It's John Wayne for cryin out loud! The Duke! How can you not enjoy this!

Seriously, "The Sands of Iwo Jima" takes us to that hell-hole of an island in the Pacific, and the steps along the way. Sergeant John Stryker (John Wayne) is the seasoned and gruff company Sgt. who takes his band of raw recruits (and their replacements) just out of training onto the beaches of Iwo.

Granted, this is about as "gung ho" a movie as you're going to get, even for the era. Viewed today, it makes an interesting counterpart to Eastwoods "Flags of our Fathers."

Masterfully edited in are plenty of stock footage scenes from Iwo. There are times when you have difficulty realizing which is the stock footage and what is not.

There are plenty of moral dilemmas that come up in these kind of pictures, for example the consequences of thinking of one's self when your duty should be towards your fellow Marines.

Of note is the conflict between Stryker and PFC Conway (John Agar) who is struggling against his duty and "legacy" as a Marine vs. his desire to become more than what his father was. The fact Stryker served with the elder Conway doesn't help matters. In the end, though, Conway comes to terms with this.

Stryker himself finds redemption in meeting a lonely war widow and her child, and in the end, well, Stryker brings a bit of purpose to his life where there wasn't any, except for the Corps.

"Sands" is an entertaining few minutes, and I'm glad I took the time to watch. For its time, and despite the "gung ho" factor, it really does portray the fear and despair these guys must have felt.

I'm giving it a seven, mostly on "classic" factor alone. Worth a re-view? Maybe, but definitely on the "must view" list.

The readers of The American Legion Magazine voted "Saving Private Ryan" as the best war movie of all time, although with only 11% of the vote. That's OK, its at the top of my list.

"The movie depicts the realism of war by showing the bravery, fear, cowardice and horror of it all," said Mark C. Hemmrich, a Legionnaire from Stevens Point, Wis., who voted for the film. "It exemplifies our American ingenuity, honor and our sense of liberty, justice, religion and family."

The 1962 D-Day classic "The Longest Day," and the 1955 Audie Murphy film "To Hell and Back" both tied for second place, receiving 20 votes each. "Band of Brothers," a 2001 cable miniseries was next with 14 votes. A list of the top ten war movies will be published in an upcoming issue of The American Legion Magazine.

Link: American Legion Votes 'Saving Pvt. Ryan' Best War Film

OK, So maybe "To The Shores of Tripoli" isn't so much a "war movie" as a "wartime movie", but I think it still fits the bill....

It's the journey of one Chris Winters (John Payne) who joins the Marines in chase of a dame, one Mary Carter (Maureen O'Hara), who it seems is also a Navy Nurse! The film is more about Winters and his struggle to win Mary over, and although he doesn't know it yet, to come to terms with himself.

Throughout, Winters is torn between not wanting to be in the Corps, and wanting to be with Carter, which he can't due to regulations. He's also got to fight the legacy of his father, and his drill sergeant (Randolph Scott.)

It turns out, though, that Winters is quite the capable Marine, and proves it on several occasions. Most notably saving his former drill sergeant from certain death, to both of them.

He comes to realize that he's Marine material at the end, when he learns of the attack on Pearl Harbor, just as he's leaving for his arranged desk job....

At the end you realize you've just been fed a nice healthy dose of prime wartime propaganda (and a good example of early color!), but that's ok. I give this a 6/10 just because, well, its interesting enough to watch, just once, but not so much so that I'd give it another go....

Technorati Tags: to the shores of tripoli, 1942, john payne, maureen o'hara, randolph scott, world war ii 2, war movie review

Fox Movie Channel pays tribute this Memorial Day also, with a schedule of some classic but lesser-known films (times probably Eastern? site doesn't say...):

• 6:00am - Halls of Montezuma (1951)
• 8:00am - To The Shores of Tripoli (1942)
• 10:00am - The Sand Pebbles (1966)
• 1:00pm - The Left Hand of God (1955)
• 2:30pm - Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
• 4:30pm - All Hands On Deck (1961)
• 6:30pm - You're In The Navy Now (1951)
  
• 8:30pm - Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
• 10:30pm & 1:30am - For The Boys (1991)
• 4:00am - All Hands On Deck (1961)

Not quite as classic a lineup as TCM, but a set of decent alternatives....

Technorati Tags: war movies, fox movie channel, memorial day schedule

Just a note on Turner Classic Movies Memorial Day schedule.  Set your Tivo's (or DVR of your choice) and grab some corn!  The entire day, from pre-dawn to late night is nothing but war movies!  Here's the rundown, and links to the WMB reviews where applicable....  (all times Central...)

