Forum Host- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Location
- Central Massachusetts
Also not told -- never told, it seems -- is the story of tens of thousands of French troops who had retreated across Belgium alongside the Brits, and then held the line, while the British units were brought back to the coast for evacuation. They were told their time would come. When the Germans re-commenced their offensive, the vastly outnumbered French made a fighting retreat, only reaching the beaches when it was too late.
The French had set up a "boat-lift," too, though not as big or well-organized. Their ships waited in the Channel while the British evacuation was going on. But by the time it was done, it was no longer safe to approach the beaches, and the French boats had to turn back empty-handed. A few thousand French were taken aboard British and French ships, but the great majority were rounded up by the Germans and spent years as PoWs or slave-labor in German factories.
There is no blame to be put in this. And, it is certainly no reflection on the suffering, courage and determination of the British. But, the French always seem to get the short end of our memory. In 1939-41, nobody beat the Germans. They had introduced a new way of making war, and nobody was prepared for it. The British (and all of us) are very fortunate that the Brits had a Channel to entrench behind, and start the work of building the force that would finally put Hitler down.
As to the movie: it was overwhelming visually. Not a character-based film, major character development wasn't needed -- they did just fine. The "jerky" editing was a bit distracting, though. I can't speak to the sound quality; to me it was just a loud and muddled roar ... but, that's because of my lousy hearing. I had to track down the only showing in my area that offered captioning, or I never would have known what anybody was saying. Looking forward to getting the dvd, and settling back to enjoy it more comfortably.
The French had set up a "boat-lift," too, though not as big or well-organized. Their ships waited in the Channel while the British evacuation was going on. But by the time it was done, it was no longer safe to approach the beaches, and the French boats had to turn back empty-handed. A few thousand French were taken aboard British and French ships, but the great majority were rounded up by the Germans and spent years as PoWs or slave-labor in German factories.
There is no blame to be put in this. And, it is certainly no reflection on the suffering, courage and determination of the British. But, the French always seem to get the short end of our memory. In 1939-41, nobody beat the Germans. They had introduced a new way of making war, and nobody was prepared for it. The British (and all of us) are very fortunate that the Brits had a Channel to entrench behind, and start the work of building the force that would finally put Hitler down.
As to the movie: it was overwhelming visually. Not a character-based film, major character development wasn't needed -- they did just fine. The "jerky" editing was a bit distracting, though. I can't speak to the sound quality; to me it was just a loud and muddled roar ... but, that's because of my lousy hearing. I had to track down the only showing in my area that offered captioning, or I never would have known what anybody was saying. Looking forward to getting the dvd, and settling back to enjoy it more comfortably.
, Harry Styles, and of course, Kenneth Branagh. Naturally, I kept expecting Branagh to break into the speech from Henry V...but he was great. Everyone was great.
Bringing the