Sunday, January 4, 2009

World War II Mania

Maybe it's because of our military heritage, but Tony and I are suckers for war movies. Granted, it took me three nights to get through Saving Private Ryan , but learning about the "Greatest Generation" who fought in World War II leaves me a bit nostalgic for a time when honor and duty ruled the day. But over the Christmas break, we took it to the extreme. Tony got the HBO series Band of Brothers for Christmas from his mom, along with a book by two members of Easy Company that were followed in the series. So we've been watching a couple of parts each night together. It has been simply amazing. Then on Friday, Tony and I went to the new Tom Cruise movie, Valkyrie. I hold no special esteem for Mr. Cruise, but this movie was fantastic. And a story that I had never heard before. Add to that that I am currently reading The Cider House Rules that takes place partially in the 1940's (and Megs just finished The Book Thief) and I've made a case for extreme World War II mania.

Do you have a favorite war movie that is inspiring to you??

**If you haven't seen Band of Brothers, you can click on the link in this post and view the official trailer.**

12 comments:

Scribbit said...

Glad you liked Valkyrie--I'm a sucker for the classics: Dirty Dozen, Bridge on the River Kwai and my favorite: Guns of Navarone.

Jeni said...

Every Christmas vacation when I was growing up my family would watch Louis L'Amour's Cenntenial! I LOVE that 24 hour long movie...we would watch a few hours each day...it spanned quite a few years and wars.

Glad to hear a good review of Valyrie...we have thought about seeing that....but shoot how could you not LOVE LOVE LOVE Top Gun/Tom Cruise!?! I think that movie was half my decision in joining the Air Force :-)

Kristi said...

I am not a war movie fan usually, but I did get on a big holocaust book kick a few years back. I'll have to look up the names of what I read back then and put them into my goodreads. When do your kids go back to school? Did you get your hoosier hutch home?

Ashlee said...

We have Band of Brothers too. Every now and again my hubby gets the itch and watches several DVDs in a row. They are addicting and quite powerful. I'll have to let him know that the Tom Cruise Movie was so good.

Marisa said...

We grew up watching "Tora, Tora, Tora,' "Midway" and "The Memphis Belle." I still sit and watch them when then come on AMC.

Emily N. said...

I recently read an interesting book about WWII—The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. You might be intrigued by its premise.

Holly Ogden said...

Aaron and I also went to Valkyrie over the break and loved it! I have also seen parts of Band of Brothers but think I need to revisit that one.

Albanie said...

I really like Life is Beautiful. Such a great movie. Have you seen it? If not, you HAVE to!

Sydney said...

My husband LOVES "Band of Brothers" and has read many of Stephen Ambrose's books. And a bunch of the guys from Easy Company were from Wisconsin, so there are often stories about them in the paper here (sadly, it's because many of them are passing away).

As for war movies we like, "Saving Private Ryan" is a favorite, as is "Flags of our Fathers." We also have "Letters from Iwo Jima" DVRd, but haven't watched yet. It's supposed to be really good.

I'm hoping we can see "Valkyrie" before it's out of theatres. We rarely go to movies. But we're due for a date night!

Cherie said...

We just watched the movie Scarlet and the Black! It is based on a true story about a priest from the Vatican (SP?) who helped thousands of refuges survive the German army. I highly suggest it. Gregory Peck is one of the leading roles.

Anonymous said...

Scott and I love to watch "Band of Brothers." We must have watched it at least five times already over the years. Actually, it is about time to get it out and watch it again! Thanks for reminding me. It only gets better the more you watch it.

Shawna B. said...

Amber, I have had WWII mania for as long as I can remember. I am absolutely fascinated with that time period. Saw Valkyrie on my birthday and LOVED it. After living in Austria and cleaning bombed out graveyards and seeing buildings that were bombed and numbers tatooted on people's skin from being in concentration camps, that time in history is even more fascinating to me.

I just ordered a Stephen Ambrose book called The Great Fight. It's got lots of terrific pictures and is an excellent resource (geared toward young adults, but I thought it was very applicable for old adults, too!) Have you read The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw? Also excellent.

I just recorded a PBS special (The American Experience) about the Nuremburg Trials that I can't wait to watch.

The country's D-Day museum is in New Orleans and I am still a proud member. My friend and I even scraped our money together so that we could have our names inscribed on a brick outside the museum! I just wanted so much to be a part of that place. The man who designed the boats used in the D-Day attack is from New Orleans, and the city is quite proud of that fact.

Oh, I could go on and on! Definitely need to see the entire Band of Brothers series. I've only seen a few, and loved them.