Dunkirk

[Rocko]

I wasn't impressed at all. The story lines were weak, the dialogue wasn't impressive and there was no character development. Everyone thinks best movie of all time and I just don't see it.

 

[fncceo]

Terrible movie ... a stain on the memory of the brave men who died in France trying to stem the tide of Nazi aggression.

 

[DarkFury]

Well I was going to watch that movie. You just saved me some money thank you.

 

[shockedcanadian]

I will still watch it, but I will wait for Netflix which means I will probably watch it in 2-3 years, maybe longer for Canadian viewers.

I enjoy war movies, especially when based on real events, as it's a reminder of how evil man can be and how other, better men rise to the occasion.

Of all the war movies I've seen it's hard to pin down the best ones. I would probably draw outside the box and pick two fictional movies, Brothers with Toby Maguire and The Messenger with Woody Harrelson. I like these both because unlike what was described with this movie Dunkirk, they do extensive character building in these two movies, and it shows life for soldiers as they interact with civilian life, and the challenges. It illustrates not just the risk to life, but the life long emotional and mental anguish those brave enough to serve often go through.

Full Metal Jacket and Platoon are classics (after seeing Platoon again recently, I think it's overrated), and Saving Private Ryan was unyielding in it's portrayal of the evils in war, but I preferred the two I mentioned.

 

[fncceo]

This movie has a decidedly anti-war slant. But, instead of focusing on the horrors of war, this movie portrays British soldiers as dispirited and cowardly. British soldiers are seen pretending to be medics to sneak onto hospital ships to be evacuated. You see a shell-shocked British officer kill a young boy in a panic over having to return to Dunkirk after being rescued at sea by civilians. You see British soldiers turning on each other trying to get into a sinking boat to escape.

You never see the face of the German enemy, but you see plenty of scenes of British soldiers being bombed, being drowned, and being burned alive. None of them dying bravely.

 

[Bleipriester]

Terrible movie ... a stain on the memory of the brave men who died in France trying to stem the tide of Nazi aggression.

"Nazi aggression"

Don´t declare war on Germany.

 

[Bleipriester]

This movie has a decidedly anti-war slant. But, instead of focusing on the horrors of war, this movie portrays British soldiers as dispirited and cowardly. British soldiers are seen pretending to be medics to sneak onto hospital ships to be evacuated. You see a shell-shocked British officer kill a young boy in a panic over having to return to Dunkirk after being rescued at sea by civilians. You see British soldiers turning on each other trying to get into a sinking boat to escape.

You never see the face of the German enemy, but you see plenty of scenes of British soldiers being bombed, being drowned, and being burned alive. None of them dying bravely.

The situation didn´t allow the escapees to "die bravely".

 

[fncceo]

The situation didn´t allow the escapees to "die bravely".

Actually, hundreds of British and French died fighting a desperate rear guard actions to delay the German advance and give the British 8 days to evacuate 320,000 British soldiers.

None of this was depicted in the film.

 

[fncceo]

Don´t declare war on Germany.

Don't invade Poland and France.

 

[Bleipriester]

The situation didn´t allow the escapees to "die bravely".

Actually, hundreds of British and French died fighting a desperate rear guard actions to delay the German advance and give the British 8 days to evacuate 320,000 British soldiers.

None of this was depicted in the film.

Well, should have then.

 

[fncceo]

The situation didn´t allow the escapees to "die bravely".

Actually, hundreds of British and French died fighting a desperate rear guard actions to delay the German advance and give the British 8 days to evacuate 320,000 British soldiers.

None of this was depicted in the film.

Well, should have then.

I don't believe the point of the film was to depict this battle in anything but an unflattering light. I checked the credits but UFA and Leni Riefenstahl don't appear to have been connected with the film. Strange because it certainly appeared to be their work.

 

[Bleipriester]

Don´t declare war on Germany.

Don't invade Poland and France.

German-Polish relations are nothing of your concern. Don´t you know Comrade Stalin invaded too and took 2/3 of Poland? He became your ally. Germany invaded France after both the British and French declaration of war and the heroic phony war that helped Poland to repel the German attack

Phoney War - Wikipedia

 

[fncceo]

Don´t declare war on Germany.

Don't invade Poland and France.

German-Polish relations are nothing of your concern. Don´t you know Comrade Stalin invaded too and took 2/3 of Poland? He became your ally. Germany invaded France after both the British and French declaration of war and the heroic phony war that helped Poland to repel the German attack

Phoney War - Wikipedia

Ultimately, the war ended with a satisfactory result. It's a shame that many decent people had to die to bring German aggression under control.

 

[Bleipriester]

The situation didn´t allow the escapees to "die bravely".

Actually, hundreds of British and French died fighting a desperate rear guard actions to delay the German advance and give the British 8 days to evacuate 320,000 British soldiers.

None of this was depicted in the film.

Well, should have then.

I don't believe the point of the film was to depict this battle in anything but an unflattering light. I checked the credits but UFA and Leni Riefenstahl don't appear to have been connected with the film. Strange because it certainly appeared to be their work.

Very strange, indeed. Normally, a single soldier defeats entire Germany during a Sunday stroll in movies.

 

[Bleipriester]

Don´t declare war on Germany.

Don't invade Poland and France.

German-Polish relations are nothing of your concern. Don´t you know Comrade Stalin invaded too and took 2/3 of Poland? He became your ally. Germany invaded France after both the British and French declaration of war and the heroic phony war that helped Poland to repel the German attack

Phoney War - Wikipedia

Ultimately, the war ended with a satisfactory result. It's a shame that many decent people had to die to bring German aggression under control.

I don´t think that the Cold War was somehow satisfactory. Of course, Hitler had to be removed but the means used in the war don´t allow a side to be the good guys in the end. And while English and American soldiers enjoyed five star war captivity, tens of thousands of German POWs died undocumented in the allies´ "camps":

 

[Mr Natural]

Excellent movie!

Leave your politics at home ago see it.

 

[fncceo]

tens of thousands of German POWs died in the allies´ "camps":

Must have been horrible for them ...

But I'm having a hard time working up too much sympathy for Nazis.

 

[Bleipriester]

tens of thousands of German POWs died in the allies´ "camps":

Must have been horrible for them ...

But I'm having a hard time working up too much sympathy for Nazis.

You are being undifferentiated. The ordinary German soldiers were not "the Nazis".

 

[fncceo]

The ordinary German soldiers were not "the Nazis".

Yes ... it turned out after the war that NO ONE was a Nazi. Strange, isn't it?

 

[Bleipriester]

The ordinary German soldiers were not "the Nazis".

Yes ... it turned out after the war that NO ONE was a Nazi. Strange, isn't it?

That´s not the point. The satisfaction was great when Hitler ended the regime of the Versailles Treaty. That doesn´t mean they were ardent Hitler worshipers. After 33, the Nazis did a lot of shit.

But while the allies´ bombings did not break the Germans but unified them with Hitler´s cause, all the more as they were exposed to the Nazi propaganda 24/7, the forces, that had to suffer from Hitler and his fanatic leadership, were not that taken with him. After all, it was the forces who tried to kill Hitler and started to disarm the SS. It was the forces that sent false information to the FHQ to shorten the war and it was the forces that even acted without Hitlers approval, for example the escape from the Cherkassy pocket:

Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket