OT-Battle Movies
 

<img border="0" alt="[offtopic]" title="" src="graemlins/offtopic.gif" /> Just finished viewing "Windtalkers" Man....the battle scenes were pretty fast, furious and exciting! Lot of 45 firing, too bad it WASNT a 45 Luger.

I saw that, pretty good movie, more violent than I expected, overall worth watching. I don't know how true it was, with the shoot the guy so he doesn't get taken by the Japanese?

Ed

WINDTALKERS makes a good case for the Thompson 45 in that type of combat, or so it seems. Also watched ESCAPE FROM SOBIBOR, lots of P.38 and Luger firing. Movie is a little tough to watch but it is good to see the oppressed fight back against the bad guys.

I loved Nicholas Cage's Thompsons -- a 1921 with drum mag at the first of the movie, and then a 1928 for the majority of the film. Only problem is one that often bothers me in movies -- no recoil. Cage fires a Thompson on full auto with one hand, and there's no muzzle climb. Kind of like when I was kid and watched cowboy movies and the six shooters shot hundreds of rounds without reloading!

Re: Muzzle climb on a Thompson.

Gents,
Havent seen the movie but, if the Tommy has the Cutts compensator, (1921/28 AC) there is negligible muzzle climb, just a sustained gentle rearward push. I have .... shot and sold several Tommys and all were very smooth and very accurate. This often comes a a surprise to a first time Tommygun user. With a drum (referred to by oldtimers as a cookie cutter", the piece is exceptionally stable, although it is sometimes hard to hold it steady because of the giggling that the shooter inevitably does as all those 45 slugs go flying down range.

Tom A

Had a buddy a few years ago who was the training officer for a Police Department, owed me a favor so he called and told me where to be and when and what to wear, seems H&K were demonstrating their goods for the SWAT team. One of the few times in my life I actually didn't want to shoot any more. There were two HK reps loading magazines as fast as we could empty them. The MP5 (?) was a blast. No climb, just a light push backward like a water hose. After 10 rounds it began a circular rotation from left to right in about a 10" diameter. Rep said it was made to do that. Also had a M3 in RVN, too heavy and slow. Sent it on down the line. Worst I ever fired was a M14 on full auto. AKs are surprisingly manageable. Guy showed up last week with a full auto SP1, paid $8,000 for it, asked if I could show him how to disassemble, clean, ect. Oh well. Long as he's happy with it.

rk

Yep. Word of warning - never accept an invitation to fire an MP5 unless you have the means to afford one (~$10,000). You *will* want one afterward. And the SD version is even more mouthwatering. =)

I should know, I made that very mistake, hehe.

Re Muzzle Climb on a Thompson

Good point. I'm pretty sure both guns had Cutts...the Thompson I fired was M1A1, which as you know didn't have a compensator. I've fired an MP5, and the contrast was enormous -- no climb on the H&K.

Compensator or not, movies rarely show muzzle climb.
But then again only we would look for that.
Most people get into the story and don't notice things like Robert Dinero in the deer hunter aims as a lefty in most of the gun scenes and then aims at the deer as a righty then as a lefty again when chasing the deer.

I don't remember Vic Morrow cutting his bursts short to pull them back down on target. If it needed a whole clip, it got the whole clip. Wonder how Kirby and the Lieutenant are doing?

The Cast (all five seasons):
Vic Morrow as Sgt. "Chip" Saunders
Rick Jason as Lt. Gil Hanley
Jack Hogan as William G. Kirby
Pierre Jalbert as Caje
Dick Peabody as Littlejohn

rk

Sgt Saunders also was in the TWIGHT ZONE MOVIE, which actually has him on a ledge and two SS Officers firing LUGERS at him! A realistic sequence. I loved COMBAT- wish it was on DVD now!
The movie LAST MAN STANDING has sequences of Christoper WALKEN and Bruce Willis firing Colt 1911s and Thompsons up close and personal. LOTS and I mean LOTS of 45 Brass FLYING~!!!!!

Thor,

In case you don't remember, Vic Morrow was actually killed during the making of that movie...but they finished the movie anyway.

A helicopter rotor blade made short work of him while hovering. it was a tragic accident. He was a good actor...

John, The problem was that the helicopter WASN'T hovering... A pyrotechnic charge threw a clod of dirt into the tail rotor after which things got out of hand.

As for pointing out oopsies in the movies, I saw The Rocketeer in which the bad guys were armed with P38's which entered service in abut 1940 while the scene was set just prior to WWII. Also saw a movie about Rourke's Drift in which the Brits had MKVI Webleys in a scene set in the 1880's or thereabouts.

