Answer: Joyeux Noel
This 2005 film is a well-made dramatization of the Christmas Truce on the Western Front in 1914, in which British, German, and some French troops stopped fighting for a few hours on Christmas Eve. The men sang Christmas carols, exchanged rations, and even played soccer! The impromptu truce infuriated the commanders on both sides, and, sadly, was not repeated again.
From Quiz: Movie Battle Scenes: 20th Century Part 1
Answer: War and Peace
Based on Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel, "War and Peace" weaves an intricate tale of the lives of members of several Russian families in the early 19th century, with the Napoleonic Wars as an historical backdrop. The film stars Henry Fonda, Audrey Hepburn, and Mel Ferrer. The film was released in 1956.
From Quiz: Movie Battle Scenes: 19th Century
Answer: All Quiet on the Western Front
Remarque was a German veteran of World War I, and his novel and the subsequent film describes the mental and physical stress under which the soldiers fought in the trenches, and the disillusionment and the horrors of war. The film did not glamorize war, nor did it make the soldiers heroic. Lew Ayres starred as Paul Baumer, who shows us the real tragedy of warfare where, in one scene, he seriously injures a French soldier but then cries as he desperately tries to save him. It also shows the detachment and the difficulty these men have in returning home after the war. This was the first film to receive an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director (Lewis Milestone).
From Quiz: War Movies
Answer: Lawrence of Arabia
Set in Egypt and Arabia, this epic describes T.E. Lawrence's exploits in uniting the Arabs to fight on the British side against the Turks. Peter O'Toole was not even the first choice for the role of Lawrence, but Marlon Brando was unavailable, fortunately, some might say. Noel Coward famously said of O'Toole that if he had been any prettier they would have had to call the film "Florence of Arabia"!
From Quiz: War Film Miscellany
Answer: Battleship Potemkin
The title "Battleship Potemkin" was taken from a real mutiny which happened on a real battleship of that name during the Russian Revolution of 1905. Thanks to the Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905), ships patrolling the Black Sea were left under the command of less experienced officers, and the Potemkin was one of those. When the men refused to eat maggot-ridden meat, the heavy-handed tactics of these officers led to rebellion.
The most famous scene of "Battleship Potemkin", called "The Odessa Steps", is semi-fictional in as much as there was no massacre actually on the steps. However, the city of Odessa was a stronghold of revolutionaries and when the Potemkin docked there, many of its citizens joined the uprising. The steps have changed names many times, but are apparently known locally as the Potemkin Stairs.
The aforementioned scene is what really made the film's reputation for both its technical and stylistic innovation, and the ardent sentimental melodrama. The film is blatant propaganda, but that takes nothing away from its brilliance and it is one of the most influential films ever made.
About the red herrings (all released 1925): "Strike" was also directed by Sergei Eisenstein, "Proud Flesh" was directed by King Vidor, and "Quo Vadis" was directed by Gabriellino D'Annunzio (Italian literary luminary Gabriele D'Annunzio's son) and Georg Jacoby.
From Quiz: What's in a Title? War Films
Answer: The Flying Tigers
Jim Gordon (Wayne) leads the mercenary unit, when an old friend, Woody Jason (John Carroll) joins up. Woody's self-centered behavior, motivated by the bounty for shooting down Japanese planes, leads to the loss of aircraft, his wingman and Gordon's deputy. Gordon finally fires him in a scene with a calendar showing Dec 7, 1941. Jason redeems himself by sneaking on what was considered a suicide mission and, after being wounded by flak, dives into an enemy train.
The Flying Tigers operated in Burma and western China defending China's main supply line, the Burma Road. Contrary to the movie, however, they did not fly combat missions until a couple weeks AFTER the Pearl Harbor attack.
From Quiz: A Wing and a Prayer
Answer: Korea
Heartbreak Ridge is found in Korea, North Korea near Chorwon just north of the 38th parallel to be specific, and took place during the Korean War. The Battle of Wendengli, aka the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge, lasted about a month in September and October of 1951. This battle and location serve as the motivating force behind the fictional character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in the movie "Heartbreak Ridge".
