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As you begin to read this discussion, you'll probably be thinking to yourself "Oh no, here Hunky Funky Monkey goes again about American war movies bla bla bla, just what exactly is his problem?!"
Well, here it is:
For starters I'd just like to point out that I am a huge fan of 'good' American made war classics such as 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket' and the brilliant 'Apocolypse Now' which I was lucky enough to be able to see again a couple of weeks ago. These three titles are War masterpieces which portray the harshness and realness of War, in which we see the Americans as we would most probably like to, distraught and fatigued soldiers fighting against an enemy who has passion and an element of proudness for it's country, survivg by the spirit and courage of every individual involved in the battle.
What I am not a great fan of is films like 'U-571' and 'The Patriot'. In 'U-571', the heroes are American, when in real life it was us British who captured the Enigma machine and managed to de-code all those secret German messages. This film is perhaps the main culprit in changing the nationality of the good guys!
In 'The Patriot', the British are portrayed as the ruthless killers who have no sense of mercy inside them. But, although we see how badly the English treated the American soldiers when they were captured, what we don't see is how the English soldiers were treated by the Americans when they were taken prisoner. This is done to make the audience sympathise with the 'goodies'.
Films like this are told from an entirely American perspective,(but I suppose you would hardly expect a Hollywood film to be anything different!!) mainly for an entirely American audience. These films bend the truth and indulge in flag-waving American Nationalism!
So, the question we have to ask is,
"Is it completely unrealistic to expect a War movie to be entirely truthful?"
I feel the answer is 'Yes'.
All films are fiction whether they are based on fact or not. Films based on actual events are a re-working of those events and necessarily simplify complex matters to make a watchable film. The only way a film can be classed as 'real' is if it is a recording taken of the events that actually took place on that day. They're just one version of the truth. It's easy to forgive changing characters around and changing real events if it's done for the dramatic purposes of the film, but certainly not if it's to satisfy Americanism.
With more War films scheduled for release soon, I can only hope that they will follow the paths laid down by Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, and not the fake paths laid down by the 'rubbish' American war films such as U-571 which take British pride away from our nation and claim that they were the ones who succeeded where we did, that they were the worthy winners, when we were.
Thanks for taking time to read my discussion. I look forward to reading your replies.
Well, here it is:
For starters I'd just like to point out that I am a huge fan of 'good' American made war classics such as 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket' and the brilliant 'Apocolypse Now' which I was lucky enough to be able to see again a couple of weeks ago. These three titles are War masterpieces which portray the harshness and realness of War, in which we see the Americans as we would most probably like to, distraught and fatigued soldiers fighting against an enemy who has passion and an element of proudness for it's country, survivg by the spirit and courage of every individual involved in the battle.
What I am not a great fan of is films like 'U-571' and 'The Patriot'. In 'U-571', the heroes are American, when in real life it was us British who captured the Enigma machine and managed to de-code all those secret German messages. This film is perhaps the main culprit in changing the nationality of the good guys!
In 'The Patriot', the British are portrayed as the ruthless killers who have no sense of mercy inside them. But, although we see how badly the English treated the American soldiers when they were captured, what we don't see is how the English soldiers were treated by the Americans when they were taken prisoner. This is done to make the audience sympathise with the 'goodies'.
Films like this are told from an entirely American perspective,(but I suppose you would hardly expect a Hollywood film to be anything different!!) mainly for an entirely American audience. These films bend the truth and indulge in flag-waving American Nationalism!
So, the question we have to ask is,
"Is it completely unrealistic to expect a War movie to be entirely truthful?"
I feel the answer is 'Yes'.
All films are fiction whether they are based on fact or not. Films based on actual events are a re-working of those events and necessarily simplify complex matters to make a watchable film. The only way a film can be classed as 'real' is if it is a recording taken of the events that actually took place on that day. They're just one version of the truth. It's easy to forgive changing characters around and changing real events if it's done for the dramatic purposes of the film, but certainly not if it's to satisfy Americanism.
With more War films scheduled for release soon, I can only hope that they will follow the paths laid down by Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, and not the fake paths laid down by the 'rubbish' American war films such as U-571 which take British pride away from our nation and claim that they were the ones who succeeded where we did, that they were the worthy winners, when we were.
Thanks for taking time to read my discussion. I look forward to reading your replies.
Page:
MoJoJoJo wrote:
> If my dream comes true and I get to be a big time director when I'm older, one
> of my first projects will be a WW2 film based on BRITISH SOLDIERS! Didn't see
> that coming did you?
Nope, but good luck finding a battle to do. Any such film would fall exactly into the same pitfalls as the original poster described.
Many are missing the point here. Films AREN'T REAL. They're entertainment, not history. Until some DECENT british war films are made then it's high time a lot of people found a new hobby other than blasting anything made in America, because the arguments are getting a bit tired by now ! Considering the British film industry is the biggest joke in recent times, clinging to every mediocre success and claiming every other film to be a "cult" one, then few in this country is in any position to criticise to the degree most do.
Once again this is a fine example of the Americans doing what the English talk about, I mean England has to be the most moaning country on the planet, it's practically a national sport !
