Pretty Boy

 

 

As DOGE strips the rest of the federal government for parts, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is putting his money where his mouth is (literally) ordering the construction of a makeup studio in the Pentagon for remote television interviews.

Hegseth has yet to hold a press conference in the Defense Department briefing room, but he has used it to film appearances on Fox News.

Our war fighting capability — and apparently eye shadow — spending is safe from Trump’s cost-cutting agenda: He and Hegseth just proposed the country’s first-ever $1 trillion annual defense budget.

Read the entire story here.  

Friday Music

Composed by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by Nancy Sinatra it was released in December of 1965 and immediately charted reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1966. 

Covered by countless artists I best remember it playing on a transistor radio as a kid and later as an adult in a scene from Stanley Kubrick's classic film Full Metal Jacket; where a South Vietnamese hooker in a miniskirt propositions a couple of GIs. 

In 2020, this version was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.....

At The Movies

Once a year, on principle.

Director's Cut.

English Subtitles.

Steak night with a cocktail..... 

Military Filmography

Way back in September of 2010 the staff here at The Platz posted our Top-Ten picks of movies about Hollywood Goes To War with my personal Top Ten War Movies.  We thought we rather nailed it.  Nevertheless, staff recognizes that moods, politics, tolerance for warfare and Hollywood tastes change over time.

A pause for a partial revisit.

From the all-knowing Internet Movie Database is the Top 25 Greatest War Movies of All Time (The Ultimate List).  

Compiled 11 years ago and updated 7 years ago the war movies on this list are ranked according to their success (awards and nominations), Their popularity and cinematic greatness from a perspective of directing and writing.  Accuracy is important too.   

There was considerable overlap between this list (albeit larger and casing a wider historic net) than my original Top Ten list; including some releases to hit the big screen or streaming services in recent years.

Significantly, I've seen all of these movies; many of them multiple times.  Over the course of a decade and a half it is interesting to note the commonalities in film genre that persist in popular culture.  There is a great deal of over-lap in taste.

In any event, one of my go-to YouTube channels for geopolitical events and affairs is hosted by Ward Carroll.  Carroll flew F-14 Tomcats for fifteen years after graduating from the US Naval Academy.  Named Naval Institute Press Author of the Year in 2001 he is host of the Ward Carrol YouTube Channel.

Several months ago Carroll pubished a short list of All-Time 12 Most Badass Military Movie Characters I thought to myself:  I've seen all of these movies.  More overlap.  Fascinating.  

I've embedded the video below.

So, with winter upon us if you're looking to curl-up by the fire and watch some military history, war drama, the tragedy of violent conflict or the futility of war in general; enjoy surfing the IMDb and YouTube accounts for titles you can stream directly or watch on your own streaming services. 

If you are motivated you know where to find the content......

Friday Music

Hogan's Heroes aired on CBS with a total of 168 episodes over six seasons from 1965 to 1971. 

Interestingly, this program holds the record for the longest-running American TV series dedicated to the WWII genre.  Furthermore, Werner Klemperer, John Banner and Robert Clary are Jews - Clary having spent three years in a Nazi concentration camp during the war.

In this clip Klemperer and Banner sing Stille Nacht and Clary  performs a French Christmas carol.

Talented individuals and a fascinating backstory for such a goofy sitcom.  Who knew?

Righteous and Hopeful

In life - in each and everything there is a positive aspect.  You just need the situational awareness to find it.  An observant eye will reveal that life was never more beautiful than today.  It is mostly about your mindset towards something.  

Did you know that the average American now retires at age 62?  One hundred years ago, the average American died at age 51. 

1,000 years after Jesus walked the earth the world was barely any richer. It took 500 years for income to double from there. Then between 1820 and 1900, the world’s income tripled. It tripled again in a little more than 50 years. It took only 25 years for it to triple again, and another 33 years to triple yet again. 

The truth of the matter is that this is the greatest time in history to be alive.  The author of this blog has compiled a list of fifty ways our world has become a better place for all of us.

And Donald Sutherland may have summarized it best in this snippet from a film career that has extended more than five decades....

Best Movie Scene Ever

Das Boot (The Boat) is a 1981 feature film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, adapted from a novel of the same name by Lothar-Günther Buchheim.

Hans-Joachim Krug, former first officer on U-219, served as a consultant, as did Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, the captain of the real U-96.

