tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4411431676319832015..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Memorial DayBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50684468308890891132014-05-29T08:50:37.896-07:002014-05-29T08:50:37.896-07:00U-571 is another great war movie. I was at a part...U-571 is another great war movie. I was at a party one time, and it was pretty wild. Somehow we got to watching it, and we were transfixed. We ended up missed the whole party.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40664464037782881942014-05-27T13:46:42.209-07:002014-05-27T13:46:42.209-07:00Don't forget Kelly's HeroesDon't forget Kelly's Heroeschuckcdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21004662002500116792014-05-27T12:51:41.865-07:002014-05-27T12:51:41.865-07:00@buttermilk sky
I agree with you about BEST YEARS...@buttermilk sky<br /><br />I agree with you about BEST YEARS as one of the best war movies (as war is also about the soldiers and those that loved them).<br /><br />Other great Memorial Day movies not mentioned, THE LONGEST DAY, GLORY, GETTYSBURG, PLATOON, BAND OF BROTHERS, BLACKHAWK DOWNThe Bumble Bee Pendanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782074071758250824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32102274986807902692014-05-27T09:57:49.513-07:002014-05-27T09:57:49.513-07:00mdv1959: "Then you'll be shocked to find ...mdv1959: "<i>Then you'll be shocked to find out that the American Film Institute has "THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI" listed as the 13th greatest film of all time on it's list of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time</i>"<br /><br />Nope. I knew that. <br /><br />If I were making a list of the Greatest Films of All Time <b>relative to when they were released, and in consideration of how important they were to the path that cinema has taken since its start</b>, Kwai would be on it. But otherwise, no. Igornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22037199424064274212014-05-27T09:42:17.854-07:002014-05-27T09:42:17.854-07:00Gah. Sorry, I meant Guiness, not Niven. Gah. Sorry, I meant Guiness, not Niven. McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-977602312586914612014-05-27T09:37:36.433-07:002014-05-27T09:37:36.433-07:00Happy to see the plug for "Bridge." Yea...Happy to see the plug for "Bridge." Yeah, it's not a movie for everyone. It's not all heroes doing heroic things, and is pretty depressing, actually. But it is an excellent psycological portrayal. Niven's character starts out just trying to keep his men alive, and in the process kinda loses his mind. We take dark, reality movies for granted these days, but Bridge was, for it's time, pretty groundbreaking. <br /><br />For DwWashburn, the point of watching war movies on Memorial Day isn't to entertain ourselves. The movies tell stories of what war is, what our men and women go through. I can totally understand veterans preferring not to watch, as they already had to live it. But for most of us, its as close as we'll come to having some understanding. So we watch the movies because it's important that we remember what we ask them to do, and what they've sacrificed for us. And in the case of WWII, because it's so very important that we never forget.<br /><br />But I agree that it's not a day for wishing anyone happy. McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44039279243123649702014-05-27T02:43:32.344-07:002014-05-27T02:43:32.344-07:00Wonderful post today Ken. Thank you.Wonderful post today Ken. Thank you.Barry Traylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14134880916215990198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60868101829576347432014-05-27T01:58:41.180-07:002014-05-27T01:58:41.180-07:00Two great, but under appreciated war movies:
Zulu,...Two great, but under appreciated war movies:<br />Zulu, the film that really launched Michael Caine's career. Zulu is under appreciated here in America, but is well known in Great Britain and South Africa.<br />Also <br />Go Tell The Spartans - a later work by Burt Lancaster about the early days in Vietnam. almost no one I know has ever heard of it, let alone seen it, but it ranks with the best Vietnam war movies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13815053598926846632014-05-27T01:01:06.029-07:002014-05-27T01:01:06.029-07:00Make time to see THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Tec...Make time to see THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Technically a post-war film, it depicts the ways in which combat veterans never really get over their experiences. All too timely, as we never seem to stop making more veterans with life-long problems.Buttermilk Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07430011403223875192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61592846154579281672014-05-26T23:04:24.945-07:002014-05-26T23:04:24.945-07:00The traditional date for Memorial Day was May 30, ...The traditional date for Memorial Day was May 30, not 31. I remember, because it is also my father's birthday. He was a Vietnam veteran, a volunteer, not drafted. He died going on two years ago, from prostate cancer that was the final gift of his service near Agent Orange. Our veterans deserve better than a parade and a movie marathon. Give a buck to your local VFW, or to the Wounded Warrior Project, or to some other veteran's group you like. Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13498390749682637882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33060147851968979792014-05-26T22:27:44.695-07:002014-05-26T22:27:44.695-07:00I'll agree, Bridge is among the greats.
