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Think the American side would be the Intelligence side of the house..

Military Intelligence Guy "Well the Germans with this new armored tactic got the Brits bent over the table at Dunkirk."
Military Intelligence Guru " Wuh....First...where's Dunkirk.....Second....Where's the French Army?"
Military Intelligence Guy " Here's Dunkirk on the map"
Military Intelligence Guru "Okay...So where's the French Army?"
Military Intelligence That Guy " Well it seems they are fighting their way South into France."
Military Intelligence Guru "But the Germans are fighting their way South rather aggressively."
Military Intelligence That Guy "Oh i meant their fighting their way South because of heavy road traffic heading South."
Military Intelligence Guru "So what keep the German Army from wiping out the France Army on the roads South?"
Military Intelligence Guy "Well their being held up with France units waving white flags of bullet avoidance."

Later

Military Intelligence Guru "KK what's the Brits up to at Dunkirk?"
Military intelligence That Guy "Neck deep in the English Channel."
Military Intelligence Guy "Seems the Germans are holding off from scooping them up. All the France units surrendering must have their logistical chain FUBAR."
Military intelligence Guru "So what the Hell are the German armored Divisions doing besides sitting there and lobbing shells at the beach?"
Military Intelligence That Guy "Vehicle Maintenance?"
Military Intelligence Guru "No Comment.......Get me Coffee Dummy"
Military Intelligence Guy "Think the Brits need some sort of bridge to save them soon or they're surrendering."
Military Intelligence Guru "Think the Brits would want troop ships to along with those destroyers we gave them."

Later

Military Intelligence That Guy "Sir they did it!! They're evacing their troops from Dunkirk!!"
Military Intelligence Guru "WOW How the hell they're doing it?!"
Military Intelligence Guy " They're using anything that floats across the Channel and picking troops up!"
Military Intelligence Guru "What about they're equipment?"
Military Intelligence Guy "Being left behind."
Military Intelligence Guru "Better call Rosie and let him know the Lend Lease bill is about to get bigger....."

Nolan is British, the three main actors he wants (Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance) are all British. Where exactly is the "American director trying to make an American film about a European theater" angle coming from?

 Alpharius wrote:

So this is in some ways a not so cleverly disguised Troll Thread?!?

*shrug* That'd depend on the original posters motivations. I'm attempting to describe the general depth of feeling that people have across the pond (and elsewhere, hi Aussies and Kiwi's!) about these films.

I will say, I personally didn't know that Nolan was half-English but then, I can't say I ever recall him being described as such. So, consider me, personally educated. However, there are a lot of other people out there who will be looking on this film with suspicion of it being another "U-571."

 CptJake wrote:
Anyone else see The Snow Goose? Been decades since I saw it but I still remember the Dunkirk scenes.

I remember that from my childhood. Thanks for the title, since I was trying to remember what it was called. Excellent show, that I think was an old Hallmark special.

Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

Wonder what would happen if Hitler had not declared war on the US after 7 Dec?

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

Over WWII not so much- just a bit of wariness over stuff like U-571. For WWI, everyone tends to forget about Americans, since the war was almost over by the time they turned up.

 Compel wrote:
There is generally a lot of cynicism from the UK and Europe when it comes to American portrayals of World War 2 events in the European theatre.

The implication being, that there is doubt that an American film maker or an American studio would finance / film a major WW2 film production without having Americans as the (most probably sole) heroes.

Your behind the times.

These days it's all about how to work a China angle in to get past their censor and get some of the sweet, sweet RMB from the world's second largest (and growing) movie market.

So expect to see Mao Tsetung leading a unit of PLA against Hitler's Japanese allies as Chinese cryptographers on crude Lenovos crack the Enigma code.

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

No, but there is some cynicism about the way that US forces are sometimes portrayed in Hollywood films as major participants in events in which they were only a side-show or even not involved at all. The U-571 film is a good example.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/25/u-571-reel-history

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there some reason why the title has an odd anti-American slant to it?

U-571!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Alpharius wrote:

Compel wrote:There is generally a lot of cynicism from the UK and Europe when it comes to American portrayals of World War 2 events in the European theatre.

motyak wrote:

 Compel wrote:
There is generally a lot of cynicism from the UK and Europe

And further afield...

So this is in some ways a not so cleverly disguised Troll Thread?!?

Hell no!

All I'm asking for is a good war film with some historical accuracy.

Nothing against Matt Damon, but I don't want to see Damon playing a retired marine who just so happens to own beach property at Dunkirk at the time of the Dunkirk evacuation!

This is Hollywood we're talking about!




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

No, but there is some cynicism about the way that US forces are sometimes portrayed in Hollywood films as major participants in events in which they were only a side-show or even not involved at all. The U-571 film is a good example.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/25/u-571-reel-history

Don't forget Ted Danson slagging off Monty in Saving Private Ryan.

