Ike - Countdown to D-Day
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Movie Reviews of Ike - Countdown to D-Day
Movie Review: America's Greatest General Prepares for D-Day
Summary: 5 Stars
Tom Selleck stars as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in this powerful film about the events leading up to the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces. Eisenhower's first task was to convince British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Ian Mune) of the need for one solitaty supreme commander for the invasion. Churchill liked Ike's direct style and no-nonsense approach, and he readily endorsed Ike for the job.
Meanwhile, British General Bernard Montgomery (Bruce Phillips) was more than a bit miffed at being passed over for the job. Despite his victories over Rommel at El Alamein and Tobruk, he was denied the supreme commander job, but was still put in charge of all of the D-Day ground forces. One poignant part of the film was seeing General George Patton (Gerald McRaney) have to practically beg Ike not to send him back to the States. A hard-nosed tank commander who always got results on the battlefield, Patton routinely disobeyed orders from superiors. Perhaps his most well-known incident was calling a shell-shocked soldier a coward and forcing him back into combat. This incident did not sit well with Ike. Despite all of Patton's shortcomings, Ike kept him on for the invasion.
James Remar stars as General Omar Bradley. Remar gives a simply superb performance as Ike's right-hand man. Bradley was in charge of the assault troops on D-Day and he lobbed Ike hard to keep the paratroop drop on despite very bad weather. Ike agreed, and the paratroopers played a significant role in causing confusion among the German defenders.
Timothy Bottoms stars as General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, Ike's chief of staff. A person would have a difficult time finding a soldier more loyal to his commander than Smith was. He typically ran interference between Ike and the press and he kept all of the operations flowing smoothly.
This is one of the best war films I have seen. The historical correctness of the film is evident from beginning to end, including the cold relationships between Ike and Montgomery and Ike and French General DeGaulle. The build-up to D-Day during the final few days is remarkably depicted, with the uncooperative weather, the hourly weather reports, and Ike's agonizing decision to go ahead with the invasion despite less than ideal conditions. The movie even shows Ike mingling with one of the glider paratrooper crews before take-off. Ike was a soldier's soldier, and this trait is shown throughout the movie.
I give this movie my highest recommendation. The acting by all members is tremendous, and the attention to detail is magnificent. I'm a huge fan of World War II movies, and after seeing this movie, it has quickly become one of my favorites. Watch this movie and see how one of America's greatest generals and his staff planned and executed the greatest invasion the world has ever seen.
Movie Review: Indelible part of history that everyone should see
Summary: 5 Stars
*****
This entertaining film describes the contribution Eisenhower made to his country with D-Day, something many Americans (including myself) were unaware of. However, each of us should know what he did...and not only what he did, but what each Allied soldier did in giving their lives for us. I WISH that when I had been a high school or college student films like this had been available---accurate to history, but moving too. I cried through many places as I realized the sacrifices so many have made to preserve our freedoms.
Tom Selleck is exemplary---fabulous---as Eisenhower. He says that he plays Eisenhower as "truly an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances". Would that men like Eisenhower were alive today---I would hope this, wish this, but I doubt it. Tom Selleck's acting is stunning and the directing is equally impressive. This is a great movie!
This film makes history come alive in a vibrant way. If you are intersted in leadership, or history, or value your freedom, or want to be more grateful for your life...you will enjoy this film. If you simply wish to appreciate the sacrifices others made for you, you will also enjoy this film. If you want to understand the responsibilities and sacrifices of courageous leadership, this film will be of great benefit. If you have teenagers, get them to watch this. Upcoming generations who have no concept of what has been done for them will certainly benefit and even enjoy this movie. It truly does pay homage to "Our Greatest Generation"; now I truly understand why.
There is no violence or profanity. This is a movie suitable for children, especially children familiar with this historical period. There are no battle scenes. This is a film about leadership, courage, strength, sacrifice, moral values, confidence, and the humanness of the military.
If you are a Democrat, as I am, it will help you to understand war more in this context, as difficult as war is. This movie did this for me.
The special features are valuable, also; I will rewatch this movie again and again...it has spurred me on to read more about this time period in history...it is one of the few movies I will rewatch with the special features voiceover.
I would rate this movie 10 stars on Amazon if it were possible. I know that this is a rave review, but this is a film that exceeds the rave. See this film. You will fall asleep after watching it being able to put your problems into perspective when you see and understand what others before you dealt with at this time in history; it's worth it.
*****
Movie Review: Leadership at the highest level
Summary: 5 Stars
As much as I like Robert Duvall, his version of Ike was scripted to focus on his relationship with Kate Summersby, not on the substance of leadership. This movie is absolutely superb.
Tom Selleck gives what may be one of the most mature and serious performances of his career, and from my vantage point--not having been a general officer but knowing about fifty of them)--I believe he captures with enormous nuance and feeling the stress not only of leadership, but of leadership in a coalition environment where egos and posturing by lesser generals can run amok.
