Funny that Lawrence of Arabia fails to even get a mention when it comes to WW1 movies.
Cultural bias probably has something to do with that, however subconscious it is. I think when most people think of WWI, trench warfare is what comes to mind. Lawrence of Arabia hadn't even crossed my mind until you mentioned it, so I'm guilty of it, too.
Cultural bias probably has something to do with that, however subconscious it is. I think when most people think of WWI, trench warfare is what comes to mind. Lawrence of Arabia hadn't even crossed my mind until you mentioned it, so I'm guilty of it, too.
I know it's all too easy to be lost in its epicness but we are still living with the aftermath of the first world war in the middle east.
It is hard to comprehend how Sam Fuller’s White Dog was considered to be ‘controversial’ and ‘pro-racism’ enough to outright be banned in America.
Release shenanigans aside, it’s a terrific film and one that seems to be still quite underrated in Fuller’s body of work. I have read some criticisms about some of the acting, a script without narrative focus and a lack of nuance. Well anyone criticising that last aspect has clearly never seen a Fuller film because this is like all of his other work: brash, to the point and on the nose, but also made with a furious ferocity.
And as to those other criticisms, some of the acting is indeed spotty but Burt Ives and Paul Winfield perform well and the dog itself is a marvel to behold. The script does seem to shift around narratively, and sometimes also awkwardly moves between genre picture and something more, but it has a pretty clear thematic focus at its core and I found it compelling enough to hold it all together. Another terrific Ennio Morricone score helped a lot too.
I saw it off Eureka’s blu which is from an older HD master prepared by Criterion for their DVD but it still holds up pretty well. Being a Paramount film, unless Criterion get access to a new restoration, the Eureka will probably be the best way to view the film but hopefully Criterion can find a way to release it from a new restoration.
I consider White Dog a great Los Angeles movie, and would love to see the Eureka blu, I only have the Criterion.
Would be e a great double feature with Night Moves (1975) that has a great release from Warner Archives
Same cinematographer, Bruce Surtees, really captures the hard light of LA, neo-noir post watergate vibes.
My votes for best WWI films would probably go to All Quiet on the Western Front, Wooden Crosses, La Grande Illusion, Wings, and The Big Parade. With an extra mention for the original The Dawn Patrol.
As for What Price Glory? you have to wonder how much work it would need and I think it's also with Fox so now Disney.
Perhaps mine is an unpopular choice, but my favorite WWI movie is A Very Long Engagement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (the guy who made Amelie). Like Jeunet's other films, it's a bit twee in places, but it boasts amazing battle sequences, a compelling love story, tremendous performances (including Marion Cotillard in a small but crucial part), luscious cinematography, Jodie Foster speaking French, and a serpentine plot that's part Paths of Glory, part Rashomon.
I think several dogs portrayed the White Dog. One dog was great in close-ups, one was great in longshots, one was particularly fierce looking, one was particularly athletic, etc.
That strategy was probably used in a number of "animal-centric" films.
Watched 1917 yesterday. Very very good film though not the best WW1 film. That honor might apply to All Quiet of the Western Front, The Big Parade and a number of others.
WWI movies seem rather uncommon, especially when compared to all the WWII and Vietnam pictures out there.
My favorite remains Lawrence of Arabia (thanks modman for reminding me and everyone else that it counts--it really is easy to forget what era it's set in for some odd reason). Did rewatch 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front recently and I'm still impressed by much of it (although the PSA dialogue really stood out). Some of my other picks would be Paths of Glory, War Horse, and Wings. If it counts, They Shall Not Grow Old is worth a look.
Do have a copy of Westfront 1918, but haven't watched it yet. Used to have Flyboys, but it didn't hold up.
Watched 1917 yesterday. Very very good film though not the best WW1 film. That honor might apply to All Quiet of the Western Front, The Big Parade and a number of others.
My plea to Criterion is please rerelease James Whale's 1930 production of Journey's End with Colin Clive and Raoul Walsh's 1926 production of What Price Glory? with Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe plus the 4 sequels that followed.
If somebody told me they felt that 1917 was the best WWI film, I would have a hard time arguing that they were wrong. There certainly are many excellent ones, but 1917 is a sight to behold. I will echo a shout out to Lawrence of Arabia, as that is my favorite film.
Yeah Paths of Glory is a must IMO. Don’t know how I omitted that one since it’s one of the most powerful films there is on the subject. Haven’t seen Gallipoli.
If somebody told me they felt that 1917 was the best WWI film, I would have a hard time arguing that they were wrong. There certainly are many excellent ones, but 1917 is a sight to behold. I will echo a shout out to Lawrence of Arabia, as that is my favorite film.
Don't get me wrong. I think it is a very good film but it just didn't move me as much as the Big Parade or AQOTWF. I felt there should have been more to the story. Mendez is an excellent director though and 1917 was very artfully done.
Someone mentioned Paths of Glory as well. I would also add Westfront 18 by Pabst. There are many more WW I films that I have yet to watch. I'm sure I have committed a sin but I have yet to watch Lawrence of Arabia all the way through. I have the deluxe box set that came out some years ago but I'm waiting for just the right time to watch it. I have seen an hour here and hour there when it has been on tv though. I have yet to see many others as well such as Wings.
Both versions of the Dawn Patrol are very, very good but a notch below The Big Parade and AQOTWF. The Eagle and the Hawk is a good one too.
