War Movies

Every Memorial Day we are treated to war movie marathons. They invariably include the good, bad and ugly.

Since Leonard Maltin is an unreliable judge of war movies, I thought I'd give my thoughts on some of the movies screened this weekend.

Pearl Harbor. This 2001 movie is full of special effects, an unlikely love story and totally inaccurate depictions of the war. The computer graphics scenes of the attack on Pearl Harbor include among the ships attacked, several Aegis cruisers (vintage 1980's), Knox class frigates (vintage 1970's), and several other anachronisms. Since the scenes were obviously computer generated, I don't know why the producers couldn't have used accurate graphics. The Doolittle raid at the end of the movie borrowed heavily from images in "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," but totally distorted the events. Not historically accurate. If you want to see an accurate portrayal of the attack on Pearl Harbor, watch "Tora, Tora, Tora."

If you want to see an accurate portrayal of the Doolittle raid, watch "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." The technical quality is high, the story is accurately told, and for a movie filmed during the war, there is a minimum of chauvinistic propaganda. I think this is the best WWII movie filmed and released during the war.

Midway. Fairly accurate. Includes some unnecessary dramatic conflict. Would be improved by the removal of Charleton Heston's grimacing. Drags at times. Pretty accurate concerning the events of the battle, including the intelligence that made it possible.

A Bridge Too Far. Great Movie. [Leonard Maltin didn't like it much.] For a British movie, it follows author Ryan's negative portrayal of the British Army leadership pretty faithfully. Filmed at many of the actual sites of the events. If you happen to be traveling to Europe, a visit to the Airborne Museum in Arnhem is worth a side trip.

The Devil's Brigade. Mildly entertaining variation of the theme of nonconformist officers and men confounding their hidebound superiors.

The Best Years of Their Lives. One of the best war movies ever. And it all takes place after the war. If you haven't seen it, do so.

These are just some movies I happened to catch this weekend. There are other good war movies, but I'll save them for later.