OT: Dunkirk
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I saw it. Great story. Not a great film. I couldn't get over the fact that they rescued 350,000 off the beach and it never looked like more than 5,000 were there. I thought the British soldier's character was real weak. There was so much fighting on the beach and perimeter that they overlooked. They skipped the part where the German's stepped down the attack for a few days and there was little to no talk about how a loss there would have ended the war.
Thought it was great. Showcased the determination and grit of the English during a terrible event. Excellent cinematography.
Pretty much what he said. You never really got a sense that there were hundreds of thousands needing evacuation. Also, there was one character in the film that I thought was completely unnecessary. Nice film, but not great.
After Batman Begins and Interstellar I vowed never to pay to see another Christopher Nolan directed film. The guy's no Spielberg to put it mildly.
SPOILER ALERTS!!! DON"T READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE!!
I thought the mixed up timelines at the end were a bit of a mess. Characters were underdeveloped as they never really gave you a reason to care about the main characters or why the audience should care about a couple of guys trying every way to scam their way off the beach while every other soldier waits bravely with his unit. Finally, what was with the whole kid thing? Everyone cares about a dying kid, but that storyline really seemed corkscrewed into this plot.
I thought the mixed up timelines at the end were a bit of a mess. Characters were underdeveloped as they never really gave you a reason to care about the main characters or why the audience should care about a couple of guys trying every way to scam their way off the beach while every other soldier waits bravely with his unit. Finally, what was with the whole kid thing? Everyone cares about a dying kid, but that storyline really seemed corkscrewed into this plot.
I saw it over the weekend on IMAX and I liked it but don't think you always got the full scope of what happened. The movie does try to immerse you in the parallel stories and I think did a pretty good job of it. The "home" scene was great.
Side note: Brought ear plugs and ended up using them. Don't know about other theaters but the IMAX at the AMC Loews 18 can be loud for my tolerance and this movie is probably more than the norm. I don't think it took away from my experience but probably helped my ear drums.
Side note: Brought ear plugs and ended up using them. Don't know about other theaters but the IMAX at the AMC Loews 18 can be loud for my tolerance and this movie is probably more than the norm. I don't think it took away from my experience but probably helped my ear drums.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS DO NOT READ!!!!
I don't think it's necessarily about caring about the characters as much as just speaking to the desperation of some trying any means scamming, using the stranded boat, etc.. to get off the beach. Then you have the heroism of others like Tom Hardy's fighting in the air to the last drop of gas is his plane and into capture. Although I didn't understand why he couldn't have ditched closer to the evacuation site. Then you have the bravery of ordinary civilians like the father, son and friend putting themselves in harm's way to rescue their fellow country men. Even for the ones who are brave though, how invested is the audience in them?
I don't know if you can see it through "traditional" story telling glasses. It seemed like storytelling through immersion (guessing that's part of the reason for 70mm filming) and tried to make you feel as if you're there and constantly keep you in suspense through sound rather than storytelling through dialog.
It's different and I liked it but do think you lose some of the scope of the big picture when you're hopping around immersed in the parallel storylines.
saw it - liked it! Concept was good in showing desperation and effort during war. Light dialog - which was expected.
What many unassuming folks don't realize is logistics is a big factor in how war is forwarded by nations - this movie emphasized that dilemma in the difficulty in moving vast numbers of people in a crisis. Poster above on 9/11 migration is right on.
What many unassuming folks don't realize is logistics is a big factor in how war is forwarded by nations - this movie emphasized that dilemma in the difficulty in moving vast numbers of people in a crisis. Poster above on 9/11 migration is right on.
It was worth seeing. But it's not a movie I want to see again or would recommend to anyone as you have to see it.
It was good, quite entertaining, but not great.
I consider it an experience and not a movie. I don't think I would have liked it at all if saw it at home instead of the theater (saw it on imax)
I consider it an experience and not a movie. I don't think I would have liked it at all if saw it at home instead of the theater (saw it on imax)
Looking forward to seeing it soon. I don't have expectations it will be good as "Saving Private Ryan', which might now be the best 'War' movie ever.
I saw again, " The Longest Day' recently, and even though hokey at time, it still stands up well, even in Black and White. I never knew Pres. Theodore Roosevelt's son, was such a big hero in the Invasion. All Star cast as well
"Hacksaw Ridge' just popped up on HBO, so will see that soon as well.
I saw again, " The Longest Day' recently, and even though hokey at time, it still stands up well, even in Black and White. I never knew Pres. Theodore Roosevelt's son, was such a big hero in the Invasion. All Star cast as well
"Hacksaw Ridge' just popped up on HBO, so will see that soon as well.
