History Buffs: Dunkirk
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- čas přidán 8. 08. 2018
- Get ready to dive into the epic war drama "Dunkirk" by Christopher Nolan! This gripping film takes us back to the intense events of World War II. Brace yourself for a thrilling ride as we witness the incredible courage and determination of soldiers and ordinary people during the daring evacuation from Dunkirk.
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I really appreciated the casting in this movie. Choosing 18-26 year olds is way more realistic than 35-40 year olds like every other war movie
Perhaps countetintuitively , had they cast a few 35-40 yr olds it would have been more accurate. The average age of the professional British army at the time was higher than in later war years. This was brought home to me when visiting Commonwealth War Graves around the world . The number of graves of men in their late 20s to 30s was surprising .
Saving Private Ryan.
@@abaddon4823 That Ranger unit had been fighting for years together.
But what cost, having so few extras.
“In peace sons bury their fathers, in war fathers bury their sons.”
I had the pleasure of playing as an extra in this film (British soldier #6) and I must say that everyone was very focused on making this film special. We redid some scenes 40 times and every little inch of the ships and costumes had to be perfect. And yes, they really crashed one of the Heinkel model bombers irl to make it as realistic as possible. Took them the whole weekend to salvage the wreck from the water. Glad you liked it and proud to have contributed even a tiny bit to it.
I loved the movie. Well done for being a part of it!
man that must have been some experience, loved the movie
alteanprince
Congrats dude! Don't listen to the haters, the movie was awesome
That's hella cool my dude :)
Mr. Smile ?
That speech of Churchill is making me want to defend britain from the Germans...
Im German
his voice makes him sound like god
Amazing speech every time I hear it I jump on warthunder and fly Spitfires and hurricanes
@@robbie1155 i usually play the bf-109's but I also loved the hurricane
109s are good but the spitfire is graceful
Well there was a lot of Germans who fled the nazis and joined Britain
I felt a strong connection with this film. My grandfather was at Dunkirk. He refused to abandon his motorbike (he was a dispatcher) so he went and hid on a French farm, eating nothing but raw turnips for a week before stealing a boat to get home, then rejoined the 8th army in Africa. Two things happened after this. One, he sold the bike ten years later to buy my grandmother a wedding ring. Two, he never are turnip again!
@@auz6880 What is wrong with you you fucking troglodyte? Go play Minecraft or something, if that doesn't work go interact with your friends until you realize you don't have any.
@@auz6880 no one asked u to ask
give him radishes
How did he manage to get the motorbike back to England, and how did he manage to sell Government property?
@@enscroggs When he joined in 1940, he brought the bike with him to the army, so it was his to begin with. The bike was the reason he joined the Dispatch Corp.
Honestly, I never questioned how he got it into the boat and home. Sadly, my grandfather passed away years ago so I can no longer ask him.
"I don't know if ther'll be another (big budget war movie with a heavy focus on practical effects) anytime soon"; I'm glad that's being proven wrong with 1917
1917 was easily better than Dunkirk. MILES ahead
Agreed - it's good to see some good films that return to practical effects. Though I must say, while I did enjoy, I found that I much prefer Dunkirk to 1917.
@@sgtrpcommand3778 I agree, for all the inaccuracies I thought Dunkirk was a much better movie. Had high expectations for 1917, but it felt too try-hard to me.
Yes, 1917 was awesome.
Titus Pullo mate are you high? That whole film was so accurate to the period.
- "The tide's turning now."
- "How can you tell?"
- "The bodies are coming back."
The most chilling dialogue in the movie. I have nothing to say to that...
That's fucked.
but... you just did.
What makes it even more chilling is that a corporal in the engineers said it to a Colonel.
iN Armenia in 1919 the amount of bodies clogged and diverted the river they were thrown into by several miles.
In Russia and Korea bodies were regularly used as sandbags.
@Wesly Stanton They held on and fought so that racist xenophobic views like yours would be relegated to CZcams comment sections and largely ignored.
24:04 I simply have to explain the story behind that old guy
That old man is based off a real-life person. His name was Charles Herbert Lightoller, who sailed his private yacht to the shores of Dunkirk with his son and rescued 127 Allied soldiers
But he has a bigger claim to fame in the history books; he was the highest-ranking crewmember to survive the sinking of the RMS Titanic
Born 1874 in Lancashire, Lightoller's mother died when he was a baby and his father left when he was 10, leaving him in the care of grandparents. However by aged 13 and nearing the end of school, he decided that he didn't want to end up in a miserable factory job. So he signed up for a 4-year seafaring apprenticeship. On his 2nd ever voyage when sailing as a cabin boy on a small barque named the SS Holt Hill, the ship was damaged in a South Atlantic storm and had to stop in Rio de Janeiro for repairs. But because Brazil was doing a revolution and smallpox epidemic, the repairs were botched. When the ship went out to sea again, it was wrecked on a small uninhabited island. Luckily for Lightoller, a passing Australian ship saved them, and he signed up on another voyage to get home
On his 3rd ever voyage the small ship he worked on was nearly sunk in a storm on the way to India. On another voyage shortly after, he saved a ship from burning and was promoted to 2nd mate as a reward
In 1895 aged 21 he began work on steamships, working on mail ships along West Africa, during which he was nearly killed by malaria. In 1898 he decided "hey Im gonna look for gold" and headed to Yukon, Canada for the Klondike Gold Rush. Finding no gold and totally broke, he walked across Canada by following train tracks, and earned his voyage home to England in 1899 by handling cattle onboard a cargo ship. After a short recuperation, he started working for the White Star Line. He was 24 at this point, so maybe finish that book you were gonna write
In his first year of service onboard the SS Medic in Sydney, he and some friends broke into the old Fort Denison outside Sydney Harbour, raised a Boer flag and fired some cannons. The resulting panic sent Sydney into lockdown thinking they were being invaded by the Boers. If you think thats hilarious, its even more so when you find out that he faced essentially no punishment for narrowly averting a major diplomatic crisis
In 1903 while working aboard the SS Suevic, he met a woman named Sylvia Wilson. They married at the end of the voyage, and stayed together for the rest of their lives, having 5 children together
