CmdrCody
Joined Apr 2005
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Reviews6
CmdrCody's rating
Sure...it's a long film but the story takes time to tell it right.
The movie, shot in black and white, allows use of real film footage of the battle to be interspersed within the narrative.
I love the realism of the military equipment. The "German" tanks are a fair replica of Panthers. Where did the studio get so many authentic Shermans, M-2 scout cars, jeeps and half tracks to show the French 2nd Armored Division on the move? Terrific stuff.
The musical soundtrack is just great. The orchestration starts bombastically for the German side and quietly for the French. Gradually, as the narrative progresses, the French themes build to a crescendo as victory becomes a reality and the city is saved.
As an earlier poster mentioned, much of the French scenes early on in the picture depicting political struggles among the major characters is lost on many American viewers. It is an interesting historic chapter to read about independently and the movie covers this enough for non-French to follow the general issues.
The City itself is the main attraction. How did they clear the streets for the battle scenes ?
One last comment about a favorite scene in the movie. It's the one where a French couple in their storefront in the Normandy town outside Paris see an armored column of tanks and half tracks on their street and shout "...it's the Americans, the Americans !" The storekeeper ventures out halfway in the street to where the armored units are streaming by, turns and runs back to his wife and proclaims "...no...THEY'RE FRENCH !" His wife swoons emotionally at the news, "they're French. They're French !" A nifty moment.
Another great scene is when the German engineering troops are placing explosives at Napoleon's Tomb. The German officer reviews the inscription of Napoleon's victories embedded in the floor until he reads "Moscow." The background music underscores perfectly the irony of the moment.
I think the film is right up there with other war classics like The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. One of my favorites.
The movie, shot in black and white, allows use of real film footage of the battle to be interspersed within the narrative.
I love the realism of the military equipment. The "German" tanks are a fair replica of Panthers. Where did the studio get so many authentic Shermans, M-2 scout cars, jeeps and half tracks to show the French 2nd Armored Division on the move? Terrific stuff.
The musical soundtrack is just great. The orchestration starts bombastically for the German side and quietly for the French. Gradually, as the narrative progresses, the French themes build to a crescendo as victory becomes a reality and the city is saved.
As an earlier poster mentioned, much of the French scenes early on in the picture depicting political struggles among the major characters is lost on many American viewers. It is an interesting historic chapter to read about independently and the movie covers this enough for non-French to follow the general issues.
The City itself is the main attraction. How did they clear the streets for the battle scenes ?
One last comment about a favorite scene in the movie. It's the one where a French couple in their storefront in the Normandy town outside Paris see an armored column of tanks and half tracks on their street and shout "...it's the Americans, the Americans !" The storekeeper ventures out halfway in the street to where the armored units are streaming by, turns and runs back to his wife and proclaims "...no...THEY'RE FRENCH !" His wife swoons emotionally at the news, "they're French. They're French !" A nifty moment.
Another great scene is when the German engineering troops are placing explosives at Napoleon's Tomb. The German officer reviews the inscription of Napoleon's victories embedded in the floor until he reads "Moscow." The background music underscores perfectly the irony of the moment.
I think the film is right up there with other war classics like The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. One of my favorites.
A lot of effort was put into the essential elements of this military thriller: the underwater effects, the sub bridge, and set design. The plot has potential.
What "sinks" this Navy movie is the poorly written dialogue. Compare what the characters say and do in this film with similar scenes in "Red October," "Crimson Tide" and "The Peacemaker." It's a pity that some ex-Navy or retired military people were not consulted to make the actors interplay authentic.
The movie characters are simply not believable.
What "sinks" this Navy movie is the poorly written dialogue. Compare what the characters say and do in this film with similar scenes in "Red October," "Crimson Tide" and "The Peacemaker." It's a pity that some ex-Navy or retired military people were not consulted to make the actors interplay authentic.
The movie characters are simply not believable.
Every once in awhile, the Aut-O-Rama Drive In theater in North Ridgeville, Ohio plays a great double feature on Retro Tuesday:
"Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" and "Vanishing Point."
The twin screens are visible from the Ohio Turnpike as the traffic blasts by. The last time I was there a few years ago to catch both movies up there from my car, I was transported back to when I was 17 and "gettin' lucky" in the front seat for the first time. Of course, we couldn't see the movie much back then 'cause we were steaming up the windows.