[QUOTE="Abro1975, post: 2812086, member: 4016"I don't have expectations it will be good as "Saving Private Ryan', which might now be the best 'War' movie ever.
.[/QUOTE]
Well, the first 25 minutes is. Even vets of Iraq and Afghanistan I have spoken with say that. They, and I, are not quite as convinced about the rest of the movie.
.[/QUOTE]
Well, the first 25 minutes is. Even vets of Iraq and Afghanistan I have spoken with say that. They, and I, are not quite as convinced about the rest of the movie.
I saw it. Not the greatest "land" war movie. The three aspect depiction was unique and the air dogfight scenes were probably the best you'll see. I also enjoyed the story telling of the troop transport ships at sea, and the sense that even though they got off the beach, they still hadn't escaped.
Had the writers beefed up the ground battle portion of the story, the movie could have been an all-time great.
Had the writers beefed up the ground battle portion of the story, the movie could have been an all-time great.
MrScrew and I saw it last night. good story, bad movie. As stated above, it looked like 75 boats picked up 1000 or so soldiers. The editing back and forth was not well done, it made it seem like 3 very incomplete story lines. Agree with @Knight Ed that George dying was a tug at the heart strings but seems totally superfluous. So many unanswered questions for me that I will do a little research and find a book on the subject to read.
@skeeter70 mentioned the 9/11 boat lift story. Worth your 12 minutes to watch it:
9/11 Boatlift
@skeeter70 mentioned the 9/11 boat lift story. Worth your 12 minutes to watch it:
9/11 Boatlift
Agree with the above. For whatever reason, I had a hard time understanding what they were saying. Must've been the English accent.
I saw it over the weekend. The goriest war move I ever seen, gorier than the first 1/2 hour of Private Ryan. Not just gore, but in how people die too. Wouldn't expect anything less from Mel Gibson.
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I think you guys all nailed it with some great comments above. We get obsessed with cinematography in war films, but really the best storytellers make the best war flicks. Consider "Inglorious Basterds". Historical fiction to the Nth degree, yet the natural dialogue builds the circumstances and the tension better than any cinematography or CGI can.
Nolan really swung for the fences with his cinematograpy and there are select scenes where he really deserves huge admiration:
1) The opening scene where dunkirk is being canvassed with leaflets showing the troops are surrounded, looks almost like snow in this idyllic town
2) British pilot trapped in the cockpit, sinking in the water, sort of gold-red hair shimmering in the sun as his life is really slowly sinking away -- only to be rescued by the yachters
3) Beach as the luftwaffe fighters bear down on the soldiers with that screaming sound, slicing through the air and dropping the bombs in that steady line. Then seeing the bombs explode in that same steady line.
4) And of course, Tom Hardy's scene gliding with no fuel
I think with some quentin tarantino dialogue this could have been the best war movie ever made. But because it was so deficient in that area, you have to put it somewhere in "very good" category.
On another note entirely, the film "Silence" by Scorcese is excellent. Not the kind of movie you like or dislike, but rather the kind of movie you watch and then have to live with forever.
Nolan really swung for the fences with his cinematograpy and there are select scenes where he really deserves huge admiration:
1) The opening scene where dunkirk is being canvassed with leaflets showing the troops are surrounded, looks almost like snow in this idyllic town
2) British pilot trapped in the cockpit, sinking in the water, sort of gold-red hair shimmering in the sun as his life is really slowly sinking away -- only to be rescued by the yachters
3) Beach as the luftwaffe fighters bear down on the soldiers with that screaming sound, slicing through the air and dropping the bombs in that steady line. Then seeing the bombs explode in that same steady line.
4) And of course, Tom Hardy's scene gliding with no fuel
I think with some quentin tarantino dialogue this could have been the best war movie ever made. But because it was so deficient in that area, you have to put it somewhere in "very good" category.
On another note entirely, the film "Silence" by Scorcese is excellent. Not the kind of movie you like or dislike, but rather the kind of movie you watch and then have to live with forever.
Looks like it already came out but didn't get very good reviews. These kind of movies don't always get widely released, the bad reviews probably didn't help the cause. I'd still see it though if it came to HBO, Netflix or something like that in the future.
I don't know if you've seen The Crown on Netflix but I thought John Lithgow did a nice job as Churchill in that show.
I saw Dunkirk the other day and they showed the Churchill movie trailer with an November release as Armor and Sword noted above. As far as Dunkirk, I agree with many of the above posters in that it did not convey the scale or enormity of the evacuation. I did like it, though.
That's a pretty unfounded statement. Not taking anything away from Speilberg because he's made some incredible movies, and in various genre's. Critics might contend that the vast majority of Spiellberg's movies are for that 14-28 year old male demographic, summer action blockbuster (not that I mind), and only a handful of his movies were really thought provoking. Spielberg's also had his share of flops, nothing epic but a few stinkers. Nolan, while a much, much smaller body of work, has never had a flop. Memento, The Prestige, all the Batman movies, Insomnia, Inception, Interstellar.
