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Jun '19 *
It's the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings, so what better way to commemorate them than a challenge for the month of July. The challenge will commence at 00:01 GMT on the 1st July and finish at 06:00 GMT on the 1st August.

Points will be awarded for running time, so with most war movies clocking in at well over two hours, you should be able to rack up the points. You can also watch any TV series, including documentaries if you missed out this month (The World At War comes highly recommended).

The general rule will be: the movie or TV series has to be tagged with "war" on either IMDb or Wiki. The movie or TV series does not have to include scenes of combat and can just be set during the war (i.e. Casablanca) as long as the war is integral to the development of the plot, whether it is in the foreground or the background of the story.

Horror movies set during real wars or campaigns will be permitted, as long as there is at least one scene of combat (i.e. Overlord). But no, something like Dead Snow would not count despite the Nazi theme.

Although they will not be tagged with "war" on IMDb, I will also permit fictional wars so that will include fantasy (i.e. The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) or science fiction (i.e. Aliens, Starship Troopers), but bare in mind there is a challenge for these genres coming up later in September I believe, so try to stick to real world history!

So sign up now (no pun intended)!

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đŸ’Ŧ52 🚸 👀3.6k


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markus-san says:
#27, Reply to #1

Jul '19 *
You're not watching Star Wars too?! Like I said to Snowy it's cool but folks must be getting desperate already emoticon.


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markus-san says:
#29, Reply to #28

Jul '19
Nah, it's not an issue. I said science fiction or fantasy could count. My only dilemma with allowing Star Wars was that it glosses over the realities of war, or living in war-time, in favour of an operatic adventure with clear-cut heroes vs villains. I said to Snowy, the only movie in the franchise that feels like an actual war movie is probably Rogue One. However, I don't have a beef with allowing them if as you say, other "proper war" stuff is hard to come by. Not sure if UK and US have exactly the same titles but Amazon Prime certainly has more choice than Netflix. Challenges are supposed to be fun and take it from me, watching constant grim war movies can get a bit depressing!


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markus-san says:
#31, Reply to #30

Jul '19
They have some decent wartime movies too like Fury, The Imitation Game, Valkyrie, Tigerland, Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Rambo and Inglourious Basterds but if "shitty looking" is what you're after I noticed there's plenty of those too!


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markus-san says:
#10, Reply to #2

Jul '19
According to IMDb The Pianist is 150 minutes, although it did clock it at 148 on the player.. It's only 2 points but I'd stick with IMDb for running time reference personally.


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markus-san says:
#12, Reply to #11

Jul '19
I guess I don't pay that much attention to it while I am actually watching it and when I go to update here, I just reference IMDb. You're right, there may be a few occasions when the running time is out by a minute or two (as long as it is not a different cut of course). I will change mine because I definitely noticed it was 148 on this occasion. Or maybe from this point on I will reference the DVD/Blu-ray case instead of IMDb as the stuff I plan to watch I own anyway.


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markus-san says:
#13, Reply to #2

Jul '19 *
I see you're getting out the big guns now. Looks like we'll be going neck-and-neck in this battle (sorry for the puns emoticon).

Don't forget to put your ratings on the 2019 viewings!


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markus-san says:
#16, Reply to #15

Jul '19 *
5/10 for my favourite War movie emoticon.


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markus-san says:
#18, Reply to #17

Jul '19 *
I think I can understand you though. It can seem rather slow, ponderous, maybe a little pretentious and therefore i can see how it ends up being unengaging for some viewers. It took me 2-3 viewings to completely warm to it. I now find it to be the most fascinating war movie, and like no other ever made. The contrast of the beauty and fragility of nature against the insanity and horror of war is what sticks with me most (like the scene of a dying chick while there is gunfire all around). It presents soilders as introspective human beings who queston the nature of the violence around them, instead of the typical displays of masculinity we see in most of the "traditional" war movies. And the score by Hans Zimmer was great, one of his best and I loved the Melanesian choir.