> If my dream comes true and I get to be a big time director when I'm older, one
> of my first projects will be a WW2 film based on BRITISH SOLDIERS! Didn't see
> that coming did you?
Nope, but good luck finding a battle to do. Any such film would fall exactly into the same pitfalls as the original poster described.
Many are missing the point here. Films AREN'T REAL. They're entertainment, not history. Until some DECENT british war films are made then it's high time a lot of people found a new hobby other than blasting anything made in America, because the arguments are getting a bit tired by now ! Considering the British film industry is the biggest joke in recent times, clinging to every mediocre success and claiming every other film to be a "cult" one, then few in this country is in any position to criticise to the degree most do.
Once again this is a fine example of the Americans doing what the English talk about, I mean England has to be the most moaning country on the planet, it's practically a national sport !
If my dream comes true and I get to be a big time director when I'm older, one of my first projects will be a WW2 film based on BRITISH SOLDIERS! Didn't see that coming did you?
As you begin to read this discussion, you'll probably be thinking to yourself "Oh no, here Hunky Funky Monkey goes again about American war movies bla bla bla, just what exactly is his problem?!"
Well, here it is:
For starters I'd just like to point out that I am a huge fan of 'good' American made war classics such as 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket' and the brilliant 'Apocolypse Now' which I was lucky enough to be able to see again a couple of weeks ago. These three titles are War masterpieces which portray the harshness and realness of War, in which we see the Americans as we would most probably like to, distraught and fatigued soldiers fighting against an enemy who has passion and an element of proudness for it's country, survivg by the spirit and courage of every individual involved in the battle.
What I am not a great fan of is films like 'U-571' and 'The Patriot'. In 'U-571', the heroes are American, when in real life it was us British who captured the Enigma machine and managed to de-code all those secret German messages. This film is perhaps the main culprit in changing the nationality of the good guys!
In 'The Patriot', the British are portrayed as the ruthless killers who have no sense of mercy inside them. But, although we see how badly the English treated the American soldiers when they were captured, what we don't see is how the English soldiers were treated by the Americans when they were taken prisoner. This is done to make the audience sympathise with the 'goodies'.
Films like this are told from an entirely American perspective,(but I suppose you would hardly expect a Hollywood film to be anything different!!) mainly for an entirely American audience. These films bend the truth and indulge in flag-waving American Nationalism!
So, the question we have to ask is,
"Is it completely unrealistic to expect a War movie to be entirely truthful?"
I feel the answer is 'Yes'.
All films are fiction whether they are based on fact or not. Films based on actual events are a re-working of those events and necessarily simplify complex matters to make a watchable film. The only way a film can be classed as 'real' is if it is a recording taken of the events that actually took place on that day. They're just one version of the truth. It's easy to forgive changing characters around and changing real events if it's done for the dramatic purposes of the film, but certainly not if it's to satisfy Americanism.
With more War films scheduled for release soon, I can only hope that they will follow the paths laid down by Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, and not the fake paths laid down by the 'rubbish' American war films such as U-571 which take British pride away from our nation and claim that they were the ones who succeeded where we did, that they were the worthy winners, when we were.
Thanks for taking time to read my discussion. I look forward to reading your replies.
Well, here it is:
For starters I'd just like to point out that I am a huge fan of 'good' American made war classics such as 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket' and the brilliant 'Apocolypse Now' which I was lucky enough to be able to see again a couple of weeks ago. These three titles are War masterpieces which portray the harshness and realness of War, in which we see the Americans as we would most probably like to, distraught and fatigued soldiers fighting against an enemy who has passion and an element of proudness for it's country, survivg by the spirit and courage of every individual involved in the battle.
What I am not a great fan of is films like 'U-571' and 'The Patriot'. In 'U-571', the heroes are American, when in real life it was us British who captured the Enigma machine and managed to de-code all those secret German messages. This film is perhaps the main culprit in changing the nationality of the good guys!
In 'The Patriot', the British are portrayed as the ruthless killers who have no sense of mercy inside them. But, although we see how badly the English treated the American soldiers when they were captured, what we don't see is how the English soldiers were treated by the Americans when they were taken prisoner. This is done to make the audience sympathise with the 'goodies'.
Films like this are told from an entirely American perspective,(but I suppose you would hardly expect a Hollywood film to be anything different!!) mainly for an entirely American audience. These films bend the truth and indulge in flag-waving American Nationalism!
So, the question we have to ask is,
"Is it completely unrealistic to expect a War movie to be entirely truthful?"
I feel the answer is 'Yes'.
All films are fiction whether they are based on fact or not. Films based on actual events are a re-working of those events and necessarily simplify complex matters to make a watchable film. The only way a film can be classed as 'real' is if it is a recording taken of the events that actually took place on that day. They're just one version of the truth. It's easy to forgive changing characters around and changing real events if it's done for the dramatic purposes of the film, but certainly not if it's to satisfy Americanism.
With more War films scheduled for release soon, I can only hope that they will follow the paths laid down by Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, and not the fake paths laid down by the 'rubbish' American war films such as U-571 which take British pride away from our nation and claim that they were the ones who succeeded where we did, that they were the worthy winners, when we were.
Thanks for taking time to read my discussion. I look forward to reading your replies.
Page: