FREE ESSAY ON BATTLE OF BRITAIN DURING WORLD WAR II

BATTLE OF BRITAIN DURING WORLD WAR II

Battle of Britain
Director: Guy Hamilton
Screenwriter: Wilfred Greatorex and James Kennaway
Film Genre: War
Cast: Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard
This film is about the Battle of Britain during World War II. It happened in 1940. This
movie was made 29 years later in 1969. The Nazis tried to invade Britain. The Royal Air
Force of Britain fought a grave battle against the Nazis to prevent the invasion. Most of
the fighting was in the air. There were lots of fighting scenes between the German planes
and the RAF and their allies. 
This film is pretty realistic. I thought that the air battles were pretty realistic. For
a film that was made in 1969, the special effects of the planes and the fight scenes were
pretty fast-paced and accurate. The fight scenes seem more modern as far as special
effects than what I would expect from a movie made in 1969. The planes were just like the
ones that were actually used. 
As far as I know, this film accurately portrays the Battle of Britain. It was
historically accurate in the story that it told. It portrayed the Battle as a very
important one. It was one of life and death. It was one that could have changed the
outcome of the war and possibly altered history as we know it. The film showed how the
RAF and its allies fought bravely and gallantly. I liked how it portrayed the pilots as
weary and tired from all the fighting.
Hitler was very close to victory. The RAF was drained and worn out. They had been
fighting for a while with little rest. They were constantly in battle. It was not looking
good for the British. All Hitler would have had to do was to keep pounding on them. The
Germans had more pilots. The RAF was running out of pilots. The Germans should have
bombed the radars and airfields. At first the Germans stayed away from bombing the big
cities. Hitler still wanted to bring Churchill to the conference table. He also wanted to
avert retaliation against cities in Germany. In the movie, one of the German leaders said
that they would attack London because the British had attacked Berlin. I am not sure
whether that is a true reason or not. 
The viewers' opinions that were included in a handout from a web page were all pretty
similar. Most of them liked the fighting scenes with the planes. They liked the
authenticity of the planes. But most of them also found the non-battle scenes to be dull
and uninteresting. I agree with this view. I thought that the movie was hard to follow. I
could not tell the difference between the planes and I did not know who was getting
killed. I did not know any of the characters. I liked the fight scenes, but otherwise I
did not enjoy this movie. 
Mrs. Miniver
Director: William Wyler
Screenwriter: George Froeschel and James Hilton
Film Genre: Drama/War
Cast: Greer Carson, Richard Ney, Teresa Wright, Walter Pidgeon
This was another movie that dealt with the Battle of Britain. It followed the life of the
Miniver family during the days leading up to and after the Battle of Britain during World
War II. This family was a pretty well off English family. They had a son that had just
graduated from Oxford and two other kids. The son joins the RAF. He then gets married to
Carol Beldon. Carol was worried about how long she would get to spend with her new
husband. She braced herself for his death. In the end, though, she was the one who was
shot. 
I thought that some parts of the film were realistic and others were not. I did not think
that the Miniver family was a typical family. They were kind of like a "Leave it to
Beaver" family in that they seemed to all be saints and always did the right thing. That
part of the movie was unrealistic. I think that another unrealistic part was the ages
between the mother and the son. Greer Carson was 34 when the film was made and her son,
Richard Ney, was 24. She looked much too young to be his mother. The part where the
father (Clem Miniver) went by boat to battle of Dunkirk was pretty unrealistic, also.
Otherwise, this film probably portrayed some of the feelings of the people of the time.
It probably exaggerated what they felt a little bit. It made it seem like every single
person was just excited to go fight for his or her country. Even though some were excited
to go fight, I am sure that they had fears and doubts that this film did not really
portray very much. 
This film does not portray the British position as well as Battle of Britain did. That
film really showed how close to defeat the British were. This film showed a little how
hard the British had to fight. This film really portrayed Nazis and Germans as crazy. The
best example of this is the German flyer who broke into Mrs. Miniver's house. He was made
to look like a madman. He said that they would keep bombing until they won. 
Mrs. Miniver was a propaganda film. It was made to try to get America to join fully into
the fight against the Nazis. It shows the Brits as heroic and as doing anything they
could for freedom. It showed the Nazis as evil and wanting to take over the world. It
made Americans feel like fighting the Nazis would be the good and moral thing to do. It
tried to show them that sacrifice for freedom was what they needed to do. 
