No talk about the movie 1917?

[Fnfalman]

I heard nothing but great things about this WWI movie. I’m about to sit down right now abd see what it’s all about. 

[Historian]

Going to see it here in moments.  Just having a quick lunch.

[Dric902]

The left hates it, I’ll probably love it

[janice6]

I haven't heard about it, but.  I was impressed by the reality of WWI when I saw the movie, "All's Quiet On the Western Front".  If this new one is as equally based in reality, it should be a worthwhile experience.

[Fnfalman]

It’s a well made movie. Not action filled but very poignant. 

[Mrs.Cicero]

I'm taking the kids and calling it homeschool.

[jmohme]

I really want to see it but the wife isn't interested and I am not going by myself, so Ill probably wait for the DVD.

[Swampfox762]

I really enjoyed it.  Sure as heck gives you a "right up front" view of what "old" war really was.....Loved all the super Camera work.  It had a few "slow" moments, but an outstanding movie.

[G21H30]

My wife and I went yesterday afternoon. A very realistic and gripping film. The cinematography was very realistic and the battle scenes were not over done . I have a great interest in everything WWI. My father fought in the war with C company 353rd Infantry,89th Infantry Division and was gassed in the Bois de Bantheville ,France in October 1918. He then developed pneumonia but luckily for me he survived the war and returned home in August of 1919. He married my mother in 1941 who was 18 years his junior and they had 4 children,myself being the youngest born in 1955!  

 

[janice6]

6 hours ago, Mrs.Cicero said:

I'm taking the kids and calling it homeschool.

I learned a lot from the Colliers Photographic Encyclopedia of WWI and WWII + the civil war.  I saw a multitude of photographs of the battlefields and of the soldiers and citizens, alive, dead, wounded, and being ready to be burned.  My school taught me nothing of the realities of war on both sides.  I was around 8 or 10 at that time.

It is truly horrible, and sometimes the only way out.  It's cruel and there is suffering on both sides.  Some things that people should  know.  Not the sanitized story of good over evil.

I was never traumatized by this experience, but I did learn graphically what suffering meant to many people.

I think your doing a good field trip.  Knowledge is power.

[janice6]

6 hours ago, Swampfox762 said:

I really enjoyed it.  Sure as heck gives you a "right up front" view of what "old" war really was.....Loved all the super Camera work.  It had a few "slow" moments, but an outstanding movie.

My  reading about WWI taught me that you should never let the aristocracy pretend they know how to wage war.  You quickly find that they have little respect for the lives of the common people.

You also know quickly just how inept they are at planning and executing a plan.  These were socialites playing with other people's lives.  

[Maser]

I probably should see it because I know quite a bit about WW2, but very little about WW1. 

[Historian]

6 hours ago, G21H30 said:

My wife and I went yesterday afternoon. A very realistic and gripping film. The cinematography was very realistic and the battle scenes were not over done . I have a great interest in everything WWI. My father fought in the war with C company 353rd Infantry,89th Infantry Division and was gassed in the Bois de Bantheville ,France in October 1918. He then developed pneumonia but luckily for me he survived the war and returned home in August of 1919. He married my mother in 1941 who was 18 years his junior and they had 4 children,myself being the youngest born in 1955!  

 

 

Now that's a full life!  Wow.

My grand father was in the French infantry.  He was 17 when he entered.  He served in the last year of the war.  It was nothing less than God's grace that kept him alive.  He was every bit the man's man and a farmer and kept the trains running in a big city in the south of France.   I have his railroad watch.

Anyway:  Regarding the movie.  It's near flawless.  A little predicable in some places.  Fantastically filmed and like nothing i've ever seen.   It is above all else a movie about bravery and conviction.   Carrying on despite odds.  Duty and honor.

I thought it was brilliant.  I would actually pay to see this thing again.

And I haven't been to a movie theater in 10 years.  

[railfancwb]

2 hours ago, janice6 said:

My  reading about WWI taught me that you should never let the aristocracy pretend they know how to wage war.  You quickly find that they have little respect for the lives of the common people.

You also know quickly just how inept they are at planning and executing a plan.  These were socialites playing with other people's lives.  

Wasn’t it basically a family feud among cousins? 

[janice6]

2 hours ago, railfancwb said:

Wasn’t it basically a family feud among cousins? 

The aristocracy intermarried between rulers supposedly to make peace and money.

