I never got why despite the fact that it was the Japanese that attacked us at Pearl harbor and brought us into WW2, in a
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blisteringlogic — 11 years ago(December 19, 2014 12:39 AM)
"Certainly, there were men in each military force who committed atrocities or had extreme prejudice towards a particular group of people"
You really should study up on what the Japanese military trained these men to do and what they expected of them. They were inhuman barbarians- BY DESIGN. It wasn't a "few rogue soldiers". It was a campaign of racist genocide on the Chinese. The Allied troops who surrendered to the Japanese were considered without honor and less than human by ALL the Japs.
I just learned how to use the "Spoiler" button -
jerryrip54 — 13 years ago(January 31, 2013 05:38 AM)
I don't see the Japanese portrayed at all in a good light in this series. If fact, the series shows them as brutal maniacs who booby-trap women, charge American lines in the middle of the night like crazed lunatics, and hide in holes like rats. The only 2 parts I saw that gave them some humanity were the part with the doll and the part with the cold-blooded killing of that young Japanese kid near the end. And that was just to show how Sledge had once been that gung-ho about killing Japs but was now weary of killing.
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overninethousand — 13 years ago(April 02, 2013 08:23 AM)
I think the kid was supposed to be one of the Okinawan conscripted middle school boys. Like that:
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-8656-9781937385071.aspx -
myturn21 — 12 years ago(May 13, 2013 08:04 AM)
There was also the scene at Alligator Creek where the Marines were using that last Japanese soldier for target practice until Leckie shot him.
The writers did a very good job of portraying the brutality of both sides.
"ARRT! C'est l'empire de la mort!" -
blackjackxxx — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 01:33 AM)
Letters from Iwo Jima is another blatant Hollywood attempt at making us sympathize for the enemy.
No. That's quite wrong. "Letters" is telling the tale of "Flags" from the Japanese perspective. Both sides of Iwo Jima, per se. I don't think a lack of brutality comes through in any of those or The Pacific. It's there, front and center. The Pacific Theater was very, very brutal. Every bit as brutal as the Eastern Front and, in some respects, more so.
As far as Pearl Harbor and the rush to enlist, etc, that is told in the storyline, I think. The eagerness to enlist by Sledge, Leckie et al. Then, the realities of combat. I think it was done very well, actually a bit overdone in parts, but well done nonetheless.
Push the button, Max -
Terrapin2212 — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 11:39 AM)
But you will NEVER see a movie told from the German perspective, though Nicholas Cage did make a film called Captain Correlli's Mandolin which is told from the Fascist Italian perspective where you are supposed to sympathize with them. There should not be any films depicting any German or Japanese soldiers from WW2 in any positive it will be like a movie today that promotes Islamic terrorism or tells the Afghanistan war and we are supposed to side with al-Qaeda.
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nickm2 — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 11:54 AM)
Have you seen 'Cross of Iron'? Best movie made about 'Landsers in the East' Brave, tight & loyal to each other & best of allthe movie was made by Sam Peckinpah, so it doesn't have any of the whiny guiltridden content that most German movies have RE: "the War".heck I don't think it even had any German Actors.
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mistamajestyk — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 03:19 PM)
Watch the film 'Come and See' if you're looking for a movie depicting the horrors of WW2 without any sympathetic messages or uplifting moments. It is extremely bleak and realistic, and shows the type of chaos and carnage wrought on innocent civilians during the Nazi conquest of Europe.
However, I find that your views on demonizing the Germans and Japanese are a bit absurd. To say that there should only be films made showing their soldiers perspectives as evil and sadistic is ridiculous. Not every German soldier was a die-hard Nazi. Not every Japanese soldier stabbed babies.
"Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see." -
nickm2 — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 03:30 PM)
Not sure if you're referring to me or not RE: the demonization of the Japanese & the Germans (cuz I sure don't feel that wayanyway, I have always had problems with the nesting feature); I was pointing to CoI as a 'Western' Movie remotely sympathetic to the average German landser. As for actually watching "Come & See"maybe one dayI've been told that you'll never had good night's sleep again after seeing that. My parents grew up during 'The Occupation', but fortunately their "little chunk of heaven" was too small to harbor a large garrison or a resistance element
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mistamajestyk — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 04:51 PM)
Oh, I didn't mean you, nickm2. lol.I was responding to the OP. (Guess I should have quoted his post)
But you should check out 'Come and See', as well. You're definitely not going to feel good afterwards, but it also has some amazing camera work and excellent acting from the young protagonist. I think Spielberg even paid homage in SPR with some scenes.
"Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see." -
jd-276 — 12 years ago(October 13, 2013 02:10 AM)
He's creating his own polemic.
To disagree with him would evoke an accusation of being a "liberal traitor" or something equally irrelevant.
Wars are fought by people of and endless variety of backgrounds who fight for a similarly endless variety of reasons. To assume that we know they were all fanatics is to kid ourselves. To be successful it is necessary to see the fight from your opponent's point of view. Naive assumptions have no value here and it really doesn't matter what we think of them. Remember the old saying that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist.
Unless you can walk a mile in your enemy's shoes, you cannot predict his next move with any accuracy. That's why modern defence forces spend so much time and money on intelligence gathering.
Blanket outrage and assumptions of universal evil need to be left at the planning room door. Your enemy is human. He thinks and feels in the same way anyone else does, though his reasoning is different.
The books were written by two men whose exposure to the Japanese did not extend to living in captivity under them. The only Japanese they encountered were those they met - and probably killed - in combat so the matter is irrelevant.
But you can see his logic: the series didn't include something he thinks should be included to make
his
point so he denounces it as "PC". Never mind the fact that it's based on books by a couple of people who evidently didn't include it for reasons of their own. -
blackjackxxx — 13 years ago(February 02, 2013 04:05 PM)
There is very little positive about war. The positive that you see is the camaraderie, if you will, between brothers in arms. You can also see tension between the same. Victory can be every bit as debilitating as defeat. You just don't have to hump backwards when you're done for the day.
While the ideology behind the German and Japanese war machines was despicable, a great many of the individuals went through the same process as any American in combat; the brutal reality of a buddys' grizzly death at arms length. Just as US troops get dissolutioned about fighting for God and Country, the other side does, too. You get some of that in Letters. I think Eastwood had the same mindset as you do and wanted to tell the tale from the "other side".
The Pacific doesn't really dwell on that. It does show a softening attitude toward the Japanese, through Sledge, at the end on Okinawa.
Push the button, Max -
babel_on_5 — 13 years ago(February 18, 2013 09:42 AM)
You need to see "Stalingrad." It's told from the German POV and many of the Wermacht soldiers are very sympathetic, even likeable.
Btw, your final line is so unintelligible I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Every Jap and Jerry is just a cold blooded savage beast who wants to kill, Kill, KILL!!!???
The sad reality (I'm sure) is that their are millions of Afghanis and Iraqis who feel the same way about our (USA) soldiers who conquered and occupied their country.
I grieved I had no shirt until I met a woman who had no pants. -
crockett_john — 12 years ago(July 30, 2013 12:18 AM)
There was also a movie called, "The Eagle has Landed," which is fictional, but the protagonists are German. They're trying to assassinate Winston Churchill. When I watch it, I ask myself, "Why am I supposed to root for the Germans who are trying to kill Churchill?" Early in the movie, it's established that one of the main protagonists is not too bad. He takes up for his war-weary troops and even helps a Jewish girl escape from a train. This still doesn't answer why we should want to see Churchill killed.
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pgharett-676-553123 — 11 years ago(March 17, 2015 11:21 PM)
which is fictional
It's part fiction and part fact. There were attempts on Churchill's life.
but the protagonists are German
Not all. Liam Devlin is an IRA enforcer who's being paid by the Germans.
I ask myself, "Why am I supposed to root for the Germans who are trying to kill Churchill?"
That movie came out in 1976. I've never heard anyone say that we're supposed to "root for the Germans". What a bizarre take on an excellent movie! I mean, if you watch old gangster movies with Cagney or Bogie, are you supposed to root for them?
This still doesn't answer why we should want to see Churchill killed.
If you know anything about history, you'd know that Churchill outlived Hitler by 20 years, so you know going into the movie, that the assassination attempt would be unsuccessful. But it's still a great action movie. And Jack Higgins(the author of the book) is still going strong at 85 years old.