This is one of the best war movies ever produced and this scene is classic.

Following a horrific depth bombing and after fifteen hours on the bottom The Boat surfaces, comes to life and mounts an escape...

War Horror

Jill nailed it.   

Definitely not a film about the war in Vietnam as much as a fictional horror movie set in Vietnam and Cambodia cast with a collection of misfit, drug-addled actors. 

It has been decades - yet after two runs of evening viewing we got thru the ENTIRE 4 hours and 49 minutes of the Redux version. 

No less disturbing.

Yeesh...

Movie Night

Sometimes you got to just curl-up with a desert fox.

Friday Video

Celebrating a cult following Kelly's Heroes is a 1970 film about a group of US soldiers that sneak through enemy lines to rob a bank of Nazi gold.

This film stars Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Donald Sutherland, Carroll O'Connor, Gavin McLeod, Harry Dean Stanton and Stuart Margolin.

Filmed in Yugoslavia it features real Sherman armor still used by the Yugoslav forces at that time.

Just one of my many favorite scenes...

Military Filmography

A half dozen years ago the crackerjack staff here at The Platz posted our Top-Ten picks of movies about Hollywood Goes to War.  We thought we rather nailed it.  Nevertheless, staff recognizes that moods, politics, tolerance for warfare and Hollywood tastes change over time.  

A pause for a partial revisit.

From the all-knowing interweb is the Top 12 of the Best WWII Movies (with trailers).

After a half-dozen years it's interesting to note what our experts had to say with what persists in short-term popular culture.

If you care to compare and contrast simply click on this link to The Platz's picks.   They're right on the left-hand margin of labels under the Hollywood Goes to War. They're not all WWII - but they're close.

Enjoy surfing the YouTube accounts and apologies, in-advance, for any dead links here since the original post was published.

If you are motivated you know where to find the content...

Top Ten War Movies - #1

While not as technically compelling or stark in its portrayal of combat as Saving Private Ryan this was the first movie to portray the invasion of northern Europe from both an Allied and German point of view.

This adapatation of Cornelius Ryan's book The Longest Day featured an all star cast that included familar screen personalities such as: Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Fabian, Mel Ferrer, Henry Fonda, Peter Lawford, Roddy McDowall, Sal Mineo, Robert Mitchum, George Segal, Rod Steiger, Robert Wagner and John Wayne.

Whew!

There was a host of better-known actors representing France, Britain and Germany too.

Released in 1962 Darryl Zanuck's production took two years to make. Filmed in France in black and white it does a good job of incorporating WWII vintage film footage. The use of sub-titles adds to its authenticity.

My dad took me to see this movie at the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee.

I was impressed.

If you like history be sure to read some of Cornelius Ryan's works.

Top Ten War Movies - #2

Number two.

And another point of view.

When I registered for the draft pop offered me some counsel about enlisting in the military.

He said to not wait for the draft notice but to enlist in the Navy. Not the Army. His reasoning was that I would be assured of three square meals a day and a warm bunk every evening. In retrospect, his advice became a moot point because Nixon instituted the all-volunteer military and the draft disappeared. Nonetheless, I dunno about dad's wisdom.

While I have no personal experience in the matter I happen to think that there is nothing worse than having someone shoot at you.

Especially if you are underwater.

This 1981 motion picture is a riveting portrayal of the horrors of warfare.

Starring in Das Boot were Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch and Martin Semmelrogge.

If you ever have an opportunity to watch it in surround sound on the big screen - hang on tight...

Top Ten War Movies - #3

Steve Spielberg directed this 1998 motion picture.

Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns and Barry Pepper.

The opening scene - the 2nd Ranger Battalion's assault on the Normandy beachead - left me numb.

I saw this movie with my pop - a combat veteran of the Normandy invasion. I can count upon one hand the number of times in my life I witnessed my father shed a tear. So effective was Spielberg's portrayal of combat that dad cried during this movie.

Top Ten War Movies - #4

I have seen this motion picture countless times since the first time I saw it in the theater.

Released many years following the original conflict this fantastic work by Oliver Stone still garners viewership and respect for its intense portrayal of life and death, good and evil, competence and incompetence. And the closeness of the relationship of those comprising a Platoon.

In my opinion it stands as one of the best films about the Vietnam war ever made.

This 1986 picture starred Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Keith David, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, Forest Whitaker, and John McGinley. Johnny Deep was also cast in this movie.

