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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Uncommon Valor - Campaign for the South Pacific >> Movies that could help with the game.

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Movies that could help with the game. - 1/16/2003 10:24:47 AM

rlefebvr

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Hey wargamers.

Are there any movies (good ones) out there that would help with understanding the game.

These could be about the war in the Pacific or about operations in general.

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- 1/16/2003 11:39:07 AM

Raverdave

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"Tora Tora Tora" is a good one....classic in fact....then there is the "Battle of Midway" I remember seeing that in the seventys when they used that "senseround" thing where the seat shook.
Both are good movies considering how long ago they were made. It is time that Tom Hanks paid some attention to this part of WW2 and produced a good film on the pacific war.

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- 1/16/2003 11:46:03 AM

Reiryc

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'In Harms Way' staring John Wayne....

Can't go wrong with learning about skyhook and applying those lessons here =)

Reiryc

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- 1/16/2003 11:57:45 AM

pasternakski

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See "MacArthur." Not only does Greg Peck do a great job of making Mac feel creepy and distant like Captain Ahab, he delivers the classic line, "No, no. I won't preside over another disaster. I propose to fight the battle of Australia up here - in New Guinea." His "For a moment, I thought I saw our flag go down" during the meeting with Roosevelt is camp not to be missed.

"Dammmmmned whale," indeed.

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- 1/16/2003 12:27:45 PM

Knavey

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If anyone posts that POS called Pearl Harbor, they will be run out on the yardarm with a noose around their neck and after that is done, keel hauled until the rope breaks.

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- 1/16/2003 12:29:18 PM

Feinder

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Also, if you have opportunity to park yourself in front of the History Channel, there's always a documentary on about the Pacific war.

A seriers that may be available for rent, is the old "Victory At Sea" (c1960). It's kinda hokey, as in, very "Rah! Rah!" kind of stuff (the narrator even sounds like hes doing a newsreel), but it does a fair job of at least telling quick stories of the various battles (Pacific, Atlantic and Med).

Unfortunatly, accurate war movies usually pretty rare, and have only bee cropping up in quantity and quality recently. As far as quality, I'd recommend "Wind Talkers". It's not really accurate from a purely factual stand-point, but it does accurately portray atmosphere and attitude.

Essentially, the US Pacific forces used Navajo indians to transmit coded messages in the Pacific theater (the were actually called code talkers, but that sounded boring to HollyWood, so they changed it to Wind Talkers). Many Japanese officers had been could speak English (unlike most Americans who couldn't make anything out of Japanese). So US radio intercepts by the Japanese (who could understand them if in English) would certainly be bad thing. The solution was to tap the Navajos whose language even has it's own roots (it's not based on Latin or Germanic or Slavic). And considering that that there were so few Navajos anyways, the Japanese had no chance of understanding what the code talkers were saying.

-F-

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What about... - 1/16/2003 12:53:41 PM

Grumbling Grogn

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"Bah Bah Black Sheep"?

:D

How in the world did that show ever make it?! And it was a freakin hour long too! I used to hang with a guy that loved that show...when it came on we went our separate ways. :confused:

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- 1/16/2003 1:08:00 PM

rcwkent

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Tora Tora Tora

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- 1/16/2003 1:14:28 PM

bradfordkay

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C,mon man... any weekly show that allowed you to watch Corsairs in flight was worth watching. It was no worse than any of the other schlock the networks were throwing at us. IIRC, there was the occaisional real battle footage used in the show (not of the battles portrayed, but from inflight films later in the war). The History Channel often shows it, including interviews with survivors of the squadron.

(added later)the following post reminds me that The Thin Red Line is a pretty good film about this theatre...

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- 1/16/2003 1:32:06 PM

estaban

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Guadlcanal Diary is pretty good.

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- 1/16/2003 8:47:57 PM

rlefebvr

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Well....I am off to the video store.

I am ashamed to say it, but I know very little about the pacific war.

Except for Baa Baa Black Sheep. LOL
That show was good for one thing, it made me fall in love with flying. I love that plane.

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- 1/16/2003 9:29:14 PM

Feinder

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(* chuckle *)

Remember "Bah Bah Black Sheep" bro...? Of course you do.

When Knavey and I were kids (I guess I was about 6, he was 8), we'd crouch down in front of this little 13" black-n-white TV that was on the floor of the living room. Our mother had this thing about the TV being the tool of the devil and rotting our brains, but after years of pleading we were finally were allowed to have this little black-n-white. That poor TV litterally got kicked out the back door on more than one occasion, but the d_mn thing just wouldn't die (hm... maybe it was posessed of the devil then?). It ended up where all the knobs were broken off, and we hat to change the channels with a pair of pliers, but we could still watch "Bah Bah Black Sheep".

Gawd, I started laughing just thinking about that.

Another classic was "The Rat Patrol". Funny how it never occurred to us that Jeeps w/ 50cals could somehow take out Tiger tanks...

Ah childhood...

