Worst ever 'War Series'.

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So you found your calling early in life - cool !! More fun was to be had shooting the Hun though.

I found my thing early on too - choppers (see profile pic)
I'm really not so sure about these chopper boys? A mate of mine, after a lifetime on Triumphs and Nortons and Harleys, had a mid life crisis and bought himself a Lambretta:confused:o_O:arghh:.
 
Sorry, back to War series:sorry::sorry::sorry:. Last night, for the first time, I watched a couple of episodes of Band of Brothers. Unfortunately I started at the wrong end of the series but........ Anyway, all I can say is WoW!!!!!!!!(y)(y)(y).
 
Sorry, back to War series:sorry::sorry::sorry:. Last night, for the first time, I watched a couple of episodes of Band of Brothers. Unfortunately I started at the wrong end of the series but........ Anyway, all I can say is WoW!!!!!!!!(y)(y)(y).

How in the hell can you start a series backwards??? ... IS THERE A DOCTOR !!!"

kram .. see you have me doing it now!!!
 
Sorry, back to War series:sorry::sorry::sorry:. Last night, for the first time, I watched a couple of episodes of Band of Brothers. Unfortunately I started at the wrong end of the series but........ Anyway, all I can say is WoW!!!!!!!!(y)(y)(y).


If you can sit and watch a series backwards how are you spelling WoW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mick
 
New one on me that film Mark. Never heard of it before.

The Hue City scenes in "Full Metal Jacket" were also shot in England. London docklands before they were redeveloped. Kubrik had a load of palm trees flown in to make it look like south east Asia. Pulled it off as well, it was very well done.

- Steve

Steve, these are the only two 'Vietnam'[ films (That I know of) that have been shot in England. Its a weird world.:LOL:

Mark.
 
How in the hell can you start a series backwards??? ... IS THERE A DOCTOR !!!"

kram .. see you have me doing it now!!!
Oh, it's quite easy, the Australians do it all the time,............ oh no! that's upside down isn't it?????????:).
No, I was just looking for something to watch and thought I'd give that a try, then I realised it was the last couple of episodes:(o_O.

Anyway, have you never read the last page of a book first to find out what happens????
 
Huw! :D.

It could be worse! I was running around with 'British', 70's 'Camo', and a white tin-pot on my head with blue rims + handles ?? (A casserole pot) .. and a plastic gun which sounded very similar to an extremely long fart!.

At that time my enemy were those from 'Newcastle'. ... Happy days.:LOL:

Mark.

Just catching up with this thread--and it's fascinating. Back in the mid-'50's, whilst staying with my Mamgu (Grandma) in Aberystwyth, I was bought a tommy-gun- like gun for my birthday. It was metal, red and black, with a folding skeleton stock, clockwork(remember that?) and sounded absolutely brilliant. Called a 'burp gun', it was the envy of my cousins and friends when we played up on the old castle ruins. Sadly, I can't remember now what happened to it, just that it worked until rust set in.
As for "The Rat Patrol", recall this in the '60's; can't comment on its production values,but liked the theme tune and the geezer's confederate cap in one of the jeeps. My old Pop, ex- RAMC/ LRDG was dead by then, but would have chucked something large and heavy at the screen, I'm sure.

Alan
 
hi all a bit late to this but do remember Rat Patrol & combat when I was a kid. back then you thought it was great lol. my friend who collects old 6o's 70's tv shows a bit like myself managed to get both series on a US web site. we wached a couple of epesodes the other week god they were bad but it was of the time. so meny good programes from the time which would give the tv today a run for it's money. I have just got the entire series of F Troop now that still makes me laugh.

Ian

www.elliesminiatures.com
 
I have just got the entire series of F Troop now that still makes me laugh.

I don't think the Westerns of that era are quite as bad as the war shows Ian, especially 'F Troop' which is a comedy and so not intended to be taken too seriously in the first place. I have a Region 1 box set of 'Branded' which was a mid-60s Chuck Connors vehicle. Don't know if you're familiar with it? I occasionally dig out an episode to watch after 'Er Indoors has gone to bed (she hates Westerns).

