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World War II Movie Night

Mar 29, 2024

World War II Movie Night does a listener request with the 1968 American movie, "Hell in the Pacific," about two men trapped on an island together, and one of them we never even hear what he's saying! Despite this sparse premise, director John Boorman turns in a surprisingly eventful character study... asides include a...


Mar 8, 2024

Tonight we're having a communist party (!) as we look at a part of the War not often explored, the Russian camps. Storied director Peter Weir ("Gallipoli") brought this true (?) story to the screen in 2010, starring Ed Harris and Colin Farrell. The result? An overlooked gem and a muscular statement against Stalinism......


Feb 16, 2024

At first blush, 1943's "Bataan" might seem like a run-of-the-mill, black-and-white, ensemble-cast World War II movie: easily absorbed and easily dismissed. Upon closer inspection, though, it reveals itself as a fascinating bit of mid-war propoganda, i.e., a passion play and literal call-to-arms. We'll also examine its...


Jan 20, 2024

World War II Movie Night keeps the faith (and the format) as we delve into the 2015 Hungarian movie "Son of Saul," which many believe gives the truest representation of life in Auschwitz outside an actual documentary. Saul is a "Sonderkommando," prisoners given unpleasant duties in the camp in exchange for a slightly...


Dec 29, 2023

Join World War II Movie Night as we reassess the oft-maligned "Valkyrie," from 2008. No casting in one of our movies was as criticized from jump as Tom Cruise playing Claus von Stauffenberg, the German colonel who made the most famous attempt on Hitler's life. "Valkyrie" had almost everything going for it:...