Film accuracy

gavmeister13 · Post by **gavmeister13** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 2:09 am

what film has the best/worst accuracy? i best, i mean there was little if anything wrong with the weapons, uniforms etc and worst by the biggest, stupidest mistake possible.

adrian · Post by **adrian** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 4:04 am

The out and out all time winner still remains.......PEARL HARBOUR!

Great special effects, nice battle sequences,crap movie. Thats it, just a crap movie.

adrian

seakrieg · Post by **seakrieg** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 7:53 am

U571. Pretty to look at, but complete junk.

Peter H. · Post by **Peter H.** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 10:18 am

I haven't seen Pearl Harbour or the other films mentioned here, but Enemy at the Gates is annoying. The idea behind the plot is great, but the execution of the plot is poor. 'Nuff said.

Jez · Post by **Jez** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 10:41 am

War of the Worlds.

How can they say that they based that on real events i do not know!!

Now if you mention Debbie does Dallas, then there is an action movie that is based on true stories!!!

Arooga, Arooga!

Regards, Jez

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 11:45 am

Adrian is 100% correct.

Pearl Harbour is soooooo crap!

I have never winced so much in my life.

Another one is Battle of the Bulge, a film about...well, German Tanks, without so much as a German tank in it.

U-571, again, Crap!

Another full on crap effort is Battle of the River Plate in which the Graf Spee is played by an American Cruiser and it is just so wrong! I understand that German pocket Battleships were pretty hard to comeby after the war but even Sink the Bismark had pretty passable models to get by with.

There are numerous others, Kelly's Heroes has plenty of faults but it is still an awesome movie.

ltlcon · Post by **ltlcon** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 2:06 am

Time to be Brave!

Here I go. "A Bridge Too Far" is, from what I've read, largely accurate though altered for dramatic purposes. Same goes for "Patton". Even his family liked it. Both of these are ripping entertainment given the pass by those portrayed or personally involved in the events portrayed. Agree on "Pearl Harbour". Complete crap but for the battle scenes. "U-571" is total bull as history, but it's good entertaiment, same for "Enemy At The Gates" when you simply accept it as a love story in war. To bad many take these these movies as history!
Still, "Das Boot" still has yet to be surpassed. Surprising when you think of all the true stories out there. I think it's important to note that "A Bridge Too Far", "Patton" and "Das Boot" are all based on either real or fictionalized real accounts. Pure fiction in a war film rarely seems to work. There are exceptions. "Cross of Iron", "Catch 22", "Mash" (though not WW2) and (with some flaws) "Saving Private Ryan" all work well.
If you want to see films outside WW2, I suggest either version of "All Quiet On The Western Front", "Platoon", "Hamburger Hill", "Porkchop Hill", "Boys in Company C" and "We Were Soldiers". "Full Metal Jacket" is a must see as well, but every group I've seen it with has mixed reactions. They either love it or hate it, as with all Kubrik films.

Baltasar · Post by **Baltasar** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 6:15 am

Has anybody seen "Steiner - the iron cross"? I remember that i've seen this film a long time ago, so I don't really know how accurate it is. I remember that it shows the german Wehrmacht troops at the east front.

coldam · Post by **coldam** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 7:55 pm

hi,

Has anyone seen:
'Die Bruecke' by Bernhard Wicki?

Baltasar?

Fiction . Based on facts,
about a group of German schoolkid youngsters
who are stuck into Wehrmacht Uniform in the very last days
of WW2.
The object: to defend a bridge in their town,
and stop the Americans from
crossing it.

'Das Boot' runs second to it for me.

...peter

Baltasar · Post by **Baltasar** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 5:19 am

Yes, I've seen "Die Brücke". It's a b/w movie, shot shortly after the war. Good film IMO

karltrowitz · Post by **karltrowitz** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 10:21 am

Yeah, i've seen "die bruke" and I must agree that it is an excellent film.Other good films are "dunkirk","Ice cold in alex" and the "Dambusters".As for the worst, well yet again it must be "Pearl Harbour","U571" and "Battle of the bulge".If ever a film needed a re-make it must be "Battle of the Bulge".

Zookeeper · Post by **Zookeeper** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 8:19 pm

It was called "The Bridge" when I saw it back in the early sixties while I was in high school. Outstanding film. It does rank right up with 'Das Boot". I used to have the book that "Das Boot" was taken from. The scene of the two submarines passing during the storm were as close to the actual photos that they could come.

The thing that sticks with me the most about "The Battle of the Bulge" wasn't the big US tanks painted gray to turn them into Tigers, but the scene where the tank commanders started to sing the "Panzerleid" while being inspected. I've seen that movie more times than I care to admit because it's not that great, but I still get goosebumps when I hear the singing and the boots stomping. You can actually feel the pride they must have had. Now that's acting.

Rick

Commissar D, the Evil · Sat Feb 08, 2003 8:24 pm

but the scene where the tank commanders started to sing the "Panzerleid" while being inspected. I've seen that movie more times than I care to admit because it's not that great, but I still get goosebumps when I hear the singing and the boots stomping.

I agree Zoolander! You know that movie "Battle of the Bulge" has taken a lot of abuse over the years, but this was a great scene. Probably the only truly emotional scene in the movie. Best Regards, David

Dasbootz · Post by **Dasbootz** » Tue Feb 11, 2003 7:34 pm

Guys, let's not get ourshelves too carried away here on this topic. Although I would agree that a few movies were rather ridiculous in the way the plot or story goes, U-571 being one of them...

Nevertheless, movies based on WW2 battles made during the 60/70's were in some degree quite accurate to historical accounts albeit that heavy weapons such as guns, tanks & planes were adapted 'replicas'. Example of these are:-
"Battle of Britain"; "Battle of the Bulge"; "The Longest Day"; "Tora Tora Tora"; & "Battle Of Midway".

Personally, I feel that the abovementioned movies stayed true to their original intention of reproducing the many battles in the great war but it is also my intention to say that some other movies like "Pearl Harbour" (a modernised remake of Tora, Tora, Tora) & "Where Eagle Dares" (starring Clint Eastwood & Richard Burton) are friggin' cheap rip-offs.

Narf~!

Qvist · Post by **Qvist** » Wed Feb 12, 2003 2:33 am

I've stayed clear of U-571 and Pearl Harbor so far, and think I'm going to continue to. Rashly saw "Charlotte Gray" here the other day, and must insistently warn anybody else against doing so, what utter crap on every level. Do not let your girlfriends talk you into it, it isn't worth it! Not even with Cate Blanchett starring!

Best ones: Die Brücke, Das Boot, The Winter War, Unknown Soldier. The two first German, the two last Finnish. And, to an extent, Saving Private Ryan, if for nothing else then just the first 20 minutes. Also, Stalingrad.

cheers

Feldgrau.net

Film accuracy

Film accuracy

U571

It has to be Enemy at the Gates.

"Die Brücke"