To End All Wars
|
Our Price: $49.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $2.49 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of To End All Wars
Movie Review: LOVE your enemies!
Summary: 5 Stars
"To End All Wars" (2001) is a very special POW movie. Rough, violent, crude, cruel are adjectives you may use to describe this film... yet it is also a hymn to compassion, love, self sacrifice, altruism and forgiveness.
The story is based on Scotsman Ernst Gordon's book "Through the Valley of the Kwai" reflecting his actual experiences as POW.
There are two precedent films that tell similar stories: "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) is one of them; "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" (1983) is the other one. With both of them the present opus relates and differs. "To End..." is as ruthless full of cruel violence as the second but whereabouts and historical events are the same as in "The Bridge..."
The film narrates the daily life of Allies prisoners in Japanese's hands. Specifically the Argyle Regiment, since they enter the POW camp until war's end.
As in the precedent films "To End..." shows how different cultures collide and confront. The Japanese assumes British military are despicable because they have surrendered instead of continue fighting until death.
The British resent and resist the brutal treatment they receive and scorn their captors as "uncivilized barbarians".
Over this background "To End..." introduce a new vision of the conflict: how adherence to "cultural virtues" ends in abuse and senseless actions. Not only Japanese and their Bushido sense of honor and order are driven to violence; military honor and ethics drove Maj. Campbell to expose fellow inmates to authorities' fury.
The other big issue of the film is how Christian commandment "love your enemies" is put into action by people who have been subject to utmost violence.
Play acting is very good. Ciaran McMenamin as Gordon, Robert Carlyle as Maj. Campbell, James Cosmo (yes the unforgettable Scot warrior of "Braveheart") as the Colonel, Sakae Kimura as Sgt. Ito and Yugo Saso as Takashi Nagase amongst other deliver a high quality performance.
Director David Cunningham imprints a deep Christian sense to the whole film.
This is a great film, which cast a new light over these difficult relationships. If you are interested in war movies you can't miss this one!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Movie Review: Horrific, yet compelling--CANNOT get this movie out of my head!
Summary: 5 Stars
A true story! Very few stories are told so well of the life of a man, his war buddies, and the horrific conditions of a Japanese prison camp. It makes me angry to think that the Japanese have never apologized or attoned for the brutalities they inflicted upon SO MANY!! I am shocked to know they were never convicted of such attrocities and murders, yet the Nazis were; I don't understand it! Both empires were equally evil with no respect for anyone outside of their own. TRUE prejudice! I don't wish to forgive them their extreme viciousness throughout WWII, in and around the Pacific, to all manner of men -- women and children included (in China) yet that is the underlying theme to this movie -- forgiveness. I am overcome with emotions and tears each time I view this. I cannot get over this kind of forgiveness in the face of such injustice, evil, and wickedness. It is horryfying to think that men become SO brutal -- that they ENJOY the suffering of others -- it astounds me that they have no conscience left; they have become mere animals, NO . . . worse than animals -- animals don't maim and kill for sport -- they kill for sustenance; food. But equally compelling is the DIVINE grace and forgiveness of God -- the forgivness that Earnest (Ernie) shows his captors -- I am overawed at his ability to endure the torture while not being angry, but loving. I don't know that ANY MOVIE I have ever seen has even come close to capturing such a concept. BE PREPARED -- your life will be transformed by watching this movie. Who, of us, can complain about our lot in life after viewing this movie? And to think that Earnest Gordon became the Dean of Princeton's chapel -- how deserving he was of such an honor!! How many people in the ministry or priesthood could attest to such treatment and survival without bitterness -- ever humbled into submission. TV evangelist he was not! Too bad he never received more acclaim in his lifetime. Come cry with me and ponder . . . . . . . every time you see it.Movie Review: To End All Wars: A Message of Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Summary: 5 Stars
Gritty, gripping and compelling... that describes The End of All Wars starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Ciarán McMenamin. Based loosely on the real-life struggle of Allied prisoners (mostly Scots in Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, some Dutch and an American) who struggled to build a railroad through the sweltering, malaria-plagued jungles of Burma, this profound motion picture brings a message of forgiveness, conciliation and self-sacrifice. Throwing aside all of the violence, death, and horrors of war, one is confronted with an insightful message of forgiveness, mercy and self-sacrifice. One of the captors Captain Ernest Gordon (played by Ciarán McMenamin) tries to keep the prisoners in good spirits as they endure hardship, disease, poor nutrition and grueling privation. In their free-time, they play music, study Plato and delight in the literature of Shakespeare and above all they meditate on the teachings of Jesus Christ. They reflect upon such exhortation as "Bless those who curse you, do good to those you hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you, and persecute you..." One of the most climatic events is one man offering his life in another man's stead to satisfy the demands of the Japanese prison guards who demand an execution for a perceived offense. The imagery and gratuitous nature of his death is not without meaning. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends," proclaims the Gospel of John (v. 15:13.) In the midst of the trauma and hardship of the Japanese POW camp, many of the men undergo a profound spiritual epiphany that inspires even their captors. Those that choose the path of forgiveness and mercy have their reward while those that opt for vengeance and enmity reap what they sow to their flesh.Movie Review: A Thinking Man's Movie....
