Service On Celluloid

The 2004 German film "Downfall" is much more than the Internet memes it's arguably most known for. This week our panelists look at the depiction of Hitler and his inner circle in their last days, living within a bunker during the end of the war in Europe.

Tune in to this week's minisode to hear the real story behind the construction of the Railway of Death from WWII Navy veterans Howard Brooks (pictured) and Alois Kopp. Listen to see if the movie's depiction of the Burma–Thai railway was accurately portrayed.

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" won 1958's Academy Awards for Best Picture, along with six other Oscars. Tune in to see if our panel feels that the 1957 British-American epic captured the true history of the construction of the Burma Railway.

In this minisode, we dig deeper into the German invasion of the West in 1940.

This week our panelists dissect the 2015 film "April 9th," about a little-known action of the war—the German invasion of Denmark in 1940. Tune in to see if the filmmakers accurately portrayed this brief but dramatic WWII clash.  

While "The Dirty Dozen" is fiction, there were many actual covert operations in World War II.  Tune in to hear about some of the real-life stories that inspired the movie.

"Train them! Excite them! Arm them! . . . Then turn them loose on the Nazis!" read a marketing slogan for 1967's "The Dirty Dozen." The "Service on Celluloid" panel's mission this week is to explore the real WWII history behind the blockbuster film's wild story. 

In this week's follow-up to our "Catch-22" episode, we dive into the realities of the air war over Europe and learn how it was far from glorious.

In 1970, Roger Ebert had some harsh words for the Mike Nichols-directed cinematic version of Joseph Heller's WWII classic: "'Catch-22' the movie is essentially a parasite, depending on the novel for its vitality." Will our panel agree?

In this companion minisode to our discussion of the Home Front melodrama "Tender Comrade," we hear firsthand accounts of wartime work from Betty Reid Soskin (California's Kaiser Shipyards) and Rosemary Elfer (Higgins Industries in New Orleans).

A vehicle for Ginger Rogers to inspire patriotism on the Home Front, 1944's "Tender Comrade" later had unintended consequences for its writer and director. The "Service on Celluloid" panel explores the stories behind the story. 

This week we follow our episode on "The Pianist" with firsthand accounts from Holocaust survivor and piano prodigy Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson (pictured).

This week our panel sits down with Sara Abosch-Jacobson from The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum to discuss 2002's "The Pianist" starring Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman.

This week we hear from veterans Raymond Wells and Joseph Hochadel (pictured) as they recount their experiences at the battles of Monte Cassino and San Pietro, as seen in "The Story of G.I. Joe."

General Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to "The Story of GI Joe" as "the greatest war picture I've ever seen." Will the "Service on Celluloid" panelists agree?

Following our "Service on Celluloid" panel's discussion on the anime classic "Grave of the Fireflies," tune in to hear from WWII veterans Paul Dietzel, Richard Baile, and Maynard David (pictured) as they provide their firsthand accounts of the firebombing of Japan.

The firebombing campaign on Japan near the end of World War II was waged with devastating success. In "Grave of the Fireflies" - considered an amine classic - filmmaker Isao Takahata explores how the bombing affected the civilian population. Join the "Service on Celluloid" panel for a discussion of the film's historical accuracy and emotional impact. 

After you've heard the "Service on Celluloid" panel's discussion about the 1977 epic "A Bridge Too Far," return to Operation Market Garden on a new minisode featuring WWII veteran eyewitnesses T. Moffatt Burriss and Theo Finkbeiner.

Operation Market Garden, the ill-fated Airborne action of mid-September 1944, is the subject of Richard Attenborough's star-studded "A Bridge Too Far" (Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Ryan O'Neal, and many more). Critic Roger Ebert wrote that it "went two or even three bridges too far."  Will the "Service on Celluloid" panel agree?

On this week's minisode we'll hear from Harry L. Ettlinger (pictured), who was the inspiration for the Private Sam Epstein character (as portrayed by Dimitri Leonidas) in "The Monuments Men."  (Image courtesy of the National Museum of American Jewish Military History.)

Based on the research of author Robert M. Edsel, the 2014 film "The Monuments Men" has a big-name cast (George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, and others) and a gripping true story about rescuing the art treasures of Europe from the Nazis. The "Service on Celluloid" podcast panel weighs how well it tells that story. 

The 1970 satire "Kelly's Heroes," starring Clint Eastwood and a large cast of scene bandits (including WWII veteran Don Rickles), looked at World War II through the lens of the Vietnam era. Our "Service on Celluloid" panel observes that the film gets a surprising number of details just right.

The 1942 drama "Mrs. Miniver," subject of the most recent "Service on Celluloid" podcast, depicts life on the British Home Front during the time of Dunkirk and the Blitz. Tune in to this week's minisode for a deeper dive into these historic events.

Winston Churchill said "Mrs. Miniver" was "propaganda worth 100 battleships." Join the "Service on Celluloid" podcast panelists to explore how the film also provides an insightful look at the lives of those on the Home Front during World War II.

The "Service on Celluloid" exploration of "Casablanca" and its real-life setting continues with the story of Hélène Cazès-Benatar, who founded the Moroccan Refugee Aid Committee in 1940 to help Jewish refugees arriving in Casablanca.