Viewers of this film generally liked it. They enjoyed the human aspect of the war and the
romance part of the story. I also liked this film. I liked the characters and cared
whether they lived or died. All of the British characters were so nice (a little more
propaganda) that it made you root for them. I liked the part where the family was in the
bomb shelter. It might have been a little unrealistic how the parents were so calm, but
it was neat to see what it might have been like. Overall, I thought it was a good film
and it helped me understand the Battle of Britain a little more. 
Casablanca
Director: Michael Curtiz
Screenwriter: Murray Butler (Play), Joan Alison, Howard Koch, 
Philip and Julius Epstein
Film Genre: Drama/Romance
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
The setting of this movie is in Casablanca. Casablanca is located in Morocco. It was set
during the beginnings of World War II. Casablanca was a place where people went to try to
get to Lisbon. From Lisbon, they would go to the United States and to freedom.
Essentially, the people in Casablanca were refugees. The main characters in the movie
were Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Ilsa Laszlo (Ingrid Bergman), and Victor Laszlo (Paul
Henreid). Rick runs a club/saloon in Casablanca. Life is going fine for Rick until his
old love, Ilsa shows up in his nightclub. She is married to Victor, who is a political
refugee. Ilsa and Rick were going to leave together on a train but she stood him up.
Later in the movie it is revealed that the reason she stood him up was she was married to
Victor. She had thought that he was dead when she fell in love with Rick. So she
basically is in love with two men. Rick has two visas to Lisbon. The only problem is who
gets to use them. Rick has to decide who uses them. To compound the problem, the Third
Reich is exerting their influence in Casablanca. They are after Laszlo and do not want
him out of the country. Rick ends up giving the visas to Victor and Ilsa, while he stays
behind in Casablanca. He walks off with Captain Renault saying, "This could be the
beginning of a beautiful friendship." 
This film is not terribly realistic. It is a story that could have happened, but it
probably would not have been this dramatic in real life. It was more of a drama and love
story than a realistic look at what was going on. I think that it gives the viewer a
different side of the war. This is certainly not a situation that I think of when I think
of the Second World War. 
I think that it portrays the situation in Europe as one of fright. I think that people
thought that the Germans were very tough and that it would be very hard to beat them. It
is a frantic feeling, almost one of hopelessness. The people in the film are portrayed as
somewhat desperate. They are desperate to get out of Europe and into the United States
where things are safer and more certain.
Rick Blaine really did not like either the Vichy French or the Germans. He was kind of a
loner and did not cater to either one. He played it pretty neutral. They both had given
him more business. He was more interested in the business part of it all, especially at
the beginning of the film. It said numerous times by different people in the film that
Blaine "fights on the side of the underdogs." So this would lead one to assume that he
was a little bit partial to the enemies of the Germans.
Rick Blaine was a man who told it like it was. He was honest and was not afraid to hurt
people's feelings with his honesty. He wanted things done his way. He had power in
Casablanca. He wanted people to have a good time at his club. He really did not play
favorites. He tried to be neutral. He was a very cynical man. The reason for his cynicism
was that Ilsa stood him up. He was stood up at the train when they were to leave. Ever
since that day, he was cynical and sort of acted like he did not care. I think that he
used cynicism as a way to cover up the hurt and pain that Ilsa inflicted on him. 
This film tried to awaken America to the evils of the Nazis. It showed the Nazis as
wicked. It was a propaganda film that showed Americans that the people in Europe wanted
out and wanted to get away from the Nazis. The film portrayed the message to American
moviegoers that something needed to be done to stop Germany. It let them know that
Germany was doing something wrong and we needed to help the rest of the world stop them.
Reviewers call this film a classic. They loved it. They gave it a rating of 9 out of 10.
I would agree with them. I enjoyed the movie very much. It was a classic and had many
classic lines and scenes. I had always heard lines like "Here's looking at you kid," and
"This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." It was neat to hear these lines
in the context of the film. It was a great film and one that I am glad I got the chance
to watch. I cared about the characters. I did not really like Ilsa because I think she
should have made up her mind, but it was still a touching and suspenseful movie. I
recommend it to anyone.
