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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 4, 2007 18:49:40 GMT 12
I watched the film 'The Great Raid' last night for the first time. I have to say I was fairly impressed with it. I was more impressed to see the sights and sounds of the Hudson having a fairly prominent role in the film.
What a great sight it was.
I was thinking, as well as this, i believe the Hudson also appeared in The Thin Red Line. Has it done any other film or television work, appearing in dramas like this over the years?
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Post by corsair67 on Jul 4, 2007 18:56:11 GMT 12
Never heard of that film, Dave; is it a recent release? I don't recall the Hudson featuring in The Thin Red Line, though I know there was at least one Wirraway involved. I'll have to have another look at the film now. When are you coming over to see and hear her in the flesh at Temora?  ? |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 4, 2007 19:33:17 GMT 12
Hmm, I think it was The Thin Red Line I saw it in. They painted it in US colours.
'The Great Raid' was made in 2002 but not released till 2006 I believe. It stars james Franco, Benjamin Bratt, and Joseph Fiennes. It revolves arounf the January 1945 rescue of about 500 POW's held in the Phillipnes by the Japs after the US returned to that country. They'd discovered that as they advanced, the Japs were murdering their POW's and withdrawing, so the US 6th Ranger Battallion hatched a plan to rescue POW's in a known camp before the Japs knew they were even on the island. The subpolts include life in the camp for the men who'd been there since the Death March, and also a US woman who ran a resistance movement there. The latter subplot is based on truth but has been rather adapted by the filmmakers so there's a love interest, whereas the rest is apparently fairly accurate.
Two Mustangs also appear with the Hudson.
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Post by Calum on Jul 4, 2007 22:33:36 GMT 12
Why do film makers (US especially) have to stuff a love interest in virtually every war file.....  |
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Post by corsair67 on Jul 4, 2007 23:51:16 GMT 12
Calum, because all's fair in love and war?  Have you ever seen "Enemy at the Gates"? I couldn't work out if that was the story of a love triangle during the Battle of Stalingrad, or the story of a sniper sent to hunt another sniper down during the Battle of Stalingrad! |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 5, 2007 0:31:58 GMT 12
Enemy At The gates was a true story, but I don't know if the love triangle existed in reality. Even so I think it rates very highly among decently made war films.
As for adding a love interest, and in many cases a love triangle, into a war story (especially true stories where no love interest actually existed), is I think a way to get more people to go along. The men want to see the war film but they're never allowed to go to the pictures without wives and sweethearts, and we all know they only like soppy girly love films. So to be a success, it has to be woven into the thread. [annoyed at Hollywood sarcastic mode off/]
Can anyone think of a film depicting a true wartime event where the romantic thread seemed to actually work well, not detract from the film and not turn an otherwise decent war film into a chick flick?
I guess perhaps the love interest in Battle of Britain worked ok, because they were married and dealing with the seperation and stress that causes, a very real issue. Plus, no love triangle there.
I can't think of any others right now that worked well with both the love and war themes interwoven.
I worked out some time back that there are three sorts of war aviation films - the first ones are those that are based on fact and analyse a battle, running as a semi-documentary like Battle of Britain or Tora, Tora, Tora.
The second kind are the ones where there are two pilots who're best mates who fall out over some soppy bird. (ie Dark Blue World; that crap Pearl Harbor; and many more)
The third kind are ones where the CO or ranking officer has a major conflict of interest with his subordinate or squadron members leading to ill discipline, etc. Such as Command Decision, Flying Tigers, Divebomber, etc, etc)
There are very few individual films that fall outside these three criteria. if you can recommend any I'd like to hear of them. Also please recommend others in the tell a true historic story accurately and well category please...
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Post by corsair67 on Jul 20, 2007 0:24:25 GMT 12
Dave, I have just watched The Great Raid, and I too was quite impressed with the film. The Hudson looked fantastic; she really is a beautiful girl.
The only bit that really bothered me was that Connie Nielsen's makeup look immaculate no matter what - but I guess we can't have those leading ladies looking shabby in the middle of a war, can we?
Also was interesting to see Craig McLaughlin playing a US soldier: I haven't seen him on TV in ages - not since he sang Mona with his band Check 1, 2! ;D
Next movie I have to watch is the film "Brotherhood of War" about two Korean brothers during the Korean War.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 20, 2007 9:07:38 GMT 12
The thing that bothered me most was the entire cast's mis-pronunciation of Quinine. Do the yanks really pronounce it as kwai (as in the River Kwai) - nine? Odd.
I don't recall noticing McLaughlin but I'll admit I saw him sing live once, by accident. I was in Auckland's music store Marbecks one Saturday morning just browsing when suddenly the shop filled weith teens and then some dude with a microphone introduced him... he got up and sang a song (might have been Mona). There was such a crush of teens, I couldn't get out!
He was pretty good in the NZ war film Absent Without Leave.
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Post by corsair67 on Jul 20, 2007 10:21:38 GMT 12
Yes, that was really weird, but maybe that's how they do pronounce it?
Wow, you got to see Craig McLaughlin perform live - you lucky bugger! ;D
He played the role of 2nd Lt Riley in the film.
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