New World War 2 War Movies (1 Viewer)

[TomNT]

I always wondered why a film studio and a big name director has not made another new WW2 war movie, say about the battle of the Bulge, El Alamein, Kursk etc. With computer special affects nowadays and a big budget someone could make a very realistic WW2 war movie with CGI tanks, other AFV's, artillery, trucks and other vehicles not to mention troops, buildings and historical parts of the battle area. Saving Private Ryan was very well done and Steven Spielberg went to great lengths to make it as authentic as possible with the tanks, vehicles, action scenes, locations ect. The old war movies such as the "Battle of the Bulge" did not have CGI so they used Patton tanks for King Tigers which for me ruined the movie (as well as some of the locations that were used). Imagine a new Battle of the Bulge movie made by Steven Spielberg or James Cameron with CGI generated King Tigers and Tiger I's as well as other German AFV's battling CGI Shermans and M10 tank destroyers etc. I am sure they could get hold of a real running Tiger I and King Tiger as well as some halftracks, other AFV's, kubelwagens and trucks for close up shots in the movie and the same goes for Allied tanks and vehicles, if not in more numerous numbers. When CGI does not work for close up scenes and more German tanks are needed, the director could get a few replicas made like what was done in "A Bridge too Far".

What's your thoughts fellas?

Tom

 

[Rob]

I always wondered why a film studio and a big name director has not made another new WW2 war movie, say about the battle of the Bulge, El Alamein, Kursk etc. With computer special affects nowadays and a big budget someone could make a very realistic WW2 war movie with CGI tanks, other AFV's, artillery, trucks and other vehicles not to mention troops, buildings and historical parts of the battle area. Saving Private Ryan was very well done and Steven Spielberg went to great lengths to make it as authentic as possible with the tanks, vehicles, action scenes, locations ect. The old war movies such as the "Battle of the Bulge" did not have CGI so they used Patton tanks for King Tigers which for me ruined the movie (as well as some of the locations that were used). Imagine a new Battle of the Bulge movie made by Steven Spielberg or James Cameron with CGI generated King Tigers and Tiger I's as well as other German AFV's battling CGI Shermans and M10 tank destroyers etc. I am sure they could get hold of a real running Tiger I and King Tiger as well as some halftracks, other AFV's, kubelwagens and trucks for close up shots in the movie and the same goes for Allied tanks and vehicles, if not in more numerous numbers. When CGI does not work for close up scenes and more German tanks are needed, the director could get a few replicas made like what was done in "A Bridge too Far".

What's your thoughts fellas?

Tom

Hi Tom,

Well judging by Marco's post in this section there does sound like there are quite a few on the way. One of them the ' Midway' remake sounds like it will indeed feature the CGI you mentioned. Saving Private Ryan not only set a new standard of realism in War movies but gave the genre as a whole a real boost. I would love to see more such as you describe but I wonder if there is such a demand for these sort of movies these days? Kids especially have such a range of other entertainment these days that they just don't seem to be hooked on WW2 as we all were as kids, as a result film makers are more likely to aim at them with fantasy and sci fi.

Re the armoured vehicles you mention, what was so good about those films we all loved in the 50's/60's and 70's is that the were still loads of them about, but I'm guessing some of that stuff is pretty rare these days, SPR made a pretty good attempt at a Tiger I build, but I think King Tigers are very rare indeed. not sure if there is a working one or not out there? I hope as you suggest we do see many more WW2 movies over the coming years, not only do we WW2 bods enjoy them but they help keep memory alive and pass it on so to speak{bravo}}

Cheers mate

Rob

 

[waynepoo]

Tom,
Agree totally with you and if some studio thinks there is a buck to be made who knows?. With some of the rubbish they have released lately they can only get better or you would think so, I'm still waiting for the remake of the Dambusters which if it ever appears I hope it is done well, fingers crossed.
Wayne.

 

[TomNT]

Hi Tom,

Well judging by Marco's post in this section there does sound like there are quite a few on the way. One of them the ' Midway' remake sounds like it will indeed feature the CGI you mentioned. Saving Private Ryan not only set a new standard of realism in War movies but gave the genre as a whole a real boost. I would love to see more such as you describe but I wonder if there is such a demand for these sort of movies these days? Kids especially have such a range of other entertainment these days that they just don't seem to be hooked on WW2 as we all were as kids, as a result film makers are more likely to aim at them with fantasy and sci fi.