Jam...I'll agree, Bridge is among the greats. <br /><br />James Bond movies were great for the Bond girls and their names; and the so-called special effects. I recently watched Dr. No and thoroughly enjoyed Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder and the rest was mostly unintentional comedy. It doesn't hold up, but it couldn't.<br /><br />Eon Flemmingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32923151213767642172014-05-26T19:11:14.510-07:002014-05-26T19:11:14.510-07:00I watched Bridge over the River Kwai for the first...I watched Bridge over the River Kwai for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It is a great move. Thanks for mentioning it in this blog. A few years ago when my son was in Scouts, he was asked to be the honor guard for a Memorial Day ceremony at a local cemetery. It turned out to be a Jewish ceremony held in the Jewish part of the cemetery. There were huge ceremonies across town with dozens of people, but there we were - us, the rabbi and maybe ten people - very moving.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00760229533287495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15195057653425372702014-05-26T17:55:01.778-07:002014-05-26T17:55:01.778-07:00@DwWashburn War movies can treat the horrors of wa...@DwWashburn War movies can treat the horrors of war seriously, or they can trivialise it. I can certainly understand reservations over the latter. <br /><br />Kurt Vonnegut's introduction to Slaughterhouse Five (which features Dresden) does a great job of explaining the value of the former. <br /><br />Side note: Every modern war movie owes a huge debt to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, which basically did every war movie ever made before anyone else. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50274315308347808572014-05-26T16:40:00.105-07:002014-05-26T16:40:00.105-07:00I'm looking forward to the film version of &qu...I'm looking forward to the film version of "Unbroken" (directed by Angelina Jolie) coming out later this year. The book was amazing - about Louis Zamperini's experiences during WWII. Fascinating life: he was a runner at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin; survived on a raft with two other soldiers (after their plane crashed into the ocean) for 47 days living off of rainwater, fish, and birds while continuously being circled by sharks; and survived the hellish experience of spending years in Japanese POW camps. Like many (if not all to varying degrees) veterans, his life after the war was traumatic - but he managed to come through that as well - to the point of traveling back to Japan decades later to meet with his former captors in forgiveness. Zamperini is still alive at 97, living in Los Angeles.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-92040042709755086572014-05-26T15:48:43.331-07:002014-05-26T15:48:43.331-07:00Sorry, I meant to say "Not only from a story ...Sorry, I meant to say "Not <i>only</i> from a story point..." In other words, the story is as amazing as the visuals.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-334617461462973842014-05-26T15:47:33.490-07:002014-05-26T15:47:33.490-07:00Bridge on the River Kwai is just amazing. Not from...Bridge on the River Kwai is just amazing. Not from a story standpoint, but from a visual standpoint, too. I'm always amazed/saddened by how few of my contemporaries have seen it, or have even heard of it.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62892120697839199432014-05-26T14:50:30.597-07:002014-05-26T14:50:30.597-07:00Igor:
Ken wrote: "BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.....<i><b>Igor:</b><br /><br />Ken wrote: "BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI... one of the greatest movies PERIOD ever made."<br /><br />Really? I mean, I like it... But "one of the greatest movies PERIOD ever made"?</i><br /><br />Then you'll be shocked to find out that the American Film Institute has <i>"THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI"</i> listed as the <b>13th</b> greatest film of all time on it's list of the <a href="http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx" rel="nofollow">100 Greatest Films of All Time</a>mdv1959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83364629522867265902014-05-26T12:49:59.624-07:002014-05-26T12:49:59.624-07:00Re "Bridge on the River Kwai":
SPOILERS...Re "Bridge on the River Kwai":<br /><br />SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!<br /><br />Am I the only one who was surprised by Sessue Hayakawa's character at the end? We'd seen him preparing for suicide; the completion of the bridge under Guinness's effective command had become a personal defeat and disgrace. I fully expected him to enable or even complete the detonation instead of trying to stop it. <br /><br />Yes, completing and protecting that bridge was his duty. But with Guinness losing sight of his own duty up until the last moments, I was ready to see that mirrored in his chief adversary. I understand how dramatically, Guinness needed a clear redemption. But I wanted to see at least a flash of ambivalence from Hayakawa when his personal demons came up against his mission.DBensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45450686055500972112014-05-26T12:21:37.844-07:002014-05-26T12:21:37.844-07:00RyderDA, I read your comment over ten times, it wa...RyderDA, I read your comment over ten times, it was so beautifulBreadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44680216245443874042014-05-26T12:19:20.315-07:002014-05-26T12:19:20.315-07:00In Canada we honour those who have sacrificed in ...In Canada we honour those who have sacrificed in war on November 11. WWI ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1914. it was called the war to end all wars and tragically it was not. bless those who served in both countries.