starman2003 Reviews

The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Historically false

[5/10 · 17 December 2004]

It's been a while since I saw this film but from what I remember it couldn't be historically true. According to the plot, Allied commandos blew up German guns which had been picking off ships attempting to supply Russia via Greek waters. But the Allies didn't attempt to send supply convoys past the Aegean, and Turkish straits. That would've been impossible. Their convoys either went around the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Persian Gulf, or reached Murmansk in the far north. The Germans held the European side of the Dardenelles and Bosporus, and Russia didn't have any ports left in the Black Sea since the Germans had taken Odessa and the Crimea. Still I thought the movie was good. Niven was great. In addition to the action, the movie was spiced up a bit by the scene of the traitorous young woman's shirt ripped off to reveal the phoniness of her claim to have been whipped by the Germans. Hr bare back was in quite pristine condition.

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

good old movie

[25 June 2004]

I think Luther Adler was convincing in the role of Adolf Hitler. As far as I know the film was historically accurate, including its portrayal of Rommel's end-forced to commit suicide. His widow refused to make a scene at his funeral, knowing "they would have covered it up somehow and my husband would have been disgraced." Maybe they should have included a meeting between Rommel and Hitler in 1943 in which Rommel proposed that the Germans silence Allied propaganda claims by elevating a few Jews to high positions. After he left, Hitler said "that fellow has no idea what we're trying to accomplish." The end of the movie is very moving, but there is a flaw: El Alamein was certainly not one of Rommel's victories. And I don't think Churchill's eulogy makes much sense.

The UFO Incident (1975 TV Movie)

interesting controversy

[11 June 2004]

I liked the depiction of aliens in this film. The star map shown on board the craft was what Betty recalled under hypnosis. Her recollection has been the basis for the suggestion that the aliens originate in the Zeta Reticuli star system. Abut 25 years ago, I got THE ZETA RETICULI INCIDENT, an interesting analysis of the idea. On the one hand, Zeta 1 or 2 is Population II, and therefore much older than the sun and Earth. Any life on a much older world would have had much more time to progress to an advanced state. On the other hand, Population II worlds tend to be deficient in the heavier elements necessary for the origin of life, or civilization. I note, btw, that Kevin Randle dismissed the Travis Walton case as a hoax because his claim to have seen a star map aboard a UFO could have been influenced by the The UFO Incident movie, shown only a few weeks earlier.

Roswell (1994 TV Movie)

some likely truths

[3 June 2004]

One thing that impressed me a bit about his movie were the scenes of government officials discussing what to do in the wake of Roswell. I consider it highly likely that the coverup was (and still is) motivated primarily by a realization that advanced ETs, if revealed, would devastate existing religious beliefs and political institutions. Also intriguing were the tactics proposed to help the coverup. Bad information was to be leaked through good sources and good information through bad sources. There is fairly good evidence of this. The whole Roswell case is awash with nonsense and disinformation put out by people in touch with the government, notably Corso, Courtney Brown and K.Korff.The latter supports the official line that no ET crash occurred; it was just a balloon array, supposedly difficult to identify because it consisted of 23 balloons. But many people can see through official explanations, so outright denial must be supplemented by disinformation.If they can't prevent some people from believing at least they can try to prevent them from drawing the right conclusions.That is the purpose of disinformation. The truth is that Roswell was a deliberate crash, intended to contact the government without frightening it, as landing intact would have. Note that the aliens don't land and reveal themselves yet, not any more than the government discloses their existence. The two have collaborated since the outset, in 1947.To obscure this, Corso portrayed the aliens as hostile, while the putative briefing document says their intentions are completely unknown. The obvious implication, and purpose of the phoney document, is to discredit the reality: ET-government collaboration.

The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

reflects history

[1 June 2004]

The Flight of the Phoenix reflects the postwar period, when the German people were regaining the friendship and respect of the rest of the world, and were often portrayed as good guys instead of villians. The German engineer comes up with the only solution to the plight of the survivors of the plane crash in the desert. The marching solution proposed by the British officer is rejected by Stewart's character, and fails; others get their throats slit seeking help from desert nomads. Kruger's character enforces his authority even over Stewart's character, and in one memorable scene, the German completely cuts down to size those who disparage his experience building "toy airplanes." But in the end the German is not infallible. Stewart's character succeeds in starting the "phoenix" by firing all remaining charges despite the German's violent opposition, which changes to a big smile, and the two are best of friends after the flight to safety.

The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

pretty realistic

[30 May 2004]

I think the film pretty well depicts the desperation of the Germans at the end of the war, as the German commander discovers he has far fewer men than he thought, due to desertion etc, and the panzer reinforcements he expected didn't come. One scene that looked a bit phoney was the one showing US tanks neatly lined up shooting at German guns, also neatly lined up and not concealed or camoflaged. Of course, the US tanks win the engagement while losing only one tank set ablaze. In my opinion the film is not too violent for kids, but there is one scene of a barracks whore, played by Anna Gael, stripping to the waist after taking cigarettes as payment. But they show only her upper chest and back.