Re the armoured vehicles you mention, what was so good about those films we all loved in the 50's/60's and 70's is that the were still loads of them about, but I'm guessing some of that stuff is pretty rare these days, SPR made a pretty good attempt at a Tiger I build, but I think King Tigers are very rare indeed. not sure if there is a working one or not out there? I hope as you suggest we do see many more WW2 movies over the coming years, not only do we WW2 bods enjoy them but they help keep memory alive and pass it on so to speak{bravo}}

Cheers mate

Rob

Hey Rob

Yeah, i only saw the thread with Marco's post in it after putting up my thread but hopefully some of those movies including Midway will be made. As for a working King Tiger, yes there is one and it's located at the Musee Des Blindes Museum in France (see attached You Tube clip). I went to this museum several years ago but unfortunately it was not on display while i was there (must have been getting maintained or something).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gmoktx5WR0

Tom

 

[larso]

I guess one problem is the cost. The recent John Carter of Mars cost $250 million. The Forgotten Soldier movie was set to go and the GFC knocked the finance away. I think SPR shows there is still an audience, but it's a lot of money to risk if the director messes it up.

 

[Jack]

Tom,
Agree totally with you and if some studio thinks there is a buck to be made who knows?. With some of the rubbish they have released lately they can only get better or you would think so, I'm still waiting for the remake of the Dambusters which if it ever appears I hope it is done well, fingers crossed.
Wayne.

The Dambusters is such an iconic movie that I wonder why they would bother remaking it. It is one of the greatest movies of all time and if they so much as use a different soundtrack all hell will break loose. With the way things are going they will include an environmental message about the destruction of trees in the Ruhr!

They should just bite the bullet and make 10 replica Mossies that fly and do the low level raids in 44 and 45. You could sell the planes for millions at the end of filming and even make up for those terrible movies starring David McCullum.

I suspect that Rob will push pretty hard for a remake of Kelly's Heroes, but once again, my thoughts would be 'why mess with greatness'?

 

[waynepoo]

The Dambusters is such an iconic movie that I wonder why they would bother remaking it. It is one of the greatest movies of all time and if they so much as use a different soundtrack all hell will break loose. With the way things are going they will include an environmental message about the destruction of trees in the Ruhr!

They should just bite the bullet and make 10 replica Mossies that fly and do the low level raids in 44 and 45. You could sell the planes for millions at the end of filming and even make up for those terrible movies starring David McCullum.

I suspect that Rob will push pretty hard for a remake of Kelly's Heroes, but once again, my thoughts would be 'why mess with greatness'?

Point taken, I remember that Mel Gibson had the rights to the movie before he became on the nose and it may be just as well as the original is a classic not to be messed with.
Wayne.

 

[Mitch]

With the raft of very poor WWII movies that have been released in the last few years I am not filled with hope that such things like the dambusters will be any good. Too much tinkering. There was a thread a while back about some of the things they were going to change including the name of nigga Gibson's dog!!! Thats just one of the things that is the crux of the reality of the film. The dog was probably better known around RAF circles than Gibson and, was the codeword for the operational success.

I would hope they leave well alone with some of the classics good or bad that are being mentioned. Last really decent WWII film IMO was saints and soldiers. the list of poor ones is rather longer
Mitch

 

[lancer]

Hey Rob

Yeah, i only saw the thread with Marco's post in it after putting up my thread but hopefully some of those movies including Midway will be made. As for a working King Tiger, yes there is one and it's located at the Musee Des Blindes Museum in France (see attached You Tube clip). I went to this museum several years ago but unfortunately it was not on display while i was there (must have been getting maintained or something).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gmoktx5WR0

Tom

I think this is the only operable example of a King Tiger in the world. You can really tell how huge these tanks were and just how manuverable that they could be. It can move at a good clip. I doubt that the French would rent this beast out for a movie.:wink2: -- Al

 

[uksubs]

Hi Tom,

Well judging by Marco's post in this section there does sound like there are quite a few on the way. One of them the ' Midway' remake sounds like it will indeed feature the CGI you mentioned. Saving Private Ryan not only set a new standard of realism in War movies but gave the genre as a whole a real boost. I would love to see more such as you describe but I wonder if there is such a demand for these sort of movies these days? Kids especially have such a range of other entertainment these days that they just don't seem to be hooked on WW2 as we all were as kids, as a result film makers are more likely to aim at them with fantasy and sci fi.

