K-19 Widow-maker (released in 2002) - A movie starring Harrison Ford

This movie is directed by Katheryn Bigelow takes a leaf out of the the real life incidents concerning the Russian Nuclear submarine K-19. It stars Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson in the pivotal roles.
K-19 is a Soviet ballistic Nuclear Submarine which is commandeered by Captain Alexei Vostrikov. Vostrikov commands no respect with his crew because he is said to have landed this plum job because of his wife's political connections. The second in command executive officer Mikhail Polenin is an experienced and well liked officer. He and his crew go a long way and have difficulty in accepting the rookie Vostrikov. Vostrikov tries to meddle with the daily workings of the submarine and accuses the officer and crew of being soft and lazy. He organize difficult maneuvers and actions which is not compatible with the submarine of this class. Due to the mounting injuries the crew began to grumble and a mutiny is quelled because of Polenin's intervention.



After very satisfying trials Vostrikov orders a very tricky maneuver to test the surface ballistic missile. It involves rapid surfacing of the sub from great depths to break the thick Arctic Ice. Polenin has his reservations, but Vostrikov conducts this trial with no difficulties. After its success he wins the grudging respect from his crew members for his fearlessness. But Polenin considers him to be very lucky not prudent.
But the damage has been done with the coolant pipes of the reactor totally damaged. As the submarine cruises through the Atlantic perilously close to the US and NATO army base the crew realizes that the reactor temperatures are abnormally high which would result in an nuclear explosion. Vostrikov ruefully admits that his drastic trials in the Arctic have wrecked the submarine. Soon a plan is made to drain their drinking water supplies and direct it to cool the reactor. It requires lion hearted men to weld those pipes with standing high amount of radiation. This is the high point of the movie where these brave hearts work with out any protective suits for 10 minute shifts to salvage the reactor.
In the mean time Vostrikov repeals all American help and waits with the silent ship whose radio's are also damaged. Soon a mutiny occurs and is quelled by the resourceful Polenin. Vostrikov again tries to order the welding which is resisted by the crew. Thats the time when Polenin utters those amazing words “don't order them, ask them”. Vostrikov then tells them that a nuclear explosion would wipe out the US Army base nearby signaling retaliatory strikes against Russia resulting in a nuclear holocaust. The crew goes back to work suffering heavy causalities and saves the submarine, reaching a Russian ship.
In the end Vostrikov and his men, old and infirm can only drink to their fallen comrades as they are denied even their medals since it was not a war situation. An amazing movie and I consider it on par with Saving Private Ryan. It was nominated for the Political Film Society Award and was a critical and box office success. A gripping drama for all peace-lovers.

Frantic (released in 1988) - starring Harrison Ford, and directed by Roman Polanski

Frantic is a 1988 thriller film directed by Roman Polanski starring Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner.
Harrison Ford is Dr. Richard Walker, a doctor who comes to Paris with his wife for a medical conference. At the hotel, his wife is unable to open her suitcase and thus is determined to have picked up a wrong suitcase at the airport. But while he is taking a shower, his wife mysteriously disappears. He complains at the hotel desk and encounters an indifferent staff. As he ventures out on his own to search for her, a wino from the cafe informs him, that he saw his wife forcibly being taken in a car. Walker although initially reluctant to believe in such a possibility, discovers her ID from the sidewalk. He is convinced about the kidnapping and complains to the American embassy and the Parisian cops. But he gets typical bureaucratic replies which disgusts him and thus the panic sets in.



With no official help Walker in a frantic state moves on to the streets to find his wife. He steps in to a murder scene and finds an ally in a streetwise Young Michelle. Michelle reveals to him that she is a career smuggler who works for an unknown boss. She also informs him that his wife had mistakenly picked up her suitcase containing an unknown consignment. Soon the smugglers call in to trade his wife for the suitcase. Michelle agrees to help him in his search to trace his wife.
Walker, in his desperation tries to learn what is in the suitcase. He finds a Statue Of Liberty replica and learns that a Kryptron which is a small electronic switch used in the detonators of nuclear devices is hidden inside. Soon the matters come to head with the officials too closing on the pair. After an intense gun battle on the river Seine, the kidnappers release Sondra, Walker's wife. But Michelle is shot and a disgusted Walker just throws the Kryptron in to the river, challenging the villains and the officials.
This movie is a critics delight. It had a moderate box office success and is treated as Roman Polanski's better film's after Rosemary's Baby. The haunting background score by Ennio Morricone sets the tone for the suspense and Grace Jones' recording of "I've Seen That Face Before is played while Walker is talking to his daughter. Paris is not treated as romantic city with the favorite hot-spots like the Eiffel Tower not in the picture. Instead we are treated to haunting bleak cobble stoned dark alley and side ways.
Harrison Ford delivers a good performance as an anguished Walker and is one of his performance oriented roles. The whole premise is build on Sondra Walker's disappearance. Even thought he screen time is minimal for her, the director makes her the main object of affection, The beautiful Emanuele Seigner is also her best. Good movie and a thought provoking watch modeled on an Hitchcockian theme

Hanover Street (released in 1979) - a war movie starring Harrison Ford (set during the second World War)

This is a romantic movie set against the back drop of world war two starring Harrison Ford, Christopher Plummer and Leslie Anne Down. Written and Directed by Peter Hyams it is known for the splendid aerial fight sequences.
Set in London, Lieutenant David Halloran meets Margaret Sellinger at a tea stall near Hanover street and soon are attracted to each other. Margaret is very much married to a simple Paul Sellinger who is away at war; and she is attracted to the charismatic Halloran. Soon Halloran and Margaret meet clandestinely and fall rapidly in love irrespective of their other relationship.
Paul Sellinger is with the British intelligence, and is a simple school teacher who needs to prove himself. and is given an assignment of penetrating Nazi German Head quarters inn Lyons in France. He has to photocopy the list of all the double agents active in Britain. The task of delivering him across German lines falls in to the capable hands of Halloran.