When it comes to WWI, I'm also a huge fan of the Christmas movie Joyeux Noel...still one of the most miraculous things ever, and this beautiful film does it justice.
I like that one too. That story moved me to tears. They should have called the movie Stille Nacht though.
My favorite WWI movie will always be Wings (1927). Outside of having legendary aerial stunts (with the actors really flying in the cockpits), it also tells a very simple and emotional story with good performances and well-defined characters. Most people only know it as the first film to win Best Picture, but it truly is a film that will steal your heart if you watch it. Looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray (and currently less than $9. A steal).
Easily the most watchable serious silent film I've ever seen. I generally struggle with non-comedy silents, but I really enjoyed Wings. The more sound-effect-heavy audio track probably helped in that regard.
Yeah, most of my favorite silent films are horror (Phantom of the Opera, Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, The Lodger, etc), and war films are definitely not my taste, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Wings. The film just has a great spirit, while being very emotionally resonant at the same time. It’s cool that Paramount released the film themselves instead of licensing it out, and I think it’s the best presentation of a silent film I’ve ever seen. The image is super clean and has nice detail, and the sound effects are used very nicely (and there’s an alternate piano score track for those that don’t want them).
My other favorite non-horror silent film is probably City Lights, which I saw in my Film History class. I also enjoy Hitchcock’s Blackmail.
My favorite WWI movie will always be Wings (1927).
Right on. Wings was phenomenal in terms of spectacle. The war scenes were as immersive as anything I've seen, including recent war films like Dunkirk. The love triangle was stilted and a bit of a bore, but once the action starts the film grabs and doesn't let go. I have the Eureka release, which I think has all the material included in the US disc. I love the Ben Burtt supervised surround remix with sound effects, can't bear to watch it with the other piano score.
I picked up the Eureka late last year, but haven't got around to watching it yet. It aired on TV here when they ran a Best Picture Winners marathon, which is the only time I've seen it thus far.
I watched this on the (region-free) UK disc from Indicator but this is the sort of film that many Criterionerds will be interested in, so I thought to share my views (as yet no news of a US release, y'all can hope ):
Quote:
The Czech seem to have a way of making understated human dramas from genre tropes. Jerzy Kawalerowicz's Night Train was about the search for a murderer hidden somewhere on a packed train. Jiri Weiss' 90 Degrees in the Shade is a petty crime noir. In both cases, the suspense element is tamped down in favor of being a stark character study.
Weiss' film begins with a documentary coverage of people spending their afternoon break. One of them is Alena (Anne Heywood), who we see sunbathing. She is stared at by a fruit-eating youth and later a chubby middle-aged bespectacled man who seems out of place in the sunny outdoors in his buttoned up suit. We see this man again later - he is Kurka (Rudolf Hrusínský, famous as Juraj Herz's The Cremator), a supplies auditor come to take inventory at the shop where Alena works as an assistant. Kurka is an archetype bureaucrat, a stickler for rules, devoid of humor or affability; he has an almost slug-like persona. Kurka leads a suppressed life, estranged from wife and son. Flustered by even casual personal connect, his interaction with the world seems to be primarily a form of stock-taking, be it people or goods.
Alena on the other hand is a bundle of emotions. She is a good worker but has been involved in a serious affair with the store manager Vorel (James Booth), and in consequence shielded his pilfering of a dozen liquor bottles from the store, which could come to light during Kurka's inventory. In the film's most forthright noir sequence, she and Vorel hurriedly work to replace the missing bottles during off-hours, borrowing money to buy the liquor and making their way through a hidden back entrance (this is tellingly juxtaposed with the scene of Kurka lying sleepless in bed, reflecting on the sterility of his existence).In their scenes together, Alena and Kurka are an excellent study in contrasts. He is embarrassed by her attractiveness and she is inhibited by his dour nature. Early on they are placed in the cubbyhole storeroom, checking stock as they stifle in the titular heat. There is an atmosphere of sexual tension, especially when Alena accidentally spills coffee over Kurka's trousers and insists on wiping off the stains, kneeling by Kurka as he stands abashed in the closed silence.
Vorel is the third pivot of the script. He is seeing Alena but he is also married with children (in artfully inserted flashbacks of their private moments, he repeatedly talks of divorcing his wife, but seems unable to actually do it, and Alena is also unwilling for the arrangement). In an accident during the inventory, it is revealed that his sleight-of-hand is not restricted to the surreptitiously replaced bottles; he has been playing a more systematic swindle game. When suspicion falls on Alena for the theft, he is happy to let her take the blame, arguing that his punishment would be more severe and would affect his family. When she later meets an unhappy fate it is suggested that he has discarded her like an old doll. But he must now contend with Kurka who suffers the guilt of having indicted her for another's crime. While some of the symbolism is on-the-nose, 90 Degrees... does not descend into soapy melodrama, remaining an incisive observational play.
The film was made, unusually, as a British-Czech co-production with actors from both countries. Separate versions were made for each language (the final edit of the Czech version, supervised by Weiss himself, is about 10 min shorter than the British cut). Unlike most native Czech films I've seen, this one was shot in 2:35:1 Cinemascope, although I didn't find its use of widescreen particularly striking. I am told it may have something to do with compatibility with cinema screens available at the time.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
):
Linear Mode
