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I've been thinking about using one or more of these films when we study WWII in upcoming weeks.
- The Great Escape
– Twelve o'Clock High
– Sands of Iwo Jima
Commenter Tabitha suggested To Hell and Back but I don't have access to a copy without buying it.
Comments? Anything obvious I'm missing?
Bridge over the River Kwai, from what I remember, was pretty good. All Quiet on the Western Front… but definitely read the book first (I can’t remember how old your kids are).
As for The Great Escape, two comments: first, somewhat depressing in the end (many of them die). Second, for fun, watch Chicken Run afterwards and compare/contrast.
Like I said, obviously it all depends on the ages of your children, but another thought is the awesome book The Hiding Place and then one of the movie versions, same with Diary of Anne Frank.
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My oldest is only ten — I thought about “Tora, Tora, Tora” but wasn’t sure it would be exciting enough — I thought it was largely about diplomacy and behind-the-scenes machinations? Am I wrong about that?
I thought Bridge over the River Kwai would maybe be too violent since it was made recently. I haven’t ever seen it. Am I wrong?
Good call on Chicken Run — we will do that if we watch The Great Escape!
I won’t do The Diary of Anne Frank at this point because I am focusing on U. S. history right now. We are covering WWII in world history this year as well, but that will be later on, and we’ll teach about the Holocaust then.
Delores, Thanks for the recommendation of The Longest Day — I never heard of it, but I just checked IMDB. Because it’s from the perspectives of French, Germans, Brits AND Americans, that sounds perfect for world history later.
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Well, I haven’t watched Bridge on the River Kwai in ages, but I don’t recall too much violence. And I don’t think it was too recent, unless they did a remake.
Well, I just watched the trailer. And there is some violence, but I don’t think any that is unrealistic.
Speaking of which, the movie Saving Private Ryan in incredible, and while violent it was just realistic. We all have different standards for our kids and letting them see violence. I guess I would hesitate for Saving Private Ryan with my 10 yo but not really Bridge on River Kwai… if they have seen the latest Star Wars or Lord of the Rings (mine have not seen latter), then I think Bridge would be good.
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My kids liked The Great Escape (an all time favorite here) and Sands of Iwo Jima. But they are both sad! I remember liking Bridge over the River Kwai but watched it pre-motherhood so I don’t remember if it had anything inappropriate. I don’t know anything about the other ones.
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Ten is too young, you’d want to come back to this with a teenager (not so much for content as for character understanding) but Best Years of Our Lives is a great close-out to the war.
Twelve O’Clock High is definitely a great choice. When you’ve got slightly older ones, you might also try Saints and Soldiers, but although I recall it being much less violent than Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers, it might still be a bit much for 10.
Oh, here’s an idea — and it’s period so probably not too content heavy for a ten-year-old: Go For Broke is a movie about all-Japanese units which served in Europe, filmed with a bunch of real veterans from the unit as actors. Very good.
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