The two men are not aware of each other and travel together to France. Here they are shot down and Halloran needs to help Sellinger who is grievously wounded. He agrees to accompany him on the mission and contact French Resistance troops. They get hold of an uniform and soon penetrate the German defenses and get hold of the papers.
But as luck could have it they are betrayed by a collaborator and flee with the papers with the SS hot on their heels. Halloran has worked out that Sellinger is the husband of Margaret and saves him from tight situations. So after many cliff hanger moments Halloran and Sellinger make it through not before Halloran giving up on his love.
Here Margaret in London comes to the conclusion that both the men she loves are in a mission together. Ultimately she manages to reach a wounded Sellinger and Halloran and has to choose between the two. Well no prizes for guessing who the lucky one is. Margaret says her good byes to Halloran and proceeds to look after her husband and her duties. Halloran who loves her so much to let her go, moves down Hanover street to his place.
Released in 1977 this movie was a commercial and critical failure. It is not hard to understand why, because the movie which harps so much on romance glosses over the attraction felt by the lead pair. The initial meeting scenes between the two doomed lovers are very irritating and clichéd that you feel like hitting them to get it over with. It dwells on the duties of husband and wife and its aerial fight sequences. It seems to have a quite a following for the action sequences, but as a romantic movie it is a dud.
Moreover the story is so predictable and moves at a snails pace that you almost feel sorry for Sellinger to have such a wife and friend. I wouldn't recommend this tale of so called forbidden love, just watch some horror film instead. It will save you from ennui.

Force 10 from Navarone (released in 1978) - Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel

This movie is a sequel to the highly popular 'Guns Of Navarone' and is loosely based on Alistair MacLean's novel of the same name. Directed by Guy Hamilton and stars Robert Shaw,Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel.
Miller and Mallory are back from Navarone and are sent on a mission to Yugoslavia to assist the war efforts and to neutralize a spy who escaped from Navarone. The German spy Nikolai is posing as Captain Lescovar and has infiltrated the Partisans and is undermining the war efforts of the allies in Eastern Europe. They join effort with the Force 10 unit headed by Captain Barnsby. They are air dropped over Yugoslavia and are captured by the Germans and their allies the Chetniks lead by Captain Drazak.
Drazak brings them before Captain Schroeder and the prisoners present themselves as Allied deserters who were court martialed. Schroeder is skeptical and opens their suitcase which is supposedly filled with Penicillin. To their surprise the suitcase contains wooden logs and they concoct a story about burying it on their way to capture. So Schroeder sends Mallory and Barnsby along with his trusted lieutenant Maritza and two other soldiers to retrieve the Penicillin. Maritza proves to be a partisan spy, and helps them to escape and meet Colonel Petrovich, the Partisan leader. Here Mallory recognizes Captain Lescovar and informs Petrovich about the spy. But Petrovich is not impressed and informs Mallory that the spy Nikolai was killed by himself. He asks them to focus on destroying the bridge to avoid attack by the German forces.



Mallory informs Petrovich that Miller is the real explosive expert and is held captive by the Chetniks. He forms a plan to rescue them along with Maritza. They infiltrate the camp and help Miller and others to escape. Miller informs them that the bridge is impregnable to explosives, but the force of tons of water from the dam nearby could do the trick. So Force 10 plans to destroy the dam instead and ask for supplies. But a sabotage by Lescovar foil the plan and Maritza is killed before she can stop him.
Miller and co plan to raid the German Yard for explosives while a dejected Petrovich plans to return to the head quarters. A daring raid which is suicidal in its planning with a spy Lescovar thwarting their actions is hell enough but the team is successful in the end. Lescovar is killed by an enraged Barnsby and they leave to destroy the dam. With German forces closing on them the bombs are set at a short fuse which makes their survival doubtful. But as they walk away the bombs detonate bringing the dam and the bridge down washing down the enemy hopes. The protagonist trapped on the wrong side of the river start the perilous journey home through enemy lands.
The movie was a box-office and critical disaster and even Ford is said to have disliked his role. I would prefer the book which has better action sequences compared to the insipid sequences in the movie. Just watch it to complete the Navarone Saga.

Clear and Present Danger (1994) - Starring Harrison Ford and Anne Archer, a fight against the drug scene

This movie is adapted from the book by Tom Clancy and is a sequel to the hit patriotic Games. Directed by Phillip Noyce it starts Harrison Ford, Ann Archer, and Henry Czerny. It deals with the struggle of Jack Ryan, the US intelligence chief against the Columbian drug cartels.
Jack Ryan is appointed as the Deputy Director (Intelligence) after his boss is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In the mean time, one of the President's close friends are found murdered by the Deli drug cartel of Columbia. The President considers the drug cartels to be of clear and present danger to the United States and asks the security advisor to bring down the cartels. Cutter, the security advisor selects Jack to head the operations and he is presented with the task of getting congressional approval. Jack gets the approval and the funds required for the operation provided no troops and black ops are used in that country.
Cutter to keep jack out of the loop engages the CIA deputy director Ritter for a parallel operations. Ritter and a secret field operative Clark under take the mission and travel to Columbia to disarm the drug cartels.



The king pin of one of the gangs Ernesto Escobedo looses 600 million dollars due to the freezing of his assets. He deputes Felix Cortex his intelligence chief to sort out the problem. Cortex acts as a romantic interest to Moira Wolfson the secretary of FBI director Emil Jacobs and gets the inside information about Ritter's operations. Cortex has an hidden agenda, as to head the drug cartels himself. To fulfill his ambitions he assassinates Emil Jacobs in a car bomb accident in which only Jack Ryan survives. An enraged United States orders the bombing of the Cartels. In this operation many drug lords and innocent men and women are massacred. Cutter is dismayed but keeps Jack off the information.
Jack and Cortex find out that the the US Government had ordered the killings. Cortex inks a deal with Cutter, to cut down the US operation in return for the lesser degree of drug shipments to the US. He also promises that the drug cartels will give an impression of the US wining the drug war to dupe the public. Cutter agrees and ask Ritter to delete the files.
Jack hacks in to Ritter's files and confronts him about the duplicity. Ritter taunts him saying that he has permission to act from the President himself and Jack would be responsible for all his actions, as he had asked for funding from the Congress. In the mean time the foot soldiers lead by John Clark are ambushed and Jack leaves to save them. He convinces Clark and the soldiers about Ritter's cunning and they decide to unmask him.
Jack provided Escobedo with Cortez's activities and the enraged Escobedo orders his execution. Cortex kills Escobedo and is in turn killed by Clark's men. Ryan and co escape from Columbia with the prisoners and reach the States. Jack confronts the President about his culpability and is offered favors. A disgusted Jack declines and leaves the President to depose before a congressional committee. This was a big box office success and was followed by the prequel Sum Of All Fears in 2002. A good movie for all action buff's.