After working his way up to bigger ships and higher ranks, eventually he was made the 2nd Officer of the brand new RMS Titanic. His actions during the sinking have been roundly criticized as he left many lifeboats criminally underfilled and flat-out refused to let men evacuate (yet Im not too scathing of him, he was a man of a different time who hadnt been trained properly in evacuating such a large ship). When the Titanic sank under his feet, he entered a moment of dumbfound and started swimming forward. Just as he realized his mistake, he was sucked under and pinned against a metal grating. But miraculously, a burst of hot air pushed him back to the surface. He clambered onto an upturned lifeboat, and taught the 30-so men aboard how to keep it balanced in the rough waves. When the rescue ship RMS Carpathia arrived in the morning, he was the last survivor of the Titanic to be pulled from the sea. He later attributed his survival as "with God, anything is possible"
He was a key witness in the inquiry into the sinking and later wrote that the White Star Line had secretly known that a major disaster had been possible for decades. He took an important part in the swell of regulation changes following the disaster
After another short bout with the White Star Line, Europe decided to do a World War 1 and Lightoller volunteered for the Royal Navy. He served on one of his past ships, RMS Oceanic, when it was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in the very brief period the Royal Navy thought it was clever to slap any random guns on an ocean liner and call it a warship. However on its first voyage the ship ran aground and was lost, making it Lightoller's 3rd shipwreck. And again, he was the last survivor to be evacuated
By the turn of 1915 he served aboard HMS Campania, one of the first aircraft carriers. Later in the year he was given command of a patrol boat, and battled a Zeppelin which he damaged and forced to withdraw. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for saving London from another bombing raid
For that act he was given command of the destroyer HMS Falcon. He kept the ship's guns loaded at all times and encouraged his men to think for themselves in times of danger. In April 1918 Falcon was accidentally rammed and sunk by a trawler, but he was acquitted of blame and was one of the last men to leave (3 men were trapped and had to be rescued later)
Then he was given command of the destroyer HMS Garry, where one of the darker episodes of his life played out. Garry sank the German submarine UB-110 and their survivors, under Lightoller's order, were gunned down in the water, but some survived. The British-led trial found him not guilty but he knew he did it, openly admitting that he "never thought much about the hands-up in air business"
(Are you still reading? We're not at WW2 yet lol)
After WW1 he left White Star Line after realizing that being a Titanic survivor was a black mark on his career. He took land-based jobs, becoming a real estate speculator, an inkeeper and chicken farmer. In 1935 he wrote his biography "Titanic And Other Ships" and dedicated it to "my persistent wife, who made me do it". He used the royalties from the book to buy a private yacht in London, naming it the Sundower
In the run-up to WW2, Charles and Sylvia took the Sundower on some coastal journeys across Germany. They posed as an innocent old couple on a pleasure cruise, when actually they were on a secret mission from the Admiralty taking photos of German coastal defences. One time he was nearly caught, but pretended to be drunk when a German patrol craft asked what he was doing. All 5 of his kids served in WW2, and he lost 2 of them in the war
When the disaster at Dunkirk unfolded, the Admiralty gave Charles a call telling him they needed to requisition the Sundower. Lightoller refused, and instead sailed the tiny boat there himself, where he and his son saved 127 Allied soldiers and dodged a bomb from a Ju87 Stuka. Lightoller also had no idea that his own son Trevor was one of the soldiers who had been evacuated earlier. The emotional power of a Titanic survivor again rescuing young men from the water nearly 30 years later to me is absolutely staggering
He spent the rest of the war commanding small patrol ships during the 1940-1 Invasion Scare, and overseeing small supply runs
After WW2 he operated a small boatyard in London. He remained enthusiastically in contact with Titanic historians with the rest of his life, offering an albeit very self-inflated telling of the sinking
A lifelong smoker, he died peacefully during the Great London Smog in 1952 aged 78
I’m almost more impressed by you for writing all this than I am by Charles 😂
bruh
Well that was the most fascinating story I have read from WW2 so far. I realize now there is still so much I can do in my 20s.
He's the main character
True hero and absolute legend
Honestly, when I watched the movie, I wasn't aware of the amount of troops at Dunkirk. The lack of the amount of troops on the silver screen, however, conveyed to me a sense of loneliness and helplessness that I'm sure the troops felt; do I run and eventually face an onslaught of infantry and armored units, or do I stay on a wide open beachhead and get strafed/bombed. That must have been terrifying for troops to be in open territory, waiting for an undetermined period. God bless all those who came to their rescue.
The beach was bombed every 20 minutes by waves of 150+ bombers from sun up to sun down, the port and town of Dunkirk was completely on fire with only the town hall still standing, no pies cooling on a window ledge, 1/3 of the men on the beach were French, no one was pretending to be British. Over 5,000 ships were fighting a battle with German submarines and aircraft in full sight of the beach. There was a dedicated anti aircraft defence of the beach and lots of tanks and equipment on the beach along with almost 300,000 men.
This film is a disgrace, one of the worst war films about actual events ever made.
@@peterdemkiw3280 Lol😂 this is entertainment movie not a documentary movie. The purpose is to make viewers enjoy it, historical accurate is not the main point.
A lot people enjoy it, that's what make a movie great.
It feels like some sort of metaphor with the lack of troops which honestly looks like only a few thousand.
@@peterdemkiw3280 While I agree with your points, I don't agree with your overall assessment. To say it's one of the "worst war films about actual events ever made" is obviously ridiculous and hyperbolic.
@@peterdemkiw3280 "This film is a disgrace, one of the worst war films about actual events ever made."
You don't watch a lot of movies if you think that with any shred of honesty. To present all these facts about the event and then use such egregious hyperbole is dishonest of you and demolishes the point you were trying to make.
I love how the British formed queues while evacuating Dunkirk when death was very probable for them. This is one of the most British thing i ever saw
Obama Prism I mean, I feel like soldiers of any nation would do the same. Chaos and disorder would severely hinder any evacuation efforts.
Weren’t they divided into their ranks not just queueing up
Master Chief Petty Officer no, i think that chaos would happen if Americans would be there...
Bochi Jaramillo as an American, I can confirm this. There would also definitely be some bro’s tryna shoot the planes down with their rifle. Yeah, we’re smert.
Lie Lie iTs BiG brAiN TiMe
One of those little boats saved my great grandfather. I get teary every time is listen to Churchill speak.
We shall never surrender
THE MAN indeed, not like these pussies today!
