"El Alamein: The Line of Fire" is an Italian movie with English sub-titles that is available on DVD.

Very good quality. (Better than the other Italian movie "The Fallen", directed by Ari Taub, which is about a small German, American and Italian units at the Gothic Line).

An Italian student joins the entrenched Pavia Division that is defending El Alamein, Egypt. The story follows a company of Italian soldiers as they fight the desert and thrist while waiting for the British to attack. Has some parallels to "Platoon" and other similiar war themes. Good quality but not a big-budget film; no more than 50 actors on the screen. Accurate in uniforms and historical setting. One problem is that it has several night scenes and it is so-o dark you can't follow the action. The biggest battle was one of these night scenes.

The uniforms included infantry of the Pavia Division, some Bersaglieri troops and a few of the Folgore paratroopers, plus a few generals thrown in. It has one uniform of a soldier wearing the color insignia of Transport Corps, as seen on Jim's uniform in the Militaria Collectibles thread. Equipment looked good for me, except for one US M-3 half-track marked as a German half-track.

Great photography, but of course, most of the scenery is desert. It won an Italian Academy Award for Photography, Best Editing & Sound Deisgn. I recommend you see it.

Steve -- {excuse me if I have already posted this review elsewhere on the forum.}

Steve's review sold me....I have ordered it from Amazon.

Jim

Since I compared this movie to another foriegn film, I guess I better describe it also.

"The Fallen" directed by Ari Taub. Released 2006.

Official Website with photos and trailers: http://www.thefallenmovie.com/

This movie relates to the battle of the GOTHIC LINE in Italy in the fall of 1944. The story views the battle a few participants from these four groups: Italian Army, German Army, American Army and Italian civilians, some of which are partisans. Each group is introduced during the lull in the battle and follows them as their lives converge in the final battle. The group of German soldiers is lead by a Captain. Their ally is a group of Italian Alpini soldiers who feel as though they are being mis-treated by the Germans, which results in a confrontation. At the beginning the Americans suffer from an battle and one platoon has to return for a replacement radio. They are befriended by some civilians but are soon back in the battle. An American armored unit also arrives on the scene for support, as the Germans are ordered to fall back.

You can look up reviews of this movie by googling "The Fallen" and "ari taub". One reviewer said it was obviously a low-budge film that distracts from the content. The actors are not very good. If you watch the extra behind-the-scenes part of the DVD, you will see that they really were not actors at all. One even quite the project before their part was finished. They did actually hire Germans to play Germans---probably re-enactors. No scene contained more than 30 actors.

The uniforms are accurate. The equipment---tanks, vehicles---are good. The pyrotechnics are not anything like "El Alamein". But the story line was just too slow and you really didn't get to know any one of the characters. (I'm having a difficult time recalling all of the story.)

Okay to rent. I decided not to buy it.

Steve

Anyone seen "Letters from Iwo Jima" yet? Once again the small town where I live is not going to pick it up I don't think, and it's showing at only one theater within 50 miles of here . I've been interested in seeing it since viewing the trailers, although part of me (the part I don't like) is resisting the urge to see it because it will put a human face on an enemy that commited so many acts of inhuman cruelty against Allied POWS, as well as the Phillipino & Chinese civilians.

DD

This is Roque, (aka Rocky), I have just finished reading all the above posts,(3 pages). And this is just ME, I will not see a war movie, after 32 months of combat which included the Gothic Line, the winter was somewhat cold, Correction, I did see "Blackhawk Down" what got me pi---d, was when this guy was running down this street and tripping those booby trap wires and doesn't get a scratch, unbelievable. So sorry You all can watch them, I prefer not to. Roque of the 135th.

Dear Rocky:

Can't say I blame ya at all. If I were you I might feel the same way. Even the GI's vary on this. My dad loved watching war movies and the series Combat. Everyone handles it differently.

But war movies are the BEST teaching tool for the rest of us who never experienced it. For most people who aren't into reading, movies are a living history and without them, most would completely forget about WWII and other wars.

War movies also inspire many including myself, to keep on doing what were doing. They give me a shot in the arm and make me want to keep writing and running my site and my forum.

Hugs,

Maid Marion

Maid Marion; You keep on doing what you are doing here. I truly love the dedication you have in memory of your DAD. I am sure is is looking down on you and smilling and telling the vet. next to him saying, 'THAT'S MY BABY GIRL !!" I just got another writeup in the Kansas paper. I will mail you a copy. Hang tough and just keep the forum straight. Hugs.--Rocky

Thanks Rocky. I will always try my best to keep keeping on...

BIG HUGS!!

During the 1960s, my Dad would watch the CBS news on the Viet Nam War and would always comment that those news shots were staged. Of course, he was relating back to the old days when the news reels would be sprinkled with GI's playing up a scene for the cameras. You would see guys shooting machine guns or making a bayonet charge that appeared to resemble a training film more than actual battle.

After a few years of watching the news from Viet Nam, I think he finally changed his viewpoint----he didn't make that comment anymore.

Steve