The very best part of this movie is in its portrayal of the dynamics between Churchill and Ike, and the historic shift away from separate field commanders for air, land, and sea, and one Supreme Commander. The USA could use a Supreme Commander today. In my view, the services continue to posture and lie to inflate their budgets, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should be a five-star general and chosen to be the Supreme Commander, with the Secretary of Defense in command of policy and acquisition and inter-agency support, but NOT micro-managing either the strategy or the global force projection.
When in London I always try to visit the war bunker from which Churchill managed World War II. I always look for the 2-3 telephones that were used and remind myself that command is about more than having a ton of command and control, communications, computing, and a heavy metal military. This movie is a primer on sensible leadership under stress.
Other DVDs with reviews that I like:
We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
The Last Samurai (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Glory
Tears of the Sun (Special Edition)
and the entire Horatio Hornblower series
Horatio Hornblower Boxed Set
Horatio Hornblower - The New Adventures (Loyalty / Duty)
Movie Review: on freeing "a world gone half mad"
Summary: 5 Stars
With a marvelous and for the most part accurate script based on historical documents (though embellished with "certain composite and representative scenes and characters"), Lionel Chetwynd has written a compelling drama about General Eisenhower and the planning of the D-Day invasion, with thoughtful and well paced direction by Robert Harmon, and a superb performance by Tom Selleck, who captures Eisenhower's strength, manly charisma, and many of the subtle mannerisms reminding me of this hero of mine since youth.
The cinematography by David Gribble is wonderful, and the atmospheric score by Jeff Beal also adds much to the film.
Filmed in New Zealand in less than 3 weeks, the terrific cast is mostly from Australia and New Zealand (with exceptions like Timothy Bottoms, excellent as Eisenhower's Chief of Staff Walter Bedell Smith); stellar among them is Ian Mune who plays Churchill. Others include Bruce Phillips as General Montgomery, and George Shevtsov as Charles DeGaulle, in a scene where DeGaulle displays such arrogance towards Eisenhower that it will vex those of us who remember and honor the American blood left on French soil.
This is far from a wartime action film; it is sometimes sober and introspective, and always fascinating, with the intricacy of the planning for D-Day, and the many characters and huge egos involved, some upset by Eisenhower's insistence of being the Supreme Commander, always holding one's attention. The expectation of the massive casualties for D-Day makes one wonder how this type of operation would be viewed in today's media age, where long-term objectives are rarely considered. Eisenhower in addressing King George VI (Mick Rose) on the king's fear of expected losses says "...but if they do not offer the sacrifice of blood now, we will all pay dearly with added gallons later. So if some must die, it is in a worthy cause".
This production for the A & E Network makes perfect viewing for a day like Veteran's Day, to honor the lives of those who have died so heroically for our freedoms. Total time is 2 hours, and the main DVD "Extra" is an interesting interview with writer Chetwynd (who also produced/wrote the excellent "DC 9/11: Time of Crisis") and director Harmon; both speak of how Selleck has some of Eisenhower's admirable characteristics, and Selleck, who tells how as a non-smoker, he played a man with a 4 pack a day habit.
Movie Review: Surprising!
Summary: 5 Stars
I admit that I love Tom Selleck. He was always a childhood hero of mine, "Magnum P.I." that is. Let's face it, Tom is a Man's Man. The perfect Hero. He can do light comedy, hard drama and everything in between. Tom rules.It is only because Tom headlined this story that I was willing to watch it at all. From the first 2 minutes, I was hooked! Instead of your traditional "beginning, middle and end" the first 60 seconds of the story dumps you straight into heavy drama. There is no joking around. Thousands of allied troops are at stake and losses could reach from 80% to Total if these men get this wrong.
The acting is strong and earnest. The director uses many close shots that assist the audience in the feeling that they are also at this tiny table surrounded by smoke. You can feel the tension in the air as the intelligence and counter-intelligence reports come in.
How much do the Germans know? How many troops can we secretly move without being detected? Are all the allied nations and their respective troops on the same page here with us? Is there anything we've missed? Is the new equipment really going to perform as it should? What if it doesn't? What will happen if the weather goes bad?
These and other questions way heavily on Dwight Eisenhower as he tries to negotiate and coordinate the most massive commitment of air, sea and land troops the world had ever seen. So much could go wrong and everything hinged on minutes, not hours to turn the tide of battle.
Tom is fantastic in a role that is unlike anything he's ever done. You can feel the tension and anguish in his voice as he talks about projected allied casualties. You can feel as if you're in the room with his senior staff and even though you may know the history, this film presents the story as fresh. The acting is compelling and the story simply refuses to be put in a box. There is nothing about the elements of this story that couldn't be being played out right now in Iraq, Korea or anywhere else in the world.
This is a story of human courage in the teeth of opposition. Opposition, an enemy, that is strong enough to strike back and destroy you if you get even one part of this wrong. This is drama at it's finest, because they didn't need $100 million dollars of digital special effects to sell the story. It's ALL in the acting. I wish Hollywood would sit up and take notice.