The Best Years of Our Lives examines the experiences of soldiers returning from WWII. There are some bleak bits. One of the men lost his hands in the war and has to deal with mid-20th century prostheses and the reactions of those around him. [link]
Mal: Cut it out. Job's not done until we're back on Serenity. Zoe: Sorry, sir. Didn't mean to enjoy the moment.
'Ariel'
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Calli - May 25, 2016 5:34:07 am PDT #41 of 3455
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
Connie Neil - May 25, 2016 5:45:47 am PDT #42 of 3455
brillig
The Adventures of Robin Hood (Erroll Flynn). And you can correct the history around that but it does put a lot of things in context (Angles v. Saxons, Crusades, evil authoritarian regimes)
Though Richard was an awful king t history pedant
Toddson - May 25, 2016 5:59:15 am PDT #43 of 3455
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
Movies of some Shakespeare plays? The Branagh Henry V perhaps?
Vonnie K - May 25, 2016 6:01:10 am PDT #44 of 3455
Kiss me, my girl, before I'm sick.
It's for a World History course -- so not so much with movies set in America, I think? The Best Years of Our Lives is a GREAT movie though and everyone should watch it on its own merit.
My favourite historical film of all time is The Lion in Winter, but it may be too stagey and talky for this purpose. But oh, the dialog. The performances!
Gladiator sounds like a good bet. It's a decent movie with not super-violent action, interesting historical tidbits and a good character throughline.
Plenty of movies out there about the Tudors. Lots of Henry VIII stuff to choose from -- A Man for All Seasons and Anne of Thousand Days would be a good pairing for examining the same event from different perspectives.
Master and Commander - YES! While not featuring actual historical characters, it's got loads of fun details about Age of Sail Britain and it's just such an excellent film all around. I could see 15-year-old boys loving the film.
If he doesn't mind subtitled films, there is The Horseman on the Roof, which is very pretty to look at and has cool scenes about (an actual historical) cholera epidemic.
A couple of very good Australian War dramas set in early 1900's: Gallipoli and Breaker Morant.
After that, there are like a million WWII films. The Bridge on the River Kwai is on the top of that pile. I haven't seen that in ages but it's a fantastic film.
Una - May 25, 2016 7:56:46 am PDT #45 of 3455
when i die, please bake my ashes into a brick and use me to hit fascists.
Not a movie, but: The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles? *ducking*
msbelle - May 25, 2016 9:07:48 am PDT #46 of 3455
I remember the crazy days. 500 posts an hour. Nubmer! Natgbsb
Thanks y'all that gives me several for him to choose from.
Beverly - May 25, 2016 9:34:29 am PDT #47 of 3455
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
I don't know how much light Come See the Paradise would shed on the issue of WWII-era US internment of Japanese Americans, but it would at least raise the issue.
Also, Empire of the Sun would illustrate the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and the internment of foreign nationals.
I.E., there's more to human history than makes it into the textbooks.
askye - May 25, 2016 9:46:46 am PDT #48 of 3455
Thrive to spite them
Stalag 17 maybe? It's got humor and there's action. So maybe?
DXMachina - May 25, 2016 10:25:21 am PDT #49 of 3455
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
For WWII from a historical perspective, I'd go with The Longest Day over Private Ryan. It gives a fairly even handed treatment for all of the combantants, not just USA. Tora, Tora, Tora is similar for Pearl Harbor.
Jesse - May 25, 2016 10:34:41 am PDT #50 of 3455
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
Why not just go with Pearl Harbor ????