ALO - Rise of Fascism, WWII
There's plenty out there, but here's a few suggestions.
Rise of Fascism:
Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens), 1932, dir. Leni Riefenstahl; The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany. Stunning visuals; politics, sports and art together in a propaganda extravaganza. (Check out the similarity of the Nuremberg sets to the final ceremony scene in Star Wars; A New Hope). Riefenstahl claims is was just art, but she has been implicated as supporting the political ideals of the Nazi party. If interested, check out the documentary on her and the film: The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, (1993) dir. Ray Muller.
Swing Kids, 1993, dir. Thomas Carter. German youth fight the Nazis with jazz imports from the United States; on the other hand, you can ride a cool motor bike if you join the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth Corps).
WWII in Europe:
Hart's War, 2002, dir. Gregory Hoblit; Bruce Willis
In a Nazi prison camp, an American colonel (Willis) assigns a former law student (Farrell) to defend a black prisoner (Howard) who's been accused of murder. Meanwhile, the colonel's hatching a plan to take out a German munitions plant.
Saving Private Ryan, 1998, dir. Stephen Speilberg; Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore.
The Longest Day, 1962, dir. Ken Annakin, etc. ; Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Paul Anka, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, etc.
Patton, 1970, dir. Franklin Schaffer; George C. Scott, Karl Malden.
Casablanca, 1942, dir. Michael Curtiz, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre.
The Desert Fox, 1951, dir. Henry Hathaway; James Mason.
Biography of Erwin Rommel, German tank commander. Great tale of loyalty, patriotism and betrayal, even if the Germans speak with British accents.
Das Boot, 1981, dir. Wolfgang Petersen
It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so called "Battle of the Atlantic" to harass and destroy English shipping. With better escorts of the Destroyer Class, however, German U-Boats have begun to take heavy losses. "Das Boot" is the story of one such U-Boat crew, with the film examining how these submariners maintained their professionalism as soldiers, attempted to accomplish impossible missions, while all the time attempting to understand and obey the ideology of the government under which they served.
U-571, 2000, dir. Jonathan Mostow; Matthew McCaughnehy, Harvey Keitel,Jon Bon Jovi
Raiders of the Lost Ark, dir. Stephen Spielberg, 1981; Harrison Ford, Karen Allen.
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, 1989, dir. Stephen Spielberg; Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Allison Dooly.
WWII in the Pacific:
Pearl Harbor, 2001, dir. Michael Bey; Ben Affleck, Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957, dir. David Lean; Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hawakaya. British soldiers are forced to build a railway bridge for their WWII Japanese captors, unaware of an allied mission to blow it up. One of the greatest movies of all time.
The Holocaust
Schindler's List, 1993, dir. Stephen Spielberg; Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall.
Judgment at Nuremberg, 1961, dir. Stanley Kramer; Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich.
Nuremberg, 2000, dir. Yves Simoneau; Alec Baldwin.