The Longest Day (released in 1962) - starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, Sean Connery and many more - the attack on Normandy

What can you say about a war which killed and robbed the young men of their most valued possession, their future? The Longest Day is the story about that day where men and women gave their lives for peace. It tells you about the intrigues, planning, objectives, military strikes which leads to the ultimate Normandy landings to defeat the Germans.
Longest day is adapted from the book by Cornelius Ryan who did the screen play for the movie. Directed by a series of directors like Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki and Darryl F Zanuck, the movie boasts of a stellar cast of John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, Sean Connery, Rod Steiger, Mel Ferrer, Robert Wagner, Eddie Albert, Edmond O'Brien, Richard Burton, Kenneth More, Peter Lawford, George Segal, Richard Todd, Red Buttons, John Gregson, Leslie Phillips, and many more.
The opening scene of the film shows us the young soldiers indulging in a play of cards and the camera pans to reveal the large number of them concentrated in the barracks ready for the fighting. Then you can see the German soldiers and officers debating the possibility of the attack. Many Germans do not anticipate the attack on Normandy. Then comes the scene where a German soldier distributing tea to the officers looks up to the horizon seeing almost five thousand ships and just gasps. And then the ships start firing.



The Paratroopers are airdropped into the enemy territory with of them stuck on a steeple forced to watch the battle from above. Long shots of French troops running in to battle with German planes mowing them down is one cinematic spectacle. There are real poignant situations where allied and German troops march side by side with out even knowing and the murdered and wounded in the streets of Normandy helped by the locals.
This movie also shows the German point of view, with their war preparedness as well as their Bureaucratic wrangles and indecisiveness. The Germans expecting an attack on Calais (Hitler was expecting an attack there based on a skilled program of deception), are caught unawares at Normandy. The film depicts the desperation of German officers like Rommel who understands that the war is fought and won on the beaches.
All the officers like General Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt Jr, Norman Cota, John Howard and all soldiers are almost accurately pictured. Another interesting feature is that all the soldiers speak their own mother tongue which is delivered to the audience through subtitles. I feel that this is more of an anti-war film because it does not show the battle but the men who sacrifice a lot through battle. At the end of the movie you are overcome with respect for the dead irrespective of the nationality for they did what you wouldn't do.
This movie is shot entirely in black and white to give you the stark picture of the war. It was one of the box office successes too. It won the Oscars for best cinematography and special effects. Also nominated for 5 other awards including the best picture it has raked up numerous other awards too. See it for the men who fought for to keep civilization from going under the rule of tyranny.

Battle of the bulge (released in 1965) - starring Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson, history of the famous battle of the same name

Battle of the Bulge is a war epic based on the real battle which ranged across Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg during the Second World War. The movie was released in 1965 on the 21st anniversary of the battle. The movie starred Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson. The Director Ken Annakin had reorganized the chronological events of the battle for maximum impact.
The movie begins with Lieutenant Colonel Riley and his fellow officer flying re-con over the Ardennes forest to check on German positions. Col Riley has his suspicions about a German counterattack and is not taken seriously. The war is dragging itself to the end and all the allied troops are in a complacent mood. When Riley produces pictures of a Tiger tank on the move it is deemed as a coincidence by his superiors, General Grey and Col Pritchard.
Riley, convinced that something is brewing on the German side leaves to collect evidence to the Siegfried line. Here he interviews some German PO W's captured by Major Walenski and Captain weaver. He finds all the PO W's are teenagers and feels that experienced German soldiers are withdrawn to prepare for the ultimate battle. Again his suspicions are dismissed by his superiors.



But actually German are undertaking massive preparations to mount an attack on the allied positions. This is led by Colonel Hessler who is heading to the town of Ambleve to see Gen Kohler to plan the attack. He is shown a massive contingent of Tiger tanks, arms and heavy ammunition. Gen Kohler tells him that he has all the fuel necessary for 50 hrs of battle after which they have no supplies. Hessler feels that he can decimate the allies with this fire power.
When the GI's are asleep Hessler launches his attack and completely decimates the allied positions. Major Walenski tries to withdraw to the Belgium town to fight another day. But the SS troops are disguised as Americans and rearrange the signs dispersing a confused allies and in the end massacring the whole unit.
Gen Gray, Colonel Pritchard, and other officers are evacuated from the the head quarters and ask the men to fight till the last stand. Kiley meanwhile deduces that the Germans are low on fuel and devices a strategy to slow the attack so that the fuel is used up. In the mean time the Germans led by Lt. Schumacher are disguised as Americans and intercept these messages. Many Soldiers fight for their loved ones decimated in Ambleve, and Hessler in his desperation attacks the fuel depot. In this ultimate battle scenes you find an injured Riley and a host of other officers defend the depot. They use barrels of gasoline as burning missiles and hurl them down to the advancing Tiger tanks. The American tanks are pounded but they stand their ground and retreat slowly, hastening the burning up of fuel by the Germans. A desperate Hessler tries to go it alone and launches an attack on the Germans and his tank is blown up by the gasoline maelstrom.
With their fuel completely used up and their arms rendered useless the Germans abandon their positions and the battle is won. In the last scene the German loss is shown with Hessler's Man Friday Conrad disgusted with the battle and its cruelties throwing off the gun and heading home on the Siegfried line. There are lot of historical inaccuracies but the movie is a brilliant portrayal of the battle where the allies were with their back up to the wall, but still rallied to win. Good watch for action movie buffs.

In Harm's way (released in 1965) - starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal and Henry Fonda - A war movie (Black and White) based on the Second World War

In Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Carroll O'Connor, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews and Henry Fonda.
This is an epic war film released in 1965 and is one of the last John Wayne movies which is in black and white. After this movie the color era really begins. The title of the movie is derived from the quote by American revolutionary hero John Paul Jones “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way."
The central character is Rockwell Torrey played by John Wayne who is a second generation naval officer and a navy academy graduate. After a disastrous campaign against the Japanese in which his ship is torpedoed he is shunted out to a desk job. During the fag end of the war he is promoted to the post of Rear Admiral and given a crucial job aboard a cruiser. He is involved with a pretty naval nurse and yearns for an emotional anchor in his life after his divorce. His son is an ensign with the navy and is estranged with his father.