Maybe try and revisit it if we have another challenge next year.


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markus-san says:
#20, Reply to #19

Jul '19 *
You didn't at least enjoy playing "Spot the famous actor"? emoticon Oh look, it's George Clooney.. Apparently there is an even longer cut and he has a more substantial role.

Well a good start would be Downfall, about Hitler's last moments. Great performance. The actor who plays him sadly died recently.

A film I haven't watched it yet but I am planning to, is the Russian film Come And See which is supposed to be a very tough watch.

If you don't mind animation, Grave of the Fireflies, about the bombing of Japan, is one of the most powerful war movies I've ever seen.

If you enjoy Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds is a fun watch.

Another film I haven't seen it that I plan to is the Italian film Life is Beautiful.

A few others I can think of: The Deer Hunter, Dr. Strangelove, The English Patient, Atonement, The Imitation Game..

If I think of any more or come across them I'll let you know.


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markus-san says:
#22, Reply to #19

Jul '19
I strongly recommend you try to watch When the Wind Blows for the challenege. A PG certificate animation but definitely one of the most disturbing films I've seen.


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markus-san says:
#24, Reply to #23

Jul '19 *
Grave of the Fireflies is one of my favourite films but it's depressing as *beep*, which is why I find it hard to rewatch unless I am really in the mood for it.

I won't need to catch up emoticon. Breaks are good though, think I might need one soon. A month of war movies can perhaps get a bit depressing. It's certainly the most challenging of challenges. Perhaps I will watch Aliens.


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markus-san says:
#26, Reply to #25

Jul '19
Yeah I know what you mean: the old couple's ignorance and the man's sheer optimism that his wife's deterioration was nothing to worry about was pretty heart-rending. You did well watching those two movies back-to-back. I haven't seen it yet but Barefoot Gen is another one to look out for.


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markus-san says:
#35, Reply to #2

Jul '19
Are you also having a bit of a break? emoticon


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markus-san says:
#37, Reply to #36

Jul '19
I think it's going to be tight right up until the end..


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markus-san says:
#39, Reply to #38

Jul '19 *
Me too - looks over at Der and Box.

Just included my first science fiction war movie, as I watched it with the kids last night. I was a little reluctact at first as generally I am sticking to WWII. But I consider it a bit of an escapism before I tackle some of the more hardcore stuff (as if most of it isn't already)...


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markus-san says:
#40, Reply to #38

Jul '19 *
Do make an effort to try and watch both City of Life and Death (2009) and Come and See (1985), definitely two of the most harrowing and disturbing movies you will watch in the challenge.


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markus-san says:
#42, Reply to #41

Jul '19 *
What did you think? You're not keeping up with your 2019 viewings so I can't check your ratings! emoticon


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markus-san says:
#44, Reply to #43

Jul '19 *
I thought Come and See was one of the best war movies I've seen and I watched them back-to-back too but yeah I can see, like The Thin Red Line, how it might drag for some viewers. They definitely belong in the more "art house" side of the genre.

Yeah those scenes were very disturbing. To think that happened to 600+ villages in Belarus alone. And to bare in mind the German civilian population got practically the same treatment when the Russians invaded Germany at the end of the war.

BTW as it looks like it just you and me still in this challenge now, I've decided to withdraw War of the Worlds as long as we both stick to real war for the last week or so. If I manage to pull a win out of the bag I'd rather do it by sticking to real wars. I'm going to struggle to watch some whole movies in one day this week so it's definitely going to go down to the wire!


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markus-san says:
#46, Reply to #45

Jul '19 *
Art house movies do tend to grow on repeated viewings. That is certainly true for most I have seen.

Well my effort in this competition could pretty much be over. My Samsung TV packed in last night, keeps turning itself on and off. The movies I had left to watch are all Blu-rays. I managed to watch half of Schindler's List but yeah you can imagine that sucks!


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markus-san says:
#48, Reply to #47

Jul '19
Fixed. Back up and running to the end!




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