"Heartbreak Ridge" tells the fictional story of Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway, a tough as nails career Marine, played by Eastwood. The movie also stars Mario Van Peebles as one of the Recon squad members. Highway is haunted by what happened in the Korean War, a place where he won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He takes a group of undisciplined soldiers and turns them into a top-notch Recon team. They get the chance to prove their mettle when the Invasion of Grenada happens.
From Quiz: War Movie Geography
Answer: The Great Dictator
Chaplin translated 'Führer Adolf Hitler' to 'Phooey Adenoid Hynkel', and he even had supporting characters 'Minister of the Interior Garbitsch' and 'Minister of War Herring', obviously referring to Goebbels and Goering.
It is rumored that Hitler himself viewed Chaplin's film, although that claim was denied by Hitler's friend, Albert Speer.
From Quiz: Hitler on Film
Answer: "My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust."
Robert Rodat's inspiration for this Oscar-winning screenplay/film came from noticing that his son was born on the same date on which the Battle of Normandy began (June 6). In the movie, Private Daniel Jackson (Barry Pepper) was a skilled marksman who used to cite Bible passages every time he performed a shot. While defending the bridge from German fire, one of their tanks spotted him and fellow soldier Parker (Demetri Goritsas) inside a bell tower which blew up after one shot, killing them instantly.
From Quiz: War Film Mixture
Answer: The Americanization of Emily
The Admiral played by Melvyn Douglas, is jealous that the army will steal all the glory of the Normandy invasion, so he orders his chief aide, Garner (a self-proclaimed coward), to be the first dead man on Omaha Beach. Garner's job in the navy has been as a procurer for officers of luxury items. Meanwhile, Garner's romance with Julie Andrews is slowed by her reluctance to be close to any military man as she has lost several members of her family to the war. James Coburn is given the assignment to make sure Garner follows through. The screenplay was by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Arthur Hiller.
From Quiz: Anti-War Films
Answer: Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood portrays fictional Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway in the movie. The title of the movie comes from a famous battle in the Korean War in which Sgt. Highway won the Congressional Medal of Honor, a battle that stills haunts him. He takes a group of undisciplined soldiers and turns them into a top-notch Recon team. They get the chance to prove their mettle when the Invasion of Grenada happens. Mario Van Peebles co-stars as one of the members of the Recon team. Eastwood also produced and directed the movie.
From Quiz: America's Wars in the Movies
Answer: Lafayette Escadrille
"Lafayette Escadrille" has been criticized as more of a love story than a war movie. It follows the tale of American pilots, played by Tab Hunter, David Janssen, Will Hutchins, and Clint Eastwood in an early supporting role, as they join the the famous Lafayette Escadrille, a unit of the French Air Service made up mostly of Americans. The war is merely the backdrop for the love story between Tab Hunter's character, Thad Walker, and the French girl he falls for. The 2006 movie "Flyboys" follows much the same plot but is much more of a war movie than "Lafayette Escadrille".
From Quiz: Dirty Harry Goes to War
Answer: Flying Tigers
"Flying Tigers" was Wayne's first war film. In the movie Wayne plays Capt. Jim Gordon, a squadron leader for the 1st American Volunteer Group in China. John Carroll plays Woody Jason, Gordon's old friend who is there purely for the money. Anna Lee plays the love interest in the movie.
Although many people believe the actual Flying Tigers were fighting in China prior to the US involvement in WWII this is not the case. They were organized and staffed prior to December 7, 1941 but did not see combat until December 20, 1941. Because the US was still neutral at the time of their organization, they were set up as a clandestine outfit, but with US government approval. They flew as a part of the Chinese Air Force until July 1942 when they were absorbed into the USAAF.
From Quiz: The Duke Goes To War
Answer: The Fighting Seabees
"The Fighting Seabees" is a fictional account of the history of the Navy's Construction Battalions; the name Seabee being a play on the initials CB. In reality they were begun when Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks, recommended their creation, prior to US involvement in the war. With the attack on Pearl Harbor he was given the go ahead and established a training facility in Davisville, Rhode Island that eventually trained over 100,000 personnel.
The movie follows the story of Wedge Donovan (Wayne), Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow (O'Keefe), and war correspondent Constance Chesley (Hayward) in the South Pacific from just before the breakout of hostilities, up through the war. The three are involved in a love triangle. In the movie's, climax Donovan sacrifices himself to save his men and stop the Japanese.
