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Battlefield (1995)
Great show to display the tactical side of the war,....But.
I have seen a wide variety of WWII documentaries, and this is among the very best, but what happened to Season 3?
Midway (1976)
Bit of a disappointment
The first time I saw Midway in 1976, it was an exciting event as I have always been a collector of WWII movies. I thoroughly loved the movie. But later I was disappointed, since every later cut of the movie I was able to locate had totally removed all mention of Captain Garth's relationship with a woman in Honolulu. His ex-wife gets a mention, and his son plays a prominent part, but Captain Garth's girlfriend is totally eliminated from the film, removing a critical character aspect of the man character of the story. I do realize that the battle is the main focal point of the story, but if the writers are going to develop a character as they did with Captain Garth, with his son, his wife, his association with the other officers such as Admiral Pearson, of Naval Intelligence, why leave out the most significant, current, personal relationship in his life?
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Another update of a great old movie
"Flags of our Fathers" is nothing more than an cinematic modernization of the old Tony Curtis Movie of 1961 "The Outsider". Nothing new here except to put the special effects style of Saving Private Ryan into a movie that retells the story originally told in 1961. The acting is OK in the newer version but nothing to compare with Tony Curtis' portrayal of Ira Hayes. This seems to be a Hollywood trend with movies remaking old ones telling the same story with new technology, others include "Munich" originally told through the film "Sword Of Gideon", and "Flyboys" originally "Hells's Angels" But then originality hasn't been Hollywood's strong point for a long time, as evidenced by their movie productions of so many 1960's era comic book heros turned movie subjects.
The Outsider (1961)
Another original that has been remade for a fast buck
This movie is an excellent (my judgement based on other research) portrayal of the life of Ira Hayes after Iwo Jima. Hayes gets selected as a hero then tries to live down what he feels is a farce of advertising. It has been recently remade as "Flags Of Our Fathers" aptly named since it's initials are FOOF a word used to describe a chair designed to be comfortable, the new version Flags of our Fathers is a feel good piece to make people feel good about heros and bashing war all in one neat package. Given a choice between the two The Outsider is far superior to it's more contemporary remake in all areas except the special effects.
From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
I Remember This Story From Watching It Live
I get sad every time I watch this, because it is excellent in quality and accuracy, and each time I see "From The Earth To The Moon" I recall how much I wish I could have been on the crew of Appllo 8 on that first trip around the Moon. As a young boy I watched this story unfold, as it happened on live television. Sure there are some areas that some viewers have found where cinematic hiccups occur, but if you just watch the show and lose yourself in the story, there is little chance of anyone, space program follower or not, that you can't help but enjoy this outstanding series. My wife gave me the VHS version for a Christmas gift when it first came out and I had to go get the DVD signature version as soon as I saw it.
Fantastic Four (2005)
Stan Lee not in IMDb credits list.
Stan Lee had a cameo part in the Fantastic Four (Mailman) as he did in The Hulk (Security Guard), I wonder why he didn't get a listing in the credits on the website? I think that it is great that Mr. Lee is included in the movies he had a part in creating. Too bad more people (creators & writers) don't do this. The Fantastic Four is a great display of the characters, but I was a bit disappointed in the fact that Ben Grimm (human form) was not played by an actor that looked more like the comic book form. Also as an avid reader of the original comic books, I have to say that there could have been a better job done in continuity of characters, the comic book Johnny Storm was not nearly as much a smart ass as he is in the movie, nor was he the public showoff.