World War II Database

More on Battle 360 on the History Channel
2 May 2008

From reader JS (used with permission): As a carrier buff with particular interest in the USS Enterprise and Solomon campaigns, I was excited with the news of The History Channel?s Battle360 project and awaiting this expensive and multipart series with much anticipation. Indeed, Big E, a gallant ship and crew, served in every major campaign in ...

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Carrier on PBS
1 May 2008

Not WW2 related, I know, but it’s been an interesting ride seeing all the different views aboard the USS Nimitz. Check the Carrier web site on PBS for details.

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More on Battleground (1949)
27 Apr 2008

The text in this post is from this wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleground_(film). Battleground was originally an RKO property, which was called “Prelude to Love” to hide its subject matter,[3] but was shelved when production head Dore Schary resigned, despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point. When Schary went to MGM, he purchased the ...

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Battleground (1949)
21 Apr 2008

Loved it, loved, it, loved it with a capital L!   If SPR is about duty meant to instill pride about the “greatest generation” (not my favorite term) Battleground is about irony and dissatisfaction in the soldier’s life.  So there is complaining, comradeship, and a “let’s take of business but have a little fun along the way” ...

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Hell in the Pacific (1968)
11 Apr 2008

So I turn on the tube this morning, and I see Lee Marvin on some island with another guy who happens to speak Japanese (that would be Toshir? Mifune–he can act a little).  ”Hmmm,” I thought.  ”What the hell is this?” More knowledgeable readers no doubt guessed Hell in the Pacific, a Cast Away-like flick that involves  lots of ...

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The Good German
4 Apr 2008

So tonite, I turn on tube and see The Good German listed via On Demand.  So I give it a go and I lasted about 15 minutes only because the remote ended up on the other side of the couch.  You know the feeling, right?  You’re too tired to move a muscle to get the ...

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From Here to Eternity
21 Mar 2008

Okay, okay!   So I finally broke down and saw this classic (from 1953), set in Hawaii just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  And I just loved it.  Everybody is smoking like crazy, drunk at every free moment (and it’s always a little adorable or cutsey…no mean drunks allowed), and folks are falling ...

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The Pacific War, #15
21 Mar 2008

I’ve been a little slack in keeping up with the filming of the Pacific War series.  Checking in at Dale Dye’s web site, he states that the production is in its 35th week, with a entry called “Surviving the surviving on Peleliu.”  So check that here. Poking around IMDB this afternoon, I’d forgotten about some casting choices. ...

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Battle 360 on the History Channel
15 Mar 2008

When I first read on the HC that a series would follow the USS Enterprise in WW2, I thought: “good idea.  Folks will watch.”  Watching an episode, however, is another matter entirely.  The production has one thing down: the interviews and overall look of show (the CGI).  All are top notch.   But GOODNESS!  Are ...

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Sahara (1942)
11 Mar 2008

I saw this gem the other day on AMC (here in the US), and later watched the full version on DVD. I liked it for a few reasons, mainly because I’m a Bogart fan. But there is another reason, and it had to do with a scene at the bottom of a nearly dried up ...

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