[G21H30]

9 hours ago, Historian said:

Now that's a full life!  Wow.

My grand father was in the French infantry.  He was 17 when he entered.  He served in the last year of the war.  It was nothing less than God's grace that kept him alive.  He was every bit the man's man and a farmer and kept the trains running in a big city in the south of France.   I have his railroad watch.

Anyway:  Regarding the movie.  It's near flawless.  A little predicable in some places.  Fantastically filmed and like nothing i've ever seen.   It is above all else a movie about bravery and conviction.   Carrying on despite odds.  Duty and honor.

I thought it was brilliant.  I would actually pay to see this thing again.

And I haven't been to a movie theater in 10 years.  

The above is quite a coincidence. My father was a railroad clerk before enlisting and when he was discharged he was able to resume his job with the AT&SF railroad. I spent 42 years with the AT&SF / BNSF building bridges. My dad passed away one month before my fifth birthday,but he did indeed see and experience a lot during his lifetime.My older brother got his railroad watch,but I have his dog tag,discharge papers,WWI Victory ribbon and promotion to Sergeant certificate.

Edited January 13, 2020 by G21H30

[gwalchmai]

8 hours ago, railfancwb said:

Wasn’t it basically a family feud among cousins? 

Aren't they all?

[deputy tom]

I'll wait until the DVD comes out and will own it. tom.

[M&P15T]

19 hours ago, janice6 said:

My  reading about WWI taught me that you should never let the aristocracy pretend they know how to wage war.  You quickly find that they have little respect for the lives of the common people.

You also know quickly just how inept they are at planning and executing a plan.  These were socialites playing with other people's lives.  

I've been into WW1 for awhile, and the stupidity behind the reasons for it happening, and behind the actions of the commanding Generals, is astounding.

One staff officer was rumored to have visited a particularly muddy and shell-eviscerated front-line after a battle, and was stupefied they had sent men forward in such conditions, against such a well entrenched enemy. The Generals just sat miles from the front line, and moved pieces around on a map. Never understanding the reality of the what they were ordering, the sacrifices they were asking of their men.

And the Battle of the Somme is a particularly gruesome chapter. Over 57,000 British casualties in one day. One. Day.

This is what lead Montgomery to command the way he did in WWII, which was quite brilliant most of the time, and very different from other Commanders.

[janice6]

And Patton's philosophy:  "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his".

[M&P15T]

1 minute ago, janice6 said:

And Patton's philosophy:  "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his".

I haven't read his memoirs he wrote during the war yet. I'll have to at some point.

[janice6]

2 hours ago, M&P15T said:

I haven't read his memoirs he wrote during the war yet. I'll have to at some point.

He disturbed some upper command people because he thought he was a reincarnated ancient warrior.  He was obsessed with battle and winning.

[M&P15T]

19 minutes ago, janice6 said:

He disturbed some upper command people because he thought he was a reincarnated ancient warrior.  He was obsessed with battle and winning.

Yep. 

One of his most interesting moments;

"The following day Patton arrived at the pontoon bridge his engineers had constructed over the Rhine. He made his way halfway across the bridge before suddenly halting. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Patton said as he unzipped his fly and urinated into the river while an Army photographer recorded the moment for posterity. When he reached the other side of the river, Patton pretended to stumble, imitating William the Conqueror, who famously fell on his face when landing in England but transformed the bad omen into a propitious one by leaping to his feet with a handful of English soil, claiming it portended his complete possession of the country.

Patton similarly arose, clutching two handfuls of German earth in his fingers, and exclaimed, “Thus, William the Conqueror!” That evening Patton sent a communique to General Eisenhower: “Dear SHAEF [Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force], I have just pissed into the Rhine River. For God’s sake, send some gasoline.”

As you wrote, he was obsessed with ancient battles, and supposedly would take certain towns here and there just because of their history from past ancient wars.

Edited January 13, 2020 by M&P15T

[pipedreams]

[Historian]

5 hours ago, janice6 said:

He disturbed some upper command people because he thought he was a reincarnated ancient warrior.  He was obsessed with battle and winning.

He got that from his aunt.  

Among other things he was a poet.  A technically good one.  Just odd in some ways.   He was an Olympic athlete and one hell of a fine skeet and trap shot.

There were many generals who were superior but none as colorful.   He was his own PR machine.  He also had a squeaky voice.

It would have been interesting to see how history would have turned out had he not died when his jeep turned over.