Iron Trooper homosexual
@@SGT1Barns what the heck is wrong with you? you disrespectful shell of a human.
@@samsykes308 i still don't want that rat disrespecting my grandparents and great grandparents. and the grandparents and great grandparents of others.
Damn, Churchill’s speech turned my taco into fish and chips.
LMAO
🤣🤣🤣🤣
That must of been a welcome surprise
That sounds exactly like what my wife said after I slammed a fat rail of pre-workout and took her to pound town. Minus the Churchill part.
24:53 "I didn't think there would be another big budget war movie with a heavy focus on practical effects, but fortunately, I seem to have been proven wrong. I don't know if there will be another one anytime soon, but I hope so".
1917: Hold my beer...
shame 1917 wasn't a very good ww1 movie
@@First_Sea_Lord_Ford What makes you say that? I'm sure there are elements of historical inaccuracy in it (I'd like to see a History Buffs review of 1917 one day) but the cinematography was fantastic. You would have to have quite unreasonable standards to dislike the film in my view.
@@olivermoore7020 the cinematography was outstanding no doubt.
The film itself was over hyped in my opinion which was its most damning element.
but the story itself is ridiculous. An entire BATTALION of men are going to charge into a trap- over 1000 men. and they send 2 enlisted men. I am well aware of the concept of runners but there is no reason why they wouldn't send at least a junior officer along to give credibility- they even experience that problem of being held back by their rank and having to explain it.
then they had this climatic crossing no mans land scene just to then meet a allied convoy on the other side.... couldn't they of sent a runner from the convoy- or walked a few metres down the line to cross without danger.
then there was the old trope of running from a crashing plane in a straight line where the plane is going, instead of stepping to the side- this was immediately overshadowed by the appalling portrayal of airmen in WW1. they saved the mans life and he then tries to kill the,. - the pilots were known as the knights of the air for their sense of honour, which brings me to my next point.
The Germans are portrayed as completely incompetant- drunk etc. or they are portrayed as nazis, raping and murdering, no normal soldiers.
even in a WW2 film I don't like the dehumanization of the enemy but at least I can understand it better compared to a WW1 film.
I am sure theres more but I don't want to bore you with a wall of text but if i can summarize.
I anticipated a great WW1 film, I got a mediocre war film with little to do with ww1
@@First_Sea_Lord_Ford Okay, I see what you mean. I guess theres always an issue with hyping up your expectations of a film.
I know the premise of the film (I.e. sending just two lance corporals to deliver an important message) is somewhat preposterous. But I'd say it's at least a more realistic premise than Saving Private Ryan.
I was really disappointed with 1917, it was very basic, slow moving and almost boring. And since it didn't cover nearly the scope that Dunkirk did it was much easier for it to use a lot of practical effects although it also use CGI at some points.
I enjoyed hearing the whole of Churchill's speech, but damn. He sounded like he was completely hammered.
The speech you are hearing isn't the original. It is spoken by Churchill but was after the war as there was no recording of the original given in parliament. Further more Churchill was known to have a speech impediment. Churchill was a heavy drinker however his colleagues say that he could hold his liquor very well and had never seen him drunk.
@@maxedgerton2374 Maybe he was always drunk and they never saw him sober, so they just assumed he was never drunk. That would explain his speech impediment.
He coined the term 'The Black Dog' when referring to depression and smoked and drank heavily to deal with it.
Speech impediment very likely
Churchill spent a great deal of his life considerably sloshed.
That church hill speech with the Dunkirk music and the images from Dunkirk and stock footage and even Band of Brothers... That got me.
Jerky .Murky I’m an American and it got me choked up. We here in the states love the Brits, we have their backs
StephySon You certainly had are backs during the war for which we are very thankful.
A Bett and we still do despite what trump says
Except Churchill was referring to "our Empire" when he was speaking of the "New World" aka Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India....
church hill
“There’s 400,000 men on this beach”
…“Um. Where?”
That got a genuine LOL out of me. I never really noticed that. Yeah, that’s not 400,000 guys.
That was biggest immersion breaker for me….the beach looked as clean as a hospital floor. Even a hospital looks dirtier than that clean AF beach.
@@ewjiml You do realize the beach is bigger than what they showed, right?
@@spencerwattamaniuk950 That’s irrelevant . The beach, at least the part that was used in the movie scenes, had no debris, no explosions, no heavy gun emplacements, no vehicles. Completely sterile. Not at all how the evacuation went.
Pretty disappointing to think you're getting the Christopher Nolan Hollywood version of Dunkirk and then we get the limited TV series budget instead.
Plus, all the actors cleanly shaven, fresh haircuts, clean uniforms.
My late grandfather was at Dunkirk. He was Able Seaman John Lee on HMS Speedwell. He survived the war and died in 1982: I proudly display his medals in my home along with a picture of the Speedwell.
Speedwell was a Halcyon class minesweeper of the 6th Minesweeping Flotilla, which, commanded by Lt. Cdr. Maunsell, brought back 1668 men. Display your Grandfather's medals with the honour they deserve!
The movie “Glory” would be a great movie for you to do.
I second this
I agree as well
Such a great movie
Fury also
Yes pls do Glory,Spartacus,Valkyrie..
Fun fact
Charles Lightoller who was an Officer aboard the RMS Titanic
Was actually saving people from Dunkirk with his own ship. Called the Sundowner.
He was a pure badass in doing so.
He dodged aircraft attacks.
quote:"We attracted the attention of a Stuka dive bomber. Commander Lightoller stood up in the bow and I stood alongside the wheelhouse. Commander Lightoller kept his eye on the Stuka till the last second - then he sang out to me "Hard a port!"
His Boat could only carry 21 personel,he did it with a 127 servicemen.
He was a real hero.
Thought you guys would love that info.
Mr Dawson in the movie is inspired by Charles Lightoller.
That’s amazing
I guess you could say he was FUCKING INVINCIBLE
I think his name is Mr. Dawson in reference to Jack Dawson from the Titanic movie
@@ItsDatGuy969 please no
I had to write an essay on this a few years ago and it made me LOVE this movie. It has the best ending I’ve ever seen in film. The soldiers come home after enduring hell. They’re celebrated like heroes and for the first time in the movie, they feel safe. As the soldier reads the speech in the paper, he realizes that the war is only just beginning. He is the first to realize that this is only the start of the peril ahead. Terrifyingly beautiful.
