What's in a Title? War Films Volume III Quiz

Answer: Mountains on Fire

The title "Mountains on Fire" ("Berge in Flammen" in the original German) refers to the plan to blow up the mountain which houses the Austrian-Empire troops whose home town lies just below the mountain.

Florian is played by the co-director Luis Trenker. Trenker wrote the book the film was based on, which was based on his personal experiences in World War I. He was also alpinist, just like the character in the film. Trenker had an interesting career in films, mostly in the curious sub-genre of so-called mountain films. One of his early roles was in arguably the most famous mountain film of its time, Arnold Fanck's 1926 masterpiece "The Holy Mountain", starring alongside Leni Riefenstahl.

Unfortunately, "Mountains on Fire" has become a bit of a footnote in the history of war film, but it's well worth a watch given the chance. Apart from the fantastic on location action shooting, the theme is also intriguing.

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.

Answer: Retreat, Hell!

The film's title is a line spoken by the man in charge of the troops, Lt. Col. Steve L. Corbett, when it is suggested that going back towards the coast was retreating.

There are various subplots going on in "Retreat, Hell!". One follows the exploits of a seventeen-year-old who has lied about his age in order to join up. He is later supposed to be sent home thanks to the Sole Survivor Policy, a theme which was later used in Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan".

However, just like Spielberg's film, "Retreat, Hell!" is such a great film because it intertwines human stories with terrifyingly authentic battle scenes, scenes which act like punctuation.

Answer: The Desert Rats

Although "The Desert Rats" is very loosely based on events during the Siege of Tobruk, it is so riddled with inaccuracies, some of which are very basic errors, that it has been heavily criticized by soldiers who were actually there. The title itself is one of those mistakes since the so-called "desert rats" were a British division. The Australians at Tobruk got the name "The Rats of Tobruk". Having said that, it is a cracking war film and does honour the bravery and resilience of soldiers.

One of the film's highlights is Richard Burton's brilliant performance as MacRoberts. Among the green and initially unruly Australian troops is one of MacRoberts' old teachers, Tom Bartlett, who has emigrated to Australia following his dismissal for drunkenness. Here a wonderfully done sub-plot is developed tenderly. The other soldiers don't take to their new commander and the strain among the group is also used well to carry the plot. In actual fact, there was no British officer in charge of Australian troops at Tobruk. As it happens, there were not only Australian soldiers involved either but British, Indian and Polish troops too.

Answer: Sink the Bismarck!

The title to this one is fairly obvious, but the film actually isn't. Firstly, there is very little action for a war film. Indeed, much of the film takes place in an Admiralty underground bunker in London. There is talk of air raids but they never seem in any danger. Secondly, what action there is consists of war ships firing at each other. Of course, that can be quite dramatic, but the drama isn't milked. In fact, although the whole point of the film is to sink the Bismarck, when this aim is achieved, it's quite the anti-climax. Everybody seems to become incredibly sympathetic to the seamen drowned, and even display an odd begrudging respect for the Bismarck, which verges on sadness as it sinks.

The man in charge of operations is Captain Jonathan Shepard, played by Kenneth More, and he makes some very daring decisions. Despite there being some truth in that, apparently those running the show at the Admiralty had quite a lot more information and were taking a much more calculated risk. Having said that, the film was generally praised for its accuracy. However, one other less understandable plot device was portraying the Admiral in charge of the Bismarck, Admiral Günther Lütjens, as a hardcore Nazi nut when he was the exact opposite. Seems a shame to tarnish a military man's reputation with that loaded brush.

Answer: The Sand Pebbles

The title comes from the nick name the sailors have for the boat they serve on, The San Pablo. They themselves are known as Sand Pebbles and the boat as The Sand Pebble.

"The Sand Pebbles" is an incredibly complex film with all sorts of themes running through it. It's also a very long film, but it never drags, partly thanks to Steve McQueen's fantastic performance as Jake Holman. However, the depth of the treatment into very sensitive issues such as imperialism and its inherit racism, and the foolhardiness of do-gooders are also groundbreaking. The film is also highly significant in its cynical portrayal of an American military unit turning on one of its own.

It's also significant as so little is usually said about that period of history and the events in that part of the world.

Answer: Eagles Over London

"Eagles Over London" was also released as "Battle Command" and "Battle Squadron". In the director's native country Italy, it was released as "La battaglia d'Inghilterra". The title "Eagles Over London" is never actually spoken in the film, but there are lots of references to German planes over London, and also British planes needed over London to repel the enemy. The German infiltrators' plan eventually involves an attack on the command centre orchestrating the British defense thanks to radar system of early warning.

If, like me, you love Macaroni Combat films, and war films involving infiltrators, you should enjoy "Eagles Over London". Much of it is historically inaccurate, there are numerous goofs, some dreadful acting, and all sorts of other reasons not to like it, but just as many endearing features. The plot, as daft as it is, is fairly straightforward but has enough twists and turns to keep things moving. There are some amusing interludes involving a patriotic Sgt. Donald Mulligan (played by an Italian actor known as Renzo Palmer) and his casual racism. The funniest revolves around tension between French soldiers and their British comrades which is all quelled by a good old-fashioned punch-up.

However, what really make the film are the action scenes. Castellari was introduced to the use of split screen on this film and he had a field day with it. His own air battle scenes were done wonderfully and he used the split screen to great effect, at times interspersing his scenes with real footage of The Battle of Britain. The battle scenes on the ground are equally entertaining, partly because of the confusion of having both sides wearing the same uniform.

Answer: Cross of Iron

The title "Cross of Iron" not only explains Captain Stransky's motive for attempting to steal the glory of a dead officer, but also his whole reason for getting transferred to the danger zone: military decoration. At one point it almost touching when he explains that he can't go home to his Prussian aristocratic family unless he can prove he has lived up to the family's military reputation. It's only a brief moment of sympathy though as the character is on the whole abominable. Austrian actor Maximilian Schell's performance was vital to the film's theme of social class making sense. The much more palatable character of Steiner is played magnificently by James Coburn.

As one would expect from Sam Peckinpah, there are lots of things going on in "Cross of Iron". Equally, as you would expect of a Peckinpah film, most of the critics of the time missed those things and were unable to see beyond the violence depicted.

Answer: Downfall

The original German-language title was "Der Untergang", which literally means downfall. Much of the film takes place in the Führerbunker in Berlin and documents Hitler's mental unravelling towards the end of World War II. The film was particularly interesting since it dealt with Hitler as a human being, albeit a megalomaniacal psychopath. It's also fascinating in how it portrays those around him as everything went pear-shaped.

Traudl Junge really was Hitler's secretary and she openly spoke about how she was spellbound by his charisma. She also spent the rest of her life feeling incredibly guilty for having been unable to see beyond her wonderment.

Answer: Green Zone

The title "Green Zone" refers to the common name for what became the International Zone of Baghdad following the Multi-National Force's invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"Green Zone" is as much a political thriller as a straightforward war film. It has also been received as politically motivated, anti-American propaganda. Whether or not Iraq was producing and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction in the early 2000s isn't really the point the film is making, what is in the filmmaker's viewfinder is the political half-truths, cover-ups, and massive blunders. To my mind it doesn't get too preachy, although the character of Miller, played extremely well by Matt Damon incidentally, on a crusade for the truth is a bit hard to swallow towards the end. That aside, it's an interesting tale of how morals and principles can get shifted slightly in order to get a job done, then move again, and again. When realization occurs, one finds oneself a long way from where one should be.