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Post by Leutnantzursee on Aug 8, 2012 18:13:21 GMT -5
Hi everyone  I was just curious to know if any of you have a particular film/documentary or book about the war that inspires you or provokes memories and feelings about your own PL situation. I'm sure all of us have 'enjoyed' war movies to some extent and if like me, you were born to the generation that actually lived through the war, you may have watched a lot of them, whether you wnated to or not! Perhaps you find it difficult to watch anything related to the war.  The film that resonates the most with me is called 'swing kids' although not the greatest movie ever made, its about a group of boys who join the HJ, but by night sneak off to illicit 'dance halls' to hear and dance to American jazz which was outlawed by the Nazis. As a child I loved to dance and I felt so sure after seeing this movie, that Emil had a sneaking love of American dance music, despite his alleigence to the party. Another film that makes me cry buckets is 'Das boot' as you can imagine its very close to home! So what films have been important to you?  |
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Post by Laurasia on Aug 12, 2012 21:09:59 GMT -5
Oh good Lord gracious Liz! Don't get me started on movies. LOL!
Seriously though, this is a very good question actually. And, of course, I have a lot that I've connected with.
The first movie for me would HAVE to be "Schindler's List" (which I'm sure will be mentioned in this thread VERY often). The first time that I watched it I was alone in the dark & absolutely frozen & entranced for the duration of the film. As horrific as he is in the movie, I am always very strongly drawn to how Ralph Fiennes portrays Amon Goeth. I could always "see myself" in his character, though I didn't understand that feeling for decades.
"Swing Kids" is a good one, Liz. Some others include "The Pianist"....I cry every time; "Conspiracy"...have you been able to watch that one yet SS3?, "Downfall"; "Apt Pupil"...I always feel so bad for Ian McKellan's character in that movie & now I know why; & "Defiance".
Books? I would have to go upstairs & look up the names of most of them, but they are mostly real-life accounts of the SS aktions, camp life, etc. Two that stand out particularly for me are "The Good Old Days" (which is a sort of twistedly disturbing SS journal/scrapbook of the Holocaust & camps) & a huge tome chronologically listing all of the events of the Holocaust.
Sincerely,
Laurasia
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Post by Leutnantzursee on Aug 12, 2012 23:22:26 GMT -5
Hi Laurasia :-) You know, I haven't been able to bring myself to watch Schindler's list, at least not all the way through, though I did see the last half hour of it as it happened to be on telly once, but by that point in the movie I guess the worst was over.  The Pianist neither, though we have it on DVD. Yes, 'Downfall' is pretty grim but compelling, a very brave film I thought and really could only be made by Germans - I think if Hollywood had attempted something like that it would have been awful! The part where Magda Goebbels poisons the children is surely the most chilling scene, I've probably seen Downfall three or four times - it really has you glued to your seat and remembering how we all felt I guess, actually I find it very sad I confess. Not heard of 'Apt pupil' or 'Defiance' maybe I should check those out? Some other things that popped into my head were 'Operation Crossbow' and 'Coldizt' - I absolutely loved that film as a kid, Hannah Reich especially fascinated me and the whole connection with the V2 missiles and the Apollo rockets. I think Hannah was a real hero of Emil's - clearly his heart lay with the Luftwaffe and she must have been dazzling to any young would-be pilot! There was a TV series we had here in the 70's too - called 'Secret army' about the French resistance and I remember as a kid I used to be very spooked by the opening sequence, where there was this line of pine trees in a forest - yep those darned pine trees again! ;D |
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Post by gerhardt on Aug 13, 2012 10:48:45 GMT -5
I enjoyed The Reader, both in book and film, as it dealt with the years immediately following the war and what it was like for one female gaurd.
Sophie's Choice made me cry a bunch.
BENT did a great job of telling the gay Holocaust story, and was horribly intense.
Laurasia, I'm looking at that book, "The Good Old Days" on Amazon. WOAH. I might have to order that...what a unique and slightly horrifying lense through which to view that time.
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Post by amaraeon on Aug 14, 2012 1:35:41 GMT -5
Considering where the book's title came from - totally not surprising. Disturbing, but not surprising. I've been considering looking into it too; I just haven't gotten around to it. (lazy = busy)
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Post by Demi on Aug 14, 2012 22:30:06 GMT -5
I´ve seen Schindlers List 5 times. Amon Goeth always caught my attention
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Post by Storm on Aug 15, 2012 2:26:24 GMT -5
The Reader is a great film.