21:39 this speech braught tears to my French eyes, thank you. Let's also remember that one of the main tank in the french army, the B1, was feared by Hitler himself, and before panzer IV came into combat it could wistand almost every shot of any other German tank, some of them where under the order of general de Gaulle himself during the funny War
Panzer IV faced the B1 BIS, they were on the battlefield at the same time. It was just the Panzer IV's with short 75mm canon and they couldn't do shit unless at close range. So until the Pz IV F2 the B1 Bis was unmatched by any German tanks
Sadly tho with the large size the Char B1 bis has, the outgunned Panzerkampfwagen lll had good speed, meaning it could flank and surround the B1
@@Cbrmkn98xs yep, sadly it had this big weak point
One of the civilian ships was captaind by Charles Lightoller who was second officer on the RMS Titanic and was an officer of the HMS Gary during ww1. I kinda find that awesome that a man who had been through such things and still went on to go save some soldiers at Dunkirk amazing.
victoria dk
Gee I wonder... that’s this movie. The old man, Mr Dawson is Charles Lightoller.
@Mike'e Stark He saved between 70 and 120 men even though his boat was not made for that many. It was made for 21 people and the ship Sundowner is now preserved.
@@maticstudios More inspired i think if it was actually him they would have used his name and his actual ship if possible.
wolfmendroiteka
It was a subtle nod to him. Everything that happens to Mr Dawson happened to Lightoller. Titanic: Honor and Glory stated so in a livestream.
@Mike'e Stark Because the Titanic designers not putting enough lifeboats on it for everyone is his fault. /s
At last some justice to the French fighters that hold the line during Operation Dynamo, their bravery was unquestionable.
And the thousands ones who after being evacuated get back to France for fight..
goprev I don’t question the courage of the French soldiers. It was the stupidity of the French generals that was the main problem. The top French General established his hq in a building with no telephone or telegraph connections, and relied entirely on aids to handle messages back and forth. Every decision thus made was far too late to be effective, as the Germans had already overrun critical areas. That’s just one example. Without such basic communications (vital in an era of mobilized units and aircraft), he was effectively blind and deaf.
Are you saying that the French weren't cowards and white-flag raising heathens like Facebook, CZcams and Reddit comment sections were saying?
When I was at school there was a joke about the worlds smallest book - French WW2 heroes. But during the battle of Waterloo everything hung on the British holding a small farmhouse, it was touch and go, and if the French had taken that farmhouse - we would be speaking French now.
@@higgins382 Jokes are fine, the problem is when people construct their entire notion of historical reality out of them. Which in this case is not only false but quite disrespectful to french soldiers that died defending their country. I personally have a problem with the idea of disrespecting the dead who sacrificed their lives for something bigger than themselves, especially when that reason is noble on itself.
I very much wish that you would do regular 30-min to 1 hour videos on any historical topic, maybe even a series of videos relating to one topic, followed by another, etc. You have the rare gift of making history interesting to just about anyone, not just history buffs. You're a master at breaking down historical accuracies/inaccuracies of films, but I'd predict you'd be a hit as a CZcams history prof.
Dunkirk is one of those events in history I knew little about because I am American and I don't remember it being taught often in history class. I really did not know much about this film until watching it and this CZcams video, but now as an adult watching so many WW2 documentaries I understand how important it was.
Same, never knew id be genuinely curious of history but it works out that way when you’re not forced to learn about the Mughal empire before you even know the origins of your country
>French Retreat jokes
>Forgets Dunkirk was a thing and the French army bravely allowed the Brits to retreat
@alfyn what else were they supposed to do?
And they then proceed to get taken over by Germany
@alfyn If they fought they all would have been captured or killed, leaving the British without an army, think about it, if you had a knife and were fighting 50 muscular men with fully automatic weapons that surrounded you in a semicircle and you had a small window of escape, you wouldn't fight, you would run, there's a massive difference between bravery and stupidity my freind.
@alfyn retreat is a part of tactics.
@alfyn but not surrendering which is what the jokes are usually about
just took a break from writing and cracked a beer.. and thought is there something good on my subs... And JACKPOT!!
I remember watching the movie Dunkirk and during the early scenes in town and on the beach, thinking that something was off. I just could't put my finger on it. Now I know. It was because the town was in such pristine condition, and the beach was too empty. Thank you for pointing it out!
My grandfather Bombadier Frank Wilson, Royal Artillery (MM) was one of the last off the beach in a boat they had to "liberate". He arrived back in Norwich and was met by my grandmother at the station, he was dressed in shorts and a singlet. All he had left after the rearguard action had been fought and the swim to the boat. He got the Military Medal. He fought in North Africa and Italy until Germany surrended in 1945. We are very proud of him.
You should be! You are fortunate that he could tell you those stories himself. I am very glad for you.
“Ship's don't sink that quickly“
Don't tell that to the hood😂
Destroyer hit by torpedo do sink quickly
The 5th salvo fired from the Bismarck hit the mainmast of the Hood which was also combined with a massive magazine explosion soon after. This broke the aft and back, allowing for the ship to sink in 3 minutes.
My point is that the damage of a torpedo is not the same as a critical hit that creates a magazine explosion.
@@Oridux it depends on where it hits in the ship, there could very well be a torpedo that creates such famage, that the ship will sink in that amount of time. Especially if it is a destroyer, not a battleship.
@@wolfbrigade1425 NO, no you are wrong
God bless the French and the Belgians for Dunkirk.
Fighting to the very end
Here, here!!
vive la france
i mean, sure? granted, the badasses who covered the british retreat are long dead, i dont think magical prayers are going to affect them now.. and the ones alive now weren't there?
i mean, i get where youre coming from, its a nice gesture, the really put it all on the line to do what they could for the war effort, and the french surrender bullshit is just ridiculous
but i just think its funny how amazing achievments of mankind are always taken down a notch by attributing them to 'divine intervention', whilst ignoring the glaring inconsistency of the holocaust happening, i mean its philosophy 101, the Problem of Evil, the monotheistic interpretation of an all powerful, all good, all knowing diety just doesnt hold up under any scrutiny or logic. 4.5 billion years of earths existence, millions of years of hominid development to become man, 10,000 years of human civilization, and one religion out of the countless thousands takes precedence haha, its silly.
its no different than saying Odin bless their rifles, or Horus grant them wisdom, Mithras bless their badass defense
Calm down man its just a saying, don't have to go ultra-Atheism mode on a compliment to the Belgian and French Troops who stood and defended the Brits on their way out.