And to make up for his depraved TV watching when he was a kid, Knavey now has one of the biggest effing TVs on the planet (or so it seems). Definately good to watch the Bucs on tho.

-F-

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Here's a good one - 1/16/2003 9:39:40 PM

wie201

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If you opponent is as skilled (**** lucky!) as mine, the Final Countdown will do nicely. The USS Nimitz (yes, the nuclear one) goes back in time to just before the attack on Pearl. Who cares about Zero's versus B-17s when they are facing F/A-18s!

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Final Countdown - 1/16/2003 10:28:30 PM

fcooke

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Pretty sure this movie used F14s, not 18s. I'm not sure 18s were even in service when this movie was made. Speaking of this movie the old Pacwar had a final countdown scenario where you get one Nimitz like CV loaded out with planes with 12x the ability of the the normal planes of the time. Painful for the IJN.

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- 1/16/2003 10:55:32 PM

Apollo11

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Hi all,

There are two movies from period also worth seeing:

"Thin Red Line"

"Naked and the Dead, The"

Although they deal with ground combat they are very good.

BTW, as always, the books (with same title that those films are based upon) are MUST read.

Leo "Apollo11"

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- 1/16/2003 11:06:51 PM

Cap Mandrake

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To get ready for WITP...you might look into the most excellent BBC serial "A Town Like Alice", based on Neville Schute's novel. It deals with the beastial treatment of British and Australian POW's in Malaysia.

Or try the "Victory at Sea" serials with actual combat footage..it has a propaganda feel to it but I defy you not to be swept up by it. The announcer alone will make you want to stand up and salute. I recall one episode that deals with the Allied attacks in New Guinea and the Kokoda Trail and I think there is a film of the Lexington listing badly after being hit.

I hadn't thought about it, but Pasternaski is right....Peck's portrayal of MacArthur is reminiscent of his Ahab...always sticking out his jaw and staring into the distance
:D

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Realism......not! - 1/16/2003 11:14:09 PM

mogami

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by estaban
[B]Guadlcanal Diary is pretty good. [/B][/QUOTE]

Hi, I you refering to that old William Bendix movie?
Where all the fighting is in daylight, the Japanese are dug in caves
and bloody ridge is never mentioned?

Well aside from those minor details the movie is pretty funny.

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- 1/17/2003 12:17:34 AM

HawaiiFive-O

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I just saw a "History versus Hollywood" feature on Guadacanal Diary.

They went through the entire film and compared it to history, with veterans adding their two cents along the way.

It was quite enjoyable.

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- 1/17/2003 2:46:51 AM

Knavey

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Just turn on the History Channel. Every day it seems it will have a decent story on WW2. Not all will be in the Pacific, but recent attempts at getting the story right have made for good 1 hour shows. Also, the Discovery Wings channel will highlight aircraft from WW2 which is a good source of information also.

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- 1/17/2003 4:09:51 AM

SoulBlazer

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Movies are good (I always liked the classic movies 'Midway' and 'Tora, Tora, Tora') but for the best knowledge of the period I really suggest some books. I'm a historian by training and I know many books are quite bad and out of range of the average interested person, but there's three books in my collection I highly suggest that anyone can understand:

"The Pacific War, 1941-1945" by John Costello
"The Pacific Campaign" by Dan van der Vat
"Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II" by Robert Leckie

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- 1/17/2003 11:10:40 AM

Caltone

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Knavey
[B]If anyone posts that POS called Pearl Harbor, they will be run out on the yardarm with a noose around their neck and after that is done, keel hauled until the rope breaks. [/B][/QUOTE]

Hehe,

I got the DVD for Christmas from my inlaws. They knew I liked military history and well you know.

The extra features on the DVD are generally very good and I must say the actual attack scenes are at times awesome. the good thing about seeing this on DVD means I don't have to watch the "story" just the fight :D

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- 1/17/2003 5:22:02 PM

zed

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Terence Malik's the Thin Red Line is the best war movie I have ever seen. Having been in Infantry Combat units it captures the feel of combat and the mentality of the soldiers involved better than anything I have seen. Soldiers in combat are concerned about a couple of things:
1-not being a coward
2-staying alive
3-not letting buddies down
In the whole time I was in the infantry I never heard one patriotic sentiment voiced, Unlike John Wayne movies.

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- 1/17/2003 6:59:07 PM

Drongo

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For everything you need to know about WWII naval combat in the South Pacific.

I would highly recommend the movie "McHales Navy". It gives you a great feel for conditions in the South Pacific Theatre. It covers in accurate detai,l both allied and Japanese combat tactics.

Until I saw it, I was not aware of just how much difficulty allied base commanders faced in day to day operations, especially in command control.

The movie particularly highlights just how inventive the allies were by showing how a Japanese Fleet could be thrown into chaos by the ingenius use of a C-47, a jeep and a long cable. You don't realise just how stupid the Japs were historically. Matrix, take note.

A must see.

