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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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50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 |
| 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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- mark said...
- @ginho: A few others would be "Black Rain," "Father of the Kamikaze," "Under the Flag of the Rising Sun," and "Ivan's Childhood." Certainly worth a watch for its making (it's not a great flick) is "Kolberg." "Land and Freedom" about the Spanish Civil War is outstanding. "Days of Glory (Indigenes) is better than almost anything else on the list. "Assembly (Ji jie hao)" about the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s is very good too. My opinion on the very best WW 2 flicks are "Story of a Prostitute," "Fires on the Plain," "Ivan's Childhood," "Open City," and "Kanal." Best Brit flick: "In Which We Serve" (although I'm a sucker for "Reach for the Skies"). Top US flick: "The Battle of San Pietro." Posted on May 26 2012 01:00
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- Hannah said...
- I LOVE that grave of fireflies is on there, didn't think people would even think of it but it's such a great film. Plus Downfall is so low down on this list which I seriously don't understand :o Posted on May 26 2012 00:16
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- ginho said...
- The co@mark, very interesting list of films that i will definitley watch. Please share some more if you want to! Posted on May 21 2012 22:52
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- mark said...
- This list misses many hard-to-find but outstanding foreign films that are far superior to most of the list. I include Story of a Prostitute, Fires on the Plain, The Burmese Harp, Army of Shadows, El compadre Mendoza, Die Brucke, Der Fangschuss, Okinawa kessen, etc.. Posted on May 21 2012 21:19
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- frank said...
- what about patton, a bridge too far, tora tora tora, pearl harbor? this list is a little missing out on some stuff Posted on May 21 2012 21:10
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- eric said...
- DEFIANCE is not here....kinda dissapointed. i thought it was an acurate ww2 film, very suspensful and intresting Posted on May 11 2012 22:10
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- SwaQ said...
- LOL, this is a CRAPPY list. Who the hell would put Schindlers list en The Pianist such a low place? They should both be in the top 10 periodly. Amateurs... Posted on May 08 2012 10:03
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- mark said...
- there is way too much emphasis on English, American, and German mainstream films. many of these are junk. Posted on Apr 22 2012 13:52
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- Dylan said...
- haven't heard of a lot of these, i really think enemy at the gates should have been on there, amazing film Posted on Apr 06 2012 21:33
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- Ed said...
- Dumb choices,some good ones most I've never heard of and not one John Wayne movie. Posted on Mar 30 2012 04:30
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- Hector said...
- Didn't see Patton, The Longest Day, Hart's War, Pearl Harbor, Midway, and To Hell And Back. Posted on Mar 29 2012 16:16
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- elfeo72 said...
- some good movies but clearly fogot about epics like guns of navarrone, and youll never see cast like this again but The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far should be in top ten Posted on Mar 29 2012 15:55
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- lincoln65 said...
- Did not see TORA TORA TORA on the list. You should have put Saving Private Ryan in the top five at least. Posted on Mar 29 2012 13:56
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- Fletch said...
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OUTSTANDING: Idi I Smotri (come & see) is absolutely genius, unlike most Hollywood films that sugarcoat war's horrors.
Tremendous choice for #1. I was dreading it would be Saving Private Ryan or something like that.
Surprised Cross of Iron wasn't top 5 though. Posted on Mar 21 2012 18:32 - Report as inappropriate
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- Robeos in ert said...
- I own DVD's of most of these films. To put Kelly's Her Posted on Mar 07 2012 02:48
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