Re the armoured vehicles you mention, what was so good about those films we all loved in the 50's/60's and 70's is that the were still loads of them about, but I'm guessing some of that stuff is pretty rare these days, SPR made a pretty good attempt at a Tiger I build, but I think King Tigers are very rare indeed. not sure if there is a working one or not out there? I hope as you suggest we do see many more WW2 movies over the coming years, not only do we WW2 bods enjoy them but they help keep memory alive and pass it on so to speak{bravo}}

Cheers mate

Rob

Rob I think your looking back with rose tinted glasses mate when you talked old ww2 films as from what I remember is all the German vehicles were always US army kit painted grey or yellow depending on where the battle was ^&grin

 

[Scott]

......

I would hope they leave well alone with some of the classics good or bad that are being mentioned. Last really decent WWII film IMO was saints and soldiers. the list of poor ones is rather longer
Mitch

One of the writers of Saints and Soldiers is directing .....


Truth & Treason (2012)




http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0880494/

From the past and present works of the Saints and Soldiers team there is an LDS Church connection.

[h=1]Helmuth Hübener[/h]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_Hübener

 

[Rob]

Tom,

Excellent clip mate, I would not have wanted to be sat in a Sherman as that turret came round towards me!

The Dambusters is such an iconic movie that I wonder why they would bother remaking it. It is one of the greatest movies of all time and if they so much as use a different soundtrack all hell will break loose. With the way things are going they will include an environmental message about the destruction of trees in the Ruhr!

They should just bite the bullet and make 10 replica Mossies that fly and do the low level raids in 44 and 45. You could sell the planes for millions at the end of filming and even make up for those terrible movies starring David McCullum.

I suspect that Rob will push pretty hard for a remake of Kelly's Heroes, but once again, my thoughts would be 'why mess with greatness'?

Don't you take me there, don't you do that!

Rob I think your looking back with rose tinted glasses mate when you talked old ww2 films as from what I remember is all the German vehicles were always US army kit painted grey or yellow depending on where the battle was ^&grin

^&grin

Neil, I was thinking more of the Kubels and m/bikes I guess, there were still loads of them around back then. I've seen a pic of a field in France in the 70's still rammed with hundreds of German M/bikes and sidecars . The amount of AFV's and transport the Germans left scattered across Europe is staggering. There is another pic of a Tiger I still in a ditch in Normandy in 1975.

Although Jack is a very naughty boy mentioning Kelly's Heroes, I think he is right about Dambusters . Its such a classic that maybe they should leave it alone and produce new films. We'd all love to see new Bulge,Battle of Britain, Normandy films but some should be left alone.

One non WW2 film I'm looking forward to is the film adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's 'Azincourt' , I'm a fan of Richard Brannagh's version and last night I watched the BBC's latest version, very enjoyable indeed. Don't tell any of my fellow WW2 collectors , but am glancing at Collectors showcase new figures from this era .

Rob

 

[TomNT]

I think this is the only operable example of a King Tiger in the world. You can really tell how huge these tanks were and just how manuverable that they could be. It can move at a good clip. I doubt that the French would rent this beast out for a movie.:wink2: -- Al

I believe they do rent some of the collection out Al as when i visited the museum there was a bit about some of the collection being used in movies and they also had on show a couple of U.S. AFV's converted to resemble German armoured vehicles which were used in a movie (can't remember which movie that was though). They may be reluctant to rent the KT or Panther (which is also running) but then if the price is right and they are given assurances that the tanks will not be damaged in any way then im sure they would come to the party. It would cost a bit to maintain the museum and it's collection and when i visited there was only a trickle of people visiting so that's why they do rent some of the vehicles out to help with the maintenance of everything.

Tom

 

[larso]

Getting a working Tiger is tricky. Even if a museum, like Bovington lends you one, finding replacement parts is a killer. So it's hard to do much in the way of exciting driving in case you break something. Panthers are a bit easier because there are more. This is a list of survivors, several of which are functioning -

http://preservedtanks.com/Types.aspx?TypeCategoryId=110&Select=1

The video below is fascinating. It looks at the collections of Jacques Littlefield (spelling?) and Kevin Wheatcroft and the restoration by the former of a Panther recovered from a river in Poland. I think Wheatcroft has three panthers (one a Jagdpanther) and takes them to military vehicle shows in Britain. Someone might have seen them?

http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/129834-panther-tank-restored-by-collectionneur/

 

[TomNT]

