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The 50 greatest World War II movies: part six
And so we come to the end of the list, and though there have been numerous pretenders to the crown, our number one film is nothing less than a masterpiece of modern cinema. So, take it away, Elem Klimov...
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| 20-11 | 10-2
1. Come and See (1985)
Directed by Elem Klimov
The true face of modern warfare, and it's far from pretty.
Making the infamous opening 15 minutes of Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ look about as brutal as a Sunday afternoon’s stroll down Chesil Beach, Elem Klimov’s hallucinatory ‘Come and See’ feels like the nearest cinema has ever come to recreating the ruthlessly discombobulating sensory experiences of war. After much angry deliberation, we thought it fitting to place this singular work at the head of the list, not merely in tribute to its bracingly original and candid take on the human toll of warfare, but as a work of sublime visual and aural intensity that uses every tool available in the cinematic arsenal to distinct and often nauseating effect.
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With its title referencing the end of days as described in the Book of Revelations, Klimov’s desultory opera of human wickedness is often compared to Coppola’s ‘Apocalypse Now’ in the way it presents the onset of madness as a lone man burrows deeper and deeper into war-ravaged territories. ‘Come and See’, though, is told from the perspective of young Byelorussian lad Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko), an army recruit whose plucky optimism is ripped from beneath him as the platoon he’s inducted into are massacred. He is then forced on a torturous expedition across the countryside with would-be girlfriend Glasha (Olga Mironova) where he suffers unspeakable indignities at every turn.
Klimov does everything in his power to place us inside Florya’s head, from replacing the soundtrack with a high-pitched ringing when a bomb explodes in his close vicinity, to filming a shot where he has to wade through a huge puddle of mud in excruciating real time. Indeed, it’s ironic that the film takes place in the same country where such spiritually enlightened masters as Tarkovsky, Dovzhenko and Sokurov were able to hint at the presence of a divine being in their shots of shimmering fields and flickering fire, as Klimov’s film states in no uncertain terms that if there is a god, then he was out for a very long lunch in the early ’40s.
Though he said in a recent interview with Time Out that he'd not seen the film, Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ contains numerous similarities to ‘Come and See’, not least its famous closing shot where Florya unloads a machine gun into a discarded portrait of the Fuhrer. Except, where Tarantino’s film playfully offers a self-reflexive fantasy of Jewish revenge, Klimov’s denouement contains altogether less encouraging connotations, suggesting that there are no heroes in war – only victims and perpetrators – and that no amount of guns and ammo will be able to expunge or reconcile the memory of the holocaust. A disorienting, downbeat and unforgettable classic. DJ
Watch a clip from the film here
Read the original Time Out review here
Explore the list...
50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-2
Author: Adam Lee Davies, Dave Calhoun, Paul Fairclough, David Jenkins, Tom Huddleston, Quentin Tarantino
User comments on this story
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- luke henderson said...
- DC its ww2 films, platoon is on the Vietnam War Posted on Oct 29 2009 05:47
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- DC said...
- What..you've never seen A Bride too Far? I've not only seen it but lived it... Posted on Oct 22 2009 00:32
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- tom huddleston said...
- Hi DC: With Apocalypse Now and Platoon, the clue's in the title there. This Happy Breed isn't really a war move, but i'd like to see A Bride Too Far. Matrimonial wartime hi-jinks? Posted on Oct 21 2009 10:02
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- DC said...
- Where's Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Bride Too Far, This Happy Breed... Posted on Oct 21 2009 01:21
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- osun said...
- Death is Called Engelchen Posted on Oct 17 2009 23:01
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- osun said...
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Rabbit Hunt?
The Bridge, probably.
Also two films I missed the opening titles to on Tv. If anyone recognises them and knows the titles I'd be obliged:
French film with 80s styling. She is in prison by the gestapo. The gestapo starts talking about her wanting to have children and a family one and she spits in his face,
British film, 60's styling. A group of English paratroopers have arrested a german paratrooper and they are escorting him back as a prisoner, the upper hand changes all the time. Scenes:
One of the paratroopers is behind a German soldier in a wheat field. There is the internal dialogue of the paratrooper as he waits for the German to understand that he's going to be dead.
They are walking beside trees and the German commando prisoner takes the opportunity of a German attack to throw himself down through some trees of a slope and roll. One of the British commandoes follows, rolling himself.
Near the end of the film, they are in a trench and a British commando is wounded. The German commando gives him morphine?
Thanks if you know the names of one or both. I've been trying to find them since the 80s, which is a long time to not find two films that impressed me - or see them again on TV - so maybe I'm wrong. As a kid I thought Von Ryan's Express was just the greatest movie ever made, I'm a little worried to watch it again. Posted on Oct 17 2009 22:40 - Report as inappropriate
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- EY said...
- Wow, I was worried that they were going to nominate some bland US film on top but I'm glad to see that they have chosen Come and See, the best film ever. There are some other great films on the list but others are just not WW2. Triumph of the Will is far superior to many other films ranked higher here, only that it has in fact nothing to do with the war itself even if it's propaganda of what would lead to it. Posted on Oct 09 2009 11:38
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- Chihal said...
- The thin red line in the top ten?!!?!? You couldn't give me a copy of that movie. Who the heck came up with this one and what are they smoking. I want some.... Posted on Oct 08 2009 21:34
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- D Jackson said...
- Very good and competent list, I don't think you left anything out. I am impressed you included many of my favourite foreign films. Additionally I'm happy that this is a fresh and current review. I don't necc agree with the sequence, but I am very content with your top 10. Good work there Posted on Oct 05 2009 12:29
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- Mark said...
- Oh yeah... wonder if aki REALLY thought "Platoon" and "Paths of Glory" were World War II movies. God I hope not!! Posted on Sep 29 2009 17:51
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- Mark said...
- Hell in the Pacific @ #11? Really?? I love Lee Marvin but... Really??? No. 11??? I must agree that the exclusion of Tora, Tora, Tora and the enemy below is just inexcusable. Posted on Sep 29 2009 17:46
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- tom said...
- just a couple of missing classics. Mrs. Miniver and Best Years of Our Lives. but good try anyway Posted on Sep 24 2009 19:46
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- Emma H said...
- ZULU!!!! Posted on Sep 24 2009 19:16
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- Gareth Shrubsole said...
- There are some great films here, but with the worthy exception of "Das Boot" you seem to have ommitted the harsh 6 years of war at sea. Where are "The Cruel Sea", "Tora Tora", "The Enemy Below" are any of the other classic Pacific or Atlantic War Movies?? For that matter there aren't many air films either, what about "Memphis Belle?" Posted on Sep 16 2009 13:26
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- Tage Weie said...
- Milestone's film is a WW-I-movie, not WW-II. That being said; I also mentioned "Die Brücke" in an earlier post; and any list with the best WW2-movies without that one is like releasing an compilation called "The Best of Merseybeat" and not including The Beatles. on it. I have to check out that Val Guest-film, though; I always thought he was one of the great underrated directors. Posted on Sep 15 2009 21:44
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