2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Feb 9, 2014 15:56:30 GMT -5
New release WW2 movie based loosely on a true story. My wife and I went to this yesterday and both of us enjoyed it very much. She liked it because of the cast (George Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Matt Damon and the British Fellow from Downton Abbey, and others. (the cast was very good) I liked it due to the settings, vehicles, uniforms and equipment. Historically it was a cool insight into a unit formed by the US Army to help locate and protect art stolen by the conquoring Germans.
Combat action is a small part of the movie so if that is what you are looking for you'll be disappointed. I'm sure equipment geeks will find much to dislike about the minutia of their obsessions but I think the movie made a great effort to insure the uniforms were right, vehicles were period and location shots were credible. I found rhe story compelling, the characters likeable and the mix of humor and intensity a nice deversion from my everyday life. The movie got panned by the critiques who thought the story was disjointed and it couldn't make up its mind if it was a comedy or a drama. (I understand that concern but recall my experiences in the military in much the same way) I enjoyed it alot.
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Post by kilroysbrother on Feb 9, 2014 16:19:38 GMT -5
Well here is my "after action report" of Monuments Men.
My family and I went and saw it today. I went in with low expectations from seeing the commercials. After about 20 minutes of watching it I knew I was very very wrong. This movie was amazing. I don't know the true story but I would imagine this was very close. This movie almost rates up there with SPR. Of course with every other movie there are minor inaccuracies. The Inaccuracies are so small you probably won't notice them unless you are looking. Those inaccuracies are only dealing with gear, I can't comment on the story because I don't know it.
Overall the movie was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of smoking (that sounds really bad, doesn't it?) Most modern movies don't include that portion of 40's culture. The conversations were authentic sounding with the typical wise cracks of the men. The only thing I disliked was how every German or French person some how magically spoke English perfectly. That probably won't bother most people but it bothers me (I'm weird like that).
Overall, if you are a WWII buff, You should see this movie.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Feb 9, 2014 20:02:42 GMT -5
In fact the ability to speak English was surprisingly common. Throughout Europe among the educated classes it would be rare that someone wasn't able to converse in several languages. It was (and still remains common) that bi-lingual French would be offended by something speaking French that was short of what they consider acceptable.
The subtitled French from Matt Damon was one of my favorite parts. Cigarettes were so much a part of 40s culture that a movie without it would be noticeably off. A lot of young men entered the Army not smoking but because cigarettes were free and included in a GIs rations a lot of young men got hooked quite quickly. Tragic really. The effort to use expressions of the day was much appreciated by me.
The vehicles throughout were fabulous. Properly muddy, banged up and laddened with gear as they should have been. The rubble, grit and grime made it easy to get sucked into the time.
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Post by kilroysbrother on Feb 9, 2014 21:18:32 GMT -5
I had heard that about the French but didn't know it was that common. Yes I loved how well they dirtied up the men and gear.
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Post by knights52 on Feb 9, 2014 21:40:34 GMT -5
I think my favorite part of the movie was the HJ kid with the Carcano. Not sure why, but I thought that was great.
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Post by volkssturm on May 20, 2014 23:25:13 GMT -5
Just rented it tonight. Very well done. I think the Army screwed up when they changed from the WWII class A uniform. The "pinks and greens" looked pretty good. My favorite line was "If not for you I would probably be dead. But I would still be speaking French."
Most unbelievable part of the movie. They acquire a Kubelwagen somewhere around August '44 and they're still driving it in April '45. Did it come with a repair manual and stock of repair parts?
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 21, 2014 13:29:37 GMT -5
One of the units did indeed capture a Kublewagon and use it throughout the war. The mix of urban and rural soldiers was very similar between the German and US Army with the main difference being the European soldier ran their farms primarily with Horse drawn equipment while most US Farms had at least a tractor. Hence the German soldier when faced with a broken vehicle usually walked away from it while the US Soldier fixed it. There were apparently lots and lots of donorKublewagons around to provide parts.
