. I DO join your opinion that one cannot say enough BAD things about "Pearl Harbor". By the way, a couple mentions might include 1945's "Objective Burma" and 1961's "Merril's Marauders", both are poor history, but are some of the few films on WW2 in the CBI. Objective Burma really PO'd the British by making it look like the US made a significant contribution to the retaking of Burma, but still has great photography (albeit of Southern California) and was well directed. It's interesting that the broadcast version of Merrills Marauders recycled the Franz Waxman music from Objective Burma. Bill, "The Caine Mutiny" is not only for naval officers, but applies to other stress situations. I used to work in heart surgery and we had a surgeon who ran his practice like Captain Queeg. It is truly a great study of people under a high-stress environment.
I always loved William Powell in Mr. Robert’s and The Thin Man!
Very enlightening discussion and review. In Harms Way and the Expendable was reason I went in the Navy in the 60’s.
The episode is one of the most enjoyable of your series that I have seen. At one time or another, I have seen nearly all of these, though a couple I failed to finish. A couple of observations, 1) From Here To Eternity was taken from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by James Jones, who was a pre-war infantryman in the US 25th Infantry Division stationed at Schofield Barracks at Pearl Harbor. Jones would subsequently serve at Guadalcanal. His memories of WWII are absolutely worth the read. The characters are drawn from the US Army "lifers" (notice the preponderance of older Sargents in the film) he met there. The Caine Mutiny was released in 1954, which likely means its screen play and production were begun in 1953. The destroyer used in the film was a "Gleaves" class destroyer., the predecessor of the Fletcher Class. And absolute applause for your appreciation of "Best Years Of Our Lives". One you do not mention is Objective Burma, from 1945., ostensibly about a Merrill's Marauders type US Army infiltration force. It includes some memorable trench dialog.... "What did you do in civilian life?"..."I was an architect."......"Make any money at it?" ...."Nah!"....Somethings never change.
Mr. Roberts is an awesome movie.
Glad In Harms Way got some love. Historical accuracy, what's that? But this movie got a flavor of realism in a way that few other WW2 movies ever have. I loved that it was filmed in B&W too. That was an artistic choice that added verisimilitude.
I look forward to Tuesday morning so much because i found this podcast, its a morning cup of coffee chatting history with some buddies, i love it.
i would like to throw in for a Pacific war themed movie" a somewhat forgotten European theater movie that very much involves the Pacific and Japanese Americans "Go For Broke", a good movie doesn't get to deep into the interment camps but does somewhat, the cultural differences among Japanese Americans themselves, their relationship with their fellow soldiers, and their bravery in battle, and part of the unit is from Camp Shelby.
100% yes on 'Five Came Back.' John Ford's 'Midway' owned both cinematic releases but I think the '76 film suffered like many of its time coming out after the fall of Saigon and the US withdrawal. I enjoy the films made during the war even with their heavy propaganda themes. Bill to add to the list referencing China I would add 'The Sand Pebbles.'
"The Sand Pebbles" was a great flick, but the story it told was an absolute bummer...
Great episode! and as an international listener from Europe the pacific needs some more time in our history books
Great episode guys. This was a fun one.
Great show guys. Loved the banter, mostly agreed with your opinions. Your show and WW2TV are my RUclips main buddies. Carry on.