Another important character is Captain Paul Eddington (played by Kirk Douglas), a wayward officer, taken to drunkenness because of his wife's infidelity. He resigns from the cruiser and returns to surface navy as an officer in charge of warehouses. And then his wife is killed during the raid on Pearl Harbor while she was having a romantic tryst with another officer. This tragedy further brings down Paul Eddington until Torrey reaches out to him to be a part of the mission. Tom Tryon, a junior grade officer, just out of the naval academy, presents a complete opposite of Paul Eddington.
He has a loving wife, a stable marriage and has every emotional support which Torrey and Eddington crave. As the story progresses, Eddington, in his drunken fits, rapes Torrey's son's fiancée', nurse Annalee Dohrn. She commits suicide by consuming sleeping pills. But Torrey feels his need for the mission. Eddington sort of redeems himself by giving advance warning of the huge Japanese fleet and thus sacrificing himself for the success of the mission. This movie is considered as a classic World War epic and in a side role, indicts all the bureaucratic wrangles and political manipulations that a servicemen face while doing duty for the nation.
This movie was nominated for the Oscar for the “Best Cinematography” in the year 1965. It is mostly noted for John Wayne's understated performances and he is said to have been diagnosed with lung cancer during the making of the movie. Actress Patricia Neal was awarded the “Best Actress” citation at the BAFTA awards for this movie.

Too Late the Hero (released in 1970) - A war movie, starring Michael Caine, and Henry Fonda

Too Late the Hero is a 1970 Anglo-American war film directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Ken Takakura, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Lance Percival, Ronald Fraser, Harry Andrews and Percy Herbert.
Sam Lawson is an American Lieutenant who works as a Japanese language expert during the world war two. He has always avoided direct combat duty. But as luck could have it he is assigned to the British Infantry unit in the New Hebrides for combat duty
The unit is commanded by Colonel Thompson, with a duty of observing the movements of the Japanese for the Allied forces. The British unit is situated in the middle of a large field near a jungle and the other side of the jungle the Japanese keep watch. The observation and communications post of the Japanese give information about the movements of the ships in the Pacific. The Japanese radio operator gives an “All is well” signal every evening and the Allies need the help of Lawson to fake this signal. An American Naval convoy is attempting for a passage and it needs to buy 24 hours time to sail undetected to reach the war zone with supplies. The British commando unit of Lawson is assigned to destroy this observation post and emit a fake signal to confuse the Japanese.



Captain Hornsby an uppity British officer leads a patrol to destroy the Japanese observation post. They ambush a Japanese patrol and three of them, Currie, Connelly and Riddle are killed. Tosh, a cynical medic and others blames Hornsby's poor leadership for the killings. Campbell cuts a Japanese officers finger and steals his ring. One of the sergeant majors, Johnstone, is fatally wounded, is left behind by Hornsby and is then killed by the Japanese.
Scott the radio operator ruins the radio and this forces Hornsby to personally enter the Japanese post and capture the radio to sent in the signal. But Lawson feels that it is a suicidal attempt and try to stop them from doing it. In the resulting melee the Japanese men attack and kill Hornsby and Scott. Lawson being the senior ranking officer, leads the men to the jungle to safety. Japanese Major Yamaguchi tries to stop them from getting back to the camp and reporting about the airfield and arsenal present. They put up loud speakers and try to terrorize them to surrender. But Lawson and Tosh see through heir plan and ask the men to march forward to camp. But Campbell who is scared is in favor of surrender,manipulates the others to run away. But they are caught and Campbell is executed as the stolen ring is found on him. The Japanese use other soldiers as bargaining chips and ask for Lawson and Tosh to surrender. But both of them do not trust Yamaguchi's surrender plans and plan to make run for the camp. As they run zig zag through the fire of bullets both of them are hit. Tosh is wounded but drags him-selves to the camp and gives information about the Japanese arsenal. He also informs the others about the brave deeds of Lawson and walks back to claim back his body.
This movie is a little slow paced, but is heavily loaded with emotions which brings the viewer to realize the worth of soldiers who die for others.

Fort Apache (released in 1948) starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda - the prejudices between the White and the American Indians

Fort Apache is a western based loosely on the Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fetter-man massacre. It gives a balanced view about the soldiers and the Indian Settlers, Sioux in the battle. The story details about the prejudices which was prevalent among the whites which lead to the rebellion by the Indian tribe Apache. It is the story of class wars also and how love conquers everything. This movie won the prize for the best director in the Locarno film festival.
Fort Apache is a outlying cavalry post and its commanding officer is being moved. Every body expects Kirby York, a highly respected Captain to be given the command of the regiment. But it was given to the Lieutenant Colonel, Owen Thursday who is a graduate from the West Point military Academy and a decorated civil war officer. But he lacks the people skills and the experience to guide Fort Apache. He is accompanied by his Daughter, Philadelphia to the posting. Owen Thursday is a very egoistic and self-centered officer who is extremely class conscious. He is dismissive about the concerns about the Indian settlers and follows the rule book to the core. This builds resentment against him in the unit.



The Apache's are exploited by Silas Meacham and complaints reach Thursday. He has utter contempt for Meacham but he follows the rule book which states that Meacham being an United States agent is entitled for Army protection. York advices Thursday against angering the poor exploited Indians, but is ignored. Soon the Apaches rebel under the leadership of Cochise. Interwoven in the story is the love story between Philadelphia and Second lieutenant Michael Shannon O'Rouke, who is the son of a Sergeant Major who has won a gallantry medal. In-spite of being a West Point Graduate, O'Rouke is treated with contempt by Colonel Thursday who forbids the relationship between O'Rouke, and his daughter.
Soon the Indians rebel and and Thursday declares war on them. He charges against them in - spite of the odds staked against the company. Kirby York tires to reason with the colonel and is shunted out. Colonel Thursday removes him from his post and orders him to stay back. Soon the charge against the Indians who are comfortably entrenched on the hills is a failure an the company is decimated. Thursday is among the casualties. The surviving but wounded soldiers come back to the regiment and inform York who leads a rescue mission. Cochise spares York because he knows that he is a man of his word.
York who had spared O'Rouke from battle helps him to marry Philadelphia. In the end York assumes the command of the regiment and is deputed to negotiate with the Apaches. He does not bad mouth Thursday's failed charge against the Indians. When the journalists ask him whether he has sen the picture titled, “Thursday's Charge” he says that the regiment will always honor the memory of the brave officers and foot soldiers.
This film was directed by John Ford and first of his highly successful Cavalry Trilogy which was followed by “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and “Rio Grande”

Mister Roberts (Released in 1955) starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon and William Powell

Mister Roberts is a comedy – drama, which was adapted from the book written by Thomas Heggan based on his experiences aboard USS Virgo in the South Pacific during world war II. It is also adapted as a broadway play. Mister Roberts was nominated for 4 Oscars, winning Jack Lemmon an Oscar for the best supporting actor.
The film takes place aboard an American Naval Cargo ship during World War II in the south pacific. The ship supplies the essentials to the US naval fleet engaged in combat in the South Pacific and is commanded by Captain Morton, a dictatorial officer who does not give any leeway for the crew but has a spotless record of delivering the goods on schedule. Because of his oppressive behaviour, the crew despises him. Mister Robers or Lt JG Douglas Robert, the second-in-command, is a genial man and has an excellent relationship with the crew. He is the only one who is able to manage the crew and make them do the needfull and, without the Captain's knowledge, gives some freedom to the crew members. But his heart is set for a transfer to the combat areas. Captain Morton refuses his requests because, he knows that Roberts is the only one who can manage the crew.