From Quiz: WWII According to The Duke
Answer: Clint Eastwood
"The Beguiled" was somewhat of a departure for Clint in that it was more of a psychological thriller than a shoot 'em up. He plays the wounded Union soldier who causes all kinds of trouble in the all-girl school merely because he is a male and they have been scarce because of the war. It was the seventh movie in which he played a soldier or a cowboy but as a psychological thriller rather than an action movie, it prepared the way for his next movie, "Play Misty for Me". In that movie he played a civilian DJ stalked by an obsessed female fan. Both of these movies have Clint in an unfamiliar role of being hunted/haunted by strong women, a departure from his strong male leads who tend to solve their problems with the barrel of a gun.
From Quiz: American Civil War Movies
Answer: Full Metal Jacket
"Full Metal Jacket" is based on the semi-autobiographical novel "The Short-Timers" by Gustav Hasford, a Marine combat correspondent. The title of the movie refers to the type of ammo used by infantrymen in Vietnam. The movie follows the story of Private 'Joker' Davis, Private 'Cowboy' Evans, and Private 'Pyle' Lawrence among others as they go through basic training and then Joker, Cowboy, Sergeant 'Animal Mother', and Corporal 'Eightball' among others in Vietnam. Initially R. Lee Ermey was only hired as a technical advisor on the movie but Ermey made an instructional tape that convinced Kubrick to allow him to play Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Kubrick allowed Ermey to write and edit his own dialogue and to improvise on the set, both of which Kubrick rarely allowed.
From Quiz: Vietnam War Movies, Vol. 3
Answer: Good Morning, Vietnam
"Good Morning, Vietnam" is based on the career of real life Armed Forces Radio Service DJ Air Force Airman Adrian Cronauer. Robin Williams earned an Academy Award Nomination for the role. Most of the radio broadcasts in the film were improvised by Williams. The movie follows the story of Cronauer and his interactions with the local Vietnamese. He ends up befriending a man who later saves his life twice but ends up being Vietcong.
From Quiz: Vietnam War Movies, Vol. 2
Answer: Hamburger Hill
"Hamburger Hill" stars Dylan McDermott, Steven Weber, Courtney B. Vance, Don Cheadle, and Michael Boatman. It tells the story of the men who fought to take Hill 937 from May 10 to May 20, 1969. The movie not only dealt with the issues that the soldiers face in combat, but also all of the turmoil going on back in the states and how it affects them.
From Quiz: Vietnam War Movies, Vol. 1
Answer: Their sub ran aground nearby.
When the Soviet sub, Octopus, became stuck on a sandbar near Gloucester Island, a landing party was sent ashore to find a boat to pull the sub free. Despite the hilarious efforts of a part-time islander, the police chief, and the Russian sailors, the majority of the townspeople panicked when word got out that Russians were invading the island. The film's cast included Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin and Brian Keith. The film received four Oscar nominations, one for Best Picture.
From Quiz: Cold War Movies
Answer: Montevideo
The Graf Spee entered the neutral harbour of Montevideo, Uruguay after the battle with the British cruisers Ajax, Achilles and Exeter. HMS Exeter retired due to damage sustained in the battle whilst the others, later joined by HMS Cumberland, waited for the German ship to emerge. Tension was built in the film by speculation regarding what decision Captain Langsdorff would make when the time limit for remaining in harbour expired.
From Quiz: British War Films
Answer: A Midnight Clear
The battlefield is in the Ardennes Forest, France. This is a little seen gem.
From Quiz: Great War Movies
Answer: Enemy at the Gates
The duel was between Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev and German marksman, Major Koenig in the frozen ruins of Stalingrad.
During the winter of 1942/43, after a disastrous advance by the Wermacht, the Russian army encircled the German invaders and laid seige. In just over two months, they encircled Germans fought a defensive action in sub-zero temperatures before their eventual surrender to the Russian command in February. In those two months almost quarter of a million German soldiers lost their lives.
From Quiz: Death and Glory: War in Movies
Answer: Apocalypse Now
Based on the Joseph Conrad novel 'Heart of Darkness.'
From Quiz: Military and War Movies
Answer: Command Decision
All were WW II, but 'Command' was the best of the group - and one of Gable's better movies.
