Great WWII Movies (A Walk In The Sun / We Dive At Dawn / The North Star)

Description

3 Great Movies on 1 DVD. Star Power, Exciting Genre with Extras on each DVD.

Customer Reviews:

Good purchase.......2007-09-15

Received the Video and look forward to watching the 3 movies. Transaction with Amazon was super!

Stoners Delight.......2007-03-08

Geeze this DVD sucks, maybe if you smoke your socks before you watch it your mind will wander to a more interesting place.

Extraordinary Focus on Ordinary Men and Women of WWII.......2005-12-22

I use the term ordinary to emphasize just how extraordinary the US infantryman was in WWII. In motion pictures it seems that most war films focus and glorify trained teams sent on secret missions or small groups of elite fighting men trained for a specific purpose. Most of these films never really focus on the men, the morality and camaraderie developed (one exception being THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE) and the day-to-day grind of combat and unsettled nerves. A WALK IN THE SUN is one of a handful of war films that focuses on these endearing elements of civilian men thrown into this mundane (on the surface) yet extraordinary routine of constant exposure to death from enemy ordnance. They are a unit from mixed backgrounds thrown into this maelstrom of uncertainty and death. They develop camaraderie and build trust in each other and execute the daily task they are ordered to without real knowledge of the bigger picture and without specific question of purpose. They get the job done ay any cost whatever the reason. Men die, they grieve and they keep moving. They are on the lowest rung in the field of getting the job done. And they persevere. Recent pictures like SAVING PRIVATE and the restored Sam Fuller epic THE BIG RED ONE have redirected the focus to the lowly ordinary infantryman out there getting the job done. BATTLEGROUND and THE STORY OF G.I. JOE have been around for a while and they too have gotten their deserved recognition. Their greatness comes because they have focused on the men. A WALK IN THE SUN is poetic in nature. Mild mannered Sterling Holloway's death scene is very poignant and difficult to watch and even fathom because of the irony that war has exposed these men to. The diversity of the men is great yet the leader types pick up and take charge when it becomes necessary without any hesitation. Dana Andrews is a man seeing that they get the job done. John Ireland, in one of his better performances, is a distant and cool character that seems like the eyes and ears of the viewer taking in all that transpires. Screenwriter Robert Rossen's script is rich in the character studies of these men including Richard Conte, Lloyd Bridges, Norman Lloyd, George Tyne, Huntz Hall and Herbert Rudley under Lewis Milestone's lyrical direction.

WE DIVE AT DAWN directed by Anthony Asquith is an excellent submarine film. This is a very realistic film containing skillfully structured dialogue giving insight into the daily lives of the sailors aboard a British Submarine. It is very atmospheric and gives a good feel of what life may have been like aboard a submarine during WWII in part thanks to cinematographer Jack Cox and art designer Walter Murton whose efforts helped achieved this immensely. The exceptional cast includes Eric Portman, John Mills and Niall MacGinnis. Once again it's the ordinary man put into extraordinary circumstances that perseveres. I like this one.

Samuel Goldwyn's THE NORTH STAR is a prestigiously mounted film about a small village in the Ukraine attacked by the Nazis during the Barbarossa campaign during WWII. The film demonstrates how the men and women of our ally Russia worked as a cohesive force to fight off the Germans. An impressive cast includes Dana Andrews, Anne Baxter, Dean Jagger, Farley Granger, Erich von Stroheim, Walter Huston, Walter Brennan and Jane Withers. The list of other filmmakers is also very impressive. They include director Lewis Milestone, screenwriter Lillian Hellman, legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe and distinguished composer Aaron Copland and producer William Cameron Menzies. That's quite a list. Aaron Copland, James Wong Howe and Lillian Hellman were all nominated for the Academy Award for their work on this film. This film puts the Russians in a good light as romantic combatants meeting the brutal and barbaric Germans in this skillfully constructed piece of propaganda. It is an interesting to see the American perception of the Soviets from this film made during WWII. It also does entertain, however much unlike A WALK IN THE SUN and WE DIVE AT DAWN.

Great deal for World War 2 buffs!.......2004-12-18

I love war movies, and here you get three pretty good movies from the 1940s on one dvd. First, there's the classic "A Walk in the Sun", with stars like Dana Andrews, John Ireland, and a very young Lloyd Bridges. Despite the AWFUL theme song, it's a very effective war movie. It focuses on a single platoon (or maybe company, I forget) that's ordered to capture a farmhouse heavily guarded by German troops. Along the way, however, they must deal with German fighter planes as well as a German armored car. This is my personal favorite of the three movies on this disc.

Next, we have the forgotten submarine movie "We Dive at Dawn" starring John Mills (father of Haley Mills). The plot is simple: the British submarine "Sea Tiger" is ordered to sink the German battleship "Brandenburg". The dialogue isn't that dated at all and the action scenes are impressive. This movie is realistic in that there are plenty of dull moments where the sailors simply talk or train for battle. Life on a submarine in WW2 didn't mean action and excitement 24/7!

Finally, we have the corny, unrealistic "North Star", made at the request of President Roosevelt to boost America's military support of Russia. Even though it has stars like Walter Huston, Dana Andrews, Erich von Stroheim (who always made a great villian!), and the very hot Anne Baxter, the cheesy script and unrealistic battles will have you rolling on the floor in laughter! This movie is about a small peasant village in the Ukraine that comes under attack from the German onslaught of Barbarossa. The men hide in the mountains where they gather weapons and form into a guerrila force. This film is pure propaganda, but it is surprisingly entertaining!

The picture quality of these movies isn't very good, but for such an inexpensive price why complain? The bonus features include filmographies, biographies, and trivia about the movies. Overall, I highly recommend this dvd to fans of WW2 movies.

The Great Movies of WWII 5 DVD Set: The Great WWII History, Timeline & Propaganda Footage Films (from the World War WW2 Collection)

Average customer rating:

The Great Movies of WWII 5 DVD Set: The Great WWII History, Timeline & Propaganda Footage Films (from the World War WW2 Collection)

Manufacturer: Quality Information Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Product Description

This 5-DVD compilation includes 18 great WWII films. Running time is approximately 273 minutes. Table of Contents: Disc 1 - Troop Train (1943) 14 minutes running time / The 957th Day (1945)10 minutes running time / Despotism (1946) 11 minutes running time / Ring of Steel (1941) 9 minutes running time / U.S. news Review, Issue 3 (1942) 19 minutes running time // Disc 2 -Tuesday in November (1945) 17 minutes running time / What Makes a Battle (1944) 16 minutes running time / Food for Fighters (1943) 10 minutes running time / Independence Day Movie Trailer (1940) 1 minute running time // Disc 3 - Henry Wallace Speech (1942) 13 minutes running time / What To Do in a Gas Attack (1942) 14 minutes running time / Wartime Nutrition (1943) 11 minutes running time / Amateur Film: San Francisco: V-J Day (1945) 14 minutes running time // Disc 4 - D-Day Minus One (1945) 17 minutes running time / Special Delivery (1946) 12 minutes running time / Radio at War (1944) 21 minutes running time // Disc 5 - World at War (1945) 43 minutes running time / All Out for Victory (1943) 21 minutes running time

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