I have watched Conspiracy now. I did not enjoy it.....
OK, in this life I like old British war films like Dam busters and with heavy focus on the RAF. But I pretty much have every Holocaust movie and documentary and will periodically feel compelled to watch something Holocaust related, especially when I need to beat myself up....
I really like Night Porter and also Everything is Illuminated. The boy in the Striped Pyjamas broke my heart but was also kind of beautiful in a very deep dark spiritual way, like Everything is Illuminated. A friend asked if I liked Salon Kitty. I did not. In fact the blonde guy in charge really made me want to slap him! XD
That book the Good Old Days is well worth a read, as is Hohne's Order of the Death's Head.
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Post by gerhardt on Aug 15, 2012 22:06:32 GMT -5
I very much enjoyed Everything Is Illuminated. I forgot about that one. It was beautiful and gorgeously composed in a very simple way.
I do the same thing, the shame/self flagellation "viewing" of a movie. It's kind of sick and totally unhealthy of me.
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Post by Laurasia on Aug 16, 2012 19:18:10 GMT -5
I have watched Conspiracy now. I did not enjoy it..... Hi SS3, Well I certainly didn't expect you to like it. Did it do anything or awaken anything for you though? And I had forgotten about "The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas". That was good as well. One movie that I have yet to see all the way through is "Inglorious Basterds". I have seen the "underground pub scene" with the SS officer who was so interested in their accents & was quite intriqued by it. The Hans in me can ABSOLUTELY relate to the entire "Officer's superiority" showcased in that scene.  Sincerely, Laurasia |
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Post by Storm on Aug 16, 2012 19:25:02 GMT -5
Hi Laurasia,
There is a key conversation missing. A conversation I have always "imagined" when thinking in the past as well as recently about Wannsee. I wondered if I had seen it in a documentary or drama, but since I have been researching I have got all the dramatic and docu-drama depictions of the conference and the conversation is not in any if them.
Aside from that it made me feel very sick and sad.
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Post by Storm on Aug 16, 2012 19:27:59 GMT -5
Inglorious Basterds is great XD
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Post by Leutnantzursee on Aug 16, 2012 21:18:46 GMT -5
LOL!! I'll second that about 'Inglorious basterds' - ace film!
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Post by gumby on Aug 21, 2012 19:14:17 GMT -5
I liked the movie Valkyrie with all the danger and suspense during the plot to kill Hitler. If only they had been sucessful this may have ended the war and saved countless lives.
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Post by gumby on Aug 26, 2012 10:24:47 GMT -5
I think that I also enjoyed Valkyre because the movie shows how there was discontent growing in Germany, especially after the invasion into Russia and our defeat at Stalingrad. The German people were becomming disillusioned after that, Hitler's voice became weak after this, yet proud Germans fought on for honor. But Germans were simmering with anger at Hitler, blaming him for plunging the nation into a great war that could not possibly be won. It was one thing when the Rhinelands were taken back and flushing the unpopular Versailles treaty down the drain. This was immensely popular, but these early victories drove Hitler over the edge, and he thus began his approach that the German military machine was invincible. It was this flawed attitude which drove his popularity down in the Reich.
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Post by Leutnantzursee on Aug 31, 2012 22:11:46 GMT -5
That's so true Gumby, I know Emil felt much the same, I think we grew uneasy after Austria, yet in a way luridly excited (us young lads at any rate!) as the 'annexing' escalated. Valkry is an interesting film, especially if you don't know much about the attempted assassination of Hitler, as I did. Though do you mean the German version with Sebastian Koch, or the Tom Cruise one? I've only seen the German film of it, it was very 'edge of your seat' and had some of the cast from 'Downfall' in it too :-)
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The Pianist neither, though we have it on DVD. Yes, 'Downfall' is pretty grim but compelling, a very brave film I thought and really could only be made by Germans - I think if Hollywood had attempted something like that it would have been awful! The part where Magda Goebbels poisons the children is surely the most chilling scene, I've probably seen Downfall three or four times - it really has you glued to your seat and remembering how we all felt I guess, actually I find it very sad I confess. Not heard of 'Apt pupil' or 'Defiance' maybe I should check those out?
