Taking advantage of the fact my wife was away for work last night, I was able to watch Zulu, A Bridge Too Far, and Legionnaire in The Comfy Chair with the lights off- and thoroughly enjoyable it was too!
Anyway, it got me thinking about how most War Movies these days are about US military engagements, and how it would be great to see some major, Non-US military battles turned into a Big Budget, English Language, Epic War Movie like Zulu or Saving Private Ryan.
My contenders:
The Fall of Tenochtitlan; in fact, anything involving Spanish Conquistadores facing off against lots of Aztecs/Mayans/Incans would make a great movie, I reckon.
Any of the major battles from The Spanish Civil War- the classic “Anti-War image” of a soldier dropping his rifle as he has been shot comes from this war, yet I’m not aware of any Big Budget, English Language films on any of the battles from the Spanish Civil War.
The Battle of Vienna; where a European army defeated the Ottoman Turks and halted their advance into Europe in the 17th Century. One of History’s Great and Pivotal Battles, and yet sadly under-appreciated, IMHO.
The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896; it would be unique as being the only war movie ever made that was actually longer that the war it was about.
Any of the major battles from the Falklands War; I’m not aware of any films about the Falklands War although there was certainly a lot going on there at the time.
So, what are your suggestions? The major criteria is they must not involve US forces, for the simple reason that there have been more than enough War Movies made about America’s involvement in WWII, the US Civil War, etc, and it’s time some other countries got a turn at having battles involving them given the Epic War Movie treatment.
I would love to see a movie about Baron Ungern Von Sternberg, the crazed Russian mystic and warlord who attempted to take over Mongolia during the chaos following the Russian Revolution, and was eventually defeated by the Red Army but managed to hold his own for several months, which was fairly incredible. Daniel Day-Lewis would be phenomenal in the title role.
Another good one - the Winter War between the USSR and Finland. Simo Hayha killed something like 500 enemy soldiers with an unscoped Mosin Nagant rifle, and the Finns were able to put up a hell of a fight.
The Rhodesian Bush War. Modern-day cavalrymen riding horses in short-shorts with automatic rifles in the 1970s would be a hell of a unique sight. It was a desperate and ill-fated war, but would make a great film. Probably not PC-enough though.
Any of the Israel vs. some random neighbouring country conflicts would be a good setting for a Hollywood blockbuster. Good vs. Bad. Larger than life character that would allow actors to chew the scenery. Pretty desert landscapes.
I don’t remember whether it depicted a alot of battles or did so very spectacularly, but the original material is the most important Spanish saga (el romance del Cid); there’s many amazing episodes in it which would be a whole romance if written about a lesser man.
And how often do you get a general so mighty that he won a battle after death?
On a similar vein, I’d like to see a movie about Guzmán el Bueno; he is one of my favorite characters from medieval Spain, dude’s brass bollocks were large enough to make cannons out of them.
I’d love to see a movie about Verdun, but that’s probably hard to portray in a film – too messy and drawn out. However, the attach on Fort Vaux would have had some great possibilities.
I’d like to see something dealing with the Battle of Kapyong, which took place during the Korean War. Perhaps it wouldn’t count for the purposes of this thread, since Americans were in the area. But it was primarily a British, Australian, and Canadian affair, and had that edge-of-your-seat action that appears in all the best war films. From the link above:
Just for clarification of what you’re after; Zulu isn’t a US war film, is it? It’s British Army vs. Zulus. Isn’t this what you’re after? But Saving Private Ryan is a US affair. Just a little confused.
Agincourt - and you have the bonus that a chap called Shakespeare already wrote the main speech.
…
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Of course there would have to be a few minor ‘historical accuracy’ changes once Hollywood got their hands on it…:eek:
The year is 1415 and a small band of US troops who are freeing Europe from the Socialist menace face an overwhelming force of English troops determined to destroy democracy, bring in gun control and establish a National Health Service.
Before the battle, President Bush (in a cameo performance) delivers a rousing speech* (without using a teleprompter).
