# WWII in pictures; or, how much of the war can be told in movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354 "2018-11-11T13:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/21 "2018-11-12T18:45:23Z")
The story goes that an Alabama theater owner put up over the marquee when he was showing _PT-109_, “See how the Japs almost got JFK.” ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/22 "2018-11-12T19:18:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > \*The Man with the Iron Heart \*and _Anthropoid_ are both about Heydrich and the British-Czech plot to kill him. _Anthropoid_ is worth singling out as unusually accurate. There’s lots of stuff that as you watch it makes you go “hmm, I bet that’s a scriptwriter’s invention”, but which check out as real (up to sensible simplifications and compressions). Many of the locations are original or sets that are faithful copies. Really the only two stretches are the events immediately after they land and then having Jamie Dornan machine-gun far too many Germans in the climax. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/23 "2018-11-12T19:25:09Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > There was also the raid on the Norwegian heavy water plant - The Heroes of Telemark, which apparently had one of the actual participants playing a German guard and, if television movies count, then you can also add Copenhagen, about the German bomb effort. If actual participants are a bonus, then the 1948 Norwegian-Franco co-production _Kampen om tungtvannet_ far outshines _The Heroes of Telemark_. The same basic story, but far more accurately told and with most of the French and Norwegian characters being played by themselves. The [whole film](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNzU1hTNZgg) is even on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reindeer_flotilla/32/3024_2.png) [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/24 "2018-11-12T22:33:03Z")
Speaking of the (in)accuracies of _Battle of the Bulge_ (where we learn in addition to playing a convincing Irishman, Englishman, Bond villain, and Massachusetts fisherman, Robert Shaw can also play a hell of a Nazi), what - no love for: _Kelly’s Heroes_ (Hippy tank commander and Don “Maybe he’s a Republican” Rickles help attack the entire German western front) _Operation Crossbow_ (“Germans aren’t working on rockets.” “Sir, we have inbound objects at supersonic speed!” “Oops.”) _Where Eagles Dare_ (WWII meets the Deus ex Machina motherload) _The Guns of Navarone_ (WWII meets the Death [del]Star[/del]Mountain) 🙂 To be fair, I love all these movies - especially since several fascinating real aspects of WWII are found within their rousing stories. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/25 "2018-11-13T00:09:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [_The Bridge at Remagen_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_at_Remagen) is perhaps too highly fictionalized to qualify. > > . My dad was actually there - he slogged the whole way from France up the Ruhr Pocket and got serious metal awarded for his actions at the Leudendorf Bridge. He had more than a few scathing comments about that film, and more than a few WW2 films - costuming, weapons, sounds, actions. [I was probably the only 12 year old girl who had hunted exclusively with an M1 and never got m1 thumb … I learned long arms on that old workhorse, still have it til this day =)] ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/26 "2018-11-13T05:33:07Z")
The German film Stalingrad. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/27 "2018-11-13T06:51:59Z")
> [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](#): > > Speaking of the (in)accuracies of _Battle of the Bulge_ (where we learn in addition to playing a convincing Irishman, Englishman, Bond villain, and Massachusetts fisherman, Robert Shaw can also play a hell of a Nazi), what - no love for: > > _Kelly’s Heroes_ (Hippy tank commander and Don “Maybe he’s a Republican” Rickles help attack the entire German western front) > _Operation Crossbow_ (“Germans aren’t working on rockets.” “Sir, we have inbound objects at supersonic speed!” “Oops.”) > _Where Eagles Dare_ (WWII meets the Deus ex Machina motherload) > _The Guns of Navarone_ (WWII meets the Death [del]Star[/del]Mountain) > > 🙂 > > To be fair, I love all these movies - especially since several fascinating real aspects of WWII are found within their rousing stories. You should probably not cite _Inglourious Basterds_, _Iron Sky_, _The Final Countdown_, or _Bloodrayne: The Third Reich_ in any doctoral dissertations either. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/28 "2018-11-13T07:17:56Z")
_The Devil’s Brigade_ was about the First Special Service Force. The First Special Service Force was a combined Canadian-American force that was trained as commandos, for fighting in Norway, and subsequently in Italy and France. It was formed, and trained, in Montana. That much, the movie got correct–to this day, Alberta Highway 4 and Interstate 15 are jointly called “The First Special Service Force Highway,” as the Canadian troops marched down both, from the train station at Lethbridge, AB, in order to join the Americans at Fort William Henry Harrison at Helena, MT. The major error the movie made was that the Canadians were the handpicked best-of-the-best; while the Americans were losers, unmilitary dumbshits who were “this close” to being thrown out of the US Army. In actual fact, both forces that combined were well-behaved, combat-ready (and in many cases, had seen combat) troops, and well-disciplined. The First Special Service Force, and its members, would win a number of citations in Europe during WWII. Plus, Cliff Robertson played a distant relative in the movie. According to family lore, Robertson played my distant relative pretty much accurately. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/29 "2018-11-13T08:39:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The story goes that an Alabama theater owner put up over the marquee when he was showing _PT-109_, “See how the Japs almost got JFK.” I would take anything based on Kennedy’s version of events (promoted by Old Joe, Sorenson, et al.) with an enormous grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/30 "2018-11-13T09:16:32Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > What’s wrong with _Midwa_y? I had thought it was pretty accurate? It’s got characters that are based on real people. Having just watched it, if you throw out the love story and ignore the multiple times aircraft switch models due to the haphazard way the stock footage is used, it’s a fairly accurate depiction of Midway though time compressed. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/31 "2018-11-13T13:41:36Z")
