One of the most popular military TV comedies to air during the Vietnam War was “Hogan’s Heroes.” The show ran from 1965 to 1971 and is still seen today, with the “heroes” of the show forever remaining POWs in the world of reruns. The show centers on a group of well-fed, well-clothed and well-groomed Allied soldiers with the ability to […]
Read More
During the 1960s and early 1970s, television’s evening news brought the Vietnam War home to America, in real time and in living color. While Vietnam was proving to be the country’s most unpopular war, a strange phenomenon was occurring. With Americans fighting and dying overseas, military-themed TV shows were a hit with audiences back home. Some of the more popular […]
Read More
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, this 2004 film takes us into the madness of Adolf Hitler’s Fuhrerbunker in the last weeks of WW II. As the Russians surround Berlin, we journey into a delusional subterranean world where Hitler and his cronies are living out the last days of the Third Reich. This film is unique because it is told from the […]
Read More
This 1956 movie, directed by Robert Wise, is based on the autobiography by boxer Rocky Graziano. Starring Paul Newman as Rocky and Pier Angeli as his wife, it also features appearances by Sal Mineo and Steve McQueen. Raised on New York’s Lower East Side, Rocky was a gang member and criminal by his early teens. As a child, his father […]
Read More
The 1928 novel by former soldier Erich Maria Remarque is considered by many to be the greatest anti-war work of the 20th century, if not of all time. A product of Remarque’s experiences as a German Infantryman in WW I, this timeless story has twice been adapted into a motion picture by U.S. studios, first in 1930 and again in […]
Read More
Set in the midst of the Cold War, this 1989 spy thriller takes place in Berlin and the United Sates, but with the exception of the opening scene in Berlin, it was filmed entirely in and around Chicago. Directed by Andrew Davis, the talent-laden cast includes two-time Academy Award winner Gene Hackman as Green Beret Master Sergeant Johnny Gallagher, Academy […]
Read More
Released in 1966, this WW I adventure was directed by John Gillermin and stars George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress. These three “A” listers alone would have ensured the movie’s success, but what made it a cut above the rest was the magnificently directed aerial combat scenes. Peppard plays German infantry soldier Bruno Stachel, who is mired at the […]
Read More
This 1963 gem had the misfortune of premiering just five days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. With America still deeply in mourning, it never received the attention it deserved. Directed by Ralph Nelson and based on a book by Academy Award-winning author William Goldman, it stars Jackie Gleason in a dramatic role as Army Master Sergeant Maxwell […]
Read More
With World War II and the Korean War safely in the past, the period sandwiched between them and the Vietnam War was a time for military comedies. On television there was “The Phil Silvers Show,” aka “Sergeant Bilko,” and on the big screen there was “No Time for Sergeants.” This 1958 release came with a cast of several young actors […]
Read More
This 2009 release stars Ben Foster as Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery and Woody Harrelson as Captain Tony Stone, two U.S. Army soldiers detailed with the unenviable task of making in-person notifications to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq. This critically acclaimed movie won several awards and earned Woody Harrelson Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations in the category of Best Supporting Actor. […]
Read More