Morton bags all the credit for managing the crew and is presented with a palm tree by an Admiral. This much despised tree is kept on the bridge of the ship in a dirt filled bucket. For the crew it is a symbol of subjugation. Ultimately Roberts, tired of the oppression, supercedes Captain Morton and requests for crew liberty. Morton, after heated discussion, grants a small vacation in lieu of Roberts not pushing for a transfer. Roberts agrees and the crew goes for a vacation. But this liberty comes at a great cost with the crew members indulging in arson, stealing and other disruptive activities. Things go from worse to worst, with the military police surrounds the ship to prevent the crew from going ashore. Captain Morton yells at Roberts, which further depresses him.
As the world war is ending Roberts finds himself very far from the combat zone and his dream of engaging in combat slipping away. He gets very depressed. Yet one day, inspired by a radio speech, he tosses the Captains palm tree overboard. The incensed Captain transfers Roberts and elevates the mild-mannered Ensign Pulver, to his position and oppresses the crew as before.
Things change when Mr. Roberts' letter arrives for Pulver where he describes combat in Okinawa and his excitement to a part of it. This is followed by another letter From Pulver's friend who is posted at the same front as Roberts informing him about his death in combat. This breaks Pulver's pleasant demeanor and energizes him to fight for his rights. An inspired Pulver confronts the captain and asks for the liberty of the crew and symbolically throws his palm tree overboard. Captain Morton realizes his mistake and understands his reign of terror is now over.

Gangs of New York (2002) - A movie by Martin Scorsese, and a big commercial success

With Gangs of New York (released in 2002), Martin Scorsese was back to where he makes his mark, the gritty streets of New York, with lots of hard violence, mafia and gangs, rock music based soundtrack, and people with an inclination for violence. However, with the movie, Scorsese starred a different set of characters, with the starring roles being taken up by Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. The movie was set at the time of the American Civil War of the 1960's, and was based on a pretty old book by Herbert Asbury, with the same name "The Gangs of New York".
This was another movie that Scorsese had been wanting to make for a long time, but kept on getting put off for various reasons (over a period of greater than 2 decades); even when the movie was finally made in 2001, the release was delayed for a period of around an year while Scorsese and the producer Harvey Weinstein negotiated on the final cuts in the movie, and the actual length of the movie. The movie was finally released to a majority of critical acclaim, although many critics found the movie not as good as some of his better movies. The movie, made at a budget just under $100 million, went on to make approximately $200 million worldwide.



The movie is about a conflict between 2 warring gangs, led by their leaders. William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a White Protestant Anglo-Saxon and leads the gangs called 'The Natives', since they are already residing there; further, Bill has a hatred of immigrants and their attempts to muscle into the territory where he is the primary gang leader. He comes into conflict with a gang comprised of recent immigrants, with the gang called "Dead Rabbits," led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). He has a young son called Amsterdam (who will later become Leonardo DiCaprio when he grows up). These 2 gangs have a bloody fight in which Bill kills Vallon, witnessed by Amsterdam. Amsterdam finds the knife with which his father is killed and buries it, and then is taken to an orphanage. This entire situation is set in the year 1946.
Change to 16 years later, when Amsterdam is now an adult, the Civil War between the North and the South is in full swing, and the draft is in commission. Amsterdam finds that his father's old gang members are mostly now part of Bill's gang. Amsterdam is introduced to Bill by an old friend, Johnny (without telling Bill who Amsterdam actually is). Amsterdam also meets a pickpocket called Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), and is attracted to her (although his friend Johnny is also attracted to her); Bill starts trusting Amsterdam more and Amsterdam keeps on gaining some amount of influence, and also saves Bill once in an assassination attempt.
Bill trusts Amsterdam enough to talk about Priest Vallon with him, including the fact that he respected Vallon, and it was that incident that gave him strength and character to fight all his enemies. The rest of the movie is about the final fight between Bill and Amsterdam, once Bill has learnt who Amsterdam actually is, while the Union Soldiers are quelling riots that have broken out in the city over the draft laws.

The Last Samurai (2003) - starring Tom Cruise

The Last Samurai is set during tumultuous times in both the United States and Japan. The movie is set during the 1870's, a decade after the American Civil War, a time when the United States fought an intense internal war between the forces of the Union and the Confederates. Similarly, there were dramatic changes going on in Japanese society at that time. The 'samurai' (warrior class) that were a major elements in Japanese society were losing their position and influence, and a proper military was starting to form. This was the time of the Meiji Restoration of 1867-1868 (wikipedia).
The story of the movie is about an old warrior, named Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), who is a veteran of the Indian wars (where the United States Army fought the Native Indian tribes), and who is traumatized by his role in a massacre of Native Indians. He is wandering around pretty aimlessly, making a living by recounting his adventures in gun shows, something that earns him a living, but does nothing to enliven his life.