I thought there was an American movie about El Alamein, but I could only [find this Italian one](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329042/?ref_=nv_sr_1). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/32 "2018-11-13T14:42:57Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > I thought there was an American movie about El Alamein, but I could only [find this Italian one](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329042/?ref_=nv_sr_1). Maybe you are thinking of the movie Tobruk starring Rock Hudson? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/33 "2018-11-13T15:06:01Z")
> [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](#): > > Speaking of the (in)accuracies of _Battle of the Bulge_ (where we learn in addition to playing a convincing Irishman, Englishman, Bond villain, and Massachusetts fisherman, Robert Shaw can also play a hell of a Nazi), what - no love for: > > _Kelly’s Heroes_ (Hippy tank commander and Don “Maybe he’s a Republican” Rickles help attack the entire German western front) > _Operation Crossbow_ (“Germans aren’t working on rockets.” “Sir, we have inbound objects at supersonic speed!” “Oops.”) > _Where Eagles Dare_ (WWII meets the Deus ex Machina motherload) > _The Guns of Navarone_ (WWII meets the Death [del]Star[/del]Mountain) > > 🙂 > > To be fair, I love all these movies - especially since several fascinating real aspects of WWII are found within their rousing stories. As a former tanker I can tell you actual tankers love Kelly’s Heroes. Who cares if it doesn’t make historical sense. On the other hand Battle of the Bulge is hated even though it is one of a few movies that show tank battles. Waste of a good cast and a good story. > [@Asuka](#): > > Having just watched it, if you throw out the love story and ignore the multiple times aircraft switch models due to the haphazard way the stock footage is used, it’s a fairly accurate depiction of Midway though time compressed. I thought so too. They did what they could with stock footage. It’s not like they could CGI planes. A remake is coming out next year. I’m betting there is a love story. The scene where Edward Albert’s plane catches on fire and he’s screaming as he is putting out the fire on his own body stuck with me. You want the feel of war? That’s it. Tora! Tora! Tora! was mentioned but should be again. More than Midway it tried to be as accurate as possible from both sides. It was a joint US and Japanese production with directors from both countries. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/34 "2018-11-13T15:29:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Maybe you are thinking of the movie Tobruk starring Rock Hudson? I’m pretty sure that is the one that I was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/35 "2018-11-13T15:31:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I would take anything based on Kennedy’s version of events (promoted by Old Joe, Sorenson, et al.) with an enormous grain of salt. His heroism was attested to by all his shipmates, including his towing of a badly-burned fellow sailor with a life-jacket strap clenched in his teeth, despite injuring his own back. He earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. > **[John F. Kennedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy#Commanding_the_PT-109)** > > John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress prior to his ... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/36 "2018-11-13T15:41:44Z")
> [@ohiomstr2](#): > > Band of Brothers is the best series about the war. I have not seen Pacific but the reviews seem to be favorable in terms of the accuracy. As far as I can tell it was very accurate. It’s based on two autobiographies With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge and Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. Leckie and Sledge are two of the three main characters. The rest of the series comes from various sources about John Basilone. It seems that they picked those cites in order to tell the complete story from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. That’s the reason why it didn’t hit with audiences like BoB. There was no way to follow one unit or one person through the entire war. The series felt a little disjointed because of that. I watched the series with my daughter. After we were done I took her to the Basilone memorial in Raritan Borough. Basilone and Leckie were both from New Jersey. Although accurate for what it portrayed it helped continue the myth that the Pacific was almost exclusively a Marine Corps war. The Army had more troops in combat in the Pacific and more than double the casualties. > [@ohiomstr2](#): > > What i would really like to see is a A Bridge Too Far quality film about Vietnam That’s going to be a long movie. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/37 "2018-11-13T16:09:13Z")
My grandfather (25 missions as a flight engineer/gunner in B-17s between September 1943 and the end of December 1943) said that “Memphis Belle” was reasonably realistic, although a bit sensational and dramatic in places (the guts on the windshield, for example). The thing he said was entirely unrealistic was the chatter over the intercom- apparently once they were in the air and no longer over England, it was ALL business, because their lives could depend on being able to hear each other call out incoming German fighters. He did say that a really accurate bit of trivia in the movie was the way that there were bicycles everywhere and that’s how people got around the airfields. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/38 "2018-11-13T16:13:06Z")
Der Untergang (Downfall) covers the last few weeks of the Nazi government ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/39 "2018-11-13T16:22:08Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Der Untergang (Downfall) covers the last few weeks of the Nazi government Mentioned in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354/40 "2018-11-13T17:42:09Z")
Not to answer the question but I remember a movie, title long forgotten, that had a snippet where two GIs are crouching in a foxhole while sparse artillery rounds are falling around them. The field phone rings and one guy picks it up, “Good evening! World War II!” earning a glare from the corporal as he snatches the handset away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-in-pictures-or-how-much-of-the-war-can-be-told-in-movies/824354.md?page=3)