War > 1965 War

Advantages: Robert Shaw, action, good realism
Disadvantages: Hollywoodised story complete with history rewritten, ( again )

The Battle of the Bulge ( or The Battle of the Ardennes as it was really called ) was the last major offensive ever mounted by Hitler in the second world war and was one of the biggest battles the US forces ever fought. It was also the only battle where the US army suffered a defeat ( be it a short one ) and also the first time they were really pushed back and if Hitlers plan had been a little bit more realsitic, he might well have extended the war ...
...these were veterans and very battle hardened troops, in additional, although many units did retreat, a lot of them stood their ground and this held up the Germans and even though they were completely surrounded and outnumbered, these units caused major delays and some very heavy casulties to the Germans, worse still they caused them to use a lot of fuel and ammunition which they could not afford. However, the allies did have some major fuel dumps ... Read review

Advantages: Great action sequences
Disadvantages: Slow to start, but gethers pace nicely

...any factual or historic event, Von Ryan's Express stars Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard and tells the story of survival against the odds in a war torn Europe. Released in 1965, Sinatra plays Colonel Joseph Ryan, a smart thinking American Pilot who after getting shot down by the Italian Army is sent to an Italian run Prisoner of War camp for what is expected to be the remainder of the war. Upon arrival Ryan is immediately made the head of the Allied ...
...turn the soldiers call him Von Ryan for collaborating with the enemy. In fact the heated discussions that take place between Ryan and Fincham are great to watch on screen as you see Sinatra in a different light to other roles that he has played before, something which leads to both men trusting each other by the end of the film. With the help of the Italian Commander, who has now switch sides, Ryan and the Allies hatch a plan to escape and steal ... Read review

Advantages: The cast is remarkable
Disadvantages: nothing

...Japanese POW camp in 1965's King Rat, based on a novel by James Clavell. As Corporal King, Segal swaggers and schemes, running his little corner of the black market with help from a ragtag group of soldiers willing to do anything for a few bucks. King befriends Brit officer Peter Marlowe (James Fox), who speaks the local language and can translate for King when he sells off watches and jewelry for other desperate prisoners (for a sizable fee, of ...
...(Tom Courtenay), whose loathing of King borders on the pathological. The prisoners in King Rat aren't plotting to make a run for it, a la The Great Escape - it's established early in the film that such is not an option, as there's literally nowhere for escapees from the Singapore camp to go. The movie instead explores the day-to-day life of these beaten-down men, starving and sick, as they scrape together the best sort of life they can under the ... Read review

Advantages: good action movie
Disadvantages: --

This is the first film that I ever watched in which the main character was killed. (I first saw it as a child.) The final scene has Sinatra gunned down as he is stretching out his hand to be pulled up into the back of the train. You are watching willing him on, hoping that the outstretched hands of his comrades will meet his. They don't and they are left watching as the train continues on with him receding further and further into the distance lying ...
...of Allied POWs led by Sinatra trying to escape to freedom. They nearly get caught out several times. One time that particularly sticks in my mind is where Sinatra's pilot watch becomes the attention of a German who attempts to barter with him for it. Of course, Sinatra's character speaks no German and he is getting ever more tense as the scene goes on. He is eventually rescued by one of his colleagues who does speak German. As far as I remember ... Read review

Advantages: Plot, acting and keeps you watching
Disadvantages: Confusing if you're not up on war history

Force 10 From Navarone is based on the book of the same name by author Alistair MacLean as is the sequel to The Guns of Navarone, the immensely popular film starring Gregory Peck and David Niven. Force 10 was released in 1978, and features some famous names and a powerful script cast onto the screen. The film didn't do as well as it should have, but is still a quality film. Following the successful destruction of the guns of Navarone, survivors ...
...a spy named Nicolai, who they had come across briefly in their previous mission. They are the key to the mission, as they are perhaps the only ones who can identify him. Older than they were in the first mission, Nicolai has grown from a boy to a man, and is now believed to be masterminding a sabotage operation under the guise of allied lieutenant Lescovar (Franco Nero). The experienced soldiers are joined by a selection of American soldiers, led ... Read review