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Post by ssgjoe on May 24, 2014 19:11:03 GMT -5
I did love that part with the German also, "John Wayne". Pretty funny. but the one thing I found kinda interesting was when the Russian officer told the men to take the German prisoners to the truck and give them bread. Nope, that would have not very likely happened. Not with how much the Germans and Russian hated each other.
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Post by insterburger on May 24, 2014 19:42:24 GMT -5
I did love that part with the German also, "John Wayne". Pretty funny. but the one thing I found kinda interesting was when the Russian officer told the men to take the German prisoners to the truck and give them bread. Nope, that would have never happened. Not with how much the Germans and Russian hated each other. There were some Russians who were humane to Germans, and vice versa. Very much the exception, but not outside the realm of possibility. I know one or two Germans personally who went out of their way-- including badly bending or breaking rules and sometimes risking punishment-- to help out Russians or Ukrainians in occupied territories. Likewise, I've read of some isolated Soviet soldiers and junior officers who stopped or prevented gang rapes or pillaging when the Russians came to Germany. In both cases far from the norm, but possible.
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stuka
Sergeant
The one and only
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Post by stuka on May 24, 2014 19:49:56 GMT -5
I did love that part with the German also, "John Wayne". Pretty funny. but the one thing I found kinda interesting was when the Russian officer told the men to take the German prisoners to the truck and give them bread. Nope, that would have never happened. Not with how much the Germans and Russian hated each other. Can't assume anything especially in war time. They say war brings out the best and worst in humans. It should also be noted that as a result of the war the germans we have jet technology, if anything just quicker then why might not otherwise as an example. They also created the first "Assualt" rifle and night vision if you will. Just because both sides were at war doesn't mean every individual was harsh as possible, by that logic, there shouldn't have been any Japanese left alive as a result of our war with them. I don't know if you realize this but we took the attack on pearl harbor as personal as the German advance into Russia. Just because we're America doesn't mean we weren't dicks as well. Look at our Japanese encampments during ww2. Fear can change people and make them act "irrationally"
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Post by ssgjoe on May 24, 2014 20:07:20 GMT -5
Well, I guess it "never happened" is a gross exaggeration, but it most likely wouldn't have happened is probably what I should've said.
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Post by ssgjoe on May 24, 2014 20:10:17 GMT -5
I am aware of how bad the Americans were to Japanese soldiers. I will say Japanese soldiers were by comparison worse. But a lot of American soldiers killed surrendering Japanese soldiers, a lot of the reason that Japanese soldiers didn't surrender was not because of honor, but they didn't want to get shot. A lot did not surrender for honor also. But we didn't really take it out on the civilians as much as Russians did. We did hate the Japanese. Quite a bit actually. There is still some prejudice from the war.
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Post by luftwelle93 on May 24, 2014 20:45:30 GMT -5
I am aware of how bad the Americans were to Japanese soldiers. I will say Japanese soldiers were by comparison worse. But a lot of American soldiers killed surrendering Japanese soldiers, a lot of the reason that Japanese soldiers didn't surrender was not because of honor, but they didn't want to get shot. A lot did not surrender for honor also. But we didn't really take it out on the civilians as much as Russians did. We did hate the Japanese. Quite a bit actually. There is still some prejudice from the war. Another reason our boys sometimes shot surrendering Japanese soldiers is because some of them had grenades on them and blow themselves up with Americans nearby.Many Japanese soldiers were VERY brutal,especially when they invaded China.The Pacific and Eastern Front was a nasty war.The stuff that happened to the German civilians by the hands of the Soviets was pretty much blood lust for revenge after what the Germans did when they invaded the motherland.I watched a documentary about the Wehrmacht and its stated that about 5% (500,000) of the Wehrmacht participated in atrocities.Both sides pretty much returned the brutal favor to each other.
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