stupidusername Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) DS12 has finally gotten to World War II. I am indulging him with some movies. Here are some that I recommend: "Tora! Tora! Tora!" - the attack on Pearl Harbor "Midway" - greatest naval battle ever. "Grave of the Fireflies" "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" - had to turn it off before the final scene. "The Great Escape" "Dirty Dozen" "12 O'Clock High" "Into the White" - hidden gem available for streaming on Netflix. The above gives him a flavor of both major fronts as well as several different types of warfare. We tried "Saving Private Ryan," but the opening scene gave my son a headache. He is a gentle soul. I loved "Bridge Over River Kwai," "Sahara," "Das Boot," "Downfall" and many others, but tried to pick movies that would retain my son's interest. As I mentioned in a previous post, the book "Unbroken" is excellent. The movie, however, is just meh. What World War II movies did your homeschooled child enjoy? Edited January 23, 2016 by stupidusername Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 We've watched a lot of WWII movies, but there weren't too many related movies I felt we could watch at that age. So, though these are a few we enjoyed at younger ages, I can't really remember at what age we watched them. It may not have been til high school. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426578/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Life is Beautiful http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/ The Book Thief http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816442/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Empire of the Sun http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=empire+of+the+sun&s=all I know there are a lot more! I'll keep thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Kelly's Heroes and Dam Busters are my 11yo's favourites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Grave of the Fireflies is ROUGH, IMO -- the story is an extended flashback, told by the spirits of 2 Japanese children who died of starvation in the final months of WW2, so just a heads up for sensitive viewers Sophie Scholl is a fabulous, powerful film, but not for under 16, IMO -- it is the biography of a German teen, who, with her older brother and a friend of his, distributed pamphlets in Germany protesting the Eastern Front war against Russia; she was imprisoned, interrogated (no torture), tried, and at the end of the movie, you hear (not see) all 3 being guillotined -- most of the film is discussion/debate between Sophie and her interrogator, on the political issue, but primarily revealing her character and faith, so, more about worldview/politics/theology and not much that is directly about WW2 Favorites of our DSs at that age: - Stalag 17 (American POWs in a German camp) - The Great Escape (British POWs in a German camp) - Casablanca (intrigue in German-occupied Morocco) Others that are appropriate for that age: - The Hiding Place (biography of Corrie ten Boom's family, hiding Jews in Holland) - The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (German tank division commander in North Africa) - The Dam Busters (British air crew attempting to bomb a German dam) - Mrs. Miniver (stiff upper lip of British families on the "home front" of England) - Flying Tigers (American air force in China, fighting occupying Japanese forces) - Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (noted for use of actual war footage; American forces in the Pacific theater) - The Fighting Seabees (US Navy in the Pacific theater) - The Best Years of Our Lives (post WW2, 3 soldiers struggle to readjust to civilian life) These are all from US (or British) POV -- I can't think of any good ones appropriate for middle schoolers to show WW2 from other perspectives... There are some light/humorous films with WW2 as a backdrop such as McHale's Navy, Father Goose and Operation Petticoat, as well as the musical South Pacific, set during WW2, but I'm guessing you're looking for films that really focus on the events and places of WW2, not films with that as the background setting. ;) A British TV series that is appropriate for age 14+ (there are some mature scenes and topics) is Foyle's War -- focus is the British home front and includes topics such as pacifism, code-breakers, looting at bomb clean-up sites, the black market, rationing, evacuation of children out of London to the countryside, British citizens married to Germans, dam-busters, women in the war work force, etc. Edited January 26, 2016 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 PT 109, about John F. Kennedy That's all I got. Y'all have it covered pretty well already. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Friendship in Vienna and Back Home, if you can find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 What about The Longest Day (D-Day) or Battle of the Bulge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. ;) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 We liked The Damnbusters. It's an exciting story that celebrates physics and engineering, but it also shows the emotional consequences of wartime decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I agree with Lori. Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most upsetting films I have ever seen. The fact that it is animated doesn't reduce its power. I haven't suggested it to my boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 There is a rather good movie about Norman Bethune, played by Donald Sutherland - Bethune, The Making of a Hero. It's a slightly different look than most English language movies give on what went on in China. There are also some really great mini-series set in that period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 To Hell and Back, about Audie Murphy - it is a 1955 black and white war movie about a real-life highly-decorated infantryman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I second, third, whatever Life is Beautiful. It is much better in Italian and so lovely (even though we got looks at the movie theater when we laughed--I think most were missing the point of Roberto Benigni. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importswim Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 My kids both loved The Great Escape. I will be watching this thread for ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Not movies - but we've been watching American Experience episodes about WWII. So far- FDR, Jesse Owens, J Robert Oppenheimer, America and the Holocaust, The bombing of Germany. This next week we'll watch The battle of the bulge and Victory in the pacific. Also crash course us history has two segments on WWII and cc world history has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 How about The imitation game? My daughter loved that when it came out last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 The Scarlet & The Black is one we liked that I haven't seen mentioned yet. It's also a good one for more sensitive viewers as there's very little gore - practically none. Killings are implied, of course, but the gore is left out. It also shows a different segment of the war than most war movies, so isn't a "watch this instead" as much as "watch this in addition." It's based upon a true story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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