War Movie Theatre | for Fans of Classic War Films and Cinema History

"I have no division." Happy Birthday America Month continues with a film about the greatest battle fought on US soil, as Martin Sheen's Robert E Lee tries to draw the Union army into a fight that will leave the way open to Washington. Has Duncan persuaded Rob that it's worth the four hours it takes to tell the story? Would Russell Crowe have been better than Jeff Daniels? And, um, are one side in...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Yes, all July, we're marking 250 years of gratuitous Americans by watching the most gratuitously American war movies we can find, and no war movie is as gratuitously American as The Patriot , in which Mel Gibson oozes love of country from every pore. How is this film so long? How come Mel is running the one Southern plantation with no slaves? And do flags really matter that...

This week, an early Technicolor classic war movie. One of six - six! - adaptations of AEW Mason's 1902 novel of cowardice and courage, it stars Ralph Richardson in a competition with John Clements to have the stiffest upper lip ever. Covered in the episode: how much was this film influenced by TE Lawrence, and how much did it influence Lawrence of Arabia ? How often did defensive squares break in...

The 1945 film that exemplified stiff upper lips like nothing else, The Way To The Stars was written by Terrence Rattigan, based on his own experiences of the air war, and tells the story of the ground lives of a bomber station. Starring John Mills and Michael Redgrave but most of all Rosamund John, it's a tale that would have resonated with audiences at home who had lost friends and lovers to the...

It's the World Cup, which means it's time for Rob and Duncan to Escape To Victory! Again! It's the only prisoner of war film to feature three different World Cup winners, and the only war movie to be decide by a bicycle kick. Michael Caine is too old and Sylvester Stallone knows too little about football, but thanks to a bunch of extras from Ipswich Town, the movie has become a classic. Particular...

Their egos writing cheques that their bodies can't cash, Rob and Duncan are joined by Top Gun superfan Marina Hyde to mark the 40th anniversary of the greatest film about naval aviators ever made. It's the movie that confirmed the status of Tom Cruise as a star, and also as a man who has no chemistry with his female co-leads. Is that because his real sparks were with Val Kilmer? Are Anthony Edward...

One of the classic films of military misery, Jarhead is a tale of just how awful life can be if the US Marine Corps sends you to the desert. The true-ish story of one man's Gulf War I, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, it offered a ho-holds-barred portrayal of the way that making people into killers can leave them struggling to find their way back. We're joined by Owain Mullig...

Short of ammo, short of water, and short of options, Humphrey Bogart is holding off the Nazis in this 1943 tale of wartime daring that was so popular it's been remade at least twice. Could anyone but Bogart have carried off the role? And is it really a parable about the future cooperation between nations? Next week: Jarhead, with Owain Mulligan See our prospective movie list! Buy merch! Visit our...

Is there a more classic World War 2 naval story? The Royal Navy's hunt for the mighty Bismarck retold as a detective story, as Kenneth More, deep in the Admiralty, directs the chase. Did it help that the producer's father-in-law could lend the production some battleships? Were they unfair to the Nastiest Nazi? And can a man who blubs win the Stiffest Upper Lip? Next week, by popular demand (sort o...

A classic tale of bravery, snobbery, heroism and idiocy, the first film in John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy cemented John Wayne as a leading man for Westerns. It's a tale of military life -- unless like Rob you skip the first half to get straight to the charging -- that also features one of Shirley Temple's final performances. But does Duncan know his Peter Fonda from his Bridget? Next week: Sink The B...

Norway 1940: the Nazis are arriving. The government is paralysed. And one man needs to help a country decide its future. The amazing true story of how Norway faced the invader. Listen even if you haven't seen the film as we discuss a small hinge of history. Next week: Fort Apache See our prospective movie list! Buy merch! Visit our website: https://warmovietheatre.com Help us out by doing our list...

"Ridley Scott's good Napoleonic Wars film." This week, the Bonapartist Duncan makes the case for this 1977 tale of honour and obsession, as Harvey Keitel chases Keith Carradine around Europe demanding to know if he spilled his pint. Joining us is James Landale, whose ancestor fought what is believed to be the last fatal duel in Scotland, the subject of his terrific history Duel . Next week: The Ki...

For you, the war movies are over! Yes, we're watching the stone cold war movie classic The Colditz Story, a film which showed how the most fun a chap could have during the war was to be taken prisoner. Hang on, have we got that right? Perhaps there's a little more to the reality. But with John Mills and Eric Portman, why not just enjoy the myth? Next week: The Duellists (1977) See our prospective...

