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Reviews
Nesokrushimyy (2018)
Intense, immediate and real.
This is armored combat in 1942 in Russia with the KV-1 ruling the battlefield. This really happened. People will tell you it's inaccurate but only because the proper armor wasn't available for the movie. The Pzkpfw IV should be E and F with short guns but all that was available were long gun H mock-ups used in previous movies. In the actual even the German tanks were 5 cm armed Pzkpfw III, but the mock-ups of these probably weren't available to the movie makers. Their rounds would bounce off a KV-1. The 76.2 mm gun of the KV-1 would pierce the German armor with ease. Just like in the movie.
At least they weren't Patton tanks with crosses on the side. The battle scenes are intense and put you right in the turret with the crew. The engagements are at short range and hard and fast, like World War 2 tank combat often was.
The commander is stoic, the crew is loyal but he drills them hard. Spare parts and mechanical issues rule the day as they struggle to keep the tanks running, even bringing in an engineer from the tank plant. Who just happens to be the estranged wife of the tank commander. It pulls all the strings the way a good war movie is supposed to. As a former US Army tanker this reminded me so much of what I'd experienced keeping the beasts running. The combat was in your face and chaotic just like how it's supposed to be.
A few parts felt contrived and the characters more archetypes than people, but it's a movie about a heroic stand by a Russian tank in the dark days of World War 2 and the story is larger than life.
It's a great ride and far and away superior to Fury.
Commandos (1968)
I liked it.
I'm another one who got in the bargain bin at wal-mart in an 8 "Classic War Movie" package for $5.50.
It was enjoyable, especially the battle sequences. FOr me it was entertaining to see how everything seems to go wrong for the Americans. There are some technical problems here and there with weaponry and the producers/scriptwriters' love of submachine guns.
It surprised me how halfway through the movie I realized that the Italians and Germans were the ones portrayed sympathetically and the Americans weren't.
The Germans are very well portrayed with accurate Afrika Korps uniforms (down to such details as pink piping and skull collar insignia for tankers) as are the Italians. Conversely the American details are off, from the postwar M3A1 submachine guns to the late war "Ike" jackets.
The use of US tanks is always excusable for me because where were you going to get real German WW2 tanks in 1970? The M24 Chaffees do have Jerry cans and spare track added to give them a Pzkpfw III look and the M47 Patton II's are similarly modified. Though the AMX-10VCI APC with Afrika Korps palms is laughable. Look closely you'll also see that they are very realistically portrayed with scuffed and worn schemes like real Afrika Korps tanks and not the freshly-re-painted-for-the-movie look like the tanks in Patton.
I gotta say it was enjoyable. It ain't a classic but it ain't bad and the little uniform details and sympathetic portrayal of the Germans/Italians made it worth while for me.