Cycling UK Forum

I have been reading accounts by survivors in the paper.
Once again I try to imagine how terrifying it must have been to be there, landing under hostile fire. I fail, I have never been in a situation anything like.
Being a fighting soldier in such a war must be a terrible experience. I thank providence that I am of a later generation which has never had to fight. Or indeed been a soldier or a civilian in any of the wars which have been more or less continuous in the world throughout my life.
We are lucky in Britain, and should remember this.

Any one going to be watching The Longest Day?

mercalia wrote:Any one going to be watching The Longest Day?

I don't much like seeing warfare reimagined by actors and directors, with added heroics and miraculous escapes. Death in war is arbitrary, and does not conform to dramatic requirements. It is also more horrible than can be shown on screen.

Hello all, One short film I would certainly recommend for viewing may surprise many folk? "What have we learned, Charlie Brown", a Snoopy film by Charles Schulz. It is really evocative of the sacrifices made in Normandy.
This may sound strange but Schulz was a great supporter of Veteran Welfare, only matched by his support for Boy Scouts of America.
To remain dry eyed upon viewing is nye on impossible! Not easy to lay hands on, but worth trying to obtain.
My own father was otherwise engaged on 6th June 1944, as he was in the navy, which played many roles. He was off Norway participating in Operation Tungsten, a facet in the deception plans. IGICB MM

My father became a POW at Dunkirk and spent nearly five years in Poland, bring exchanged at the end of 1944. My grandfather was a CO in WW1. I am a pacifist and hope I would have the courage of my grandfather.

Mike Sales wrote:

mercalia wrote:Any one going to be watching The Longest Day?

I don't much like seeing warfare reimagined by actors and directors, with added heroics and miraculous escapes. Death in war is arbitrary, and does not conform to dramatic requirements. It is also more horrible than can be shown on screen.

well The Longest Day has some rather unpleasant scenes if you know the film

Oldjohnw wrote:My father became a POW at Dunkirk and spent nearly five years in Poland, bring exchanged at the end of 1944. My grandfather was a CO in WW1. I am a pacifist and hope I would have the courage of my grandfather.

It would be a difficult moral dilemma wanting to be a pacifist but confronted with the reality of the Third Reich running amok through Europe.

pwa wrote:

Oldjohnw wrote:My father became a POW at Dunkirk and spent nearly five years in Poland, bring exchanged at the end of 1944. My grandfather was a CO in WW1. I am a pacifist and hope I would have the courage of my grandfather.

It would be a difficult moral dilemma wanting to be a pacifist but confronted with the reality of the Third Reich running amok through Europe.

Without question. I am not dogmatic.

I remember Lytton Strachey's reply to the Chairman of the Tribunal trying his claim as a conscientious objector (he was gay).

"Tell me, Mr. Strachey, what would you do if you saw a German soldier trying to violate your sister?" [With an air of noble virtue:] "I would try to get between them."

mercalia wrote:

Mike Sales wrote:

mercalia wrote:Any one going to be watching The Longest Day?

I don't much like seeing warfare reimagined by actors and directors, with added heroics and miraculous escapes. Death in war is arbitrary, and does not conform to dramatic requirements. It is also more horrible than can be shown on screen.

well The Longest Day has some rather unpleasant scenes if you know the film

That does not make my objections to war films any less.
Watching what you know to be SFX is nothing like the reality of seeing horribly wounded people. It cannot be as bad as the reality, and does not have the emotional impact.
I do not like watching even imaginary scenes of butchery.

Mike Sales wrote:

mercalia wrote:

Mike Sales wrote:
I don't much like seeing warfare reimagined by actors and directors, with added heroics and miraculous escapes. Death in war is arbitrary, and does not conform to dramatic requirements. It is also more horrible than can be shown on screen.

well The Longest Day has some rather unpleasant scenes if you know the film

That does not make my objections to war films any less.
Watching what you know to be SFX is nothing like the reality of seeing horribly wounded people. It cannot be as bad as the reality, and does not have the emotional impact.
I do not like watching even imaginary scenes of butchery.

well I was thinking of the scene Sainte Marie Eglise where the pararatroopers dropped onto the town by mistake, no special effects just parachutes hanging...
I thought the film quite respectful.

mercalia wrote:well I was thinking of the scene Sainte Marie Eglise where the pararatroopers dropped onto the town by mistake, no special effects just parachutes hanging...

I was thinking of rather more horrible scenes than you describe. I shrink from suggestions, perhaps it is enough to say such scenes as could not be done in filming without SFX.

Mike Sales wrote:

mercalia wrote:Any one going to be watching The Longest Day?

I don't much like seeing warfare reimagined by actors and directors, with added heroics and miraculous escapes. Death in war is arbitrary, and does not conform to dramatic requirements. It is also more horrible than can be shown on screen.

And it's not all accurate. One of the biggest myths as a result of the film is that the Luftwaffe only got two fighters up which then strafed beaches. This myth is a result of Cornelius Ryan concentrating upon that in his book upon which the film was based.

In fact the Luftwaffe flew more than 300 sorties that day, however their orders were to engage enemy aircraft only, not to attack the beaches, therefore soldiers didn't see German aircraft all day - that's not to say they weren't there.

Ben@Forest wrote:

Mike Sales wrote:

mercalia wrote:Any one going to be watching The Longest Day?

I don't much like seeing warfare reimagined by actors and directors, with added heroics and miraculous escapes. Death in war is arbitrary, and does not conform to dramatic requirements. It is also more horrible than can be shown on screen.

And it's not all accurate. One of the biggest myths as a result of the film is that the Luftwaffe only got two fighters up which then strafed beaches. This myth is a result of Cornelius Ryan concentrating upon that in his book upon which the film was based.

In fact the Luftwaffe flew more than 300 sorties that day, however their orders were to engage enemy aircraft only, not to attack the beaches, therefore soldiers didn't see German aircraft all day - that's not to say they weren't there.

any refs? as that surprises me. since the problem was on the ground really

well I had a look at the film ( seems like the "stars" had cameo roles rather than look at me roles) and also the documentary included on the dvd, Darryl Francis Zanuck made where he visited the beaches and used the film to illustrate what happened. He had served in both wars, the WW1 & WW2. It seemes he hoped the film would put the younger generation off from war. but as he says, since then there had been Korea and Vietnam The documentary ends flying over the mass graves of American soldiers, that seems to go on and on. Not a warmongering film. The one thing I dont like about Longest Day is the way that the British are presented as rather eccentric