From Here to Eternity
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenwriter: James Jones and Daniel Taradash 
Film Genre: Drama/Romance/War
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra
This film gives the viewer an idea about the mood in Hawaii before the attack on Pearl
Harbor. It takes place in 1941. The main character, Robert E. Lee Prewitt, has just been
transferred to a base in Hawaii. At his old base, he was a boxer and quite a good one at
that. In fact, he accidentally hurt a man boxing once. He requests to leave his old base
and come to Hawaii. In Hawaii, he is pressured into fighting on his unit's team. He
resists and is punished for it. Meanwhile, his captain's wife and second in command had
fallen in love. 
The film is somewhat realistic. It was made in the 1950s so it is has that kind of
idealistic, romantic feel about the military and war. I think that it gives the viewer a
good idea of the mood immediately before the Pearl Harbor bombing. It also does a good
job of showing the disorganization and surprise of the men on the base when they were
getting attacked. It even showed the supply sergeant not issuing ammunition because he
did not have orders to do it. I thought it was a good learning experience to see the
disorganization and terror at the bombing.
I think that the film does not show the military as being very ready. Instead, it shows
them disorganized. They are shown as being more worried about boxing matches and
punishing a guy who will not box than getting ready for combat. There was also the fight
between Prewitt and one of his commanders. It showed Warden just stand and watch it
instead of breaking it up. All of this leads me to conclude that the moviemaker thought
that they were somewhat disorganized.
The message that it portrayed, like many of the others that we have watched, is that the
Japanese were bad and we were good. It was a form of propaganda, although not as strong
as some of the other films (The Purple Heart was especially full of propaganda) we have
watched in class. I think that the other message might have been that we were taken by
surprise and we were not ready at Pearl Harbor. The men there were not concentrating on
war like they should have. They were fighting amongst each other and they had problems in
their love life.
Most of the reviewers gave this film a good review. They liked how the movie showed
American ethics and the human side of things. I also liked the film. It was an enjoyable
one to watch. The subplots were interesting. I kept thinking how hard it would have been
for Prewitt not to box when he was getting treated the way he was for refusing. I think
that this film would get Americans' blood boiling against the Japanese. The film had
several subplots where men were in love with women. This also makes for the movie being
interesting. I liked it and thought it was worth watching.
The Purple Heart
Director: Lewis Milestone
Screenwriter: Jerome Cady, Darryl F. Zanuck 
Film Genre: Drama
Cast: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Farley Granger, Kevin O'Shea,
Don Barry, Trudy Marshall, Sam Levene, Charles Russell, etc.
This movie was about eight Americans who were in a bomber in World War II. Their plane
went down and a Chinese man tricked them. The Japanese took them as prisoners of war.
They then found themselves in a Japanese court being tried for murder. This Court was not
one of due process and liberty like the courts in the United States were. They were
appointed counsel by the Court instead of one that they wanted and could not
cross-examine the witnesses. The Japanese wanted the POW's to give information about
where they came from. Specifically, they wanted to know if they came from a carrier. The
men would not tell. They were tortured one by one in an attempt to get information from
them. They still resisted. Finally, the Japanese said that if they gave information they
would not be executed and could go to a prison camp and live. They refused this also, so
the last scene showed them marching out full of pride after being sentenced to death. 
I think that the film as a degree of realism to it. The guys are very pro-America. They
would do anything for the military. They ultimately meet their death because of this
loyalty. I believe that there were probably men like this in World War II. I also believe
that torture was used to extract information. So I think that it is pretty realistic.
This film definitely portrays the Japanese as evil. It shows them as heinous and wicked.
It shows that they did not have the same freedoms as Americans did. Their court was
conducted much differently than one in the United States would have been conducted. They
were shown as being immoral in the way that they tortured the Americans.
This was one of the best cases of propaganda film that we have seen so far this semester.
The last scene where the men all refuse to give information and instead choose to die
said that Americans were strong and were loyal to their country. It gave Americans the
idea that they would not compromise their beliefs or loyalty for anything, not even their
life. This film could have been intended to stir up patriotism in America. It made
Americans feel good about themselves. It gave them pride in their country and their
military. 
Reviewers thought favorably about this film. They gave it a 7.7 out of 10 (22 votes).
Most of the reviewers liked the movie and its pro-American message. I enjoyed the film. I
could see through all of the propaganda, but I still thought that it was entertaining. It
made me feel a bit of pride to be an American. It was a good story. It kept me
interested. I liked the fact that the men gave their life for their country in order to
protect the military. It was sad that they were being sent to die, yet at the same time
it made you proud to be an American.
