Bravery War Movies: Schindler’s List, Pork Chop Hill, last Battalion & More

Schindler’s List

Schindler’s List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel (SS)-officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler’s Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.
The film was a box office success and recipient of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score, as well as numerous other awards (7 BAFTAs, 3 Golden Globes). In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked the film 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all time

Braveheart

Braveheart is a 1995 historical drama film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish warrior who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence by opposing King Edward I of England (portrayed by Patrick McGoohan) who was also known by the nickname “Longshanks”.
The film won five Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director, and was nominated for an additional five.

Into The Arms of Strangers

nto the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport is a 2000 documentary film directed by Mark Jonathan Harris and narrated by Judi Dench. It tells the story of the kindertransport, an underground railroad that saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish children. The movie uses archival footage and interviews to recount the stories of children sent to live in England, after fleeing from Nazi Germany.

Pork Chip Hill

Pork Chop Hill (1959), directed by Lewis Milestone, is a Korean War war film based upon the eponymous book by military historian S. L. A. Marshall, depicting the bitterly fierce first Battle of Pork Chop Hill between the U.S. Army’s 7th Infantry Division, and Chinese and Korean Communist forces at the tail end of the Korean War, in April 1953. The film features Gregory Peck, Woody Strode, and actors who became movie stars in the 1960s and the 1970s, e.g. George Peppard, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn, Robert Blake, Norman Fell, Martin Landau, and Gavin MacLeod, with Harry Dean Stanton in an uncredited minor role. This film was Milestone’s final war film, and it received good reviews. Peck, although not credited, directed a few segments, despite protests then by Milestone himself.

The Lost Batallion

The Lost Battalion is the 2001 remake of the 1919 film of the same name. The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy, written by James Carabatsos and starred former child actor Rick Schroder as Major Charles Whittlesey. It took place during World War I.

The movie follows the events of the final part of World War I when a United States Army battalion was surrounded in the Argonne Forest. This movie depicts the struggle to hold ground and survive with an enemy surrounding them from all sides towards the end of World War I.

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Noted for its graphic and realistic portrayal of war, the film is specifically notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944. Afterwards, it follows Tom Hanks as U.S. Army Captain John H. Miller and seven other men (Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies) as they search for a paratrooper, Private First Class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last-surviving brother of four servicemen.

The Ground Truth

The film addresses the issues many soldiers face upon their return from the War in Iraq, including problems with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and an inability to meld back into “normal” society. The film includes footage of soldiers in Iraq and personal interviews with about two dozen people directly affected by the war (either veterans or family members/friends of veterans). The veterans, both men and women, speak of their experiences before, during, and after the war. The veterans speak about recruitment and training, combat, their returns home, facing their families, and their difficulties in making the necessary changes needed to fit back into society. The Ground Truth was released in theatres on September 15th of 2006 and released on DVD on September 26th of the same year. People can sign up to host screenings of the film online at The Ground Truth or view a low-resolution copy online, see bottom.