However, he is a perpetual drunk, and is finally fired from his job; now he has pretty much no options other than to accept an offer to train the Imperial Japanese army (part of the growing western influences in Japan post the Meiji Restoration). This offer is made to him by his former commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn). Algren pretty much blames Bagley for his transgressions during the war, and has no love lost for him. This offer from Bagley is made on behalf of a Japanese businessman who has stakes in the restoration, called Mr. Omura (Masato Harada).
Algren goes about this task, training peasants and farmers in how to handle rifles as part of this training. However, in their first conflict, they come into battle with a group of rebel samurai warriors, led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe); the army is unequal to the battle and gets defeated by the samurai. One of Algren's colleagues is killed in this attack, and Algren himself fights valiantly, defeating and killing the brother-in-law of the samurai leader. In this fight, he uses a spear with a flag of a white tiger, and Katsumoto believes that to be an omen, and spares Algren's life and takes him prisoner.
Algren is now prisoner at a remote village, living in the house of Hirotaro, whom he had killed. In this village, Algren finally starts to become more at peace him himself, and also starts to really learn the art of wielding the samurai sword as well as learn the Japanese language. In a fight with ninja assassins who had attacked the village, Algren fights along with the samurai, and manages to give a good account of himself even though the samurai take several losses.
With spring, Algren is now back in Tokyo, but now refuses to support Omura in his battle with the samurai, and at the same time, Katsumoto is arrested even after offering advice to the emperor. Algren manages to help Katsumoto regain his freedom, even though in this effort, Katsumoto's son, Nobutada (Shin Koyamada) is killed. After regaining his freedom, Katsumoto learns that a better equipped army unit is going to attack a much smaller samurai force, and it is there that Algren recalls the Battle of Thermopylae, where a much smaller force used better technology and the advantage of terrain to defeat a much larger army.
This comes true as the samurai are able to lead the larger army into a trap, however, soon the samurai realize that the army will get backup units, and another such battle will mean defeat. They resolve to make an attack of their own. However, they face canon fire, something that proves murderous, and then a second unit of infantry. In a battle, Algren kills Bagley when Bagley attacks Katsumoto; but then the second line of Gatling guns hit the samurai as they advance. The Japanese army, then ceases fire in respect of the samurai. Katsumoto ends his life.
In the end, as the emperor prepares to sign a deal with American ambassadors that would make the US as the exclusive dealers for firearms, Algren presents Katsumoto's sword to the emperor; the emperor understands the message and refuses to sign the deal, and also reduces Omura's powers and influence when he objects. Algren returns for the peace he finally found to the small Japanese village.

Track listing:
"A Way of Life"– 8:03
"Spectres in the Fog"– 4:07
"Taken"– 3:36
"A Hard Teacher"– 5:44
"To Know My Enemy"– 4:48
"Idyll's End"– 6:40
"Safe Passage"– 4:56
"Ronin"– 1:53
"Red Warrior"– 3:56
"The Way of the Sword"– 7:59
"A Small Measure of Peace"– 7:59

Gunga Din (1939): A classic movie of war and bonding

Rudyard Kipling has a famous poem by the name of Gunga Din, and although this movie cannot be called to represent the poem, it does have elements of the poem along with parts from another of his novels called 'Soldiers Three'. The movie is cited as a classic, a tale of a man's quest to become a honorable soldier while he is currently just a helper to the army. It is also a tale of the comradeship between soldiers, their friendship and dedication to each other. The movie was directed by George Stevens, and was written principally by Fred Guiol and Joel Sayre with contributions from many others. The movie earned one Oscar nomination, with cinematographer Joseph H. August having been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.



The movie is set in 1880, near the Kyber Pass in Northwest India (currently the area where there is an extreme amount of tension due to the Taleban); this has been an area where historically, it has been hard to conquer and keep under control. The British had a lot of problem in controlling this area, and fought frequently to keep the rebels at bay. The movie starts with a outpost at Tandipur having been lost, and the Colonel in charge, Colonel Weed (Montagu Love), sends out a team for investigation headed by 3 sergeants MacChesney (Victor McLaglen), Cutter (Cary Grant), and Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.). All 3 of them belong to the Royal Engineers, and are veterans of the campaign. They are not exactly the most disciplined officers, but in a situation of such uncertainty, they would have been the best people to send. They are accompanied by a local water-bearer, the character bearing the name of the movie, Gunga Din (played by Sam Jaffe). He aspiration is also to become a soldier of the British Indian Army, and serve the queen.
This detail reaches Tandipur, and finds it deserted - their immediate aim is to secure the place and repair the telegraph. However, they are actually in a trap, and are soon surrounded by attackers, through whom the detail has to fight its way out, and they are successful in that. Back at their base, one of the captured weapons is identified as belonging to the Thuggees (a cult that had been suppressed in the recent past, but apparently is again resurgent).
These 3 sergeants are the key to the movie, and one of the 3 is Ballantine who is doing the unthinkable, leaving the army to marry Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine) and go into the tea business. The other 2 sergeants cannot fathom as to how he can do this. Combine this with the fact that Gunga Din reports about a temple made of gold to Cutter (getting Cutter terribly interested), something that gets Cutter put in the stockade to prevent him from running away. Cutter however does manage to run away, helped by Gunga Din, heading to the temple where he is caught by the Thugs; Gunga Din escapes to get the rescue team.
The detail now goes to the rescue of Cutter, entering into a fight with the Thugs; the fight eventually costs Gunga Din his life, but not before he has sounded the alarm and got the Army to come in and defeat the Thugs. In death, Gunga Din manages to be inducted as a soldier, something that he always wanted.
The movie is a classic, full of action, adventure, comedy, male bonding, and a movie that is bound to be seen as a throwback to the past in these politically correct times.

The Battleship Potemkin (1925)

The Battleship Potemkin is a classic Russian movie, released in 1925. It is a silent movie, also known by another name 'he Battleship Potyomkin' as well as by the Russian name of 'Bronyenosyets Potyomkin'. The movie was directed by Sergei Eisenstein, and was based on the real life story of the actual crew of the Russian naval ship of the same name during 1905, oppressed by the naval officers of the Tsarist regime that was ruling Russia around that time.
The movie has been so famous that the history of the ship is defined more by the movie rather than by history books. The movie was famous also for its graphic violence (not seen in movies of that time) as well as to be a propaganda movie to get sympathy for the crew of the ship. This attempt worked so well on viewers that the Nazi propaganda spinner, Joseph Goebbels, was very admiring of the movie for its attempt to sell a political story in a simple yet powerful way.



The zeal of the movie director to sway audiences imparted a revolutionary approach that caused the movie to run afoul of sensors in many countries, with the movie either banned or scenes cut; it was only over a period of time that the movie was restored with cut sections to audiences all over. The movie had some classic scenes, but the most striking was the scene of the Czar's Cossack soldiers marching down steps (the Odessa steps) and firing into the crowd of civilians who had come to watch the ship arrive.
The movie takes the true story of the rebellion on board the Russian naval ship Battleship Potemkin in the year 2005. There was discontent against the oppressive officers of the Tzar, and there was a plan to have an uprising. However, the uprising was started earlier on the battle-ship when the sailors protested against having to eat maggot infested meat that the ship's officers and doctor had certified as being fit for human consumption. This was the first element of the movie, with the movie being essentially divided into 5 parts:
1. Men and maggots
2. Drama at the harbour: The sailors rise up and their leader, Vakulynchuk, is killed
3. A dead man calls for Justice: The civilians at Odessa mourn the dead
4. The massacre of civilians at Odessa where the Czar's soldiers kill the civilians on the steps
5. "The Rendez-Vous with a Squadron where the squadron joins the sailors instead of crushing them
After the mutiny, the sailors go different ways. The ones who returned or were induced to return were executed or jailed, and the others went to different countries such as Romania, Argentina and Ireland.

