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Mike-532
Reviews
The Vikings (1958)
Flawed history:
The saga of Ragnar re: A History of the Vikings, by Gwyn Jones, is true enough but the incident of Ragnar's demise in Northumbria occurred in circa 845-867 C.E. This film depicts a revenge attack on a castle for Ragnar's death, by his sons and their viking cohorts, which was filmed at Fort La Latte, a feudal castle on the north coast of Brittany. There were no castles like that at all in Britain, Scotland, Wales, nor Ireland until after 1066 C.E. and the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, and the Normans. The Normans, or Northmen, or Norsemen, of which William the Conqueror was the 7th Duke of Normandy, were direct descendants of the Scandinavian viking raiders who became the Normans founding Normandy on the north coast of France. So, the castle depicted being attacked in this movie never existed at the time of Ragnar and the viking era: the 8th to the 10th centuries C.E. This is flawed Hollywood history just as are all of the depictions of the myth of "King" Arthur and "Camelot" which never existed because Arthur, a Celtic war lord, also predated the Normans and the battle of Hastings in 1066 C.E., by Arthur's period of circa 460-517 C.E. I suppose that you could list this all in the "goofs" section-major goofs-Hollywood past imperfect-very imperfect.
The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
Well done WWII depiction.
Only someone who was there, e.g. the U.S. 9th Armored Division, can really say whether this movie about the Remagen bridgehead comes close to what they went through in securing the Ludendorf, the last remaining intact bridge over the Rhine, on March 7, 1945. Only they know of the finality of the gunfire, and the smell it left in the air along with the smell of the dead bodies. But as a combat veteran I was impressed by this movie as it retained the tension and fear involved in war. I do not like most movies because they gloss over reality, but this movie closely shows the different types of individuals that usually make up an army. There are the commanders at the top who see the overall picture, the self-centered career minded officer types who reap only contempt, and the officers and their N.C.O.s-on the American side armored infantry-that just do what they have to do and are just trying to survive. It also shows the close, emotional bonds that war can create between soliders involved in battle. This movie keeps it dirty, with nothing very unbelievable. It gives a good idea of an armored division on the move-and that ain't much fun.
The Last Valley (1971)
Excellent history.
I found the movie The Last Valley to be very educational and enlightening. For people who know nothing about the Thirty Years War, and that would be most everyone, this is an excellent introduction. The Last Valley depicts the realism of war, and exposes the corruption and superstition of Judeo-Christianity through the character of the captain soldier, Michael Caine, who transcends that by showing what life is truly about, and tells everyone in no uncertain terms.