<br />I agree with your assessment of Bridge on the River Kwai. several years ago my daughter was travelling in SE Asia and was taking a train east of Bangkok to view some bat caves. the train stopped and all the passengers were directed to a museum to honour the prisoners of war who died building the railroad to Burma.<br />another great movie of his with an international war theme was Lawrence of Arabia. and Gallipoli is a wonderful Australian film. The Charge of the Light Brigade shows the stupidity of the Crimean War and shows how that region has been in dispute for almost 200 years. vicernienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14980628241198665662014-05-26T08:28:02.970-07:002014-05-26T08:28:02.970-07:00Ken wrote: "BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI... It&#...<br />Ken wrote: "<i>BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI... It's not just one of the greatest war films ever made, it's one of the greatest movies PERIOD ever made.</i>"<br /><br />Really? I mean, I like it. I've watched it a number of times; most recently, just 6 months ago. But "one of the greatest movies PERIOD ever made"? <br /><br />You stumped me with that one, Ken. Igornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19327644436963981482014-05-26T08:03:52.921-07:002014-05-26T08:03:52.921-07:00I was at Arlington National Cemetery a few years b...I was at Arlington National Cemetery a few years back a few days before Memorial Day. I watched numerous platoons of soldiers precisely placing one flag at each headstone. I am a Canadian, but am not sure if that or the cemetery itself was more moving.RyderDAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00980791636129598607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22738157421599304622014-05-26T07:05:03.203-07:002014-05-26T07:05:03.203-07:00I'm not far from Waterloo, New York where Memo...I'm not far from Waterloo, New York where Memorial Day has it's roots. There, ceremonies will be held on the 31st which was the original designated "Decoration Day" before Monday-holidays were enacted in the mid 1960's. <br /><br />"Happy Memorial Day" was what I heard at the top of "Good Morning America" and that just doesn't work for me. This day seems to have a dual purpose; remembrance for the war dead and unofficial kickoff of Summer. We haven't quite reached "Christmas commercialization" for this holiday yet but we're getting there! <br /><br />This may seem like an odd choice but I'd recommend the 2001 film "The Majestic". It gets corny and does require suspension of disbelief (Why they didn't take the dying Harry to a hospital is still beyond me.) but it does make it's point very nicely! (BTW; who's that playing Doc Stanton?)Stoneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82801467937461064112014-05-26T07:04:31.914-07:002014-05-26T07:04:31.914-07:00I'm not far from Waterloo, New York where Memo...I'm not far from Waterloo, New York where Memorial Day has it's roots. There, ceremonies will be held on the 31st which was the original designated "Decoration Day" before Monday-holidays were enacted in the mid 1960's. <br /><br />"Happy Memorial Day" was what I heard at the top of "Good Morning America" and that just doesn't work for me. This day seems to have a dual purpose; remembrance for the war dead and unofficial kickoff of Summer. We haven't quite reached "Christmas commercialization" for this holiday yet but we're getting there! <br /><br />This may seem like an odd choice but I'd recommend the 2001 film "The Majestic". It gets corny and does require suspension of disbelief (Why they didn't take the dying Harry to a hospital is still beyond me.) but it does make it's point very nicely! (BTW; who's that playing Doc Stanton?)<br /><br /><br />Stoneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81603936609267756942014-05-26T07:02:59.969-07:002014-05-26T07:02:59.969-07:00Hi Ken, I have a Friday Question regarding Cheers ...Hi Ken, I have a Friday Question regarding Cheers (well really several qualifying questions). <br /><br />The first season is renowned for taking place solely in the bar while later seasons had far more sets and location shooting. How much of an increase in budget did the show receive over the years as the show became more and more staggeringly popular (and rightly so)? Could you persuade NBC to foot the bill for pretty much any idea or were you still fairly constrained?<br /><br />Thank you for continuing to write your blog; it has been incredibly amusing, but also provided great insight into how the system functions, particularly useful for an aspiring screenwriter.Declan BHnoreply@blogger.com