And there is always the guy screwing a suppressor on a revolver...

The one that bugged me from the moment I first saw it, although I still liked it. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Nazis in the movie are armed with P.38s, and the movie takes place in 1936...

Saw a good one the other night on cable.
Someone here on this forum was making a database of movies that contained a bit of Luger action (?), well this is one for that list.
Called 'Rififi' made in 1955 France(yeah I know :mad: ) and filmed in Paris.
Film-noir at its best, a heist movie with lots of French cars roaring around Paris at high speed and plenty of gun play with classic old German handguns including a Luger in the main role.
Get it. You'll love it.

<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

My personal favourite from the "not entirely accurate" school of war movie making has to be the Germans driving around in American tanks - Pattons I think - in the Battle of the Bulge. On the other hand, top marks for effort has to go to A Bridge Too Far, in which the armour was at least made to look German and the uniforms were mostly right.

"Raiders of the Lost Arc" was on TV the other night and I noticed all the P-38's. But what hung me up was the WW1 tank and the civilian German aircraft that were shooting at it. Oh well, it was a fun movie anyway.
Big Norm

The best one (IMHO) with both Lugers and P38s and historically correct especially for the time the movie was made is "The Iron Cross". Uniforms, weapons, T34s, battle scenes, a**hole officers, and following the book, all very good.

rk

JohnF

I can forgive the Battle of the Bulge for having the wrong tanks to some extent. Where would they get King Tiger tanks or the technology to put them in the movies in the late 60's. The next time you watch the Battle of the Bulge, watch Henry Fonda shoot the M-1 trying to hit the German tank commander and he misses. Look closely at the M-1 as Henry Fonda aims. There is no rear site at all!!! No wonder he missed...

I agree with rk. The most historically correct movie is "Cross of Iron". Just one minor flaw that I could see; the T-34's are 1944 models with an 85mm gun and redesigned turret. The movie depicts the eastern front in mid-1943.

JP

My current DVD WAR Movie Library-A Bridge too Far, Death Before Dishonor,Black Hawk Down, The Dirty Dozen,Enemy at the Gates, The Eagle has Landed,Kelly's Heros, U571, Cross of Iron, Battle of the Bulge,and The Bridge at Remagan. Also have a bunch of CLint Eastwood and James Bond Movies. "Where's the popcorn?, Where's my Luger?"

Hi Thor,
You might want to consider adding two other movies to your library - "All quiet on the western front" and "Ice cold in Alex". As a Brit, I'd have to suggest deleting U571, which is a blatant Hollywood hijack of a wartime British achievement :-)
Personally, apart from the war movies, I enjoy watching the "Alien" series of films - very limited Luger content though.
Cheers,
John

Thor

Where did you get the Battle of the Bulge on DVD??? I've searched many times for it, and all I can find is VHS. Apparently there are two versions on tape. One has restored footage. I've searched the Internet in hopes of finding it, even...

I found it on EBAY and it is an unauthorized CHINESE version, but it works until they produce the real deal! I am still waiting for WHERE EAGLES DARE on DVD, they sure are dragging their feet, especially considering it is an EASTWOOD flick. Lugers, P.38s and PPKs all are featured!

If I remember correctly, in the German movie 'Das Boot', the captain presents a P38 when one of the crew freaks out.

The scene where the men line up, completely drunk, to form a 'carwash', pissing agains the officers mercedes staff cars is hilarious :)

I would love to get "The Blue Max" and "Operation: Crossbow" on DVD as well...

Me too, I have Operation Crossbow on VHS! Great movie.

My DVD war library is Von Ryan's Express, Slaughterhouse-Five, Saving Private Ryan, Bridge at Remagen, Enemy at the Gates, U-571, Midway, A Bridge Too Far, Hamburger Hill, Pearl Harbor, The Great Escape, Cross of Iron, Kelly's Heroes, The Big Red One, The Longest Day and The Guns of Navarone. On VHS, I have, Battle of the Bulge, Operation Crossbow, Where Eagles Dare,Dirty Dozen, From Hell to Victory, Stalingrad and Hornets' Nest. I keep wondering when WED will be on DVD, probably the best "action" war movie made with not only Lugers, P38s and PPKs, but plenty of MP40s and some MG42s. A Bridge Too Far is my favorite war movie,(I saw it in the theater in 1977)but many others are a close second.

