Aleksandr Nevsky - Sergei Eisenstein - 1938

On April 5, 1242, Prince Aleksandr Nevsky set up a defensive position at Raven's Rock near a frozen lake and an epic battle between the army of Teutonic Knights and Russians was fought. Had Nevsky and his army lost, Russian history would have been radically different and a Russian state would have had far less territory. Indeed, the very survival of Russia was probably at stake in the battle.

Eisenstein used this battle to create a propaganda film encouraging his contemporary Russian viewers to recall this great victory, created through massive individual sacrifice, in preparation for what he felt was an inevitable German invasion soon to come.

To see the film, please click on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nRev9FvsBU&spfreload=5

The Cup - 1999 - Khyentse Norbu

A couple young Buddhist monks in training try to figure out how they are going to watch the 1998 World Cup...

Watch the film by clicking on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiFbLt-Axdk

Never on Sunday - 1960 - Jules Dassin

You may recall that Jules Dassin directed Rafifi. He wrote, directed and starred in this film: Never on Sunday.

This is a film filled with good-will and humanity. It's a comedy about a Greek prostitute whom an American intellectual wishes to 'save'. It's really worth watching this wonderful and funny film.

Please view the film by clicking on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLtGEM1fct8

Rogue Male - 1976 - Clive Donner

Fritz Lang used the novel by Geoffrey Householder called Rogue Male to make his amazing film "Manhunt."

Rogue Male is a BBC production based on the same very entertaining and thoughtful suspense novel. If you can get a cheap copy from amazon, it would be fun to read.

An English big-game hunter wants to see whether it might be possible for him to kill Hitler. This is in 1939, as people are beginning to realize that Hitler is having a malevolent effect throughout the world.

What I liked about the Lang film and the novel is that the hero of this story comes from the upper class in England and was never taught how to be a real 'moral' actor in the world. Everything is a game to him (and his class). So at first he does not perceive killing Hitler as a moral act - it is a game. This is one reason why he fails.

However, he undergoes a moral transformation as the story unfolds and by the end of the novel he is ready to truly kill Hitler.

I have to be honest - I'll watch this BBC version soon - I don't know how good this film is. I hope you enjoy it though.

See the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMtGmGa8KZ0

The Glass Menagerie - Anthony Harvey - 1973

The Tennessee Williams classic -

See the movie version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pddUuIaUbf0

Zulu Dawn - 1979 - Douglas Hickox

Interesting film about the Battle of Islandlwana - the greatest military defeat of a 'modern' army by an indigenous people in history.

The English initiate a war against the Zulu people because they claim that the Zulus are being 'unjustly oppressed' by their king.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Please watch this pretty cool film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sr409Qd6GU

Sergeant York - 1941 - Howard Hawks

This was the highest grossing film of 1941.

It's the story of a man who is a pacifist due to his religious convictions. However, the military does not recognize the legitimacy of his religious organization and forces him into the army. (He attempts to avoid miitary duty through claiming conscientious objector status.)

He becomes the greatest American hero of World War I partly because he attempts to fight for his country without inflicting any unnecessary casualties against the enemy. Basically, he helps to capture about 135 German soldiers in one battle because he tries everything he can to win a battle without resorting to killing other humans.

An amazing film, starring an amazing actor about one of America's most amazing heroes.

So if you have seen Hacksaw Ridge (about another American conscientious objector who becomes a hero) you may enjoy comparing and contrasting it with Sergeant York.

Please watch the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60rq9YsdxWM