Great film - great review. My late father was a flyer in WW2. I have all his diaries of his experiences in the air fighting against the Germans. He was always willing to talk about it all and could remember EVERYTHING. They are amazing to read. I have some amazing photos too. I wish he was still alive to see this film and 1917 - in which HIS father was in WW1 - also the great Peter Jackson re-colored documentary They shall not grow old. He would be amazed.
Years ago I first saw this movie in a theatre with my friend in New Zealand. We were sitting near the back next to the walkway on the left. The movie hadn't been playing for very long, when a very old man heaved himself up and walked out with a younger woman (possibly his daughter) assisting him. As he hobbled past me up the walkway towards the exit, I saw tears swelling in his eyes. He was very upset and the woman was comforting him. It occurred to me then that for the first time in my life, I was looking with knowledge at a WWII veteran. So Dunkirk must have been damn realistic if it can bring a veteran to tears even after seventy years.
FYI some of the ships in the film WERE GENIUNE dunkirk little ships
they’re tiny!
YES!!! Just got Greggs, sitting at my desk browsing for something to watch, BOOM NEW EPISODE! Best lunch ever!
Same
Did you get the flippin Steak and Cheese roll? They are God.
:O That's sounds amazing! I got 2 sausage rolls, a banoffee donut and a fucking Mocha because it's raining outside for once and not hotter than the arsehole of a dying star. I need to invest in Steak & Cheese rolls next time, good shout!
It’s like that!!
Mate I'm addicted! I'll have to run down the road now!
I would like to point out that the Stukas dive bombing the soldiers on the beach gave me chills in the theatre. Must have been absolutely terrifying in real life and Nolan did a great job in that part.
Christopher Nolan is definitely one of my favorite directors especially for sci-fi
Fun historical fact. The guy in Dunkirk, played by Mark Rylance, who piloted his own yacht (Mr Dawson) is based on Charles Lightholler who did pilot his yacht with his two sons during the evacuation. Lightholler is perhaps most famous for being the senior surviving officer on the Titanic
One son and a family friend who was a sea scout (Google the Sea Scout's name and he has a hour long interview about it and later being a Nay Lt) , the year before Lightholler had sailed on the coast of France and Dunkirk and made sectret maps and charts for the navy
I don't understand the complaints that there was too much / not enough minority representation. We see a few colonial troops, but they make up a very small portion of the overall troops. Exactly how they actually were historically
Dylan S You’re clearly unfamiliar with the twenty four seven whine fest that everyone calls Twitter
"The trio of timelines can be jarring as you figure out how they all fit, and the fact that there are only a couple of women and no lead actors of color may rub some the wrong way."
This one sentence is literally the only negative statement about the film in the entire review that got so much attention. It's as benign as saying "the violence may rub some the wrong way", or "casting Harry Styles may rub some the wrong way." The fact that this was ever construed as a criticism of the film is the real offense.
@@upaya30 I found it quite disappointing and unnecessary to point out as well.
And his comment that if we have Indians soldiers in a movie then put them somewhere where they mattered(more) is also quite hurtful, it doesn't matter if they are a minority but for reasons of historical accuracy especially in a movie and at modern times not showing is the same as not acknowledging they have ever contributed(whitewashing).
Now its's all fair if this was an artistic/conscious decision by Nolan to focus on white male characters during Dunkirk, it's his work he can do what he wants,
but then I still think its fair to point out the absence of people of colour or women in a movies which advertises itself to be Historically accurate.
It just takes away accuracy and fullness to a movie that is still great, at least to me.
@@INeyxI by that point, is hurtful that Dunkirk doesn't cover the personal story of each one of the 300 thousand troops evacuated. Is not "whitewashing" when is historically accurate, specially when we are talking about 100 in hundreds of thousends.
It is the modern zeitgeist, unfortunately.
My great uncle was at Dunkirk he never talked about it
Very sad I am proud of him for our freedoms 🙏🏻
I’m not into “war movies” but this was one of my favourite movies released in 2017 and I’ve liked it more and more the 3 or so times I’ve rewatched it
That five minute continuous shot in Atonement was chilling. Subconsciously I was wondering where the suffering soldiers were in the movie Dunkirk. Excellent and fair critique.
MustardSeedish After seeing Dunkrik, I already knew that the 5 min long shot of Atonement was way better. That 5 minute shot really got to me. Dunkirk was emotional and seems so fake.
The movie was very clean and a clear departure from Spielberg's film style pioneered in Saving Private Ryan and copied by pretty much every other war genre film since then. In my opinion Spielberg is still the ultimate masterclass when it comes to capturing war on film, and Dunkirk reinforces that belief by being so artificial despite the level of technical effort made to turn it in the opposite direction.
That Churchill speech always puts a lump in my throat and causes my eyes to well up a bit. Also the way that he calls his country "Our island home" really conveys to me how much he loved his country and its people.
He also knew that water border(English Channel) would be a bear to cross. Planes did not have enough fuel to spend time once over, so they went over and guessed where they were in the fog and many times a farmers field got bombed...or some minor town...and the planes had to come back with no dog fights.
WWII had amazing leadership in both Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
It wasn't perfect, but I would watch it again in a heartbeat. And that score, brings chills up my back to hear. I really appreciate that Nolan had the patience to wait until he had the experience and funding to do Dunkirk justice.
Who else wants to see a Bridge Too Far covered?
Salokin
Yes this please
Me
I loved that film to bits! I'd watch it over and over and I've got the theme stuck in my head cause of it.
"We haven't the proper facilities to take you all prisoners, sorry!"
My Grandfather was a veteran of Operation Market Garden. He disliked that movie but I never found out why.
The greatest experience of my life was being a extra in Dunkirk I was in several scenes the scariest one of them was where the destroyer gets torpedoed and everyone starts shoving to get out I got shoved down hard by accident and went underwater for a bit until someone grabbed me by my jacket collar and pulled to the top I then had to jump off the railing into the waters bellow and had to stay in the water for a while.
Are you on screen?
Imperial Officer I honestly hope so.
My boyfriend’s stepdad’s grandpa was a truck driver in London during the war and they didn’t stop driving during air raids. The English people were SO badass we can’t even comprehend.