Then the amazing cast, led by Tom Cruise (as a renegade Samurai), Sylvester Stallone (reprising his awesome Rambo role) and Matthew McConaughey (as the submarine captain who breaks the codes (Form up! Charge!) the English are using for battle commands).
From this day to the next election,
But we in the shit shall be remembered
We few, we fundamentalist few, we righteous Christians;
For he to-day that shares his vote with me
Shall be my patsy; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall reward his corruption;
And Democrats in blue States withuot a vote
Shall think themselves disechilada … disinclined… disenfranchified,
And hold their Socialism cheap while I speaks
That voted for us upon (what day is it?).
I’ve thought for awhile now that the Defense of Sihang Warehouse might make an interesting tale. And it’s in a theatre of war that’s been badly underexposed in the popular media, I think.
Probably a number of battles in the Iran-Iraq war, too, for that matter. And at the risk of sounding ghoulish, there haven’t been a lot of depictions of chemical warfare in modern combat situations; it’s be interesting to see, if done with any kind of realism.
I thought the treatment of the Easter, 1916 Rising in *Michael Collins *was lacking. I prefered its depiction in the Young Indiana Jones series. There was a film made in the 1960’s about called IIRC An Tine Beo but I haven’t seen it so I can’t vouch for whether it’s any good. I think it might actually just
I think there are ample good Irish and British actors available to make an epic film out of the events and possibly its immediate aftermath. I don’t know where the money would come from. I believe The Wind That Shakes The Barley was a moderate commercial success but a film like this would require a bigger budget etc.
I stopped by to say just that. I’m sure it will be rather depressing, but I’ve been looking forward to seeing it since I heard it was in production years ago.
The 1415 Battle of Agincourt was already shown in the Olivier and Branagh versions of Shakespeare’s Henry V, of course, but it’d be nice to see it done with a big budget nowadays.
You could make a kickass movie of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, with the big wooden ships blasting away at each other and Nelson’s heroic death at his very moment of triumph.
A century later, the Battle of Tsushima, in which the Japanese fleet surprised and then virtually destroyed the Russian fleet in 1905, would make a great movie. Some exciting night fighting.
The 1864 between the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama and the Union sloop-of-war USS Kearsarge took place in the waters off Cherbourg, France. Does that count? Some great dramatic potential there.
The 1864-70 War of the Triple Alliance, in which Paraguay insanely took on Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay at one time, could make for an intense movie. Something like 90% of the adult male Paraguayan population died. Ouch.
An Imperial Japanese Navy version of Das Boot has potential. Or the last, futile, doomed mission of the battleship Yamato, in 1945.
The reluctant British attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir in 1940, to keep it from falling into Hitler’s hands, would make an amazing movie.
The monumental 1941 British effort to sink the German battleship Bismarck after she sank the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, is due for a big-budget treatment, I’d say.
Which is which again? I’m always forgetting. Almost any war movie that frames the story as “Good vs Bad” is hopelessly simplistic.
I’d like to forget about Shakespeare and then do an accurate picture about Agincourt. (On the other hand, watching several hundred English and Welsh archers with dysentery stand in place for several hours might not be as stirring as Shakespeare’s version. . . .)
Speaking of Shakespeare, I’d also like to see an accurate picture about Richard III, ending with the Battle of Bosworth Field.
As far as I know, nobody’s ever made a film about the Battle of Hastings. Not only is it a great story, but there are several hundred people already devoted to re-enacting that battle on an annual basis.
I don’t think anybody’s dealt cinematically with the Fourth Crusade, in which Christians from Western and Central Europe conquered the Christian city of Constantinople. Not a pretty story, but a spectacular one.
I thought this was a huge disappointment. IMO There is potential in the the story of the Battle of Statlingrad to tell one of the greatest stories in the history of human warfare, but the definitive movie of it has yet to be made.
Personally I think the story of Pavlov’s Housewould make a great basis of a movie about the battle of Stalingrad.
There was a BBC drama about this called Tumbledown, but your right theres nothing on the big screen. Though with the current trend of making old BBC dramas into movies you never know.