Getting a working Tiger is tricky. Even if a museum, like Bovington lends you one, finding replacement parts is a killer. So it's hard to do much in the way of exciting driving in case you break something. Panthers are a bit easier because there are more. This is a list of survivors, several of which are functioning -

http://preservedtanks.com/Types.aspx?TypeCategoryId=110&Select=1

The video below is fascinating. It looks at the collections of Jacques Littlefield (spelling?) and Kevin Wheatcroft and the restoration by the former of a Panther recovered from a river in Poland. I think Wheatcroft has three panthers (one a Jagdpanther) and takes them to military vehicle shows in Britain. Someone might have seen them?

http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/129834-panther-tank-restored-by-collectionneur/

Excellent clip Larso and the two private collections are awesome. I think i even saw a German 88 artillery piece in that English bloke's collection!

Tom

 

[larso]

"I think i even saw a German 88 artillery piece in that English bloke's collection!"

That's quite likely Tom - he has FOUR OF THEM!!!!

The following is an extract from Military Modelling which did an article on Wheatcroft's collection.

"To give some idea of the size of the Wheatcroft collection, try to imagine owning 3 panthers, 85% of a King Tiger, a couple of FAMOs, a Panzer III & IV and a StuG B. Then for good measure, throw in a Panzer IV/70, and a couple of 38(t)s. How about three Hetzers, five 251s a 250 and a Horch Ambulance? Not forgetting the two Kubelwagens Trippels, a Schwimmwagen, four Flak 37s, loads of other guns and trailers, searchlights, ammunition trailers, field kitchens, several Kettenkraftrads, a Dukw, many Shermans and other Allied vehicles, plus a good selection of BMW, Zundapp and other motorcycle combinations and you'll begin to get the idea!

The full article with pictures is here -

http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/the-wheatcroft-collection/3041/

For Wheatcroft's site, just search for Wheatcroft collection. There's a lot more listed than in the paragraph above!

 

[larso]

The more you look, the more you find -

"Three surviving Jagdpanthers have been restored to running condition. Two German museums Deutsches Panzermuseum at Munster and Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung (WTS) at Koblenz have one running Jagdpanther each. The SDKFZ Foundation in the UK has restored one Jagdpanther to running condition, using two wrecked Jagdpanthers to complete one. The other wreck will also be restored." Source - http://www.enotes.com/topic/Jagdpanther

Some great pictures of the SDKFZ one are here - http://jagdpanther.co.uk/SdKfzFoundationsJP.htm It seems this one would be available for movie work?

 

[TomNT]

"I think i even saw a German 88 artillery piece in that English bloke's collection!"

That's quite likely Tom - he has FOUR OF THEM!!!!

The following is an extract from Military Modelling which did an article on Wheatcroft's collection.

"To give some idea of the size of the Wheatcroft collection, try to imagine owning 3 panthers, 85% of a King Tiger, a couple of FAMOs, a Panzer III & IV and a StuG B. Then for good measure, throw in a Panzer IV/70, and a couple of 38(t)s. How about three Hetzers, five 251s a 250 and a Horch Ambulance? Not forgetting the two Kubelwagens Trippels, a Schwimmwagen, four Flak 37s, loads of other guns and trailers, searchlights, ammunition trailers, field kitchens, several Kettenkraftrads, a Dukw, many Shermans and other Allied vehicles, plus a good selection of BMW, Zundapp and other motorcycle combinations and you'll begin to get the idea!

The full article with pictures is here -

http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/the-wheatcroft-collection/3041/

For Wheatcroft's site, just search for Wheatcroft collection. There's a lot more listed than in the paragraph above!

Well, i rest my case with this thread! If a movie studio and director wants to make a WW2 movie using authentic German and Allied tanks, artillery and vehicles in the movie then they should pop around to good old Wheatcroft's place and beg him to let them rent the collection!

Tom

 

[lancer]

This is neat stuff, Tom. I had no idea this much original equipment was still in running condition. It might be expensive to rent but the real deal in a film would certainly help authenticity and stimulate interest from sorts like us. I know the King Tiger is a delicate piece of equipment to drive but it would sure be fantastic to see the beast make an appearence in some accurately done WW2 film. It would be worth the price of admission to see such famous pieces of armor/history roll across the screen. -- Al

 

[larso]

Wasn't someone - even Peter Jackson - doing a film called Panzer 88 about a Tiger on the Russian front that gets caught up in some sort of battle with a monster of some sort?