Greatest WWII Movies
Debuting on Blu-ray May 7
This year, The Great Escape celebrates its golden anniversary. To honor the 50th anniversary of that film’s release, we’ve compiled a list of our top five World War II films. From Tora! Tora! Tora! To Patton, these are some of our favorite films honoring the Second World War.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are proud to announce that THE GREAT ESCAPE will arrive on Blu-ray for the first time on May 7, 2013. Based on a true story, THE GREAT ESCAPE is “a motion picture that entertains, captivates, thrills and stirs” (Variety). In 1943, the Germans opened a maximum-security prison-of-war camp, designed to hold even the craftiest escape artists. By doing so, they unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military history – brilliantly portrayed by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn – who worked on what became the largest prison breakout ever attempted. The Blu-ray comes fully loaded with over three hours of special features including commentary with Director John Sturges and crew, multiple making of featurettes, the original theatrical trailer and more.
Patton
Winner of seven 1970 ACADEMY AWARDS, including Best Picture and Best Actor for George C. Scott, Patton is a riveting portrayal of one of the twentieth century’s greatest military geniuses. As rebellious as he was brilliant, George Patton (Scott) was the only general truly feared by the Nazis, yet his own volatile personality was the one enemy he could never defeat.
Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun is a 1987 coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same title. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars a young Christian Bale alongside John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson. The film tells the story of Jamie “Jim” Graham, a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center, a Japanese internment camp, during World War II.
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora! was the winner of the 1970 Academy Award for Best Special Effects, and was nominated for four more Oscars, including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound. The film is a dramatization of the days leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the event which signaled America’s official entry into WWII.
The Thin Red Line
1998’s The Thin Red Line marked Terrence Malick’s return to filmmaking after a 20-year hiatus. The film is based on the novel of the same name by James Jones, and it tells a fictional story of the Battle of Mount Austen in World War II. It portrays soldiers of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. The film was nominated for an outstanding seven Academy Awards.
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. The film is highly lauded for its graphic and realistic portrayal of war, specifically the opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault on June 6, 1944. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won five of them, including Best Director.
Thanks to the great folks at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, we’ve got a copy of The Great Escape on Blu-ray to give away to one lucky NoReruns.net reader!
The widget below will step you through the various ways you can enter:
A week after the May 7 release date, we’ll pick the winner and contact him or her for their mailing info to pass on to the folks at Fox Home Entertainment, who will mail the Blu-ray directly. Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only, (no PO Boxes please).
Follow Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on: Twitter @FoxHomeEnt