It is also remembered for the haunting music of Samel Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Top Ten War Movies - #5

Number Five on the list.

It is getting tougher to make the cut.

This 1957 classic starred William Holden, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins.

Sometimes in the broader context of was are found smaller and more personal wars. The Bridge on the River Kwai does a terrific job of portraying just such a situation. Plus the British stiff upper lip.

Although a work of fiction - the film is loosely-based upon the building of a bridge in 1943 over a river for the Burma-Siam railway.

It is best remembered for the tune whistled by the POWS - The Colonel Bogey March.

Top Ten War Movies - #6

No proper assemblage of cinematic representations of war would be complete with number six on my list.

If you ever have an opportunity to be in the vicinity of Fort Knox, KY you absolutely must visit the General George Patton Museum.

Patton is the third installment of the 1970 movie trifecta.

George C. Scott does an absolutely brilliant job of portraying the mercurial Patton and Karl Malden is cast as the perfect complement in General Bradley

Very few figures from the Second World War inspire as much controversy, admiration or awe as this plain-spoken cavalryman.

I took great personal interest in this production as my father was a combat infantryman who participated in the liberation of France and Belgium. After the breakout at St. Lo they were frequently attached to elements of Patton’s armor (or vice versa) in the dash across northern France. The frequently outran their supply lines and literally ran out of gas by the close of August, 1944.

Pop used to tell a story about an episode during the war where he saw the General actually directing traffic.

I have no reason to believe that he was making it up.

Particularly since this was before the movie ever came out.



I know this is nit-picking, but all the armor used in this movie was from the 1950s. M47s for the US and M48s for the Jerries. Ironically – both are named for Patton.

Top Ten War Movies - #7

Another great motion picture from 1970 is the venerable M*A*S*H.

Starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Robert Duval and Sally Kellerman. Gary Burghoff went on to star in the long running television spin-off.

By no means an epic motion picture - it's a story about the brutal consequences of combat in the forward aid stations and MASH units close to the action. And coping.

It was one of the first movies to seriously poke fun at army life.

Like I said before - 1970 was an impressionable year.

Several years later one of my girlfriends from back then made a habit of snuggling with me on the couch every Thursday evening to catch the latest episode of the television version of M*A*S*H.

That always made a nice impression.

A number of years ago I learned about Door County's own 'Hawkeye Pierce'. A retired doctor who lived on the Peninsula and had served as a combat surgeon in Korea.

The Frau and I traveled to see a collection of memorabilia at the local library near where he lives – including his GI .45, mementos from the ‘police action’, his carefully written chronicles of life during his time overseas and a bunch of photographs.

Including a picture of a sagging GI tent complete with a stove pipe and one of those crazy road sign posts with the distances to faraway places nailed all over it.

Top Ten War Movies - #8

The year 1970 was a good year as far as motion pictures about wars go. Three from that year have made the Top Ten list.

Maybe I was just an impressionable lad.

Who knows.

Tora! Tora! Tora! featured a small handful of recognized Hollywood actors including Jason Robards, E.G. Marshall and James Whitmore. There were a bunch of Japanese actors to round-out the cast as well.

I suspect that one of the reasons this film made such a lasting impression upon me was at this time of my life I was devouring anything I could read about military history. Plus the film used subtitles to add an aura of additional authenticity.

This motion picture quite effectively spun the historical tale surrounding the Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

While they were state-of-the art forty years ago – the special effects are kind of hokey by today’s standards. Detailed scale models instead of digital. Oh, that's right, digital special effects weren't invented yet.

It remains a great movie.

Top Ten War Movies - #9

All Quiet on the Western Front might just be one of the most profound anti-war movies ever created. It certainly is one of the oldest.

Unlike most all of the movies on the list I have no recognition or connection to any of the actors.

I first watched this movie while away at art camp in the ‘60s on one of the UW campuses.

Yeah, I know, you’re probably thinking – What are you, some old hippie?

Not quite.

This was period during the Vietnam War and anti-war sentiment ran high at places like art camp. Hence the showing of this movie in the campus auditorium.

We also watched some Salvador Dali flicks too. Blech.

All of this made a lasting impression on me.

I still have a taste for good art. My homes features art and artifacts from my travels along with some collectible wildlife prints.

One of these days I’d like to indulge in making pottery again.

And be cautious about rushing to war. Real people die you know.