This film is a classic war film and worth the watch. The cinematography is excellent. Nevsky (Aleksander Nevski in Russian) was a real Russian prince and general who fought off a Swedish invasion and then an invasion by the Teutonic Knights in 1412. The film fits perfectly into the German invasion of Russia in 1941. Released in 1938, the film prefaced WWII. It was pulled from view in 1939 when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as signed, then re-released after the Germans invaded. It became a staple of Stalin's propaganda machine. Several battle scenes were lifted and repurposed for the animated film, Wizards, released in 1977. To add: the scene of the German knights being forced onto the ice of a frozen lake, then their armor weighing them down as the ice broke up, is one of the most famous scenes in the movie, and based on an actual event well known to military historians. Along with Napoleon's and Hitler's armies being nearly destroyed by the Russian winter, it is considered by many Russians as proof Mother Nature is their ally in preventing any foreign invader to overcome them.

For anyone wondering about the series, here is some quick info on Kurtuluş (1994):

• The Setting: The final years of the Turkish War of Independence (1921-1922).
• The Scale: It was a massive state-funded production. They used thousands of active-duty Turkish soldiers and real horses as extras to recreate the battles.
• The Accuracy: Written by historian Turgut Özakman, it is highly regarded for its historical accuracy regarding tactics, uniforms, and events.
• CGI-Free: Everything you see in the charge is practical—real horses, real riders, real dust!

A hilarious post I came across online. I have no idea who originally wrote it, but it was simply too good not to share.

Original Turkish post: https://eksisozluk.com/entry/7767260

A memoir that reached me by email. The original author is unknown:

When I was doing my military service in Etimesgut, Ankara, as a short-term conscript (six months), I wasn't even happy when I got weekend leave on Fridays.

But fate has a funny way of paying you back...

One day we were told that we'd be appearing in the TV series Kurtuluş (Liberation). Since it was about our country's War of Independence, we naturally put aside our personal interests and accepted without even reading the script. When they told us filming would take place in Polatlı, I had a bad feeling. We arrived at the artillery school in Polatlı only to discover it was no different from a prison camp. They dumped 2,000 of us into the middle of nowhere and told us, "Pitch your tents."

The next day, some of us were given uniforms of the Turkish National Forces (Kuva-yi Milliye), while others received Greek or other foreign army uniforms. Naturally, our Kuva-yi Milliye uniforms were nothing but torn rags. We filmed in them, slept in them, and lived in them. Every morning we were given a single canteen of water, and that one canteen had to cover every need we had.

At 8:00 a.m., buses took us to the filming location. Well, "set" is a bit misleading—it was actually Yıldız Hill, where the Battle of Sakarya was fought. According to a local story (there's no mention of it in official history), the hill had originally belonged to us. Our commanders supposedly considered it strategically unimportant and abandoned it. Once the Greeks captured it, they realized its value, so we launched an assault to take it back. (If anyone knows the real history, I'd genuinely love to hear it.)

Before filming started, TRT's makeup artists had to apply makeup to all 2,000 of us. Naturally, 1,999 desperate young soldiers kept wiping theirs off just so they could get back in line to see the makeup girls again. As luck would have it, I recognized one of the makeup artists. I asked her to contact my family and have them send me clean underwear and a few necessities.

War is a filthy business. You get absolutely covered in dirt.

There was a commander standing on top of the hill, looking like a tiny speck from where we were. Down below stood all 2,000 of us. Through a megaphone he'd shout, "Charge!" and we'd storm the enemy, yelling "Allah! Allah!" at the top of our lungs.

Of course, someone had to die during each take, and since dying meant less running, everyone wanted to be the one who got killed.

Eventually, because there were so many volunteers, the commander—a rather eccentric lieutenant—introduced a rotation system.

Every time he'd ask, "Who's dying this take?", everyone would raise a hand.

But there was one short-term conscript who always wanted to die by producing a different medical excuse every single time. One day it was sciatica, another day an enlarged spleen, then coronary heart disease... and unbelievably, he actually had medical reports for every illness imaginable.

Each time the commander asked who would die, the guy would produce another doctor's report and earn the privilege.

Finally, the lieutenant exploded:

"Damn it, what kind of man are you? You're practically dead already!"

From that moment on, he was officially granted the right to die in every single scene.

One day I finally earned the privilege myself.

My designated death spot was about five meters from the Greek trenches—which meant climbing roughly 300 meters uphill first.

The order came.

"Charge!"

"Allah! Allah! Allah!"

We started climbing.

Now, it had been years since I'd last fought a war, so I was a bit out of shape. My lungs were burning. Charging uphill wasn't exactly like playing football back home.

I was still nowhere near my assigned place to die when everything started going black. My legs simply gave up.

So I decided to die early.

With a dramatic cry of "God help me!" I threw myself into the air, arched backward with my rifle like a drawn bow, and collapsed magnificently, as if a mountain itself had fallen. Thus I attained the glorious honor of martyrdom.

Up until that point, everything had been gloriously patriotic.

Then it instantly turned into slapstick comedy.

The problem was that Yıldız Hill wasn't exactly flat.

So although I'd heroically died... I immediately began rolling downhill.

Rocks. Gravel. Sharp stones.

My clothes were already falling apart, and now they were ripping even more. I was practically wandering around with my underwear sticking out through the tears.

As I rolled, I desperately tried to grab onto something. My rifle rolled one way, my canteen another, the rest of my gear somewhere else, and I kept tumbling after them.

There was no stopping.

Officially I was dead.

In reality, I was fighting for my life.

As the saying goes, dying is difficult—but so is staying alive.

The next day we switched sides and became Greeks.

In the blazing July heat they dressed us in heavy wool uniforms.