• 3:05am - Fail Safe (1964)
• 5:00am - Command Decision (1948)
• 7:00am - Action In The North Atlantic (1943)
• 9:30am - From Here To Eternity (1953)
  
• 11:30am - Sergeant York (1941)
• 2:00pm - The Battle of Britain (1969)
• 4:15pm - Where Eagles Dare (1969)
  
• 7:00pm - A Soldier's Story (1984)
• 9:00pm - Stalag 17 (1953)
• 11:15pm - The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
  
• 2:00am - Wake Island (1942)
• 3:30am - Operation Bikini (1963)

I'll find some more stuff for this weekend, and post shortly!

Technorati Tags: war movies, turner classic movies, memorial day schedule

Doh! Missed these yesterday! Here's a few more from The Duke!  Haven't seen any of them.  Yet!

Back to Bataan (1945)

After the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese in World War II, Col. Joseph Madden (John Wayne) of the U.S. Army stays on to organize guerrilla fighters against the conquerors.

Back to Bataan is also available to watch online via Amazon Ubox for just $2.99!

The Sea Chase (1955)

As World War II begins, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich tries to get his ship back to Germany through a gantlet of Allied warships.

Operation Pacific (1951)

Submarine commander Duke Gifford feels guilty in the death of his former commanding officer, as well as about his failed marriage. These issues pull at him during a hazardous mission against the Japanese in World War II.

Technorati Tags: War Movies, John Wayne, New DVD Releases, Back to Bataan, 1945, The Sea Chase, 1955, Operation Pacific, 1951

A whole squad of new war movie DVDs make their debut, just in time for some Memorial Day movie marathons!

Letters from Iwo Jima (2007)

There'll be a review of this sometime in the next couple of weeks, if NetFlix comes through!  (So far I'm impressed...)  I just hope it doesn't rub me the wrong way like Flags of our Fathers did....  I am curious to see how Clint portrays things from the other side of the line.  I've heard mixed tales of how its a bit too sympathetic, but I'll try to keep an open mind....

The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Making its HD-DVD debut is Flags of Our Fathers... you can read the WMB review here....

They Were Expendable (1945)

One of three John Wayne war flicks to make a re-issue this week, part of "The John Wayne Collection"....

They Were Expendable is the greatest American film of the Second World War, made by America's greatest director, John Ford, who himself saw action from the Battle of Midway through D-day. Yet it's been oddly neglected. Or perhaps not so oddly: for as the matter-of-fact title implies, the film commemorates a period, from the eve of Pearl Harbor up to the impending fall of Bataan, when the Japanese conquest of the Pacific was in full cry and U.S. forces were fighting a desperate holding action. Although stirring movies had been made about these early days (Wake Island, Bataan, Air Force), they were gung ho in their resolve to see the tables turned. They Were Expendable, however, which was made when Allied victory was all but assured, is profoundly elegiac, with the patient grandeur of a tragic poem.

The Green Berets (1968)

Personally I've never much cared for TGB. Maybe its the way they approached the Vietnam War from a typical WWII-movie "style" and "attitude." I may have to give it a second look, though. That and this was one of the Duke's later films and to me he just didn't seem like he was "with it" for this one....

Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to build and control a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy the second mission is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.

The Wings of Eagles (1957)

Haven't seen it, so I can't comment (yet!)

Cmdr. Frank "Spig" Wead was a pioneer aviator, renowned screenwriter (whose works included John Ford's They Were Expendable) and a man of war. The skies beckoned Spig to action; a crippling injury ultimately left him powerless to act, propelling him to discover the power of his pen. He was talented, driven, flawed, a friend of Ford and the subject of this compassionate biography. John Wayne plays Spig and Ford directs The Wings of Eagles, which also offers a fascinating glimpse into the ways and world of Ford: Ward Bond plays moviemaker John Dodge, a role modelled on Ford. Maureen O'Hara, Wayne's five-time co-star (including Ford's The Quiet Man), and Dan Dailey (of Ford's 1952 What Price Glory?) play Spig's indomitable wife Min and cigar-chomping sidekick "Jughead" Carson.

Kelly's Heroes / The Dirty Dozen (Double Feature) (1970)

You can read the WMB review of "The Dirty Dozen" here... There's not much more to say about the DD!  Anyone who doesn't like this one, well, NUTS!

And Kelly's Heroes, also one of the best WWII movies of its time. Probably the inspiration for "Three Kings" as well....

During World War II a German Colonel is captured by the Americans but before he can be interrogated an artillery barrage hits the camp. However, Ex-Lieutenant Kelly manages to reach the Colonel, get him drunk and learn that he is on a secret mission to ship $16,000,000 of gold to a base in France. Kelly is determined to get the gold and plans for himself and a few of his fellow soldiers to slip into enemy territory and steal the bullion.

It's painfully serious and terribly funny all at the same time. A definite must see!

Technorati Tags: war movies, dvd, new releases, letters from iwo jima, flags of our fathers, they were expendable, the green berets, the wings of eagles, john wayne, kelly's heroes, the dirty dozen