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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:54 pm 
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A few months ago I was watching the war movie Battle of the Bulge (1965) for the upteenth time, when it suddenly occured to me how some aspects of the film were similar to War of the Worlds (1953) and other 'alien invasion' flicks.<br /><br />For anyone who's unfamilar with Battle of the Bulge, it's a simplistic, Hollywoodized retelling of the events of the real life Battle of the Ardennes in late 1944, when the Germans carried out a desperate large-scale counterattack that caught the Allies by surprise. <br /><br />BOTB reminded me of WOTW because both films portray the American army suddenly facing a seemingly unstoppable enemy armed with technologically advanced weaponary (the Martian war-machines in WOTW, new Tiger tanks in BOTB). The scenes of the American ground-troops fleeing in confusion and disarray in BOTB (this is no organised retreat, but a chaotic, frightened rout) also had parallels to the crowd scenes of people fleeing in panic in WOTW. And just as WOTW concludes with the Martian war machines destroying Los Angeles, so BOTB has a scene mid-movie where Tiger tanks line up on a ridge and reduce a town to rubble in a show of strength designed to shatter Allied morale.<br /><br />BOTB even has a subplot concerning English-speaking German saboteurs parchuting behind Allied lines disguised as American troops, that mirrors the various 'alien infiltration' movies (such as Invasion of the Bodysnatchers) that were popular during the Fifties.<br /><br />Anyone agree or disagree with me?


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 5:59 pm 
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I can see the theory, but you could probably do this with a lot of movies. I think you have to much time on your hands :P <br /><br />Lol


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 7:54 pm 
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I read somewhere, I think in a Jasper Fforde book, that there are only 4 real stories in the world and all the others are just copies, in one form or another.


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:14 am 
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<_<Interesting theory...............What are these four stories??????????


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:40 pm 
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If he did say, I can't remember what they were. :huh:


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 12:00 am 
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<!--QuoteBegin-Lonesome Crow+Feb 15 2005, 12:40 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lonesome Crow @ Feb 15 2005, 12:40 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->If he did say, I can't remember what they were. :huh:<br />[right][snapback]923[/snapback][/right]<br />[/quote]<br />Useless completely Useless, bring on the heatray as torture for posting something that can't be explained lol :P


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 2:23 pm 
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:D Well iv'e got a pretty good idea what one of them is........Mary Poppins anyone??


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:28 pm 
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<!--QuoteBegin-Fenris+Feb 13 2005, 01:54 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fenris @ Feb 13 2005, 01:54 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->A few months ago I was watching the war movie Battle of the Bulge (1965) for the upteenth time, when it suddenly occured to me how some aspects of the film were similar to War of the Worlds (1953) and other 'alien invasion' flicks.<br /><br />For anyone who's unfamilar with Battle of the Bulge, it's a simplistic, Hollywoodized retelling of the events of the real life Battle of the Ardennes in late 1944, when the Germans carried out a desperate large-scale counterattack that caught the Allies by surprise. <br /><br />BOTB reminded me of WOTW because both films portray the American army suddenly facing a seemingly unstoppable enemy armed with technologically advanced weaponary (the Martian war-machines in WOTW, new Tiger tanks in BOTB). The scenes of the American ground-troops fleeing in confusion and disarray in BOTB (this is no organised retreat, but a chaotic, frightened rout) also had parallels to the crowd scenes of people fleeing in panic in WOTW. And just as WOTW concludes with the Martian war machines destroying Los Angeles, so BOTB has a scene mid-movie where Tiger tanks line up on a ridge and reduce a town to rubble in a show of strength designed to shatter Allied morale.<br /><br />BOTB even has a subplot concerning English-speaking German saboteurs parchuting behind Allied lines disguised as American troops, that mirrors the various 'alien infiltration' movies (such as Invasion of the Bodysnatchers) that were popular during the Fifties.<br /><br />Anyone agree or disagree with me?<br />[right][snapback]811[/snapback][/right]<br />[/quote]<br /><br /><br />Yeah, Fenris, I sort of agree with you on this one. The retreat of American forces from the German tanks also reminded me of the battle scene from the 1953 flick. Of course, the ending of BOTB was not quite accurate. It was Patton's 3rd Army that came to the rescue.<br />


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:04 pm 
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Actually, I think the comparison fits reasonably well, but not necessarily at the plot level. Instead, I think what both movies are doing, and indeed a great many other movies too, is tapping into a stockpile of cultural mythic symbols -- which often have mini-stories or vignettes associated with them.<br /><br />I won't belabor the subject, but to cite one example, is the mythic symbol of The Enemy. One of the common mythic features of The Enemy, is the unstoppable strength (or superiority). HG Wells tapped into that for his Martians. A great many WWII movies assign that Super Enemy characteristic to the German Army. You see it in Spielberg's Death Star and Darth Vader, etc. etc.<br /><br />There are a great many other mythic symbols that WotW shares with other movies. It's no accident (but then, not some grand conspiracy either). We, as a movie-buying market, know, read and expect these symbols. Little wonder the producers and directors give them to us.<br /><br />-- cheers<br /><br />(oh, and I think I'd read that it was 412 basic stories, but I think the 'list' was contrived more to make a point, than anything deeply researched)


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 12:53 am 
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<!--QuoteBegin-gypsywlf+Feb 17 2005, 01:04 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gypsywlf @ Feb 17 2005, 01:04 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->  You see it in Spielberg's Death Star and Darth Vader, etc. etc.<br /><br />[right][snapback]1053[/snapback][/right]<br />[/quote]<br />Lucas, George Lucas, get it right or you will have certain members on you like a pack of wolves :lol: <br /><br /> :blush: No names mentioned :P


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:03 pm 
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<!--QuoteBegin-Lonesome Crow+Feb 17 2005, 07:53 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lonesome Crow @ Feb 17 2005, 07:53 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Lucas, George Lucas, get it right or you will have certain members on you like a pack of wolves :lol: [/quote]<br /><br />Ah, (blush) quite right. A slip of the tongue/keyboard. Spielberg as a producer and director has, it seems to me, not been as strong on use of the Unstopable Menace element (yes, it was Lucas's Death Star), but has still used it. His Jurrasic monsters fit that bill. The Jaws shark did, as well (even if on a minor scale) did the greasy tanker truck in Duel. But, upon reviewing a list of Spielberg movies, he seems more inclined towards "nice" aliens (e.g. Close Encounters, ET, AI)<br /><br />I can only hope that his 2005 WotW will tap back into the Menace mythos and not the smiley almond-eyed mythos.<br /><br />-- thx


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:35 pm 
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'Good' versus 'Evil' (Star Wars, War of the Worlds, monster movies, war movies, Cop shows, etc)<br />Triumph over adversity (Disaster movies, Daytime sappy programming)<br />Boy meets Girl (Chick flicks)<br />That about covers all the bases, doesn't it?<br />


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 7:54 am 
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BOTB even has a subplot concerning English-speaking German saboteurs parchuting behind Allied lines disguised as American troops, that mirrors the various 'alien infiltration' movies (such as Invasion of the Bodysnatchers) that were popular during the Fifties.Anyone agree or disagree with me?




Could this possibly be because it happened at the real BATTLE OF THE BULGE? My goodness.


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