BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?

Subject: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Michael Harrison
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 11:31 PM

I am simply fascinated with the Dunkirk episode of WWII and can't seem to get enough reading material on it; however, a movie would be great. I know that there is at least one documentary out there that I believe was done by the "History" channel, but are there others? Has the BBC ever made a documentary or movie about Dunkirk?

There have been so many movies made about different battles of WWII, but still, I find it hard to believe that Dunkirk has been overlooked by the movie folk. I am aware of the DVD, "Escape From Dunkirk," but if there is anything else that anyone knows about, why, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks,....................mwh

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 11:45 PM

The Snow Goose with Richard Harris and Jenny Agutter. I don't know if it is available on DVD. You might contact your local public broadcaster or independent television station that plays movies.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 12:24 AM

There were some brief and rather striking scenes of Dunkirk in the recent movie "Atonement", though it's mostly a tragic love story. It's a good film, and you would probably enjoy seeing the bits in Dunkirk as well as the rest of it.

The two main characters are played by Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 01:09 AM

The i1958 movie entitled "Dunkirk" with John Mills., Richard A, et.al.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Stu
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 04:04 AM

The BBC did indeed make an excellent 4-part(? - or 2 perhaps) documentary/dramatisation about Dunkirk which was very informative whilst giving a hint of what those guys went through.

Go tot he BBC website and type Dunkirk into the search facility and fill your boots!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: alanabit
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 04:53 AM

Going off at a slight tangent, I am always surprised at how little attention was given to some of the most important episodes of the war. Dunkirk was certainly an extraordinary event and one which deserves its own film.
Oddly enough, there is a film about the Arnhem disaster, at which the Allies were defeated. However, the Battle of Kleve and Wesel, which was won by the Allies and actually achieved the Arnhem objective, which was to end the war by occuppying the Ruhrgebiet, has never inspired a major film. It was every bit as tragic as Arnhem and featured conspicuous bravery by the Canadians and Brits, who fought in it.
I would have also expected to see a film about the Battle of Kursk, which essentially ended the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Stu
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 05:35 AM

I agree that Kursk is overlooked, as are episodes such as Monte Cassino and the advance through Italy.

I'm just getting to the end of a book on the fall of Dein Bein Phu which was arguably one of the most significant post-war events and is an astonishing story of courage, heroism and the machinations of the French Military. It certainly makes you look at the US war in Vietnam in a different way. Well deserving of wider recognition, let alone a film.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Acorn4
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 07:12 AM

My Dad, who died a couple of years ago was a veteran of both Dunkirk and Alamein. He was always very critical of military incompetence among the high command, but always expressed a great deal of admiration for General Bernard Montgomery who seems to have had excellent communication skills.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: 3refs
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 08:20 AM

Although not Hollywood film, The Miracle at Dunkirk is a good documentary. It seems that they don't make too many movies about the Allies going backwards. The evacuation of 350,000 troups in just a few days was nothing short of a Miracle!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: GUEST,allan s.
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 09:47 AM

There is a ntsc tape " Dunkirk" the battle for france Vol.2   also listed as Battle for europe the war on land and sea Vol.2
a castle/lamancha co-production
a division of Kultur 121 highway 36 west long branch NJ 07764
[phone]

It appears to have been made in 1989 Also the following books

Dunkirk   Robert Jackson
"       John Harris   " The storms of war"
"       A.J. Barker
"       Norman Gelb
"       Nicholas Hatman
"       Walter lord

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 12:47 PM

It was a miracle assisted by the incompetence of both Hitler and Goering, who had assured Hitler that the Luftwaffe alone would be enough to destroy the Allied troops in the Dunkirk pocket.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Wesley S
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 01:12 PM

Try this link - IMDB - and put Dunkirk in the search engine. It showed me a list of movies and TV programs on the subject. It's a great film resource.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 01:22 PM

We've yet to have a good movie made of the Dieppe raid in 1942. Or the various commando groups and their forays. Certainly I'd like to see "The Devil's Brigade" redone. It was a bit too long on Hollywood.

However, I'd like also to see a movie about Valour Road in Winnipeg. THAT would be a movie and a half.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:16 PM

There's a powerful section of the film Atonement giving a vivid image of Dunkirk from the point of view of the soldiers on the beach.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:20 PM

Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland all from the same street in Winnipeg, each received the Victoria Cross for acts of bravery during the First World War.
Tommy Prince, Canada's most-decorated Aboriginal war veteran, First Special Service Force, "The Devils Brigade".

http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=14741



For Valour. Lest we forget!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:25 PM

Thank you, GUEST. Not too many folks are aware of that story (Valour Road). Heck of a tale. Same with First Special Service Force.

