Early war films?

[Big Al]

Paul, I read this as meaning films that cover the early/mid war era, rather than 'early' war films.

I would say Ice Cold in Alex, Sahara, Dunkirk, Desert Rats, Desert Fox.

Cross of Iron deals with the withdrawal of the German army from Russia, so I think that is late war. An excellent film, none the less!

[Mainly28s]

Not 100% in the description:
Land and Freedom (SCW)

The WW2:
Sea of Sand
5 Graves to Cairo
Ice Cold in Alex
Guns of Navarone
Force 10 From Navarone
Tunes of Glory
Above Us the Waves
Escape to Athena
We Dive at Dawn
Malta Story
The Lion Has Wings
The Way Ahead
In Which We Serve
Ill Met By Moonlight
I Was Monty's Double
The Long And The Short And The Tall
Went The Day Well?
Dunkirk
They Who Dare
Stalingrad

[Fury]

@Paul: Excellent news. I look forward to the release of the earlier T-34 models. Speaking of tanks, a lot of supposedly German tanks in Russian war movies look like they're built on a T-34 or T-55 chassis.

[Parus Ater]

The Tiger 1's in SPR were - and indeed still are - T76's. There's a few Stugs kicking around based on British APC's and 222 on Landrover chassis.

[pbeccas]

@Big Al. Cross of Iron is set in 1943.

[Big Al]

@Big Al. Cross of Iron is set in 1943.

Was it? Now I'll have to watch it again to prove you are right

(A good excuse to give the wife for putting it on, see)

[mikeland]

The good news is the three T34/76 variants have been remastered and are due for release soonish - 2-3 weeks I'd have thought. Scouts will be done but not until the Assault Engineers are finished...

The main reason for the thread was me sat watching Dunkirk last night and not being able to think of many early war films not based on the Russian Front. Would love to see more based on the early war in Europe.

I think the comparative lack of early European War films are because for America (where a lot of films are financed) the perception is the war began in Dec1941. And the only European land actions to that point were primarily German victories, so, history being filmed by the 'winners' as it were, means the later war or African campaigns are more popular. A shame because there are probably some superb stories to be told... And the Germans wore proper boots then!

Not a war movie but I felt the Dunkirk scenes in Atonement were very evocative, and captured the retreat in a powerful way.

[Parus Ater]

Sort of related but I do get a kick out of people's reactions (especially "English Army" re-enactors) when I refer to a bit of American kit made in 1940 or 1941 as Pre-War.
The issue is that war films like any other film generally have a happy or victorious ending and there weren't many or them in 1940-1942.

[Colonel White]

Winter War

If your not bothered about subtitles as this is a Finnish Film set during the Russo Finnish war ( very early WW2) . Not seen it all the way through yet but looks promising complete with proper T26s .

[robertn35]

The land war

the Raid against Rommel
the first ten minutes or so of Patton.
Guns of navarone
Force ten from navarone
Bridge over the river kwai
Enemy at the gate

aren't there any movies on the lofoten raids in norway ?

Sea war

Battle of the Rio Plato
Midway
Tora Tora Tora
Das boot

Air war
the Battle of Brittain