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked up this movie at a video store knowing nothing about it and sat back for one of the most powerful cinema experiences that I have ever had! Why wasn't this movie in the theatres? I remembered seeing Chariots of Fire for the first time. I felt the same awe for a powerful story-- and HOW it was told and I thanked God for film makers who challenge us to analyze our motives, our hidden agendas and our faith. I came away with the most amazing understanding of how to love and forgive my enemy--which truly has to be an act that only God can help us do. I am not against war by any means. We as a country needed to fight against the Nazi's and the Japanese and the Sadam Husseins of the world. This movie NEVER portrayed submission to the Japanese,--- it portrayed submission to a God who calls us to lay down our lives.... I came to an understanding, as I initially struggled with the message, while it dramatically played out, that once inside a prison camp and under that authority---that the teachings of Jesus of turning the other cheek, carrying what is asked another mile, praying for those that despitefully use us--- loving--yes even loving our enemies, is truly the most courageous, powerful way to break the enemy. In one scene, the tears on the face of the brutal, Japanese commander--- during his most heinous, torture and murder--- spoke volumes as to the effect, this level of courage, can have on a man's heart and soul. Love won and hatred lost. And the most exciting revelation came, as my tears were flowing at the end of the movie,-- seeing 2 of the actual men who lived this journey. If man would react, purposefully, as these men chose --we wouldn't have to wait for the "Return of the King" to END ALL WARS.Movie Review: Faith and the End of Cruelty and War
Summary: 5 Stars
Movies that present lofty and transcendental truths are seldom devoid of cliché and sloganeering, not so with "To End All Wars." The words: powerful, life-changing, and inspiring are not hyperbolic in describing this faith-based true story. "To End" is akin to the iconic "The Bridge Over The River Kwai" in subject matter, theme, and the era of its occurrence (WW II).
Soldiers from the UK are imprisoned in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp in Thailand and are pushed to build a railroad line (Burma-Siam). The men are in the midst of dispossession and Japanese brutality as they seek to survive with self-respect and unflinching humanity. Kiefer Sutherland (should have earned an Oscar nomination) excels as an American who challenges the British mode of holding a stiff upper lip as one should just do your duty.
"To End All Wars" tells the true story of the POW Ernest Gordon. This movie is accurate to history in its presentation of the unlawful viciousness and the atrocities of the Japanese and with bad language earns its R rating (but the story requires therein).
This is not just an anti-war flick that exposes Japan's war cruelties, but is a story which depicts the truth that redemption, forgiveness, and human dignity can be maintained and displayed even in the midst of repression, revenge, war, despair, and suffering.
Buy this DVD, you will want to watch it every year on Memorial Day or Veteran's Day; stirring, deeply touching, and faith fortifying.
There Are Moral Absolutes: How to Be Absolutely Sure That Christianity Alone Supplies