My apologies for the thread drift.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: 3refs
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:38 PM

Twas me that posted above.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:40 PM

Then I thank you, 3refs.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: 3refs
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:51 PM

Tommy Prince.
"They say he used to carry a pair of moccasins in his bag with him. He would never tell anyone where he was going, but would just slip away in the night. The Germans thought he was a ghost or a devil. They could never figure out how he passed the lines and the sentries. He was deathly quiet, in part because of those moccasins he wore all the time. Instead of sneaking in a killing them, he would steal something like a pair of shoes right off their feet. Or he would leave articles behind, like a calling card just to let them know he had been there. Once in a while he would kill one of them, slit their throat so as not to awaken anybody. When those Germans woke up and found one of their own lying dead in the midst of them that's when they got scared. They didn't believe that Prince could be real so they figured he must be an evil spirit or better yet the devil."

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: ard mhacha
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 02:53 PM

Alanabit, I seen a film documentary yesterday on the `Movies for men` channel on the Battle of Kursk, it was a Russian film with English sub-titles.
The History Channel documentary shown a couple of years ago was much better, the History Channel also has shown a programme on Dunkirk

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: 3refs
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 03:07 PM

Also sorry about the drift, but my heart is broken that so many in this country have no idea who he was or what he accomplished.

You can take Johnny Cash' song "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" and insert Tommy Prince and your left with the same feeling!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Michael Harrison
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 03:39 PM

Hey, thanks folks. This is turning into a very nice thread; and, even if it does drift away from Dunkirk, the same thoughts and reverence for those who gave their all in other dire situations is running through it. Again, thanks for the fim AND BOOK leads, too.
On a side note, I will be re-introducing James Keelaghan's, "Fires Of Calais" to my audience (all six of them!) here at home in a few weeks. Cheers,...............................mwh

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 03:43 PM

I read/heard much about Dunkirk when I was a youngster. The bravery of both the troops and the civilians who came to their rescue. I've always seen that 'moment' as a wonderful example of the British spirit to endure all kinds of stuff. The truth is that courage under fire is much more common than is cowardice, but that fact alone doesn't diminish the acts of courage that were so 'common'. Thanks for starting this thread, Michael.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: alanabit
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 05:39 PM

Thanks ard mhacha. I shall check those out if they come my way. There have been one or two good German TV documentaries on the Battle of Kursk.
Dunkirk has become an iconic moment of history because so many "ordinary" people were willing to sail small craft into the bombs and bullets to get even a few men off those beaches. There was also the outstanding courage of the tank crews and the Royal Marines, who fought the holding action at the rear to delay the advancing Germans. That, along with near miraculous weather, enabled the boats to evacuate so many men. There have been few occasions in history on which retreat and defeat on such a massive scale have become occasions of pride. I met men, who were part of that BEF and they all believed that had the Germans invaded straight away, Britain would have been defenceless. It does not mean they were right, but they had a good reason for thinking that way.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Jul 09 - 08:17 PM

IMDb.com allows you to search by keyword.

Here are the results you get when you search for Dunkirk. The list is alphabetical.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: ard mhacha
Date: 24 Jul 09 - 07:46 AM

Alanabit, This from Youtube , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5to0TZ6oiuwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5to0TZ6oiuw

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: alanabit
Date: 24 Jul 09 - 08:24 AM

Thanks ard. That was an interesting piece of history. Am I right in guessing that it was an even greater battle than the Falaise Gap breakout? I shall have to look that one up.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: ard mhacha
Date: 24 Jul 09 - 09:26 AM

Kursk,reckoned to be the mother of all battles, certainly tank battles.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: GUEST,Fellwanderer
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 11:20 AM

I can categorically assure you that The Snow Goose with Jenny Agutter and Richard Harris is not available commercially on dvd or vhs. Nor is any TV channel allowed to show it.

There is a very poor vhs transfer to dvd which can be found if you know where to look.

The only good copies are at the BFI in London and the UCLA archives.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 10:41 PM

But no ballads abou it? Strange

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: 3refs
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 07:10 PM

Watching a program right now about the 1st Special Service Force on TV called "War". Along the Mussolini Canal. This is where the German Officers diary was found and they got the name "Black Devils". An entry stated "The black devils (Die schwarzen Teufel) are all around us every time we come into the line". This was when they'd sneak into their camps at night and leave their little stickers, and do what they did, very well!
Learned something. I didn't know they went back to Italy for the 60Th Anniversary of the liberation of Rome! I know they held their final reunion in Helena Montana not long ago!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: Michael Harrison
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 07:36 PM

Fellwanderer - can you send me a PM on "where it can be found if you know where to look." Another item here, I read yesterday that the last living British WWI vet has died; that's sad to me - all those stories and memories, lessons and such are all gone now. The same thing is happening to our WWII guys, slowly but surely. In fact, I met a guy in a retirement center a few weeks back and after a few minutes conversation I learned that he had served on the same ship as my dad in the Pacific during WWII - he didn't know him, but still, I thought that was pretty cool. My dad's gone, but I'll keep looking for someone who might have known him. Dinner's ready, gotta go. Cheers,....................mwh

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - any movies out there?
From: 3refs
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 07:49 PM

Canada has one left. John Babcock. But he has lived in Spokane, Wash since the 1920's and became an American Citizen. He was granted his Canadian Citizenship back in 2008. I think he's now the oldest living survivor. I've heard he will be given a State Funeral upon his passing.