Pressure Point (1962)

nice experience, and relevant

[9/10 · 24 February 2004]

I never tire of seeing the very start of this film, when they're giving the credits. Intersecting white bars and eerie sounds make it seem you're in for the scariest movie ever made. And this movie has some pretty intense and bizarre scenes. The end, though, is quite moving and touching. The young shrink who despairs of ever getting through to a hostile black boy is inspired by the Doctor's tale of what he went through 20 years earlier. The lesson is just as relevant today as when this movie was made almost half a century ago: It can be very difficult for the different races to get along, but we've just got to keep trying.

The Enemy Below (1957)

interesting but phoney(possible spoilers)

[23 February 2004]

In some ways THE ENEMY BELOW is realistic but in other ways it is not. The German U-boat commander is contemptuous of an ardent Nazi on board. It is true that the Kriegsmarine was the least politicized branch of the German armed forces, and there WAS at least one example of that in real life during the war, but it was unlikely for anyone that contemptuous of the regime, and defeatist, to get a command or retain it for long. Even though the U-boat was presumably meant to be a relatively large Type IX (which tended to operate solo in distant waters and were increasingly targeted by US hunter killer teams late in the war) the accomodations portrayed in the film are too spacious. Most phoney of all are the uniforms. In real life, German U-boat crews on patrol dressed very casually, and tended to become dirty and unshaven.

Sink the Bismarck! (1960)

inaccuracies-and possible spoilers

[1 February 2004]

For many years, everyone assumed that Bismarck sank the Hood but about a decade ago I became aware of research which strongly suggests the Prinz Eugen in fact sank the Hood. According to one student of naval history, there is no evidence that Bismarck fired a salvo at the relevant time, but Prinz Eugen did. The latter, smaller warship was also firing at Hood and according to Hoyt, had already scored a hit which caused an ammunition fire i.e. was already zeroed in. Prinz Eugen's guns weren't as heavy as those of Bismarck but still sufficed to penetrate and blow up the thinly armored Hood. Even if Bismack did destroy the Hood, the German battleships, like the Yamato, were a foolish waste of resources. If the Germans had used the steel etc for U-boat construction, they might have won the war before 1941, i.e. when Allied ASW forces were still weak. The movie takes some liberties with history. It gives the impression that Bismarck was finished off with torpedoes when it was scuttled. Someone said the officers on the bridge had been killed (during the bombardment) but according to one survivor, quoted, if memory serves, by Mullenheim-Rechberg, Captain Lindemann climbed atop the hull of Bismarck before it sank and went down with his ship while saluting.

The War of the Worlds (1953)

unrealistic-addendum

[28 September 2003]

I'd like to add-a far advanced attacking force should have been prepared for hazards such as terrestrial bacteria. Look how careful we are to sterilize probes etc.

By the way, in the process of elimination search for a new home, in which only Earth was deemed suitable for the Martians, I noticed that no mention was made of Venus, no doubt because scientists still had no idea what kind of environment existed below the Venusian clouds. Not until the 1960s was it learned that Venus, like Mercury, was too hot to be habitable.

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Thrilling but unrealistic

[28 September 2003]

The idea of an advanced civilization on Mars, expounded by Lowell, was discredited long before 1953. It is a bit surprising that a movie was based on an idea lacking credibility while the modern UFO phenomenon hinted at an advanced extrasolar civilization for years before the picture was made.

It is hard to believe advanced invaders from anywhere would act as if they had failed to properly study their target. Really intelligent aliens would initially concentrate all their fire on Europe and North America, and thereby immediately neutralize the bulk of the scientific and industrial means which might turn the tables on the invaders. What was the use of attacking India simultaneously and wrecking the Taj Mahal? The third world can wait.

The end is the worst. After repeated failures by Man, the "Martians" are beaten by microbes which "God in his infinite wisdom had created to protect the Earth." Are they saying that Man's science and rationality are worthless, and we should just trust in a putative supreme being? If that were true, it is remarkable that other intelligences had progressed so far, through science and technology, and act contrary to judao-christian teachings!

Pressure Point (1962)

irony

[9/10 · 10 September 2003]

The title "pressure point" reflects the strain the doctor was under while dealing with an intelligent racist. At one point the patient said in effect that blacks wouldn't achieve equality for "another 5500 years." But ironically the progress of blacks was greatly accelerated after the war, largely because of people like the patient. The 1942-43 period (i.e. when doctor and patient grappled)witnessed the turning point of the war, and beginning of the end of the Nazis. Their defeat meant the utter discrediting of the idea of racial superiority, which greatly aided the cause of minorities in the postwar period.