The Red Baron (2008) "Der rote Baron"

For a great WWI movie about the war in the air, I recommend The Red Baron "der rote Baron" (2008) starring Matthias Schweighofer as a perfect Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen.

The movie was criticized for some historical inaccuracies, but overall I think it is a very good movie with interesting characterizations, a plot and great aerial combat scenes. His red Albatros of Jasta 11 is nicely portrayed.

War and Peace

I have been heavily absorbed with all things War and Peace this summer. I am currently reading "Russia Against Napoleon: The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace" by Dominic Lieven. 

This is a very interesting account of the 1812 Campaign and, as important, the subsequent events of 1813 and 1814. It is written from the Russian point of view and does a particularly good job of explaining how the Russians organized their war effort and how they recovered from the fall of Moscow to take the War into Poland, Germany and eventually France.

I did not know logistics and the mobilizing and training of reserves could make such a good read, but it does here. I have read quite a few accounts of 1812, Borodino, the Retreat etc. But this is the first time that this part of the war has made such sense in its entirety. This book also makes a great companion piece to "War and Peace", supporting some of Tolstoy's views and rejecting others in a balanced way.

I found reading this book, and reading/listening to "War and Peace", was greatly assisted by the following maps and chart which are readily available on Wikipedia.

The Minard Graph

As for "War and Peace" itself,  I recently bought a new copy to replace my old Penguin paperback edition of almost 40 years ago. This time I chose the 2012 Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky translation (thanks Yanni!) and I'm well pleased with it.

I have been listening to the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation on Audible, narrated by my favorite reader, the incomparable Frederick Davidson (real name: David Case). David died in 2005 but his work lives on in this wonderful recording. There will never be a more perfect Pierre in my opinion.

As for film versions, this is tough. I wanted to like Sergei Bondarchuk's massive film of 1968. It is generally considered a masterpiece but I could not relate to the actors playing the major roles and the famous battle scenes are problematic. I thought I liked the 1972 BBC televised version but it looked very dated when I tried to watch it recently. 

I found the most enjoyable interpretation to be the 2007 mini series.

War and Peace, 2007

The international cast is excellent:

Clémence Poésy- Natasha Rostova

Alessio Boni- Prince Andrej Bolkonsky

Alexander Beyer- Pierre Bezukhov

Violante Placido- Helene Kuragin

The script follows the novel somewhat loosely but still captures the essence of the characters and the times. No substitute for the novel, but enjoyable in its own right.

Gettysburg 150th Anniversary

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3 1863, some of the the family watched with me the Blu Ray Director's Cut of the epic movie "Gettysburg". This is the way to watch the movie. The 17 minutes of additional footage makes a huge difference to the quality and clarity of the story-telling. 

The additional footage is most helpful in the re-telling of the first day's battle, adding a richness to the story of Buford and Reynold's defense of McPherson Ridge. It also adds depth and historical understanding to the fight for Little Round Top. A marvellous movie in its best possible form. Highly recommended.

Hard to believe that 50 years ago I was first intrigued by the National Geographic Magazine article (Vol 124, No.1 July 1963) that first captured my interest in this most important and interesting battle.

The magazine article featured the most amazing stylized 3D diagrams of the battle. These inspired not only my interest in Gettysburg and ACW history but also my life-long passion for collecting wargames miniatures.

Most importantly, I have a deep respect for the men in Blue and Gray and an abiding sadness for their struggle. Robert F. Maxwell's 1993 movie of Gettysburg captures the poignancy, bravery and drama so well. The 5,000 re-enactors who took part in the movie and the excellent professional cast make this  a must-watch movie for anyone who cares to understand the battle...and its protagonists.

the Alamo (2004)

I just finished watching the "The Alamo", the 2004 movie version of the epic siege of February 23 to March 6, 1836. This was entirely due to the patriotic fervor of my favourite Texan, 2nd Lt. Kris Floyd, USMC. After discussing the battle over Thanksgiving, I sought out and watched the movie. I am astonished I missed it and very glad to have made amends. This is an excellent dramatic and historical telling of the tale. Billy Bob Thornton in particular is excellent as David Crockett. His character and personal charm comes through loud and clear. This is the Crocket of "Three Roads to the Alamo" by William C Davis, an excellent book on the background of all the protagonists.

Strange to say, this was also sitting in my library unread and rediscovered for me by Kris Floyd. I'm correcting that mistake and am now deeply immersed in the book.

The scene in which David Crocket plays his fiddle from the Alamo battlements as Santa Ana's national Mexican Army plays military marches with great bombast is an excellent touch. General Antonio López de Santa Anna is played very well by Emilio Echevarría. The entire cast is excellent with many great characterizations.

Thanks Kris for fixing this gaping hole in my education!

"Remember the Alamo"