Sahara
Director: Zoltan Korda
Screenwriter: Zoltan Korda & John Howard Lawson 
Film Genre: War
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lloyd Bridges, Bruce Bennett
This film is about some allied soldiers that were in the desert of North Africa. The crew
consisted of Americans, British, a Sudanese man, and an Italian and German prisoner.
Their only mode of transportation was a tank. They were desperately running out of water
and running out of fuel. They found a little oasis where there was a little bit of water.
They stayed there for quite a while. German soldiers were on their tail and also looking
for water. There were a great many more Germans than allies. The allied soldiers held off
the Germans at the fort. 
The film was a little bit unrealistic. I think that the desert was realistic, but the
ending was a little bit too unrealistic. It was too much of a Hollywood ending. It looked
like all was going to be over for Bogart's character Joe Gunn. But almost single-handedly
he and another soldier outfoxed hundreds of German soldiers into believing that there was
plenty of water there. 
The film portrays the Western Desert as pretty desolate. There was not a lot of water
there. It did not look like a place you wanted to be. It gave off the appearance that if
you got stuck there you could very well die there. The war in the Desert was shown as one
of who could get water.
I think that the message about the war that the directors and writers try to convey is
that race should not play an issue. Americans should be accepting of other races and
nationalities if they are fighting on our side. The movie showed the African Sergeant
Tambul as a symbol of solidarity. It was a message that blacks and whites were on the
same side and Americans should be accepting of blacks because they were fighting for the
same thing that "we" were. I think that this was an effort by the writers to improve
race. I think that there was a little bit of propaganda about freedom. Joe Gunn was the
kind of character that Americans could feel good about because he was a take-charge guy
who always tried to do what was best for his men.
I think that the writers and director thought that the war was one between the good guys
and the bad guys. It was kind of a racial war. In a way, this is accurate, since the
Germans were waging a race war against Jews and other races that they thought to be
inferior. I think that they portrayed the German prisoner as the classic blonde hair,
blue eyes German to put a stereotype into Americans minds that the Germans all thought
the way this prisoner did. The prisoner acted pretty cocky towards the Americans, and
even wanted them to be his prisoners. I thought that was a pretty funny thing. The main
idea was that all races should stand up and fight for what was right.
I thought this was a very good movie. It has been one of my favorites of the year. I
liked Bogart in this movie and thought he was pretty heroic. I thought there was some
good action and also some good comedic moments. I thought that the ending was even a
little funny and ironic. The one thing that I definitely felt throughout the film was an
extreme thirst. With all of the actors going without water, I began to feel very thirsty
as well. That was very interesting to me that it would make me so thirsty. It was a good
film.
They Were Expendable
Director: John Ford
Screenwriter: 
Film Genre: 
Cast: 
Guadalcanal Diary
Director: Lewis Seiler
Screenwriter: Richard Tregaskis (book) and Lamar Trotti 
Film Genre: Action/War
Cast: Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, Anthony Quinn, William Bendix
Das Boot
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriter: Lothar G. Buchheim (novel) and Wolfgang Petersen 
Film Genre: Action/Drama/War
Cast: Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Erwin Leder
This movie, which came out in 1981, is about life on a German U-Boat during World War II.
It explores what life might have been like on a U-Boat. This story starts in a bar the
night before the U-Boat goes out to sea. It continues with the sub, showing the different
roles of the crew. It shows how they dive deep into the ocean and how they come up above
water. The U-Boat is shot at many times by Allied destroyers. The movie showed how it
affected the U-Boat. The plot becomes thicker when the U-Boat must go through a line of
British destroyers in order to get to where their orders were. The U-Boat dives all the
way past 200 meters underwater. It hits bottom and the crew thinks they are done for.
Miraculously, somehow Johann fixes some things on the boat and they are able to rise to
the top of the water. They make it to the port safely. Ironically, as soon as they come
into the port, they are bombed and just about the whole crew died.
The film is extremely realistic. I felt like I was in the sub with them. I have seen subs
before and this one looked like it was pretty real. I also think that the characters were
very authentic. I liked how it showed them as real people who became afraid, who joked
around, who had girlfriends and wives back home, and showed other emotions that you would
expect them to show in their circumstances. Not all of the men were gung-ho for Hitler,
which I would have expected. Some of the men even seemed a little resentful of Hitler for
putting them in the position that he did. 
