|
DVD Corner: Remembrance through movies, documentaries
Mac Olsen
for Spotlight
This week’s DVD Corner is slightly different, not reviewing a specific movie, but highlighting five movies and documentaries about the horror of war. It’s to honour those who have sacrificed, served and lived through war, and is a candid reminder of the significance of Remembrance Day.
Passchendale
Paul Gross is the director of ‘Passchendale’, which recounts the Canadian soldiers’ experiences of most of the most horrific battles of the First World War. The movie itself doesn’t say anything new about the war, but it’s one of the few current and relevant films offering the Canadian perspective.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Two movies have been made based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, one in 1930 and one in 1979. It’s a fictional tale from the “Hun” perspective, about German youth going off to confront the travesties of the First World War and their loss of innocence.
We Were Soldiers
Randall Wallace directed this movie, based on Lt. Col. Harold Moore’s book, ‘We Were Soldiers … and Young’. It depicts how Moore and his company of 395 soldiers battled for their lives against North Vietnamese soldiers in November 1965. What makes it compelling is showing both sides of the battle.
The World At War
Created by Sir Jeremy Isaacs and Thames Television in the early 1970s, ‘The World At War’ is the greatest exploration of the Second World War. The 26-part documentary series gives us not just the bloody battles; it also provides the perspectives of veterans, politicians and civilians from all sides.
The Civil War
Ken Burns has created a timeless documentary series about the politics, the racial divisions and the bloody battles of the American Civil War. Burns used old photos, newspaper accounts, as well as the voices of Morgan Freeman and others to authentically recreate the war.
< Previous
Home
Next >
|