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Re: What about... - 1/17/2003 7:51:43 PM

siRkid

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Grumbling Grogn
[B]"Bah Bah Black Sheep"?

:D

How in the world did that show ever make it?! And it was a freakin hour long too! I used to hang with a guy that loved that show...when it came on we went our separate ways. :confused: [/B][/QUOTE]

ya, that show make me cringe. In all my 21 years in the navy I never had a bunch of drop-dead gorgeous nurses stationed with me at a forward deployment site. I love the History Channel but I can understand their supporting this show.

Rick

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- 1/17/2003 8:09:44 PM

Knavey

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As a kid, it was the flying scenes that looked good. As an adult, its the nurses...and the flying scenes.

Who cares about the acting. Those Corsairs sure are pretty.

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I agree 100% - 1/17/2003 8:45:59 PM

Apollo11

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Hi all,

[QUOTE]Originally posted by zed
[B]Terence Malik's the Thin Red Line is the best war movie I have ever seen. Having been in Infantry Combat units it captures the feel of combat and the mentality of the soldiers involved better than anything I have seen. Soldiers in combat are concerned about a couple of things:
1-not being a coward
2-staying alive
3-not letting buddies down
In the whole time I was in the infantry I never heard one patriotic sentiment voiced, Unlike John Wayne movies. [/B][/QUOTE]

I agree 100%.

This is why I posted this movie as "must see" yesterday in this thread.

Shame that such good move is so underrated (it went out same year as "Saving Private Ryan" and it mostly went unnoticed.

IMHO, the combat scene in "Thin Red Line" is the best combat scene I have ever seen in a movie (the landing in "Saving Private Ryan" comes 2nd).

Leo "Apollo11"

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- 1/17/2003 9:23:04 PM

Cap Mandrake

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Drongo
[B]For everything you need to know about WWII naval combat in the South Pacific.

I would highly recommend the movie "McHales Navy". It gives you a great feel for conditions in the South Pacific Theatre. It covers in accurate detai,l both allied and Japanese combat tactics.

Until I saw it, I was not aware of just how much difficulty allied base commanders faced in day to day operations, especially in command control.

The movie particularly highlights just how inventive the allies were by showing how a Japanese Fleet could be thrown into chaos by the ingenius use of a C-47, a jeep and a long cable. You don't realise just how stupid the Japs were historically. Matrix, take note.

A must see. [/B][/QUOTE]

:D :D Drongo...that's hilarious. Any Navy that could design a shallow draft vessel like a PT boat that would NOT capsize with Ernest Borgnine at the helm deserves credit. Can you imagine a TV exec trying to "pitch" the show...."see..there is this small torpedo boat called a PT boat, which was used in the war to go up against more potent Japanese warships, often at night, at great risk to the crews....so wouldn't it be hilarious if we did a show about an incompetent crew and a pencil-neck base command.....and the funny part is the Japanese are even more incompetent...hey the 50 cal. machine Gun would be good for a thousand gags...and the production costs would be low..all we need is a couple of banana trees, a Quonset hut and for the "at-sea" shots we just project the same ocean shot behind a little wooden mock-up of the bridge"

Of course you know the adults were trying to have a serious discussion about art ;)

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- 1/17/2003 9:40:37 PM

Drongo

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Posted by Cap Mandrake
[QUOTE]and the production costs would be low..all we need is a couple of banana trees, a Quonset hut and for the "at-sea" shots we just project the same ocean shot behind a little wooden mock-up of the bridge[/QUOTE]

It was simply based on an idea for a TV show? It wasn't shot on location?:eek:

I wonder if Mdiehl knows of this.

I'll never feel the same playing UV now. Should I also delete my post to Matrix telling them that Lt. Cdr. Quinton McHale has been wrongly left out of the OOB?

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- 1/18/2003 10:06:11 AM

Cap Mandrake

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Drongo
[B]...
I'll never feel the same playing UV now. Should I also delete my post to Matrix telling them that Lt. Cdr. Quinton McHale has been wrongly left out of the OOB? [/B][/QUOTE]

:D :D LOLOL...I can't believe you knew his name and rank (I assume you are right) Maybe the forum could put their head's together and come up with a rating for him...Inspiration 39, Laugh/ morale factor 11 ...or something like that.

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- 1/18/2003 8:57:40 PM

patrickl

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Yep gang, could not agree with you more about having movies to make more people aware of the Pacific war. I think Tora3 is good but Battle of Midway was average. I just bought the Band of Brother VCDs and book : even the best 101st AB sweat & bled and I cried. Just read about the 442d Regiment over the website - another fine fighting unit and made me cry when reading it - [url]www.homeofheroes.com/moh/nisei/index.html.[/url] I remember Cliff Robertson & Micheal Caine in one movie but just could not remember the title - a good one there. My favourite TV war show is Combat - Vic Morrow & Rick Jason. RIP Vic.

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Uncommon Valor - Campaign for the South Pacific >> Movies that could help with the game.

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