Author Topic: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21  (Read 13914 times)

guest4955

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Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« on: June 22, 2017, 09:21:10 PM »
Really looking forward to this! Looks like the next Saving Private Ryan.

Posters here:

http://www.impawards.com/2017/dunkirk_ver8.html

Not exceptional posters  but I like this one:



*****

Very cool trailers here:

https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/dunkirk/

*****

Even though I'm a major history buff, I totally forgot this battle. The wikipedia summary:

The Battle of Dunkirk took place in Dunkirk (Dunkerque), France, during the Second World War between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and Allied forces in Europe from 26 May to 4 June 1940.

After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded the Netherlands and advanced westward. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander—French General Maurice Gamelin—initiated "Plan D" and entered Belgium to engage the Germans in the Netherlands. The plan relied heavily on the Maginot Line fortifications along the German–French border, but German forces had already crossed through most of the Netherlands before the French forces arrived. Gamelin instead committed the forces under his command, three mechanised armies, the French First and Seventh Armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), to the River Dyle. On 14 May, German Army Group A burst through the Ardennes and advanced rapidly to the west toward Sedan, then turned northward to the English Channel, in what Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein called the "Sickle Cut" (known as "Plan Yellow" or the Manstein Plan), effectively flanking the Allied forces.[11]

A series of Allied counter-attacks—including the Battle of Arras—failed to sever the German spearhead, which reached the coast on 20 May, separating the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) near Armentières, the French First Army, and the Belgian Army further to the north from the majority of French troops south of the German penetration. After reaching the Channel, the German forces swung north along the coast, threatening to capture the ports and trap the British and French forces before they could evacuate to Britain.

In one of the most widely debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. Contrary to popular belief, what became known as the "Halt Order" did not originate with Adolf Hitler. Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate, to avoid an Allied breakout. Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line. Despite the Allies' gloomy estimates of the situation, with Britain even discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued.[12]

Offline JCM

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2017, 02:42:00 PM »
Nolan's most recent endeavors left me feeling empty. I thought Interstellar and the entire Dark Knight series were weak, especially compared to his earlier work.

I hold The Prestige and Memento in my all-time favorites list, though. So I'm always interested in his movies.

This one could be a return to the Nolan I like.

guest4955

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2017, 04:51:36 AM »
Nolan: "I'd like to thank the studio for giving us an American budget for a British film."

guest4955

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2017, 04:57:31 AM »
Going to see this movie in 70mm.

Squee!!!!! (Really embarrassed I would imitate a millennial hipster but can't help myself.)

You should too:

‘Dunkirk’: Here’s Every Movie Theater Showing Christopher Nolan’s New Movie on 70mm Film


http://www.indiewire.com/2017/07/dunkirk-christopher-nolan-70mm-imax-movie-theater-locations-1201850899/

guest4955

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2017, 02:34:32 AM »
Saw it last night in a ginormous 70mm theatre:


guest4955

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2017, 02:40:00 AM »
Anybody else see it yet?

****

Never seen so many perfect scores on MC.com:


Online marklawd

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2017, 05:57:02 AM »
Yes, I saw it in Imax too. Sadly, although it was technically a very impressive film, I didn't get the emotional charge I was expecting.

Mark

guest4955

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2017, 08:57:43 AM »
In the final scene a character quotes Churchill:

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old....

A disgrace the US let Hitler terrorize the Old World for over 2 years, Sept. 1939 - Dec. 1941

Online Tob

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2017, 07:12:34 PM »
I thought this was tremendous, the most intense and powerful experience I have had in a cinema for a long time.

Online skyjackers

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2017, 03:17:27 PM »
Have to say I agree with everything you say Tob. I found it an incredibly moving experience. Indeed a very powerful film, especially in IMAX where I thought the sound design and music really cranked up the intensity.

Offline jayn_j

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2017, 06:43:42 PM »
I agree with Mark.  The movie was full of action and special tech effects.  There were only about 50 lines of dialog and the plot was buried in the action for me.  Several key elements of the historical event were either forgotten, or thrown in as an afterthought.

Example:  why did the Spitfire pilot land outside the perimiter after cruising the entire length of the beach?  He could have easily set it down on the beach and joined the evacuation.  No need to be captured.

The comment on the pilot who was rescued ("Where were you when we needed you?") was probably lost on most.  The reality was that many planes were lost with the Spitfire pilots protecting ships from German fighters and bombers.  Hitler had ordered the Luftwaffe to sink the rescue fleet at any cost, but the role of the Spitfires occurred far over the channel where it was observed by few, so the general consensus of the army soldiers was that the RAF deserted them in time of need.

IMO, there is a great movie here trying to get out over an excessive set of special effects.  I'm going to try and round up a copy of the fifties version, or continue to watch Twelve O'Clock High instead.
-Jay-

Online Tob

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2017, 05:46:11 AM »
IMO, there is a great movie here trying to get out over an excessive set of special effects.

I don't think there are actually a huge amount of special effects in the film, Nolan seems to prefer the practical route to green screen. I actually thought the opposite at times - they could have perhaps filled out the beach with a few more CGI people, although looking at photos, it doesn't appear massively different to actual events. I thought the dogfights were exhilarating as they had that weight that CGI just can't seem to get right (and as skyjackers said, the sound design adds a huge amount).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/07/28/how-christopher-nolan-shot-those-amazing-aerial-dunkirk-dogfights/513407001/


Online marklawd

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2017, 02:13:48 PM »
The aerial dog fights were breathtaking...and the images of soldiers drowning below the blazing oil slick above truly horrifying and unforgettable. But I'm sure I correctly recall archive footage of dozens and dozens of rescue boats at Dunkirk rather than the few portrayed in the film....and 400,000 soldiers would surely have crowded out that beach more. It still gets a rating of 9/10 from me though - and that tagline on the poster - " 400,000 men couldn't get home, so home came for them" - was very emotional.

Mark

Online skyjackers

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2017, 11:19:49 AM »
I found this very interesting. I'm sure we all know audio is incredibly important in the whole experience but still thought this was worth watching.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LVWTQcZbLgY

Offline Zorba

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2017, 02:36:28 AM »
I don't think there are actually a huge amount of special effects in the film, Nolan seems to prefer the practical route to green screen. I actually thought the opposite at times - they could have perhaps filled out the beach with a few more CGI people, although looking at photos, it doesn't appear massively different to actual events. I thought the dogfights were exhilarating as they had that weight that CGI just can't seem to get right (and as skyjackers said, the sound design adds a huge amount).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/07/28/how-christopher-nolan-shot-those-amazing-aerial-dunkirk-dogfights/513407001/

Exactly right.

Reminds me a lot of the  the too many notes criticism in the film Amadeus.  ;D

Just brilliant work by Nolan. Amazing job. Amazing,


guest4955

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #15 on: November 21, 2017, 01:29:46 AM »
I'm there....


Offline Zorba

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Re: Dunkirk - 2017-07-21
« Reply #16 on: January 01, 2018, 12:36:31 AM »
Great in 4k too!!!!