Best French War Films - Films de Guerre

Glad you liked it, I wouldn't be surprised you order a few other ones form this list. If you do , let me know what you thought of them. I'm afraid not all exist in English version though

 

subtitles? that in itself isn't an issue, although I'd rather watch ,than read and watch, skip..but yes! more indeed...throw any this way that you think worthy, and I'm on amazon looking, what is "army of shadows" like? if you've seen it, that is...

 

that's absolutely awesome, if you haven't seen that ones you haven't seen anyhting. It is inpired by true facts besides and will give you the creeps.

 

I nearly got it yesterday, and thought I'd ask first, well! that is a good one to get then, thanks skip...

 

Don't forget to buy a Weekend at Dunkirk as well , that's a classic you can't miss

 

thankyou..will try to see if it's available..

 

no "weekend at dunkirk" on amazon, skip, but got this one instead...

 

Ray-
Try your local branch of HMV. Mine has an entire section on world cinema which has quite a few French movies in it, and another massive section of war movies.

 

thanks gordon, worth a go..

 

I'm watching "The admiral" at the moment, WWI skip. but have just bought "the army of shadows"..



Review..
I am not sure how many people outside of Russia know Admiral Kolchak. I’m afraid not a great many. At least I did not know him. But not knowing this historical figure may lead to an odd situation. Either people watch this movie for the wrong reasons and will be disappointed or they might not watch it at all. This would actually be a pity since The Admiral is a very sumptuous movie. Beautifully filmed and very gripping.
As stated in the title The Admiral is not a Russian Master & Commander. After the initial ten minutes of naval battle scenes there is no more fighting on ships. These initial ten minutes however are very gruesome and intense. After this sequence the movie starts to resemble Anna Karenina for many reasons. It is a beautiful tale of tragic adulterous love and full of portents, like the breaking glass at the ball in the beginning which reminded me of the accident scene in Anna Karenina. (By pure chance I have just very recently watched Anna Karenina, that is why I realised how very similar they are with regards to the love story apart from the fact that this is a true story.)
The love story between Kolchak and Anna, who are both married when they meet, is only one part of the movie. It is interwoven with the part that follows Admiral Kolchak. 1917 after he has successfully fought the Germans at sea, the Russian Revolution strikes and changes everything for the aristocracy. Kolchak flees to Japan and returns after a few months to head the anti-Bolshevik white troops that were to fight the Red troops. This is the beginning of the Russian Civil War that we see in all its ugliness. If Kolchak had been succesful there would maybe never have been a Soviet Union. Well, he was not successful. In the end he is taken prisoner and sentenced. Anna, the woman he loves, follows him even though they would have let her go. Quite a sacrifice.
It is quite a fascinating story and I have a feeling I am not doing it justice here. If you are interested in history, and especially Russian history, you should watch it. If you like tragic love stories then you should watch it as well.
My only reservations regard the flow. There a quite a few breaks in the movie, it seems a bit disrupted at times.
Do not watch the trailer as it is highly misleading and gives the impression of a pure naval combat movie.

 

Never heard of , tell me if it's any good once you've seen it

 

will do skip...

review....
'Au Revoir Les Enfants'

 

not an action film, but very nicely done, and represented the times? I should imagine, typical school boys, doing the things one did..and a pleasure to watch....nice story..

 

As already mentioned Au Revoir les Enfants is well worth seeing as is Lacombe Lucien (also directed by Louis Malle). Female Agents is pretty but a bit shallow despite it top class cast. Indigenes is very good (not brilliant) and watch the extras to find out why one character always has his hand in his pocket. Also see Camp de Thiaroye (1987) about what happen to West African troops after the war, a bit overly political but interesting.

For post-war viewing - Intimate Enemies about the Algerian war is highly recommended. Have n't seen 317eme section yet but by the same director (and battle veteran) is Dien Bien Phu which was actually filmed in Vietnam and very accurate when it comes to weapons, uniforms etc (except for the M41s posing as M24 Chaffees) and shows many Vietnamese fighting alongside the French.

 

Lacombe Lucien ....want to see this one, and can't understand why the dvd/film is so expensive?

 

would you like me check on french sites for a better price? I suppose they have an English version too .

 

if you would'nt mind skip, I watched army of shadows today, thoroughly enjoyed it, nice and slow, time to read subtitles...

 

the cheapest I got at this point is 15.99 euros (about 14 £)

Achat de DVD à prix discount – films et DVD pas cher – Cdiscount.com

I will try to see if I get a better quote

 

whew! still expensive dvd.