Like 'High Chaparral', 'Bonanza' and the rest of them, it's the usual "romaticised" view of the Old West that was typical of the era, but I don't think any of them are as toe-curlingly awful as 'Rat Patrol', 'Combat' etc. As you say, those shows were great when we were kids all those years ago (let's face it, we didn't know any better) but I now find myself actually cringing while watching them, and embarrassed for the actors! :eek:

- Steve
 
Hi Steve

yes I remember Branded when they stripped him of his rank and broke his sword very dramatic. Ellie love's F troop as much as I did when I was a kid. we have a old tv night once a week and it's fun anything from Man from Uncle to lost in space. it's great and for the time they were the business. bought the entire series of Batman from Amazon a few weeks ago can't beat Adam West as batman and Burt Word as robin.

cheers

Ian

www.elliesminiatures.com
 
bought the entire series of Batman from Amazon a few weeks ago can't beat Adam West as batman and Burt Word as robin.

I know what you mean Ian. As camp as a Brighton bus queue, but nevertheless with a certain period '60s charm about it.

The old TV night is a great idea, me & the Mrs do a similar thing, though more on an ad hoc basis as and when, as opposed to a weekly event. I still enjoy those old Irwin Allen shows. 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' and 'Time Tunnel' especially. 'Lost In Space' actually started off as a serious sci-fi show, but after the first series it quickly descended into camp pantomime with carrot monsters and all that stuff. I used to enjoy "The Invaders" as well.

- Steve
 
I don't think "Rat Patrol" was all that bad. I don't think we watched it, expecting a documentary. It was an action-adventure series, set in WWII. When I wanted to watch a documentary on WWII, I watched "The World at War", which PBS aired here in the States.

I understand your reaction, though. It's natural, given our hobby and our interest in history. We have to remember not to let it spoil things that are meant to entertain, rather than present unalloyed fact. As an example, when "The Patriot" came out, I saw it, and I hated it. I found so many things wrong with it, starting with melting down semi-round German toy soldiers from around 1900 to make musket balls in the Carolina swamps in 1780, and with the depiction of Cornwallis as a fop. But a couple of years after that, I happened to catch "Northwest Passage" (1940), and as I watched it and noted the many, many errors and distortions (like the Rangers all uniformly uniformed, forming a marching column and marching off in step), I realized that it wasn't a documentary, it was an adventure film. And it occurred to me that so was "The Patriot". Once I remembered that, I was able to watch "The Patriot" again and enjoy it for what it is.

Or another example--do you watch "Kelly's Heroes" and nitpick about the details, or just sit back and enjoy Oddball?

"Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning."

Prost!
Brad
 
All very valid points Brad and you're quite right, we shouldn't take these things too seriously or get too po-faced about them.

I think the difference though is that when the producers make at least some effort to get things right, it can make the viewing experience a whole lot more enjoyable. When you're 7 it doesn't matter because at that age you don't know any better, so you'll just lap up any old garbage. But as you get older your ability to suspend disbelief diminishes somewhat - especially if you grow up to be a history nerd like we all have to varying degrees.

Obviously Oddball was an anachronism. But that aside, the uniforms in KH are pretty spot-on, the vehicles are pretty spot-on and even the location of the unit (35th infantry division) in the Nancy/Clermont area was spot-on. They even went to the trouble of cobbling together passable replicas of Tiger tanks (albeit on T-34 chassis) rather than just resort to borrowing a few 1950s-vintage American M-47s, painting black crosses on the sides, calling them "Panzers" and assuming that no-one would know the difference - which was the usual way of making war movies in that era. They also shot the movie in Yugoslavia (a) because it was cheap (b) to get the use of the Yugoslav Army and its Shermans as 'extras' and (c) because the locations used bore a passable resemblance to 1940s France, rather than trying to fob off the audience with the L.A. hinterland.

End result? A very decent, reasonably authentic-looking war movie that has a bit of everything - action, adventure, likeable characters, a bit of pathos and a few laughs as well. Which is why I think it's safe to say that most of us here still enjoy that film today as much as we did when we were still in short trousers. Had it had "Rat Patrol" / "Combat" production values though, it would not have stood the test of time anything like as well.

- Steve
 
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