The Fallen
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Movie Reviews of The Fallen
Movie Review: A "goal" to far ???
Summary: 2 Stars
First of all I'm from the Netherlands wich sets me in a different perpective than the American viewer. Holland was invaded during WW2 and a lot of hatred toward the former "enemy" still excists. Second I'm a re-enactor portraying a common german soldier of the Wehrmacht. As an re-enactor I tend to look different to warmovies than the average viewer. I can see the difference between early and late type uniforms both German and Allied. I know what kind of material was used during the different stages of the war both German and Allied. This film tries very hard to show the real "life" of the common soldier during this war. Occasionnaly it succeeds in this effort, but on the other hand it sometimes misses the point. The fighting between the German and Italian soldiers should be explained. Not very much people know that the Germans concidered the Italians as second rate troops. The scenes between the German and Italian officer could be used to enlighten this but they fail to do so. The very last scene is a bit of a dissapointment, all that smoke coming from the Lieutenants uniform when he collapses after beeing shot. Its not realistic. Some of the scenes are just there and there is no beginning and no end. I miss the point completely why they are there. The scene with the American scoutcar is such a scene. What trhe heck were those Italian machinegunners thinking when they openend up fire on that thing. Why did,nt they send for help? Also the scene with the German halftrack is one big questionmark. The scene with the attack on the convoy is terrible. I've never seen that many factoryfresh, clean and undamaged vehicles without dust or bulletmarks during that stage of the war. One moment you see a gang of awkward Italian bandits plundering this convoy the other moment, out of nowhere the might of the German Army pops up and there is not a shot fired. Hardly the common German tactic when they encountered a group of Partisans who just massacerd a friendly convoy. In the real war they would have shoot first and ask the questions later. I also fail to see why it took so many years to "shoot" this film. My opinion about the film is that the makers tried to make a movie that has a mix of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Cross of Iron" but they somehow lose it in amateuristic filming. I know it was a low budget film and it has a different style of showing things and I can tell the makers put in a lot of efford to show the life of a common soldier but it sadly turns out to be a victim of that same low budget.Movie Review: You've gotta be kidding me...
Summary: 2 Stars
It is interesting that two of the other reviewers of this film are from New York City, gave this bad movie glowing ratings and that both of them have not submitted any other Amazon reviews. Friends of the director, perhaps? This movie had such potential, too. The northern Italian front has been woefully neglected in modern WWII films. I can not totally pan this movie as much as I want to because of several reasons: 1) I'm Italian, 2) My mother grew up in northern Italy during the war with a German squad occupying their house and this movie may have given me a tiny glimpse of ordinary Italian life at that time 3) The uniforms, wepons and equipment and sets did look superb 4) I liked the subject matter 5) It potrayed people as real on all sides and not caricatures 6) The German officers and Rossini were well acted parts.
Other than that this movie stunk. And what on God's green earth was that stupid music all about??? I looked for an option on the DVD setup to shut off the music but it was sadly lacking. The music was totally out of place - it was like I was watching one movie but listening to another one - totally distracting. The sound was horrible, too - terrible sound effects and maybe it was just me but most of the speaking seemed dubbed or just out of synch or something. Most of the acting was overdone, too - particulary the Americans and Italian soldiers. The infantry assault techinques during the few firefights were unrealistic, too. The story took a while to get started and after about 75 minutes things do come together. Overall, I would say if you are a WWII film buff watch this but otherwise pass. To the cast and crew: better luck next time. To Ari Taub - get a better sound mixer, get better music, get better actors and you might have something because the direction and editing was actually not too bad.
Movie Review: Waste of Money It's BAD
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm a WWII History buff collect Toy Soldiers, Movies & Books about WWII.
I'm an old retired military with a little combat experience I am a fair judge of books & movies.
This film rates as one of the worse I've ever viewed and there have been some bad ones made.
What more could I say. It's BAD
Movie Review: Better than "Saving Private Ryan"!
Summary: 2 Stars
Just kidding! I don't understand why this film had 2 international awards. It tries hard to get the viewpoints of the Americans, Germans and Italians but only succeeded in telling the Italian version of WWII. Given the budget, I think I could make a better film.Movie Review: Unbalanced Effort Not Worth Your Cash
Summary: 1 Stars
In summary: this film is a waste of your time and money.
I believe this so much that I will SEND you my copy to prove it. Just write mgardner68 at my juno.com account. Seriously - this film is simply not worth becoming a part of any collection.
I understand that the film is an independant effort, and I applaud the attempt to make such a film. I will give credit to the uniforms, equipment and scenery. An effective try, but not enough to save the film.
The acting, especially from the Americans, Italians and locals (and that one pitiful German soldier) was very sub-par. Ooh, that only leaves the German officer and, at times, the Italian officer. Too bad. The actors would have done themselves a service by not acting at all. None of the interaction came across as authentic... it all seemed over acted and forced.
The sound track was completely distracting and inappropriate. It made the film laughable, not believable. No soundtrack would have been a value add for this film.
The story was too (tooooooooo) busy and scattered, losing focus easily and as a result losing the viewer in the tangle that was simply too much for an indy film to attempt to portay with ample realism.
The battle scenes, without proper choreography and effects, should not have been attempted. It is implausible that trained US GI's would make such a haphazard, uncoordinated frontal assault such as the one depicted in the final scene. I've read too many personal narratives from WWII, seen too many well thought out film scenes using actual veteran consultants to plan it, to believe the battle scenes in this film. A smart indy director/writer knows what to/what not to attempt. These battle scenes were overambitious with the resources at hand.
Finally, a word of caution when purchasing films on Amazon based on reading reviews. I read the reviews. I bought this film because there were more "well written" reviews as opposed to several "poorly written/worded" reviews. I was suckered. Some of the well written reviews may very well have been from people related to the film makers. Shame on them.
A good film, regardless of being an indy production or not, can stand on its own merit. Without bogus reviews, this film cannot. Do not waste 1 hour and 50 minutes of your time.