That’s very true especially how they managed to avoid invasion unlike their french polish and Scandinavian counterparts
@@paulwilkinson4073 hey I mean an island helps
@@bencobin1422 yeah
@@paulwilkinson4073 It helps if your country comes with one hell of a moat :) The fact that that same country produces people like R. J. Mitchell and Sydney Camm also helps a lot.
@@rogerthomas368 I know right
Thank you for your review. I could never quite figure out why this movie lack a certain "punch", but I think you framed it perfectly: sparsely populated beaches and pristine French towns. In spite of that, if you add "Darkest Hour" and the "Battle of Britain" into an evening's viewing you get a strong feeling about just how desperate that period of time was for Great Britain.
Nick: speaking of Battle of Britain, any chance you can review it some time?
Had the same problem with the newest “all quiet one the western front” it’s supposed to be a world war and with the exception of like the no man’s land scenes you barely see more than just 40 ppl together in a noticeably empty landscape
You can’t have a world war with 40 ppl lol
@@Allen667sjja the battlefield in the book is not specified and that they are only composed of a battalion
Have you seen 'Their Finest' (2017)-which was released the same year as 'Dunkirk' and 'Darkest Hour'?
Ships might usually take a longer time to sink but there have been enormous ships, like Lusitania and Empress of Ireland, that sank in only 15-20 minutes.
there are accounts of ships sinking in minutes, and some taking a lot longer, it depends on why they were sinking.
@Brady French That's right. But there were no weapons on the Athenia, sunk for no legitimate reason on 3 Sep 1939.
The bigger they are the harder they fall
Well, the Titanic for example took 2 hours to sink, and it was huge...
@@1stofficerwilliammurdoch515 it depends on the damage. The titanic had a relatively small crack. If a ship is hit by a torpedo the damage will be greater.
That's it mate, the word I used is that the film looked too 'clean'. In that it is too orderly and sparsely occupied. The accounts I have read, the pictures I have seen and the people I have heard talk about the evacuation of Dunkirk give the impression of chaos, confusion and crowding.
The Dunkirk scene in Atonement is excellent in showing the chaos.
@@RevertedRashidah Thanks for that, I'll take a look.
I just found this channel and I feel like I’ve lost several years of my life because I never knew about it. I love it!
Thank you for providing these videos to fellow history lovers.
The plane gliding scene has to be one of the best scenes in any movie ever. I loved this movie so much, and saw it in IMAX!
It is time for Das Boot.
It is time.
oldmoviemusic IT IS DUE TIME!!!!!
@@violentscorl697
Agreed. Hopefully sooner rather than later!
Do it!
that or "The Iron Cross"
Das Boot was a fantastic movie, really lovie that movie
Can you do a history buff episode on Der Üntergang/ Downfall
Troll Man God yes
Maybe my favourite history/drama movie
Baron of Bahlingen *Insert Ranting Hitler Meme*
Oh yes!
Troll Man Too many nazis and wehrbs
"Only 28 000"? From a fleet of boats that wasn't expected to rescue 1, to rescuing half of what Churchill expected in total, is bloody amazing.
Rescuing 28k was not the issue he was talking about. Just that in comparison to the final number of 400k, 28k made it a minor event. He also acknowledges that despite that it was a heartwarming story and gave this film a much needed emotional core.
I love history. I hate getting it wrong!
I've just found your channel. Keep up the superb work
I thought it was really cool seeing the french forces and even colonial forces covering the british retreat, those guys had some balls
You do realise British stayed behind as well to hold the line
51st Highland Division got left behind almost fighting till the end, until finally surrendering.
Yes. That's why thousands of those men "covering the retreat" were covering it from people's cellars, houses, sheds etc...
GlasgowIsBlue Yea but us scots are scots And NOT British
Nope, you literally are British, as are the Welsh and Northern Irish, you are both a Scottish and British as British refers to being a citizen of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is part
Please do a review of the movie "The Downfall". Most, if not all, fans who have seen it would be very much delighted, including me.
I'd also like to see him review The Bunker starring Anthony Hopkins.
Agreed on Downfall. Such an amazing film very well acted but ruined by Memes.
In nearly all historical films we end up joking about hitler etc, making him into some kind of boogie man, but the reality was he was a person with feelings and opinions, and THAT is what made his actions far more scary and disgusting. The Hitler rant meme took a film that was dark and distraught and made it into a benny hill sketch.
YES!!!!
Spot on mate.
Great movie, and would make a good review.
I thought your review was spot on. I agree with everything you said, except about the time it takes for a ship to sink. Not all ships sink slowly. There are even several WWII accounts of ships sinking in less than a few minutes.
whenever I hear Churchill's speech, I just get a sense of patriotism and a sense of righteousness right from his speech alone, the morale-boosting confidence that is spread by his speech is mythical. I'm not even British!
Same, but I am British, it makes me want to make more British colony’s
@@weirdbritishperson9542 😐
@@moussa2949 don’t worry, It’ll only last a decade
@@weirdbritishperson9542 please... We already have to pledge allegiance to the queen....
@@sturzkampfflugzueg and? Doesn’t mean we don’t need more
The last time I was this early, Germany was winning the war.
Insert original thought here
Insert witty remark
Insert comment meant for TGW.
Last time I was this early Napoleon was winning the war.
THE ARMADA
Last time I was this early, you could count the number of wars that Napoleon was in
“Wtf does Dunkirk have to do with Brexit?” That made me lol
@@chrisanagn.3584 racist
@INN racist
Man that speech really is something else. Sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.
The music and footage in combination with Churchills' speech was an incredible part. Its such a wonderful and inspiring speech.
Definitely agree about the lack of acknowledgement of the french soldiers left behind to fight
And Belgium
Luxembourg
The one thing that bothered me was all the modern building they didn't bother to CGI out.
WhyyoutubeWHY?! The movie did not have a soul. It was an empty action movie. That 5 minute Atonement sequence was way more satisfying than the entire Dunkirk movie.
It probably would have been better if the opening shot was a movie set, the beach at the actual location no CGI for the town and they just CGI the town in the final air scene, CGI works best at a distance.
Personally I wasn't too bothered by the lack of CGI or the fact that Dunkirk isn't in ruins but I do see where it could've improved some scenes.