The battles in the Atlantic were portrayed as one dominated by the British and their
allies. It seemed like the U-Boats really were not very powerful in battle. They did more
diving when faced with a battle. It showed them sink a few British ships, but they got
fired at much more than they fired at the Destroyers. The way the Captain spoke, the
U-Boats were not doing particularly well in their campaign in the Atlantic. 
Life in the U-Boats could be described in one word: cramped. The crew was put in close
quarters with each other. Men had to sleep very close to each other. When the officers
were eating with each other, there often was someone who had to walk through and one of
the officers had to get up and let them through. The men tried to keep morale up in the
U-Boat. They would joke around a lot about women and other things that would not be fit
for women or children to hear. Some of the men became close friends from their
experiences with each other. There was always that fear that the next bomb might be the
one that kills all of them.
The main difference between this version of the film and the one that you can rent at the
video store is that this one has more scenes in it. It is the Director's Cut and has
roughly thirty more minutes in it. The story is still the same, but the one that we
watched has additional scenes than the one that can be rented at the video store.
I really enjoyed this film. When I saw how long it was, I was not very excited to watch
it. But during the film, I did not even realize how much time had passed. It was the type
of film that the viewer can get involved in and actually begin to care about the
characters. I thought that it was ironic that I was actually hoping for the crew of the
U-Boat to make it safely home. For some reason, I grew fond of the men in the boat. Even
though I know that they were fighting on the wrong side, this film actually made you see
that they were humans, too. They might have been very similar to a Brit or an American,
but they were fighting for Hitler and not for freedom. This was a great film and one that
helped me learn a lot about the U-Boat. The U-Boat had always been something that I
really did not understand and did not know much about. After this film, I feel like I
have a much better understanding of what a U-Boat was, what kind of capabilities it had,
and what life on a U-Boat was like. Reviewers of the film agree with me. They gave it 8.4
out of 10. They voted it #46 out of the top 250 movies. I would give this movie a 9 out
of 10. It was entertaining and educational. It was nice to see a film that showed what
life was like on the other side.
Saving Private Ryan
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Robert Rodat 
Film Genre: Drama/War
Cast: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
This is the story of a group of U.S. soldiers whose mission it becomes to save Private
James Francis Ryan (played by Matt Damon). Ryan is stationed behind enemy lines during
World War II. The reason why they are sent to find him was that all of his brothers had
died in the war. So Ryan was the only brother left. The orders were to find him and to
bring him back safely. He was to go back to the U.S. But after finding him, Ryan refuses
to leave the small group of men he is with. They defend a bridge against the Germans.
Ryan lives, but many of the others were killed, including Captain Miller (played by Tom
Hanks). Ryan tells the movie as a flashback as he looks at the grave of Captain Miller. 
This film is very realistic. The fighting scenes seem to be some of the most realistic
ever captured on film. The opening scenes where they showed the storming of Normandy were
amazing. The way they showed how the soldiers thought, felt, and acted was also very
good. The emotions of the soldiers were portrayed well. It was realistic how they showed
the hurt and anger of seeing their fellow soldiers killed. Most of all, the portrayal of
D-Day was amazing.
The events of D-Day were portrayed as a very tough battle. It was very bloody and
violent. Many Americans were killed. It was a very tough battle to get through the
beaches. The scene where the men are throwing up before the landing was classic. That is
one more thing that makes the movie realistic. The Americans were very close to disaster
on June 6, 1944. The film showed how not very many Americans were successful in keeping
their life. The Germans were ready for the invasion and had lots of gunners set up to
shoot the Americans as they landed. So many of the men were sitting ducks. The first
waves of men were pretty much destroyed. Gradually, as more men came, the Americans
worked their way up the beach. They finally overcame the Germans, but they were very
close to disaster. 
The combat scenes, especially the first twenty or thirty minutes, were very gruesome.
They were pretty hard to watch. I thought that they were very realistic. It was like you
were an observer who was actually there and was watching all the people get killed. There
were lots of deaths and they were pretty detailed. It showed guts hanging out, shots
hitting men in the head and in the body, and also men who had body parts like arms or
legs blown off. One scene that particularly disturbed me was the one where the soldier
had his arm blown off and he was walking around looking for it. He found it and picked it
up. These scenes made me tense and I sat forward in my seat. They kind of gave me a sick
feeling in my stomach. They were hard to watch.