Nolan does the Hollywood blockbuster and then backs it with a more thought provoking film. Both are great, but to bash Nolan is a bit unjustified.
I agree with that somewhat as well and I'd say don't just see it in the theater, see it in IMAX if one is close enough to you because that's probably how it's intended to be seen and to get the full effect.
This movie was not that good. Might be his first flop. The movies momentum is from critics not consumers who do not like it near as much as the critics.
I'm not a big movie buff to know or remember who's directing what all the time but I like his movies that you mention...the Batmans (especially compared to the any of the previous, except the Nicholson one), Prestige, Interstellar, Inception, Dunkirk. They're different and different doesn't necessarily mean bad. It's just different.... at least to me.
I haven't seen Dunkirk so I am speaking out of turn. I have heard people say its not his best film bad haven't heard the term "flop" yet. As long as its not as bad as Hook with Robin Williams, I stand by what I said.
Spielberg, in the same year did Schindler's List and Jurassic Park. That's pretty insane when you think about it.
I knew the story being a history buff. I was very disappointed when I saw how he portrayed the scale of this. If I didn't know my history I would have thought 10 French guys stayed behind to fight off the Germans, with 3 RAF fighters to protect them from the Luftwaffe. While 5,000 guys were being save by 1 destroyer and 50 small boats.
This should have been epic. With the entire French 1st army staying behind to hold off the Germans till they ran out of food and ammunition. 16 squadrons and some 3,500 sorties flown by RAF pilots to protect those on the beach. Some 340,000 men saved by a flotilla of 40 destroyers, nearly 400 civilian craft and 800 total vessels. CGI that crap in, give it the scale it deserved.
This should have been epic. With the entire French 1st army staying behind to hold off the Germans till they ran out of food and ammunition. 16 squadrons and some 3,500 sorties flown by RAF pilots to protect those on the beach. Some 340,000 men saved by a flotilla of 40 destroyers, nearly 400 civilian craft and 800 total vessels. CGI that crap in, give it the scale it deserved.
Haven't seen it yet, but being an old movie fan.. an old guy who likes even older movies.. I have been a fan of Mrs. Miniver a long time and Dunkirk plays a role in that.. nicely done from the homeland side.
An excellent film. This is how I saw it. These were young kids 18-21 years old. All very young faces.
This film has no back story... as it shouldn't.
The idea is to experience what these young kids experienced. Exhausted from fighting earlier.. trapped on a beach with no idea why and no idea what their fate would be. These kids had no back story and no idea how they ended up in this predicament. They followed orders. didn't know what to say or do.
You see small portions of the total experience... the same that a single soldier would see, thus you never see the entire scope of the operation. Just bits and pieces. very different than what we are used to.
Hacksaw Ridge is another excellent film. A very true story. Gory and graphic.... as it was. The few stories that I was allowed to listen in on as a kid, stories from Marine and US Navy vets of the South Pacific were shocking to say the least. Desmond Doss achieved incredible acts of heroism... they happen... they are never planned.
This film has no back story... as it shouldn't.
The idea is to experience what these young kids experienced. Exhausted from fighting earlier.. trapped on a beach with no idea why and no idea what their fate would be. These kids had no back story and no idea how they ended up in this predicament. They followed orders. didn't know what to say or do.
You see small portions of the total experience... the same that a single soldier would see, thus you never see the entire scope of the operation. Just bits and pieces. very different than what we are used to.
Hacksaw Ridge is another excellent film. A very true story. Gory and graphic.... as it was. The few stories that I was allowed to listen in on as a kid, stories from Marine and US Navy vets of the South Pacific were shocking to say the least. Desmond Doss achieved incredible acts of heroism... they happen... they are never planned.
Hacksaw was great film and story, better than Saving Private Ryan imho.
So many things about Dunkirk that gets bears notice in that the nazis bundled it, the Brits banded even row boats to be pulled for more floatage for their boys but the true story of Dunkirk was the French 1st army. They knew they were sacrificing themselves so the Brits could get away and fight another day
So many things about Dunkirk that gets bears notice in that the nazis bundled it, the Brits banded even row boats to be pulled for more floatage for their boys but the true story of Dunkirk was the French 1st army. They knew they were sacrificing themselves so the Brits could get away and fight another day
Box Office Mojo seems to be the best site to see if a film is a flop or not. The old rule of thumb is that a film needs to gross twice it's box office to be profitable. No idea if that's true, just something I have read before,
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=chrisnolan2017.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=chrisnolan2017.htm