I hadn't seen that, it's a shame that they didn't cg it out.
How was it empty? There were so many action moments, you don't need bombs exploding everywhere and tanks coming in because like he said at the start, the army were held back. It uses suspense in possibly the best ways a movie like this can, stop being an idiot and
LET PEOPLE ENJOY THINGS
or maybe you can chill and acknowledge that the movie isn't perfect and people can criticize its flaws.
the first scene is terrifying without a doubt, its like one of my nightmares.
The Dunkirk scene in 'Atonement' will always be the best representation of this time
My grandfather was a fighter pilot.He was there.He told us stories when we young and it is only today I can appreciate what his contribution was.RIP GRANDPAW.
Please do a history buff on Hacksaw Ridge!
SO MUCH THIS.
He won't tho. He has an irrational hate for Mel Gibson and will only talk about his work in the negative.
@@NeoSoldner shame. This movie was amazing in my opinion.
I agree. One of the best war movies of the decade.
I incredibly disliked this film. Everything about it just from a filmmakers standpoint before the history. I love Mel Gibson, but he really made a cheesy war film that is dressed in a fantastic story.
A US support gunner takes an extremely heavy BAR automatic rifle, and proceeds to one hand it while carrying a Japanese corpse ( a torso without legs) as a bulletproof shield. He single handedly takes out multiple positions without reloading his 20 round capacity BAR and all around looks like he should be in Call of Duty, not a historical war film.
I like hacksaw ridge but that movie is fucking ridiculous.
it rarely ever sinks in minutes: "hms Hood: Am I a joke to you?"
Referring to sinking there, HMS Hood can more accurately be described as having disintegrated
A generation with an attitude sadly lacking today. I love your videos.
That Churchill speech gives me shivers every time. & I don't even like Churchill very much. Great video
2020 quote: "haven't met him personally"
Bruh how do you not like him
How do you not like him?
Gallipoli
Kieran Quirke welcome to the 1940’s lad
One detail I really enjoyed that you may not have noticed is the beached French destroyer they feature in the background of the beach. It is well known to me because I am a ww2 photo collector and one of my collection is a German soldiers photo of that very wreck on the beach of Dunkirk. It was only in the movie for a moment or two but it’s an amazing attention to detail that almost no one will even ever notice.
7:38 Thank you for putting in that speech!
Jesus, that speech made me tear up as I sit here beneath the US flag on my porch. God be with GB because I know I will.
That speech gave me chills.
Migraine I'm glad its not the 1940s right now. Thanks ancestors!
Defeating the far right is something we should all be proud of.
sjewitt22 you mean crushing a nation because they escaped financial enslavement is something we should all be proud of? I’m not, and no one should be.. they didn’t want war!!
And now we free and fair society is being threatened by the far left
The Far-Left was always a problem, Communism and Socialism have killed many more than most ideologies.
Been pulling an all nighter. Thanks for the much needed break!
So... goodnight? :*
Ugh! Churchill’s speech with the Dunkirk/Elgin piece over the the historical footage-chills.
Brought a year to my eye. It truly did. Canada did it's bit for the Mother Country.
I love how Atonement was filmed in my home town Redcar lol
To be fair, I don't think the three spitfires are meant to imply that only three are sent. I think we just follow them and we see how much effort they put into everything and then we see the thanklessness of the soldiers. So I think it's really meant to imply the opposite. That the airforce did all they could. I'll admit though, I don't recall if it was ever made clear in the movie that these planes were the only ones or whether they're just the only ones we follow, in which case that doesn't mean there weren't other ones.
OneOnOne1162 Almost all the fighters sent were also sent inland! You don’t fight a bomber while it’s over it’s destination, you fight it before!
That is why most soldiers report seeing very few RAF planes. They weren’t over Dunkirk!
Dunkirk was an inside job, it's the only explanation
Also the guy who tells the main character to sod off isn't telling him to do so because he's RAF (he's army), but because it's a queue of the Grenadier Guards, and he isn't a guard, at best he's regular line infantry.
dernwine loved how he said "it's the guards" or something along that line. They see themselves as a cut above the rest of the army. Esprit de Corps 💂♂️
He says "It's Grenadiers mate."
So interesting to read other comments about you guys having grand/great-fathers in the war. My grandfather was a sailor for the Norwegian supply fleet during the war. He was sunk at least 2 times and survived watching all his friends die. Unfortunately he and other sailors contributions were not recognized until late 2000s. Many went in to deep depression and heavy on the bottle because of this. My mom says he was a quiet but elegant man. I never met him but I hope he is proud of what our country became post-war and that somehow at least he knows that his family are immensely thankful and proud of him and his actions.
Well in my family I've met 2 people who fought in WW2 and they both lived simple quiet lives after the war.
My great grandfather was a soldier in the Greek army. When Italy invaded Greece he was one of the first to fight them, defeated them, returned home on medical leave (due to frostbite) on New Year's Eve, saw my grandma being born the next day, and 10 days later he left again to continue fighting until our surrender to the Germans. He actually experienced almost 10 years of war because from 1945 to 1949 Greece was in civil war. But after all this he lived a peaceful life as a farmer until his late 90s.
And my great grandmother's cousin was an anti aircraft gunner with horrific experiences. I can't even think about how he felt with the things he saw, people being burnt alive by bombs is quite a shocking thing to watch... But afterwards he also lived peacefully and passed away 2 years ago at the age of 102.
As a teenager in Norway, my grandmother hit a German soldier with her umbrella. She is 94 now and still just as cool.
I'm American but want to say I'm proud of your grandfather. Based on what you said, he and his peers contributed to the war effort in the ways they could, which is something to be proud of
There’s a reason the civ ships where big part of the film, cause that specific ship actually happend, h8s songs was on the Royal Air Force and talked about how planes target ships and avoided a strafe in the evacuation of Dunkirk
My grandfather was at Dunkirk. He never really spoke of it. I did a school report when I was younger about what your grandparents did during the war and I remember him describing men having to line up stand to attention whilst being strafed by the planes. The brave men laying down their lives to put up a thin line of defence to slow the German advance as much as they could. Friends being cut down in front of your eyes. The horror of men drowning under the weight of sodden kit and uniforms. He was full of praise for the French fisherman that saved a lot of lives getting their boats as close to land as possible.