An absolute classic of war movie Sunday afternoons, it's a tale of American guts as George Segal and Ben Gazzara risk everything to try to capture the last bridge over the Rhine, while Robert Vaughn is the German trying to stop them. The film nearly caused an international incident after the producers had the brilliant idea of filming in Czechoslovakia in 1968 - what could go wrong? Next week: The...

Robin Williams said he wasn't sure he was leading man material until he picked up the script for this comedy about a military DJ fighting authority in Saigon. Backed by an incredible cast of supporting actors, he delivered one of the hits of the 80s, helped by a soundtrack album that every teenager knew by heart. James Cary knows a thing or two about finding the humour in war. As well as working o...

Irish War Movie Month ends with Stanley Kubrick's tale of a socially ambitious rogue during the Seven Years War. Will Rob and Duncan be forced to duel? Would this film have been better if it had been about Napoleon? Joining us is Robert Smith, Corporate Finance Editor at the Financial Times, to explain why the film has become the subject of rap memes. No, we can't really explain either. Next week:...

Fighting Irish Month continues with Liam Neeson as Michael Collins, the inventor of urban guerilla warfare and the man who negotiated independence. It's an epic from director Neil Jordan, but does it play favourites with the history? And how many categories will Julia Roberts win? Next week: Barry Lyndon. See our prospective movie list! Buy merch! Visit our website: https://warmovietheatre.com Hel...

The worst wars are civil wars. Ken Loach's tale of two brothers in Cork in the 1920s deals not just with the Irish War of Independence but also with the civil war that followed it. We're joined by Cork man Padraig Reidy to discuss whether what this movie really needed was one more lengthy chat about class conflict. See our prospective movie list! Buy merch! Visit our website: https://warmovietheat...

It's Fighting Irish Month! First up, a forgotten true tale of 150 soldiers sent to keep the peace in Congo. Low on ammunition, running out of water, can they hold off their attackers? How did the makers navigate the potential Dam Buster's Dog moments? Can anyone explain Conor Cruise O'Brien? And what fascinating facts has Duncan brought along about Bren guns and French mercenaries? Next week: The...

Douglas Bader was a man who lost both his legs but became a World War 2 flying ace, a disability campaigner who could be insufferably rude, a prisoner in Colditz who was nearly killed by his American liberators. We're joined by Peter Apps, who was paralysed in an accident while working as a Reuters war correspondent but has since rejoined the Army, to talk about the amazing film of Bader's life. D...

Is it " Groundhog Day meets Aliens " or "World War 2 of the future"? Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt strap on their exoskeletons and go to war against alien invaders, over and over again. We're joined by the writer Charles Arthur to watch a film that, amazingly, Duncan knew nothing about. Marvel as he tries to work out why Cruise is dying 10 minutes in. Thrill as we try to work out the bodycount, Gasp...

Skis against the atom! We're watching one of the all-time classic war movies. Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris jump from planes, scale ice cliffs and sink a ferry in the quest to stop the Nazis getting the bomb. Directed by Anthony Mann, it's based on an amazing true story of Norwegian heroism. Has knitwear ever looked better? Are Norwegians really this horny? And can Rob successfully explain "heav...

Russell Crowe makes another pitch for an Oscar as he plays Herman Goering, on trial for his life. But is he let down by a film that is determined to both show and tell? Does he have the silliest last line in history? Is this, fundamentally, a crime against cinema? We're joined by Henry Dyer of the Guardian, who has become so obsessed with why this film doesn't work that he's read the screenplay. A...

Our journey through classic war movies reaches back to colonial America, as we watch Michael Mann's amazing The Last Of The Mohicans. It's an epic tale of obsession and men who won't compromise -- and that's just the making of the film. Daniel Day-Lewis insisted on living like a native American. Mann tried to turn the sun off. But the result, well. Rob and Duncan discuss why this film stands up, w...

Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring! Our journey through classic war cinema brings us to the 1971 big screen spin-off of one of the most successful BBC sitcoms ever. BBC Radio 5's Matt Chorley, a man who knows a thing or two about jokes, joins Rob to explore what a comedy about a bunch of geriatric misfits tells us about Britain in 1940, the 1960s and 70s, and even today. Why did Arthur Lowe have a clause...