I think that the moral of the film is that in war, the men that you fight with can become
like brothers to you. The bonds that you form when every day is a matter of life and
death are very strong. When Private Ryan learned that all his brothers had died and he
was supposed to go home, he refused. He said that the men that he was with were the only
brothers he had left and he could not leave them since they needed him. He felt a
responsibility to them to help them hold the bridge. He said that his mom would be proud
of him. I think that a lot of the men wanted to do the right thing. They wanted to make
their relatives proud of them and serve honorably and courageously.
The generation that fought in World War II was very patriotic and noble. They wanted to
stand up and fight for what they thought was right. It was good versus evil. They wanted
to fight for the United States and freedom. They went through death and injury to defeat
the Nazis. I think that our generation can do great things, too, just like their
generation did. The sense of country and patriotism is not as strong now as it was then,
but the majority of people still love this country and would want to stop an evil force
like the Nazis. I honestly do not think that there are as many people willing to stand up
for their country like there were back then. I think that a lot of people would try to
get out of going to war. I think that the same situation is not as likely to happen now.
Weapons are much more powerful now and a country can be wiped off the map much easier.
Dropping the bomb was a huge decision then, and it would be huge today. War would be
different now than it was then.
Viewers love this film. It is rated as one of the top films ever. I strongly agree with
their analysis. This is a great film and people of all interests enjoy it. It is hard to
watch some of the parts because of the killing. But the storyline is so touching and the
ending is also a tearjerker that just about anyone can expect to feel a little moistening
of the eyes after watching it. It is a great film about World War II and about war in
general. But it is also just a great film. It is one of the best ever.
The Sullivans
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Screenwriter: Edward Doherty (story) and Mary C. McCall, Jr. 
Film Genre: Drama
Cast: Edward Ryan, Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle
This is the story of the five Sullivan brothers. They grow up in Iowa. They have one
sister, but the five brothers do everything together. The film shows events from their
life as they grow up. The one common theme as they are growing up is that the Sullivans
stick together. As they get older, World War II is approaching. The youngest, Al, gets
married and has a kid. Soon after, the family hears about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The Sullivan brothers want to go sign up immediately for the navy to go fight. The only
problem is that Al cannot leave his wife and child. So the four other brothers head off
to enlist, and Al's wife tells him that he should go, too. Her reasoning was that they
had spent their whole lives together, and they should all go to war together, too. So all
five enlist in the navy and get put on the same ship with each other. During a battle in
the Pacific, the ship is hit and all five brothers die. The bad news is relayed to their
parents and family that they have lost the five Sullivan brothers. At the end of the
movie, a ship is named the U.S.S. Sullivan in memory of them. 
The film is not very realistic. It was made in 1944 so it has that kind of "Leave it to
Beaver" or "Father Knows Best" feel to it. The family is kind of corny and the lines and
acting are corny. An example of that is when the father's hat gets knocked off every time
he walks underneath the clothesline. Another example is the sister ironing the boys'
pants. She was very cheerful about it and enjoyed it. This is not realistic. Realistic
would be she ironed them, but complained about it. The family is almost too perfect. It
is a nice portrayal of what a close-knit family is like and how close brothers can be,
but it was a little bit over the top.
The Sullivan boys were very close knit. They would do anything for each other. There was
a lot of love between them. They had grown up with each other and done so many things
with each other, so they wanted badly to go to war with each other. Their parents were
pretty good parents. I thought that the dad was a jerk at first, but his children knew
that he loved them. The mom would do anything for the kids. The boys would do anything
for each other.
This war affected the Sullivan family immensely. They went from having a big family to
having a small one. Losing one child would be very tough on a family, but losing all five
boys would be unimaginably painful. The family would have to be proud of them that they
served their country, but the grief that they must have felt is hard to comprehend.
This film would have repercussions in local communities because it would show that there
is a chance that your children will die in the war. It would make a lot of families think
about whether they will ever see their son, husband, or dad again. The family would not
want all their sons going to war since they saw in this film how all five died. The film
showed the five brothers very nobly, though, in the final scene where they were in the
sky going to heaven. That was a piece of propaganda to show how noble it was to fight for
your country.
Most viewers enjoyed the film. I also liked the film, but felt it was a little too sappy
and unrealistic. I realize that it was made in the 1940s and films then were a little
corny when it came to showing family life. It was an interesting story. It was neat to
follow the brothers from the time they were baptized until their death. The film did a
good job of showing that they were a team and did not want to be without each other. Even
though the film did not have much battle action or mention of the war, it was effective
in showing how the war affected families. All in all, it was a good film.