Mr. Kithens,

I was out shooting with my brother. Half way through one magazine, the rear site fell off his M1 carbine. He didn't even notice, and hit the target's COM with roughly half his remaining shots at 50 yards.

I guess it is all about the front site after all!

Any body seen these two movies, both about WWII?
Both are being offered on DVD by amazon.com but kind of pricey without seeing them first. Thanks!
Come and See
Soldier of Orange

I noticed that the movie "Congo" features Lugers. A Sci-Fi flick with a high powered laser in it, and they are carrying Lugers as side arms...

Das Boot, is by far my favorite WWII move... When he goes for that P.38, you can just feel the atmosphere... It was by far his best movie..I wish they hadn't included all the edited material later, the original was great!!... although the part where they were taking a leak on the....well you know... it was pretty funny!!
The absolute best Luger action, in my opinion, is in the "Twilight Zone Movie" it is a in the scene where the SS were chasing an escaped prisoner, where they were shooting Lugers at the character played by the late great Vic Morrow...they even had the pistol report right... followed by the tinkling of the empties on the cobblestone...Lugers sound exactly like that!!... someone was concerned about accuracy in that sequence... Other then that, "Kellys Heros" rates big with me... till...later...GT

Just finished Pearl Harbor, didnt see any Lugers but I thought a great film, 1/2 chick flick, 1/2 action movie, did see a Nambu (made me look twice)
Good 45 movie, but a lot of fast blasting and not much aiming. Episode 6 of Band of Brothers is next, I think that is the one called Bastogne where the soldier captures a Luger.

Where Eagles Dare (Lugers, P.38s and PPKs) all in that one, is SUPPOSED to be out September 2nd.
Also all the Indiana Jones Movies are SUPPOSED to be out on DVD this year too, by two sources. They have Lugers and P.38s in them too!

Where Eagles Dare News <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

Whilst neither of them involve Lugers, my all time favourite war movies are "Gettysburg" and "Zulu". I do try to ignore the Mk6 Webleys and the Mk1 Lee Enfields in Zulu.
I saw photos taken at a re-enactment of Isandhlwana recently where the redcoats are all carrying No4 SMLE's! That peeved me a bit, re-enactors should know better!

Although technically a Western, one of my favorites is the movie Tombstone. Still love that scene with Val Kilmer, who plays a drunken Doc Holliday, when he gets threatened by some guy with a Bowie knife. Kilmer proceeds to pull a revolver out and point it at the guy. The guy with the knife looks unimpressed and goes “You’re so drunk, you probably see two of me.” So, Holliday pulls out his other revolver, points that one at him too, and says, “I’ve got both of you covered.”

Where Eagles Dare REALLY is coming on DVD! WOW!
Here is what the cover will look like, much like the VHS copy! September 2, 2003 is the street date for this GREAT WWII movie with just about every kind of machine gun, hand gun! Lugers, P.38s, PPKs, A blonde and Clint Eastwoond firing MP-40s! When The American Actor playing General Carnaby picks up the now dead German Major Von Hapen's Luger, I yell at the screen, "Make sure and get his belt and holster rig"!! Where Eagles Dare-Click Here for DVD Cover Art

Mustang66, :p
Ed, As I remember from post war conversations between myself and two WW-2 Pacific Veteran Signal Corps Radiomen (Personal Friends of mine).
The Native American Indian, "Wind Talkers", Ask that they be shot rather than be captured and tortured to death. because each had entered into a pact to die before talking or in anyway aiding the enemy. And each was prepared to commit suicide rather than be captured. <img border="0" alt="[icon501]" title="" src="graemlins/icon501.gif" />
I have always wished that I could have met and thanked these brave persons who were not required to serve in the armed forces, Native Amercan Indian Men, By Treaty Were not required to serve in the armed forces Each of these "Brave Wind Talkers" was a volunteer in service to this country!!!! <img border="0" alt="[king]" title="" src="graemlins/r.gif" />
Thank God for such Men as These!!!
ViggoG

How come no one has mentioned The Lost Batallion, with Rick Schroder, an A & E movie on VHS. A very well done re-enactment of an actual event near the end of WW1. Shows plenty of our equipment: 03 Springfields, Enfields, Colt 1917 revolver, Rick's Colt 1911. One luger is seen as a German soldier wounds the famous carrier pigeon on its way back to friendly lines. Plenty of well rendered WW1 uniforms, trenches, etc.

Re The Lost Battalion: In its one gratuitous closeup, the Luger is plainly seen to have Vopo grips.

But you're right, it is a good movie.

--Dwight