Webster

The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions." --American Statesman Daniel Webster (1782-1852)


Saturday, October 22, 2016

Watching some movies on NETFLIX..


I have been taking a bit of time to relax. I do find myself a fan of movies that I watched when I was growing up.  I decided to talk about a couple of them.  These movies are what I call my "Top 10" movies that I will watch over and over again. 

The Enemy Below is a 1957 war film which tells the story of the battle between the captain of an American destroyer escort and the commander of a German U-boat during World War II. The movie stars Robert Mitchum and Curt Jürgens and was directed and produced by Dick Powell. The film was based on a novel by Denys Rayner, a British naval officer involved in anti-submarine warfare throughout the Battle of the Atlantic.
 I really liked this movie.  The Star Trek (TOS) episode "Balance of Terror" with the cloaked Romulan ship attacking the federation outpost was based upon this movie.
  I also watched or am watching "300 Spartans", the movie The 300 Spartans is a 1962 CinemaScope film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. It starred Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the requisite romantic element in the film. In the film, a force of Greek warriors, led by 300 Spartans, fights against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths.
        This movie is where I heard the term "Molon Labe"   or come and take them.




Lacedaemonians at The Battle of Thermopylae:
Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
Tell them in Lacedaimon, passer-by
That here, obedient to their word, we lie,


—Translated by F L Lucas
as an English heroic couplet


Additionally, there is a modern monument at the site, called the "Leonidas Monument", in honor of the Spartan king. It features a bronze statue of Leonidas. A sign, under the statue, reads simply: "Μολὼν λαβέ" ("Come and take them!"—as in answer to Xerxes' demand that the Greeks give up their weapons). The metope below depicts battle scenes. The two marble statues on the left and the right of the monument represent, respectively, the river Eurotas and Mount Taygetos, famous landmarks of Sparta

     And  I watched this movie last week The Siege of Jadotville is a 2016 historical drama war film directed by Richie Smyth and written by Kevin Brodbin. It was first screened at the 2016 Galway Film Festival.The film received a limited cinema distribution in Ireland in September 2016,and planned for simultaneous worldwide distribution on Netflix and a number of US iPic Theaters during October 2016.The film is based on Declan Power's book, The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army's Forgotten Battle (2005)
     I thought it was a good movie told from a perspective that I didn't know much about.  I had mentioned to Mac that this movie made the UN look like bumbling fools.  Here is more information at the Link  and a good PDF read of the events are Here.

     And finally I watched the movie "Zulu is a 1964 epic war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. It depicts 150 British soldiers, many of whom were sick and wounded patients in a field hospital, who successfully held off a force of 4,000 Zulu warriors.


 The film was directed by American screenwriter Cy Endfield and produced by Stanley Baker and Endfield, with Joseph E. Levine as executive producer. The screenplay is by John Prebble and Endfield, based on an article by Prebble, a historical writer. The film stars Stanley Baker and introduces Michael Caine, in his first major role, with a supporting cast that includes Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Nigel Green, Paul Daneman, Glynn Edwards, Ivor Emmanuel and Patrick Magee. Future South African political leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi played Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, his great grandfather. The opening and closing narration is spoken by Richard Burton.
     




    

3 comments:

  1. Donald Trump FULL Gettysburg Address Speech - October 22, 2016

    http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2016/10/donald-trump-full-gettysburg-address.html

    ps. Would you consider adding CC to your blogroll?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are already on my blogroll and have been there for a while.

      Delete
    2. Enemy Below and Zulu are two of my all-time favorites, and I just saw Jadotsville recently and it may become one, too just for the Enfields, Vickers and L1A1 scenes.

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