Category: War

The Great Locomotive Chase: Disney’s live action Civil War Western featuring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter is an exciting, edge-of-the-seat adventure

"The Great Locomotive Chase (1956)," starring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter, was the second live action film produced by Walt Disney. The film tells the real story of the Andrews Raid that took place during the early days of the American Civil war. James J. Andrews was a Kentucky-born civilian serving as a secret agent and … Continue reading The Great Locomotive Chase: Disney’s live action Civil War Western featuring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter is an exciting, edge-of-the-seat adventure →

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The Wild Geese: Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore are aging mercenaries in this action-packed ‘Men on a Mission’ adventure

The Wild Geese (1978), directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore as aging 'soldiers of fortune' fighting in Africa, is a worthy addition to the subgenre of 'Men on a Mission' war\action picture. In 1968, British thespian, Richard Burton teamed up with then up and coming American star. … Continue reading The Wild Geese: Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore are aging mercenaries in this action-packed ‘Men on a Mission’ adventure →

Casablanca: This Bogart-Bergman classic mixes varied themes & genres to create a heady cocktail of classical Hollywood entertainment

Casablanca(1942) is undoubtedly the most beloved American motion picture ever made. With a dream cast top lined by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and a crew led by eminent director Michael Curtiz and producer Hal B. Wallis and an endlessly quotable script designed by more than five writers, the movie’s genius lay in its ability … Continue reading Casablanca: This Bogart-Bergman classic mixes varied themes & genres to create a heady cocktail of classical Hollywood entertainment →

Force 10 from Navarone: Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford topline this rather silly but reasonably entertaining sequel to ‘The Guns of Navarone’

Force 10 from Navarone (1978), directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Franco Nero and Edward Fox in lead roles, is a sequel to the classic WWII adventure, 'The Guns of Navarone.' Though not as good as the original by a long shot, the film is reasonably entertaining with some interesting plot … Continue reading Force 10 from Navarone: Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford topline this rather silly but reasonably entertaining sequel to ‘The Guns of Navarone’ →

Sands of Iwo Jima: John Wayne towers over this seminal WWII epic with one of his greatest and most iconic performances

Sands of Iwo Jima(1949), directed by Allan Dwan and starring John Wayne, John Agar and Forrest Tucker in lead roles, is one of the most popular American war films. It features a fictional story of the events leading up to the factual raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi by the U.S. Marines. Inspired … Continue reading Sands of Iwo Jima: John Wayne towers over this seminal WWII epic with one of his greatest and most iconic performances →

Heartbreak Ridge: Clint Eastwood excels as the highly-decorated, hard-drinking, tough-talking Marine in the only ‘War film’ that he made as both actor & director

Heartbreak Ridge(1986), produced by, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood, is a gritty military drama in which Eastwood plays a tough & cynical Gunnery Sergeant who's close to retirement, and is given a final assignment to whip a rag-tag group of young Marines into shape. "We're Marines, sir. We're paid to adapt, to improvise." Though … Continue reading Heartbreak Ridge: Clint Eastwood excels as the highly-decorated, hard-drinking, tough-talking Marine in the only ‘War film’ that he made as both actor & director →

Khartoum: Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier battle it out in this visually stunning war epic that has great contemporary relevance

Khartoum(1966), directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier, is the last of the Cinerama roadshow epics of the 1960s. The film has Heston playing British hero, Charles 'Chinese' Gordon, who tries to save the city of Khartoum from the invading armies of Olivier's Mahdi. Western imperialism Vs Islamic fundamentalism, that's the … Continue reading Khartoum: Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier battle it out in this visually stunning war epic that has great contemporary relevance →

Patton: George C. Scott is magnificent as the brilliant and mercurial WWII General in this splendid biographical war epic

Patton(1970) is a multiple Oscar winning war-biopic directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola. The film has George C. Scott essaying the brilliant and mercurial General George S. Patton during WWII, starting with the general's exploits in North Africa and ending with the fall of the Third Reich and the liberation … Continue reading Patton: George C. Scott is magnificent as the brilliant and mercurial WWII General in this splendid biographical war epic →

The Alamo: John Wayne produced, directed, and starred in this stirring epic War-Western

The Alamo(1960), based on the 'Battle of Alamo' that took place in the year 1836, is an epic historical-war Western produced and Directed by John Wayne. This was Wayne's directorial debut, and he also played the role of Davy Crockett in the film alongside an ensemble cast that comprised of Richard Widmark and Laurence Harvey. … Continue reading The Alamo: John Wayne produced, directed, and starred in this stirring epic War-Western →

Inglourious Basterds: In Quentin Tarantino’s glorious homage to WWII ‘Men on a Mission’ movies, words & films are more powerful than bullets & grenades

Inglourious Basterds(2009) is Quentin Tarantino's sixth feature film as a director. The film, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth and Diane Kruger, is an idiosyncratic mashup of War films and Spaghetti-Westerns, and presents an alternate history of WWII and the assassination of Hitler. If my initiation into the events of WWII was through Quentin … Continue reading Inglourious Basterds: In Quentin Tarantino’s glorious homage to WWII ‘Men on a Mission’ movies, words & films are more powerful than bullets & grenades →

Cross of Iron: Sam Peckinpah’s gritty and unflinching World War II epic is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made