The African Queen (1951)

During the early half of the 20th century, in the tension between Germany on the one side, and England on the other side, Africa was an important battle ground. Along with France and Portugal, all of them had empires in the region, and wars ensured that there was intense competition to attack at the territories controlled by the other. This political scenario sits at the background, and catches up with the finale of the movie and the novel on which the movie was based on. The movie was based on a novel of the same name, written by .S. Forester, and published in 1935. The 1935 period was a time when Britain was seemingly in decline, unable to catch up with an economically and politically resurgent Germany under Hitler. The novel, set in 1914 (at the start of the First World War) is also construed as an attempt to show citizens of Britain that the English were on the winning side of the First World War, able to capture the Empire earlier controlled by Germany.



The African Queen was directed by John Huston, and produced by Sam Spiegel (billed as "S.P. Eagle") and John Woolf. The movie was shot in both Central Africa (at some amount of hardship to the Queen), but since health concerns prevented the lead stars from getting into African river water, the water scenes were shot back in England. The movie revolved around the lead pair of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Katharine and her brother Samuel Sayer (played by Robert Morley) are British missionaries in a village in German East Africa (now known as Tanzania), who get supplies through a boat (The African Queen) run by the rough Canadian Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart). He warns them that German troops will soon arrive, but they refuse to leave. The Germans dutifully appear, and start forcing the local villagers to serve as soldiers in the war. When Samuel tries to oppose, he is beaten, and dies soon after. Cliff arrives soon after, and helps Rose in burying her brother, and she leaves with him. She wants to go via the lake downriver, and he tells her that the Germans are blocking the entry to the lake with a gunboat, and they will also be in danger.
Cliff is hesitant, but Rose is firm on moving toward the lake, even though it will be a tough journey and there will be 3 rapids on the way, along with all the other dangers about more troops, and wild animals. They have a tough journey with many adventures, but manage to overcome the challenges that they keep on facing. As they approach the lake, Rose proposes to convert the boat into a torpedo boat and sink the gunboat by colliding with it and using explosives to blow up the gunboat. As they attempt this, the African Queen seems to sink, effectively sinking their plan as well. They are caught, and before being executed as spies, Bogart, as a last wish, asks for them to be married. As they are married, in a miracle, the gunboat collided with the sunken African Queen and caused the explosives to blast, sinking the gunboat.

Oscars:
- Best Actor in a Leading Role - Humphrey Bogart (his only Oscar for Best Actor)
- Nominated: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Katharine Hepburn)
- Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay (James Agee & John Huston)
- Nominated: Best Director (John Huston)

Duck Soup movie starring Marx Brothers (1933)

The Marx Brothers were very famous for their films during the earlier part of the 20th century, and 'Duck Soup' was the last movie with Paramount where the Marx Brothers starred (there were a total of 5 such movies with Paramount). During the making of Duck Soup, contract disputes became paramount in the relationship, and both the Marx Brothers and Paramount decided to part ways after the making of the movie. In addition, this was the last movie where Zeppo had starred, and hence can be considered worth seeing just for that particular reason.
The movie did not do so well at the box office, almost being considered a failure, yet, as always happens, the movie was re-evaluated over a period of time, and was seen as a classic, a great comedy and designated for preservation in the National Film Registry (wikipedia) of the United States.



The Marx Brothers specialized in comedy, and this movie was no different, with several comic scenes that would have you enjoying the movie. One of the iconic scenes from this movie is the mirror scene - where Harpo Marx copies the action of Groucho Marx to the last detail to avoid detection and to make the character of Groucho Marx believe that he is seeing himself in a mirror. Although this was not the first time that this type of scene has been depicted, the sequence in 'Duck Soup' is probably the best known instance of this scene in a movie.
The movie is a comedy depicting activies on a national level, where a country, Freedonia, wants assistance from a wealthy lady Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont). She in turn insists that Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) be made the leader of the country. At the same time, since Freedonia is in such a bad state, the neighboring country Sylvania wants to take advantage and take over Freedonia. To that purpose, Sylvania's ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) stirs up trouble, trying to create a revolution in Freedonia; he also woos Mrs. Teasdale, and sends in Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx) to spy on Firefly.
Firefly spots Chicolini as a vendor on the street and appoints him Secretary of the War, and tries to insult Trentino so that Trentino can attack Firefly and thus be forced to leave the country. However, the plan reverses and Firefly instead slaps Trentino and this brings the 2 countries to the brink of war. There are further comic scenes, and eventually the 2 countries go to war, with lots of song and dance involved. In the final battle scenes, in order to provide another great comic effect, Firefly keeps on changing his costume almost in every scene, wearing uniforms belonging to different armies, and even the Boy Scout Scoutmaster uniform.

Patton (1970): A movie about the famous General

There have been a number of movies made on the Vietnam War, with some of them such as 'Deer Hunter', Apocalypse Now', 'Platoon', and recently 'Forrest Gump' having attained iconic status. A lot of these movies have now focused on the severe trauma of battle, with the physical and mental affect on the people involved. Many of them have been very brutal in their depiction of the actual war scenes, and were far from the jingoistic patriotic depiction of war (and this could be because of the Vietnam War being a very controversial war, with opinion being divided on whether this war was even necessary). Movies made on the second world war have not faced this moral dilemma, and hence have not focused so much on the trauma (with even the ultra-realistic movie such as 'Saving Private Ryan' and the 'Thin Red Line' showing the horror of war, but staying away from a mental deterioration of the soldiers involved).



