Band of Brothers (2001) – Crossroads, and Bastogne

Crossroads was written by Erik Jendresen, dramatizing events from Stephen E. Ambrose’s non-fiction book exploring the 101st during World War II. This episode, first aired on 30 September, 2001, and is the halfway mark of the Tom Hanks (who also directs this episode) and Seven Spielberg produced mini-series. The main narrative of the episode follows…

The Keep (1983) – Michael Mann

(Re) Watching Michael Mann’s disjointed supernatural film, The Keep I realised I wanted one thing from it – Mann’s original cut. Apparently clocking in at 3 1/2 hours it was trimmed down to 2 by Paramount Pictures, who then cut another half hour out of it after some rough previews. It’s not like now. If…

The Reader (2008) – Stephen Daldry

The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Schindler’s List, is this moving, and thoughtful film based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink. Kate Winslet stars as Hanna Schmitz, a role for which she won an Oscar for Best Lead Performance. Set in Post World War…

Schindler’s List (1993) – Steven Spielberg

The next title on the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film as I return to the historical section of the book is Spielberg’s heart-wrenching, anguish filled look at the Holocaust through an adaptation of a true story. Over the course of three hours, this black and white film, with only significant and poignant uses…