Cross of Iron (1977), starring James Coburn, James Mason and Maximillian Schell in lead roles, is Sam Peckinpah's bleak, pessimistic WWII epic about a band of retreating German soldiers on the Russian frontier. It's hard to believe that director, 'Bloody' Sam Peckinpah made just one 'War' film in his career. The film was "Cross of … Continue reading Cross of Iron: Sam Peckinpah’s gritty and unflinching World War II epic is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made →

Firefox: Clint Eastwood attempted something different as an actor and director with this ‘James Bond’ meets ‘Star Wars’ hybrid of Sci-fi & Cold-war espionage thriller

Firefox (1982) is a cold-war techno thriller directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the film. The film is adapted from a novel by Craig Thomas, and it's one of the costliest films Eastwood has ever attempted in his career. Long before it was an open-source browser developed by the Mozilla Corporation, "Firefox" was … Continue reading Firefox: Clint Eastwood attempted something different as an actor and director with this ‘James Bond’ meets ‘Star Wars’ hybrid of Sci-fi & Cold-war espionage thriller →

The Great Escape: John Sturges’ magnum opus is the ultimate WWII POW Escape adventure that made stars out of Steve McQueen, James Garner and Charles Bronson

The Great Escape (1963), directed by John Sturges from the eponymous non-fiction book by Paul Brickhill, features Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Richard Attenborough and others as Allied POWs involved in the greatest escape attempt from a POW camp in Germany during WWII. Director John Sturges' The Great Escape (1963) marks the zenith of … Continue reading The Great Escape: John Sturges’ magnum opus is the ultimate WWII POW Escape adventure that made stars out of Steve McQueen, James Garner and Charles Bronson →

Gladiator: Russell Crowe’s magnificent performance and Ridley Scott’s visual artistry resurrected the Roman empire epic

With his 2000 epic film, Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe, Jaquan Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Oliver Reed and Richard Harris, Director Ridley Scott successfully resurrected the Roman empire epic that flourished during the 1950s and 60s. It's one of Cinema's great ironies that the film which ended the hot streak of big-budget biblical\Ancient Roman epic productions in … Continue reading Gladiator: Russell Crowe’s magnificent performance and Ridley Scott’s visual artistry resurrected the Roman empire epic →

Zulu: Michael Caine and Stanley Baker stars in this most beloved of British war epics that celebrates valor but does not become a celebration of imperialism

Zulu(1964), directed by Cy Endfield and starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine in lead roles, is an epic war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulu impi in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. "In the hundred years since the Victoria Cross was created for valor and extreme courage beyond that normally expected of a … Continue reading Zulu: Michael Caine and Stanley Baker stars in this most beloved of British war epics that celebrates valor but does not become a celebration of imperialism →

El Cid: Charlton Heston embodies the legendary Spanish folk hero in all his nobility in Anthony Mann’s magnificent medieval epic

El Cid(1961), produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Anthony Mann, depicting the life of legendary Eleventh-century Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar is one of the greatest screen epics ever made. Charlton Heston plays Rodrigo aka El Cid in one of his most popular film portrayals and Sophia Loren plays his wife Doña Ximena. Don … Continue reading El Cid: Charlton Heston embodies the legendary Spanish folk hero in all his nobility in Anthony Mann’s magnificent medieval epic →

Lawrence of Arabia: David Lean’s magnum opus is an astounding mix of cinema-art and popular entertainment, with Peter O’Toole giving one of the greatest screen performances ever

Lawrence of Arabia(1962) is the great British director, David Lean's magnum opus, and features Peter O'Toole as T. E. Lawrence, along with a great supporting cast of Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn and Jack Hawkins. The film, based on Lawrence's autobiography, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, depicts Lawrence's adventures during WW I ,when he lead … Continue reading Lawrence of Arabia: David Lean’s magnum opus is an astounding mix of cinema-art and popular entertainment, with Peter O’Toole giving one of the greatest screen performances ever →

The Night of the Generals: After their star-making turns in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif reunited in this strange, lurid and lavishly mounted World War II Thriller

In his 1967 production, The Night of the Generals, movie mogul, Sam Spiegel, reunited Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif after their star-making performances in 'Lawrence of Arabia'. This strange, genre-bending, all-star cast WWII drama, directed by Anatole Litvak, was a box office disappointment at the time of its release, but remains a very interesting watch … Continue reading The Night of the Generals: After their star-making turns in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif reunited in this strange, lurid and lavishly mounted World War II Thriller →

Von Ryan’s Express: Frank Sinatra leads a group of Allied POWs to freedom in this interesting and entertaining variation on the WWII prison escape Adventure

Von Ryan's Express(1965), directed by Mark Robson from a novel by David Westheimer, is a WWII Action\Adventure thriller featuring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard in lead roles. The film provides an interesting variation on the 'Prison Escape' drama template, with Sinatra's character hijacking a prison train to lead a group of Allied POWs to freedom. … Continue reading Von Ryan’s Express: Frank Sinatra leads a group of Allied POWs to freedom in this interesting and entertaining variation on the WWII prison escape Adventure →

In Harm’s Way: Otto Preminger’s sprawling World War II drama rides on the charisma of John Wayne and Kirk Douglas

In Harm's Way(1965), directed by Otto Preminger from James Bassett's novel, and starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas in lead roles, is a war-action drama set during the early days of United States' participation in World War II. Like other Preminger films, this is a sprawling drama encompassing multiple sub plots and flawed heroes. "I … Continue reading In Harm’s Way: Otto Preminger’s sprawling World War II drama rides on the charisma of John Wayne and Kirk Douglas →