Among the 3rd generation of "Steel Cross", the 4th generation of "Watching Rhein", and the 5th generation of "The Longest Day", I like "Watching Rhein" the most. The reason is as described in this film, the Ardennes counterattack is a rare tank battle on the Western Front. Prior to this, due to the absolute air superiority of the Allied forces, most of the German armor was maimed by planes (pity my favorite 130 armored instructor). After that, because Germany's defeat was set, the German army was no longer able to replenish a complete armored division. So, with infinite yearning for the Battle of Ardennes, I downloaded this film. Unfortunately, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. This film is far from as good as I imagined.
The hero of this film, Colonel Heisler, should be Colonel Piper of 1SS in history. The German mechanized battle group in the film should also be the famous Pipe battle group in this battle. However, the main battle tanks in this battle were the American Sherman and the German Panther, not the Tiger King. Probably to show the bravery of the U.S. Army, the German tanks in the film all became the Tiger King, a whole brigade of Tiger Kings, it is estimated that Piper in history has never seen so many Tiger Kings in his entire life.
Other simple complaints:
1. Just as most people are dissatisfied, the film hangs the sign of "Tank Battle", but it has a bunch of fake tiger kings and fake Sherman to coax people. Well, there are not so many tiger kings. After all, this aristocratic thing originally produced very little. However, you can't even get the American Sherman's popular products, it's too copycat. "The Longest Day", which was filmed earlier than this film, and "Distant Bridge", which was filmed later, are really real, especially Sherman, who was full of water on the road before the "Distant Bridge" battle started. , The real armored division, seeing this scene, I have to comment on the strong production capacity of the United States.
2. In addition to the tank copy, even the battle screen is also copied. Although it is not possible to pick a work from the 1960s with the eyes of 2000. But the director is not willing to spend something as cheap as tomato juice. I have never seen a person bleed during the whole movie. Especially the scene of the slaughter of prisoners of war, it was so harmoniously filmed. Four MG42s slaughtered nearly a hundred people, but a drop of blood was not seen. The most vomiting blood was the snow in the background! The clean snowy face after the massacre was dazzling white.
3. What is even more copycat is the elite German special forces in the film, which go deep behind enemy lines to destroy and occupy the VP. English and common sense of American life are both top-notch, but they can't fight! Both exposures were beaten by the U.S. army without the strength to fight back. It was completely non-retalable, and a bunch of people were killed by a few people. As soon as the guns of the US army were fired, the elites of the cottage collapsed collectively, and the regiment with zero casualties for the US army was destroyed without any resistance. In history, these people were drawn from the German Airborne Division known as the Green Devil. Especially the major, the prototype should be Colonel Skozeni of the SS. This guy was the fierce man who rescued Mussolini from behind enemy lines to Germany. After Germany surrendered, they could all escape from Germany until they died of old age in Argentina.
4. That ending is too bad. A lot of emphasis at the beginning was that the Allied aircraft could not fly due to bad weather. At the end, it was mentioned that the weather improved to echo. I thought that the last tank battle would be due to the better weather, which caused the German tanks to be wiped out by Allied aircraft. As a result, after the colonel was heroic, everything happened. The German army left all the equipment and lined up to go home because of lack of fuel. It was awkward. . . . . . The colonel died too unjustly. The German army’s most famous team of tanks and tanks passed by without a few infantry. He also stood in line for fear of hitting the oil depot and was killed by the U.S. army. The screenwriter is written like this. If I were the colonel, I would commit suicide and become a benevolence.
But there is something eye-catching about this film. Anyone who has watched it should know that it is the song "Song of Armored Soldiers" that the colonel sang while reviewing the tanks. ! The ruthless colonel, the super handsome German uniform, and a lot of excellent soldiers sang the "Song of Armored Soldiers" to the rhythm. I was so excited that I could not wait to enter the "Watch the Rhine" and use the Tiger King to slaughter the allied forces.
Finally, ignoring the above bugs, I gave a four-star recommendation for the Battle of the Ardennes and the song "Song of the Armored Soldiers". Friends who like World War II movies are still worth watching.
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