As a Navy Veteran i can tell you...even large ships can go down pretty damn fast if hit in the right spot,and i'm talking less than 10 min.
Morgan Grey likewise, there’s ww2 accounts of six minute scuttles
How many ships did you see sunk be enemy fire as a Navy veteran?
Eric M I personally saw only none whatsoever, however I did read a report of a six minute sinking of British large class ship during Dunkirk I believe it was
So your naval experience is completely irrelevant then.
Why did you preface your comment with "As a Navy veteran?"
@@GinEric84 I would hardly say its irrelevant as they would have drilled for evacuation, including discussing issues ranging from timescales, undertows and the like
That Churchill speech made me feel patriotic as hell, even though I am not British.
It moved me to tears when I first heard it as a Kid 30 years ago. The Man was a Wordsmith/Orator par excellence!
One of the greatest and most important speeches of our time ! He showed a big middle finger to Hitler " U think we would surrender now? Come and get us, we take you on, NO SURRENDER to evil forces, we will fuck you up!"
Greatest Person of the 20th century!
Hedin Gregersen 1948..... You should probably go back history class my friend.
Yeah I guess Churchill is pretty cool if you like killing millions of Indians via imperialism.
he did the Failed Gallipoli landings
All these men who fought I cannot stress enough are heroes. Thanks.
His speech gives me chills in a good way
A uncle of my mother was in Dunkirk, luckily managed to escape to Britain, he was wounded and still He joined FFA
this relative of mine was hit on one arm and after he healed he had a shorter arm than the other. He was in London when De Gaulle made the resistance speech...
Do Letters from iwo jima :)
I second this, Ken Watanabe is awesome in that movie, as he is in pretty much everything he's in
Great movie.
Yes please!
Yes!
Do both that and Flags of our Fathers, since their basically a "package deal" so to speak. One is from the American perspective and the other from the Japanese one.
One of the best-and one of my favorite-films of the last few years.
I’m so happy History Buffs used footage from one of the best WW2 documentary shows, World War II in Colour.
I love how 'Atonement' portrayed Dunkirk.
Agreed, it really evokes the chaos and melancholy of the situation, in a way that Nolan's film doesn't even get near to.
I love how 'Atonement' portrayed Knightley, but what do I know?
That scene is one of my very favourite film scenes of all time. Incredibly impactful and emotionally powerful.
While this movie had some great effects and a few good scenes, "Atonement", in all of its much-lower-budget-glory, absolutely wipes the floor with "Dunkirk"
so much better imo
28,700 rescued... ferry service to larger boats in deeper water.... Keep in mind these were CIVILIANS under no contract or obligation to be there or DO anything. Let's also keep in mind that 25% of the civilian 'fleet' were wiped out. Yet, this point is 'romanticized' in the film...
I have been in 2 war zones and the best I got from the civilian sector was a bumper sticker that said 'We support our troops'. I will take 'romanticized' ANY day.
I’m not trying to be an ass but I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make.
@@rowmagnvs he's referring to the narrator of this video downplaying the role the civilian boats played at Dunkirk. He claimed they "only rescued 28,700" and ferried mostly ferried them to larger boats in deeper water, as if that's just some insignificant thing that happens all the time in war zones. Claiming their role was romanticized in the film is laughable, really. If anything, the movie didn't portray the actual danger that the civilian boats went through (nearly a quarter of the fleet was wiped out).
Unfortunately I've got to play Devil's Advocate here.
As much as I love the idea of British civilians helping the evacuation efforts, and don't wish at all to demean the efforts of those who did help, the vast majority of civilian vessels used in the Dunkirk evacuation were crewed by Royal Navy sailors.
The RN didn't ask for the help of civilians per se, but rather demanded the use of their small vessels to ferry soldiers from beach to ship, in some cases taking them without even alerting the owner.
Still, a minority of the vessels WERE crewed by civilians and each and every one of them is a hero in my mind.
sheldon pereira man what drugs are you on
The civilian heroism at Dunkirk is legendary. Do read THE SNOW GOOSE, by Paul Gallico. Written in 1940, following the evacuation, the story celebrates one fictional boatman in lyrical prose and majestic symbolism. It is a renowned classic.
Thank you! THANK YOU! You are the first person I heard who mentions the efforts of the belgian army to slow down the german forces racing north.
I seriously love this channel so much. they don't sugar-coat a goddamn thing. we did this right, we did this wrong, this could have been better, etc. I know this is a few years old now, but still, I love it.
As an actual history buff I appreciate you putting in Winstons speech. Strength and honor.
Are you claiming to be a history buff AND like this garbage?
@@peterdemkiw3280 wtf are you guys talking about
@@aldowilliams4765 Please take a moment and ask a better question.
In the meantime. Dunkirk, shite film, doesn't follow actual events, fails to show what happened, misses most of the important stories, makes stuff up. I'm shocked not only at how bad it is but also how it's failure to tell the story of a famous part of World history has been over looked by so many.
Read a book on the subject, they only thing they got right is the date and the name of the port. . Absolute garbage.
@@aldowilliams4765 Never... In the field of human film making has so little accuracy been overlooked by so many.
@@peterdemkiw3280 lol, man....you truly hated this movie and it's lack of portrayal of the French huh? I've been reading through a long list of comments; and not only do you show up quite often....but most of your responses are actually pretty long and involved.
My only issue is you literally attacking people for liking the film.
Hate the movie all you want, no one has the right to decide for you what you do or don't enjoy....but quit going out of your way to insult the intelligence of others simply for having the audacity to like this film.
You tease me with footage of Das Boot. That is certainly a movie that would make for a great History Buffs review.
YES!
That is also a movie that is much better than dunkirk
Das Boot is also very relevant with the mini-series on the way.
A piece of fucking sliced white bread! Hell yes it is
U-boat officers crying their sensitive hearts out for those merchant sailors shipping weapons and whatnot to England - Total B S.
Perfectly narrated! Love the passion on representing history as best possible in movies and the rant about Brexit in the middle was brilliant.
What Brexit? We haven't had one !!!
When I saw it in the cinema, the heavy emphasis on practical effects I absolutely loved.
7:00 hidden footage of Vladimir Putin in WW2
The KGB is truly everywhere😂
Time traveller
close but nose is too big (If your speaking on the german soldier on the cart@7:01 who I thought looked more like Putin than the guy pushing the truck @7:00)