“Oskar Schindler is a vain, glorious and greedy German businessman who becomes unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. A testament for the good in all of us. Written by Harald Mayr {marvin@bike.augusta.de}”

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Release Date: 15 December 1993 (USA)
• Run Time: 195 min | Turkey:185 min (TV version)
• Country: USA
• Genre: Biography , Drama , History , War
• MPAA: Rated R for language, some sexuality and actuality violence.

Tagline: Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.

Trivia: There is a Jewish tradition that when one visits a grave, one leaves a small stone on the marker as a sign of respect. This is why the cast and the Schindlerjuden cover Schindler’s grave with stones at the end of the movie.

Goofs: Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After the little boy takes the saddle out of the car and after Schindler says thank you – he passes on some cigarettes to an SS personnel at the camp and Schindler calls him “Rottenf?hrer”, but the rank/insignia of the SS man responds to a different rank called Sturmmann which is one rank lower than the Rottenf?hrer rank.

“During World War II a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers. Written by PopeyePete”

• Director: Quentin Tarantino
• Release Date: 21 August 2009 (USA)
• Country: USA , Germany
• Genre: Action , Adventure , War

Tagline: Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France…

Trivia: David Krumholtz dropped out due a scheduling conflict and Samm Levine took his place.

“This is an English language film (made in America) adapted from a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque. The film follows a group of German schoolboys, talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War 1 by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young German recruits and highlights the tragedy of war through the eyes of individuals. As the boys witness death and mutilation all around them, any preconceptions about “the enemy” and the “rights and wrongs” of the conflict disappear, leaving them angry and bewildered. This is highlighted in the scene where Paul mortally wounds a French soldier and then weeps bitterly as he fights to save his life while trapped in a shell crater with the body. The film is not about heroism but about drudgery and futility and the gulf between the concept of war and the actuality. Written by Michele Wilkinson, University of Cambridge Language Centre, {mw125@cus.cam.ac.uk}”

• Director: Lewis Milestone
• Release Date: 24 August 1930 (USA)
• Run Time: UK:145 min (cut) | UK:147 min (BBFC submission before censorship) | Germany:136 min | USA:133 min (restored version: Library of Congress) | 138 min (copyright length)
• Country: USA
• Genre: Action , Drama , War

Tagline: At last….the motion picture!

Trivia: During the film’s German release, the Nazis (not yet in power) interrupted screenings by shouting martial slogans and releasing rats into the theaters.

Goofs: Continuity: When Paul visits Franz in the ward, Franz raises his finger to his mouth. In the next shot, his hand has returned to his side.

“”Patton” tells the tale of General George S. Patton, famous tank commander of World War II. The film begins with patton’s career in North Africa and progresses through the invasion of Germany and the fall of the Third Reich. Side plots also speak of Patton’s numerous faults such his temper and habit towards insubordination. Faults which would, eventually, lead to his being relieved as Occupation Commander of Germany. Written by Anthony Hughes {husnock31@hotmail.com}”

• Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
• Release Date: 2 April 1970 (USA)
• Run Time: 170 min | Sweden:172 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Biography , Drama , War

Trivia: Although Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North are credited as co-writers, they never worked together and actually never even met each other until they were collecting their awards.

Goofs: Factual errors: When Field Marshal Montgomery is informed that Patton has taken Palermo in Sicily, the British flag beside him is hung upside down.

“The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination. Written by Jim Beaver {jumblejim@prodigy.net}”

• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Release Date: 12 January 2007 (USA)
• Run Time: 141 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Drama , History , War
• MPAA: Rated R for graphic war violence.

Tagline: From the director of "Flags of our Fathers" comes the completion of the Iwo Jima saga

Trivia: Ken Watanabe read actual letters sent by Imperial Japanese Army Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi to his family from Iwo Jima while preparing for his role.

Goofs: Anachronisms: The bottle of Johnnie Walker appears to have a screw cap made of aluminum. At that time liquor bottles had a cork stopper.

“Opening with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion under Cpt. Miller fight ashore to secure a beachhead. Amidst the fighting, two brothers are killed in action. Earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is KIA. Their mother, Mrs. Ryan, is to receive all three of the grave telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, is given an opportunity to alleviate some of her grief when he learns of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decides to send out 8 men (Cpt. Miller and select members from 2nd Rangers) to find him and bring him back home to his mother… Written by J.Zelman”

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Release Date: 24 July 1998 (USA)
• Run Time: 170 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Action , Drama , War
• MPAA: Rated R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence, and for language.

Tagline: In the Last Great Invasion of the Last Great War, The Greatest Danger for Eight Men was Saving… One.

Trivia: In 2006, Tom Hanks was inducted into the US Army’s Ranger Hall of Fame as an honorary member, largely thanks to his portrayal of company commander John Miller in this film.

Goofs: Continuity: Shortly after medic Wade dies, we are shown two presumably dead German soldiers lying in the fox hole: the one on the right can be seen breathing momentarily.