"Desert Island Discs".....

[phylo_roadking]

Few furriners will be aware of this, but a legendary British institution is the BBC Radio programme "Desert Island Discs" - every sunday, for half an hour (since the Year dot...) a celebrity is invited to play his selection of a maximum number of audio discs he would choose to be marooned on a desert island with, and why. It can be absolutely anything musical....

So, here's the challenge - in the light of changing technology, if you were to be marooned on a desert island for a year with among your few supplies a pocket DVD player and THREE WWII-related feature films - what would they be? Remember, you're going to be watching these over and over again for a YEAR...

I'll start the ball rolling;

"They Were Expendable" 1945 Robert Montgomery and John Wayne
"Anzio" 1968 Robert Mitchum and Peter Falk
"Ill Met By Moonlight" 1958 Dirk Bogarde, Marius Goring, David Oxley

[Andy H]

The Longest Day
The Battle of Britain
A Bridge to Far/Battle of the River Plate

Regards

[phylo_roadking]

That's cheatin'! Just because the Daily Mail is giving away two war films on one DVD this fortnight doesn't mean it's going to wash ashore with YOU... Choose your third!

[Andy H]

Battle of the River Plate

Regards

[Rich]

The Best Years of Their Lives
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
...?

Tough choice. Number three is occupied by Stairway to Heaven, From Here to Eternity (I suppose no fair Deborah Kerr twice, might overload the senses), Kelly's Heroes, and many more!

[phylo_roadking]

"Stairway to Heaven"? As in David Niven? Shown in the UK as "A matter of Life and Death"...

[Rich]

"Stairway to Heaven"? As in David Niven? Shown in the UK as "A matter of Life and Death"...

Yep, color (colour?) me Yankee.

A lovely movie.

[phylo_roadking]

Yep, that's another favourite - and agreed, a lovely film to watch, a beautiful piece to look at. But there's something too sentimental and sad about it to be able to watch it every night LOL

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

The Longest Day
A Bridge Too Far
And if WWII-related (as it has a few shots of uniforms/Stukas/trenches/Pinks childhood...) Pink Floyd - The Wall
Otherwise... Die Brücke, 1959 German movie, directed by Bernhard Wicki.


waleed

[Rich]

Otherwise... Die Brücke, 1959 German movie, directed by Bernhard Wicki.


waleed

Omigod! Yes! I had forgotten about it and haven't seen it for years. One of the most realistic war flics - aside from Dr. Strangelove (don't laugh, best cinema verite fictional combat footage ever done) - ever done.

[von Salza]

Oh, what to choose, difficult, but

1.Cross of Iron
2.Kellys Heroes
3.633 Squadron

beats by a whisker

4.Saving Private Ryan
5.Stalingrad
6.The Big Red One

Regards

David

[phylo_roadking]

"The Big Red One" cinema/TV/VHS release....or the new restored original, full length version???

[von Salza]

Haven't seen the restored original, full length version. Preferences were based on how the film made an impact on me when I first watched them. Interesting in that my top three where all seen in my teens, on TV (too poor for VHS/Betamax LOL in my youth). Whereas Saving Private Ryan is probably the best film (IMHO) the other three made more of an impression on me when I was a teenager.

Is the restored original Big Red One substantially better than the TV version?

David

[phylo_roadking]

There are whole big chunks back in....unexpectedly. Including a whole scene in Tunisia of French Colonial cavalry taking on a german Armoured car in some ruins. The point of the "ambush" scene changes totally, its about twice as long, and the same with the attack on the troops billeted in the lunatic asylum. Certainly changes the whole film like Apocalypse Now Redux didn't LOL

[von Salza]

Thanks for the heads up Phylo.

Might give that a go. Been a while since I've last seen it, last summer IIRC.

David