From Quiz: World War II Movies
Answer: Glory
"Glory", which stars Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick, and Denzel Washington, tells the story of the Union Army's 54th Massachusetts Regiment, one of the first black units raised during the American Civil War. The battlefield performance of the regiment helped dispel the contemporary belief that black soldiers were inferior to white troops, and should only be used in labor battalions.
From Quiz: Movie Battle Scenes: 19th Century
Answer: Cromwell
Though historically inaccurate in most areas, "Cromwell", with Richard Harris in the title role, gets enough right to be a very watchable film. The depictions of the battles of Naseby and Edgehill are colorful and well choreographed, with a fairly accurate representation of the weaponry and tactics used. The film includes an excellent performance by Alec Guinness as King Charles I.
From Quiz: Movie Battle Scenes: Gunpowder
Answer: Twelve O'Clock High
Although the men initially resist Savage, his irreverence towards authority and bravery eventually bring them round.
The title "Twelve O'Clock High" comes from a code used to let pilots and crews know where German fighter planes were coming from. For obvious reasons, it was particularly perilous if you were being attacked from twelve o'clock high, i.e. straight on and from above.
The film, which is based on a 1948 novel by World War II veteran Sy Bartlett, starred Gregory Peck. Bartlett and Peck went on to form a film production company called Melville Productions. "Cape Fear" and "Pork Chop Hill" are amongst their more famous productions.
From Quiz: What's in a Title? War Films Volume III
Answer: Sergeant York
In 1941, Gary Cooper starred in "Sergeant York" about Alvin York (1887-1964), a Tennessee hillbilly sharpshooter who claimed to be a pacifist but wound up becoming a World War I hero. York was one of the most decorated US soldiers in the war, having received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack against a German machine gun nest, killing 20 soldiers and taking 132 prisoners. Speaking of medals, Cooper's performance won him the Academy Award for Best Leading Actor. He was in all the movies listed above, and won his second Best Actor Oscar for "High Noon" (1952).
From Quiz: War Movies
Answer: The Dambusters
The film tells the story of the daring 1943 raid by Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron on the Mohne and Eder dams in the Ruhr. The black Labrador belonging to Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the squadron commander, was knocked down and killed by a car as the crews were preparing for the operation.
From Quiz: War Film Miscellany
Answer: Midway
The movie centered around the tensions between commanders and airmen who were growing frustrated with their orders to be noticed but not engage Japanese forces around the Solomon Islands. The orders, it turned out, were to mislead the Japanese on US force deployment and lure them into a trap at Midway.
The loss of four Japanese first line aircraft carriers following the losses in the Battle of the Coral Sea a month earlier spelled the end of Japanese offensive naval operations.
From Quiz: A Wing and a Prayer
Answer: Iwo Jima
Mount Suribachi dominates the island of Iwo Jima, one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater during WWII. Mount Suribachi is also the site of the famous flag raising as iconically photographed by Joe Rosenthal.
"Sands of Iwo Jima" is a fictional story about Marine Sergeant Stryker, played by Wayne. He trains his men hard and they resent him for it. They don't realize that the harder he trains them, the more likely they are to survive the combat they will face. At Tarawa the men begin to appreciate all that Stryker has done for them. The movie ends on Iwo Jima where Stryker is killed by a sniper and the men finally understand all that he has done in preparing them to survive modern warfare.
From Quiz: War Movie Geography
Answer: Fritz Diez
The films that Diez portrayed Hitler in are: "Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse" (1955), "Frozen Flashes" (1967), "I, Justice" (1967), "Liberation" (1971), "Seventeen Moments of Spring" (1973), "Take Aim" (1974), and "Soldiers of Freedom" (1977).
Diez passed away in 1979 at the age of 78.
From Quiz: Hitler on Film
Answer: Joseph Conrad
Conrad's novel was greatly modified for the screen. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning two, for cinematography and sound. Because of illnesses and other delays the film took three years to finish. Robert Duvall played the gung-ho colonel, Dennis Hopper the foul-mouth reporter, Martin Sheen the troubled officer, and Marlon Brando was the rebel Colonel Kurtz. The film is best summed up in Kurtz's speech in the latter part of the film:
"I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror... Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror."