It was obviously a American focused war film, but a lot of British Normandy veterans were upset at the time that their efforts had been dismissed out of hand in such a cavalier manner.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Compel wrote:
There is generally a lot of cynicism from the UK and Europe when it comes to American portrayals of World War 2 events in the European theatre.

The implication being, that there is doubt that an American film maker or an American studio would finance / film a major WW2 film production without having Americans as the (most probably sole) heroes.

Your behind the times.

These days it's all about how to work a China angle in to get past their censor and get some of the sweet, sweet RMB from the world's second largest (and growing) movie market.

So expect to see Mao Tsetung leading a unit of PLA against Hitler's Japanese allies as Chinese cryptographers on crude Lenovos crack the Enigma code.

I'd pay to watch that!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Jihadin wrote:
Wonder what would happen if Hitler had not declared war on the US after 7 Dec?

I may start a thread on this one day, but there's a good argument that Britain and the USSR would have eventually prevailed.

Britain dropping the bomb on Berlin around 1948 or something...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

We just don't trust Hollywood

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

There are some films which do seem to go out of their way to downplay the "Allied" effort which is a shame - but then British films did not always give prominance to our allies and the in particular the Commonwealth but things like U571 do leave a bad taste -

For instance I prefer The Longest Day to Saving Private Ryan for various reasons but partly due to the multinational "Allied" feel of the film..............

 motyak wrote:

 Compel wrote:
There is generally a lot of cynicism from the UK and Europe

And further afield...

But I am looking forwards to this, we don't have enough big budget Early War movies by far

Counting Battle for Britain and Sink the Bismark, are there other ones available? Love to watch them.

 Frazzled wrote:

 motyak wrote:

 Compel wrote:
There is generally a lot of cynicism from the UK and Europe

And further afield...

But I am looking forwards to this, we don't have enough big budget Early War movies by far

Counting Battle for Britain and Sink the Bismark, are there other ones available? Love to watch them.

There is the 1950's Dunkirk film

Ice Cold In Alex is a classic.

There was a movie with Robert Newton that I remember seeing where the Brits were under siege in a town and holding out.

I take it back, it was an American film with British actors about the siege of Tobruk:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desert_Rats_(film)

Hollywood aren't the only organisation to have it in for Britain - battlefront seems to bear us a grudge as well.

The German, Americans, and Russians, all have army box deals for flames of war, but no British army box deals!

It's a conspiracy. The rest of the world hasn't forgiven us for The Empire

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
Hollywood aren't the only organisation to have it in for Britain - battlefront seems to bear us a grudge as well.

The German, Americans, and Russians, all have army box deals for flames of war, but no British army box deals!

It's a conspiracy. The rest of the world hasn't forgiven us for The Empire

Nah, I think it is more that since we are not in charge, nothing works properly any more

Will be interesting to see how the film turns out; this was an interesting point in the war for all of the then-allied powers.

 Alpharius wrote:
Is there a lot of 'European Insecurity' over how WWI/WWII played out and the United States' role?

Not at all. Everybody knows the Russians bore the brunt of the war.

The underlying assumption or rather worry of the thread was not, however,

What have the Romans Americans ever done for us (which every western european should know and be grateful for)

but

Contemporary American cinema is incapable of (or rather: not interested in) making realistic war movies that show the actions of Allied forces without resorting to (changing historical facts and realism in order to obtain a) stupid and unnecessary glorification of US forces.

We will see what Mr. Nolan makes of it...

And what contemporary war films would that be?

U-571 is the biggest offender. I've also seen comments about Saving Private Ryan as well.

I think there's also comments about Michael Bay's Pearl Harbour as well.

The Monuments Men had some of the same criticism as well I think.

 Compel wrote:
U-571 is the biggest offender. I've also seen comments about Saving Private Ryan as well.

I think there's also comments about Michael Bay's Pearl Harbour as well.

I think the only real offender against the allies is that alternate reality submarine movie. Saving Private Ryan was focused on a squad of U.S. soldiers while Pearl Harbor was just strange.

Inglorious Barsterds completely ignored the Imperial contribution to avant garde cinema of the early 1940s.

Fury was the latest offender.

Managed to be unhistorical, totally unrealistic, and misanthropic. I felt properly brain-raped afterwards.

 Frazzled wrote:

 Las wrote:
Who wants to bet the French army covering the withdrawal will receive zero screen time or mention?

The French army, not the heroes Gotham deserves, but the heroes they need.

"Do you know where I got these scars?" Hitler
"I know where you got these." Roosevelt.

I laughed, I mocked, I exalted.

Happy New Years, old fether!