Patton was a movie made on a heavily decorated (and highly controversial) soldier of the War, General George S Patton (Wikipedia) (played by George C. Scott). General Patton was a major architect in the victory for the US Army in the Second World War, with his passion for discipline, and his fast movement through Europe after the Normandy Landings. He also played a key role in the missions in Morocco expanding to other parts of North Africa, and then Sicily. Another of his great missions was in deceiving the Germans about the actual landing of the Allied forces in Europe, with the 'Operation Fortitude' being designed to convince the Germans that Patton was the head of an army that would attack through the French town of Calais. They were successful in this deception, with the Germans being unconvinced of the landing at Normandy.
Patton was a person who was not very well liked by his troops, with his emphasis on discipline, and a strong focus on the mission. He was not particularly fond of humour directed against him either. However, he was a General whom the Germans had feared because of his strong and pretty effective tactics; his focus on making the breakout in the push into France and then Germany in a fast and very mobile manner (they were only stopping because they ran out of fuel) prevented the Germans from being able to recoup.
The film starts off with a resounding speech by George Scott with an massive American Flag behind him; this opening speech and the entire shot has become iconic. The movie fairly accurately captures the nature of the General as we get to see the military life-story of the General in the War, with his successes in North Africa, and then in Sicily. After getting into trouble due to having slapped a soldier (and with Eisenhower forcing him to apologize for that incident), he comes back into action after the Normandy landing. The movie also captures the rapid downfall of this celebrated soldier after that, when his biases against the Russians (although his opinion of what would happen in East Europe after the Soviets took control came true), his tolerating of the ex-Nazis in German areas under his control, and his outbursts subsequently led to his losing his position.
The movie was a success, and also won 7 Oscars:
- Best Actor (George Scott refused to accept, considering the awards to be a meat parade of actors)
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration,
- Best Director,
- Best Film Editing,
- Best Picture,
- Best Sound and
- Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced
Nominations:
- Best Cinematography,
- Best Effects,
- Special Visual Effects and
- Best Music, Original Score

The movie was directed by . It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, and was based on a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

There are 2 types of war movies; the ones that take a slightly more romantic view of war, and then there are the ones that seek to portray war more realistically. They depict war as something that dehumanizes human beings, with no nobility being there. People suffer huge emotional and physical trauma, including both the people who take part in it, and the collateral damage to civilians (people in the territories where the war is taking place and the relatives and friends of the war participants). There are a number of movies that came out during and after the Vietnam War that portray the horrors of the war, such as Apocalypse Now, Platoon, etc. The Deer Hunter is another movie of the same type, that takes 3 people who enter the war as soldiers, suffer the horrors of the war including capture and torture in a VietCong Prisoner of War camp, and then takes their experiences just after the war (not their life, but their experiences still related to Vietnam).



The film was loosely based on a screenplay called "The Man Who Came To Play" (by Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker) depicting people who come to Las Vegas to play Russian Roulette (the game is a dangerous game of taking a chance with a bullet in a gun, just not knowing which chamber the bullet is in); this screenplay idea was then combined with an idea about a group of steel workers who go to Vietnam for military service, with their life now revolving around the effects of the war and its aftermath. The movie showed several serious and challenging subjects such as suicide, mental illness, the effects of war, etc.
The movie centers around these 3 Rust belt workers, Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage), and Nick (Christopher Walken). In their service in Vietnam, they are captured and help in a POW camp; the guards, to relieve their boredom, force the prisoners to play the game of Russian Roulette. Steven shoots the bullet above his head, and is punished by the guards for not following the rules of the game. Nick and Michael manage to overcome the guards, kill them, and escape along with Steve.
Escape in Vietnam means floating down the river, and that is what the 3 friends do. Only of them (Nick) manages to escape in a rescue helicopter, while Michael jumps in after Steve who has fallen into the river, since Steve's legs were damaged in the fall. Steve and Michael eventually manage to make it friendly lines, and lose contact with Nick, who eventually finds himself in a Saigon bar playing Russian Roulette all the time.
By the time much later that Steve and Michael reunite, Nick has become totally lost to everybody else, his only place being the Saigon bar. By the time Mike manages to locate him, Nick no longer can remember anything and refuses to go back to the US, and then it happens. He finally shoots himself in the head.
The Deer Hunter won
Best Picture,
Best Director (Michael Cimino),
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Christopher Walken),
Best Film Editing, and
Best Sound.

Nominated for
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robert De Niro),
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Meryl Streep),
Best Cinematography (Vilmos Zsigmond) and
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

The movie was made after Samuel Goldwyn's wife Frances read a Time article (7 August 1944) about how military servicemen were having a hard time settling back into civilian life after their military life, and after the hard experiences of the Second World War. The movie was based on a story written by a former war correspondent, MacKinlay Kantor (being published as a book named 'Glory for Me'); this was then converted into a screenplay by Robert Sherwood; the movie was directed by William Wyler.
The cast included Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Hoagy Carmichael, and Harold Russell (a disabled US Army instructor). Harold had lost both his hands in a training accident. The movie got a lot of praise from critics, with its portrayal of the human emotions of people struggling to settle back into their lives and adjust to the new conditions. It tries to depict the pain, the problems, and the sheer struggle of trying to adjust to a normal life where you have to get a job, deal with family and beloved after many years; none of this is simple. This can be seen even now, when there are numerous stories of veterans from the the First Gulf war, and from the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan having to struggle to fit back into normal life.



The movie takes these 3 former soldiers - Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), Homer Parrish (Harold Russell), and Al Stephenson (Frederic March); they meet while coming back in a bomber and become friends. Fred was in the Air Force, Homer was in the Navy and had lost both his arms in a sinking, and Al was in the Army. Now back, they have to get back right back to where they started, with varying living conditions. Al fits back into the bank and becomes a Vice President since the bank looks upto Al to service the loan needs of returning servicemen. Homer was a football quarterback, with a girlfriend. However, now that he is disabled, his pride does not let him return to his girlfriend Wilma since he does not want to burden her with a crippled husband (even though she seems to have adjusted). Fred used to work as a drugstore soda operator, and coming back to this job does not excite his wife Marie (who he had met when in training and who is dismayed that her husband will work as a soda fountain jerk). They move apart, and Al's daughter Peggy falls for Fred. Al does not really appreciate this, and this causes the friendship between Fred and Al to falter.
Eventually, things start to settle. Homer marries Wilma, and Fred and Marie have a divorce after Fred catches Marie with another man (and Fred can now get married to Peggy).
Academy Awards

The film received seven Academy Awards. Harold Russell was ex-military and not a professional actor and considered unlikely to win an Oscar; hence he was given an honorary award "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance". However, he was named Best Supporting Actor to a tumultuous reception, making him the only actor to receive two Academy Awards for the same performance.

* Won: Best Picture - Samuel Goldwyn Productions (Samuel Goldwyn, producer)
* Won: Best Leading Actor - Fredric March
* Won: Best Supporting Actor - Harold Russell
* Won: Best Director - William Wyler
* Won: Best Editing - Daniel Mandell
* Won: Best Original Music Score - Hugo Friedhofer
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay - Robert E. Sherwood
* Won: Academy Honorary Award - Harold Russell
* Nomination: Best Sound Mixing - Gordon Sawyer