From Quiz: Anti-War Films
Answer: Civil War
"Glory" takes place during the Civil War and tells the true story of the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment made up of volunteer African-Americans. Members of the regiment include - Thomas Searles an educated, free black man who was Shaw's friend from before the war (played by Andre Braugher), John Rawlins, the gravedigger who helped a wounded Shaw at the battle of Antietam (played by Morgan Freeman), and Trip an escaped slave (played by Denzel Washington). The movie culminates with an assault on Fort Wagner, in which Shaw and half of his men are killed. Although the assault fails, the bravery of the 54th spurs the creation of other African-American regiments, leading to 180,000 men under arms by the end of the war.
From Quiz: America's Wars in the Movies
Answer: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
"The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" was the third movie in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, featuring Clint Eastwood as the 'Man with No Name'. The other two were "A Fist Full of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More". Although the three main characters are not participants in the Civil War in the traditional sense, the war does intersect the movie often and in important ways. Eastwood is 'The Good', Lee Van Cleef is 'The Bad', and Eli Wallach is 'The Ugly'. They are all three after stolen Confederate gold.
The soundtrack, by Ennio Morricone, for the film was released in 1966, along with the movie. The soundtrack reached number four on the US Billboard 200 album chart and number ten on the R & B album chart. A cover version of the main theme by Hugo Montenegro reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968.
From Quiz: Dirty Harry Goes to War
Answer: Fort Apache
"Fort Apache" is a fictional story in which Henry Fonda plays Lt. Col. Thursday and John Wayne plays Capt. York. Lt. Col. Thursday is a no-nonsense military man from back East, with no understanding of Indian warfare. Capt. York is an experienced combat veteran from the Civil War, with experience dealing with the Indians. Thursday won't listen to York and gets half his command wiped out in the ensuing battle with the Indians, by fighting on their terms. The only thing he does right is returning to die with his men who have been cut off. York assumes command after Thusday's death.
From Quiz: The Duke Goes To War
Answer: They Were Expendable
"They Were Expendable" is based on a book of the same name, that tells of the exploits of John Bulkeley, a Congressional Medal of Honor winning PT boat commander, based in the Philippines at the outset of WWII. Both the movie and the book take some liberties with the facts. Another PT boat commander who would later gain fame was future President John F. Kennedy.
In the movie, Montgomery plays the character based on Bulkeley and Wayne plays a junior officer. It follows their exploits of proving the worth of PT boats in meeting the Japanese onslaught and in rescuing General MacArthur from Corregidor. Donna Reed co-stars as Wayne's love interest.
From Quiz: WWII According to The Duke
Answer: Gone With the Wind
"Gone With the Wind" was a movie based on the classic novel by Margaret Mitchell of the same name. The film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a Southern Belle living on a plantation in Georgia at the beginning of the Civil War. As the War progresses and turns against the South, Scarlett witnesses the burning of the ammo trains by Confederate troops, so they won't fall into enemy hands. Many believe this is the torching of the city by Sherman's troops but it actually portrays an event that took place two months prior to the infamous burning of Atlanta. The film won eight Oscars at the time and has since won two honorary Oscars. It is considered one of the first blockbusters and retains its popularity today.
From Quiz: American Civil War Movies
Answer: Tommy Lee Jones
As with all of Oliver Stone's Vietnam movies, "Heaven and Earth" is based on a true story, that of Le Ly Hayslip. She wrote of her experiences during the war and after in "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places", "Child of War", and "Woman of Peace". The movie follows Le Ly's story starting with the French occupation. It then goes through the American involvement and her marriage to an American Marine Sergeant. They move to the US and he kills himself. Years later she returns to Vietnam for a visit with her sons. Tommy Lee Jones plays Sergeant Butler who marries Le Ly.
From Quiz: Vietnam War Movies, Vol. 3
Answer: Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox stars in the "Back to the Future" trilogy and as Alex P. Keaton on "Family Ties", both highly successful comedic roles. "Casualties of War" was his third stab at more dramatic roles. The movie is based on true events that took place in Vietnam in 1966. It tells the story of a squad of American soldiers who kidnap and rape a Vietnamese girl but Fox's character doesn't go along with it and turns the squad in. Sean Penn plays his sergeant and antagonist.
From Quiz: Vietnam War Movies, Vol. 2