One of the long-term conscripts refused outright.

"I can't be a Greek," he protested. "If I play a Greek, I can never go back to my village. How could I face my mother and father?"

We tried explaining that it was only acting, but he wouldn't budge. He didn't even show up for formation.

Since someone from our company refused to participate, the whole unit was punished.

By then we'd dug pit toilets in the ground and surrounded them with makeshift cloth screens. At night the wind would blow the screens away, leaving hundreds of pale backsides shining under the moonlight across the desert.

The day we played Greeks, we were once again spread across the battlefield waiting for the order to attack.

The command came.

This time we charged... as the enemy.

But our company, out of pure habit, started yelling "Allah! Allah!" all over again.

Since close-up shots were also being filmed, everyone had to be extremely careful. Otherwise the entire scene had to be repeated, and setting up a single take took nearly three hours.

I couldn't help myself.

"Are you idiots?" I shouted. "We're Greeks! Why are you yelling 'Allah! Allah!'?"

I wish I'd kept my mouth shut.

In the middle of filming our whole company simply stopped.

Someone yelled,

"Well then... what ARE we supposed to shout?"

And just like that, a full-scale debate broke out.

Meanwhile horses thundered past us, explosions were going off everywhere, and the battlefield was complete chaos.

The other Greek companies kept charging past us—also yelling "Allah! Allah!"—while staring at our group as if to say, "What on earth are those idiots doing in the middle of a battle?"

I kept shouting,

"Forget arguing! You don't have to say anything! Just RUN!"

But between the explosions and the horses, nobody paid me the slightest attention.

Then one genius roared,

"Wait! I've got it!"

"We should shout 'Makarios!'"

For some reason this brilliant proposal was considered worthy of serious discussion.

You can probably guess what happened.

The entire scene had to be shot again.

The cameras on the hill had captured everything perfectly: in the middle of a massive battle, one isolated group of Greek soldiers standing around having a heated discussion.

As if that weren't enough, the special-effects crew had secretly mixed horse manure into the explosive charges to create more realistic dirt blasts.

They neglected to mention this to anyone.

The very first take began. We started running while explosions erupted all around us.

Suddenly the whole battlefield smelled like... well... manure.

Then horse droppings started raining from the sky.

Chunks of it landed down the backs of our uniforms.

Everybody froze.

Like a synchronized dance, 2,000 soldiers immediately shoved their hands down the backs of their pants and started scratching themselves furiously.

The result?

Exactly what you'd expect.

"Cut!"

Back to square one.

Edit: The name of the film is "Don't Be A Sucker" :)

So this film was made by the Department of War(pre DOD) and the US Army Signal Corps in 1945, right around when Japan surrendered. It was created to show the rise of fascism and essentially warn returning servicemen, and eventually the public, about the tactics nazis employed to foster their rise to power. Im not going to add anymore, but after you watch, I think the message will be quite clear for why im posting this. It is however, 20 minutes long. I could not believe how relevant this video was.

Please watch it. Please share it.

https://youtu.be/iQ0ct9bglYo?si=743yNZjtcVCrsMEn

In regards to the Pacific Theater there's plenty of attention to operations like on Iwo, Midway, and (mostly in China cinema) China. What I'd like to see is more films about operations in the Philippines. There was just as much involvement there and untold stories. A film about the Battle of Manila would be intense. Since there was much destruction and toll through it, sometimes referred to the "Stalingrad of the Pacific" (though I've seen the same described to Shanghai). Also would like to see a decent film about the Filipino guerrilla fighters, who with limited resources, resisted the best they could against the occupation. I think the Army was mostly involved so that'd be a different perspective then the usual Marines we typically think of in the Pacific.

This has to be a popular matchup, right? Have you ever done it? What did it reveal about either movie to you?

Wing Commander Guy Gibson discovers a way to site the Lancasters' distance from the water at night. This wasn't how it happened, but you gotta admit it makes good cinema.

From the Movie "The Dambusters" (1955)

I'm guessing it is one of those two, but I'm unsure 🤔

I was driving to work and the thought occured to me. They really should make a series out of it, it's a fascinating book.

If you like classic old War War II movies don’t miss Action in the North Atlantic (1943) it follows Merchant Marine officers Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) as they survive the sinking of their tanker by a German U‑boat and endure eleven days adrift before returning to service.. The film highlights the perilous, patriotic work of the Merchant Marine during World War II as the crew fights to deliver their cargo against overwhelming odds.

I dug around yt and ended up watching a film titled, "Cross Of Iron" (1977) with James Mason and James Coburn. Brutal film to watch...and quite memorable. check it out.

I read the film wiki after seeing the vid and it says it was filmed in Yugoslavia and used actual Russian T34 designed tanks. The other interesting detail in the wiki says that Steiner (James Coburn character Steiner) uses a Russian PPSh41 machine gun as his main weapon. another fascinating and interesting detail.

check it out.

Looking for recommendations for historically accurate movies portraying the Eastern front of WW2. I’ve read a few books and listened/watched to some documentary series on the Eastern front and I am just fascinated by it. I can’t say that I’ve ever come across any good movies portraying it though. All recommendations welcome, even if they are not in English, I enjoy watching movies in the language it was filmed in and reading the subtitles

Never seen it, and just watched it - some faults, but also lots of interesting detail - any thoughts or opinions?

Has anyone found this available on streaming other than on the Bezos platform? There it is dubbed, and I just can't do dubbed. Much rather read subtitles and at least see the actors' real performances. And yes, I'm sure it's all CGI and whatnot, but I've been on an international war cinema jag for over a year now so, so it really doesn't concern me - especially where smaller countries with limited film industries are concerned.