War Movie Theatre | for Fans of Classic War Films and Cinema History
War Movie Theatre is a podcast for fans of classic war films and cinema history. Hosts Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon discuss a different war movie each week, often with a guest, analysing what works and what the films say about us. They cover everything from Troy and World War II films to Vietnam and Aliens, with episodes on titles like Colonel Blimp, Starship Troopers, Where Eagles Dare, and A Bridge Too Far. The show also hands out tongue-in-cheek awards for implausible moments, gratuitous Americans, and problematic scenes. It was formerly known as A Pod Too Far.
Episodes
Star Wars - with Chris Kempshall and Jack Klaff
Definitely Not Vietnam Month takes us to a galaxy far, far away as we discuss a 1977 film about a small resistance movement taking on and beating a powerful empire. Joining us to explain that Darth Vader isn't actually in Star Wars is historian of the universe Chris Kempshall, while zipping by in his X-Wing with memories of the shoot is actor Jack Klaff, who played one of the pilots to take on
M*A*S*H - with Joe Twyman
Definitely Not Vietnam Month opens with one of the greatest films ever to be made that definitely wasn't about the Vietnam War. Robert Altman's 1970 debut M*A*S*H was the tale of the 4077th Army hospital in the Korean - repeat Korean - War. It defied cinematic conventions, with no story arcs, overlapping dialogue, and a cynical attitude to life right from the opening song. The studio didn&
Full Metal Jacket - with Sarah Ditum
Near the top of any list of war films, Full Metal Jacket was Stanley Kubrick's bleak take on Vietnam. It gave us cinema's greatest drill sergeant, a script full of unforgettable lines, and an Asian country as it could only look if it had been filmed in an East London gasworks. Joining us is Sarah Ditum, who's been fascinated by the film since growing up near a military base where all t
The Hunt For Red October
A rogue Russian submarine, heading for the US coast: does the captain plan to defect or start a nuclear war? Based on Tom Clancy's bestselling technothriller, this was a Cold War movie released just as the Cold War ended. Gripping from the first scene, it was a masterclass in film-making, helped by a stellar supporting cast, including Sam Neill and Tim Curry, both taken from us this year. Next wee
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
Errol Flynn! Olivia de Havilland! Horses! The only thing that's hard to understand about this swashbuckling 1930s epic is the decision to set a film about the most famous moment of the Crimean War in India. And to portray one of history's great military blunders as a strategic masterstroke. Just what was going on in Hollywood? Still, despite Rob struggling to process what he was watching, it's a w
Postbag Episode
What films do we wish were war films? What has most surprised us over the course of 100 war movies? Do British people watch different war films from Americans? Which battles really need a film?Yes, for one week only, we're answering your questions. Next week, normal service resumes with The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936).Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmovietheatre@gmail.co
The Way Ahead - with Mark Wallace and George Cochrane
In a war movie so classic that it informed much of what came after it, David Niven is given the job of turning raw recruits into fighting men. Released in 1944, The Way Ahead is like a Rosetta stone for understanding much of what came afterwards in British film and TV, from Dad's Army to, arguably, Are You Being Served? It was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, and directed by Carol Reed, a
Went The Day Well - Again! - With Jonathan Boff
Fan Service Month continues with a second look at a 1942 British film that was largely ignored at the time but has since come to be regarded as a stone cold classic. The inspiration for The Eagle Has Landed, it sees English villagers fight off Nazis disguised as British soldiers. Can there be anything more fun that watching Thora Hird pick up a rifle? We're joined by Prof Jonathan Boff of Birmingh
Mrs Miniver
Fan Service Month continues with the film that Winston Churchill said was worth its weight in battleships, Mrs Miniver was intended by director William Wyler to be propaganda, but good. Incredibly popular on release, it told America about the British home front from the point of view of Greer Garson's upper middle-class housewife. But the real Mrs Miniver's life was far more complicated, and Garso
Carve Her Name With Pride
As classic a war movie as classic war movies get! For what people are already calling "Fan Service Month", Rob and Duncan are parachuting into occupied France to help the resistance, in this much-loved retelling of the true story of Violette Szabo, who won a posthumous George Cross for her courage. The poem from the film became famous, but the real author was kept secret for decades. Will we be so
Heartbreak Ridge
As Happy Birthday America Month draws to a close, Rob and Duncan take on the job of instilling discipline in a podcast that's got sloppy as they watch Clint Eastwood directing and starring in Heartbreak Ridge. The year was 1986, Reagan was in the White House, and audiences were ready to see their military kick some butt. They were rewarded with the stirring tale of the Marine Corp's against-the-od
Top Gun: Maverick - with Joe Twyman
BONG! BONG! Three and a half decades after Tom Cruise felt the need, the need for speed, he was back with the best of the best, turning and burning through the canyons of an unidentified rogue state to take our breath away. The cameras were better, but what about the script? Was everyone missing Charlie? And what are we to day to the babies around the world named Maverick? As Happy Birthday Americ
Independence Day - with Jonn Elledge
It's an alien invasion, and they're not messing about. Happy Birthday America Month continues with a film so American that they could barely be bothered to show the rest of the world being blown up. BUT WE DON'T MIND. Joining us to watch the White House being destroyed is super-nerd Jonn Elledge, whose new book 31 Inventions That Built Our World explains quite a lot about the New York that the ali
Gettysburg
"I have no division." Happy Birthday America Month continues with a film about the greatest battle fought on US soil, as Martin Sheen's Robert E Lee tries to draw the Union army into a fight that will leave the way open to Washington. Has Duncan persuaded Rob that it's worth the four hours it takes to tell the story? Would Russell Crowe have been better than Jeff Daniels? And, um, are one side in
The Patriot
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Yes, all July, we're marking 250 years of gratuitous Americans by watching the most gratuitously American war movies we can find, and no war movie is as gratuitously American as The Patriot, in which Mel Gibson oozes love of country from every pore. How is this film so long? How come Mel is running the one Southern plantation with no slaves? And do flags really matter that
The Four Feathers (1939)
This week, an early Technicolor classic war movie. One of six - six! - adaptations of AEW Mason's 1902 novel of cowardice and courage, it stars Ralph Richardson in a competition with John Clements to have the stiffest upper lip ever.Covered in the episode: how much was this film influenced by TE Lawrence, and how much did it influence Lawrence of Arabia? How often did defensive squares break in th
The Way to the Stars - with Tom Jones
The 1945 film that exemplified stiff upper lips like nothing else, The Way To The Stars was written by Terrence Rattigan, based on his own experiences of the air war, and tells the story of the ground lives of a bomber station. Starring John Mills and Michael Redgrave but most of all Rosamund John, it's a tale that would have resonated with audiences at home who had lost friends and lovers to the
Escape to Victory - AGAIN - with Alan Allport
It's the World Cup, which means it's time for Rob and Duncan to Escape To Victory! Again! It's the only prisoner of war film to feature three different World Cup winners, and the only war movie to be decide by a bicycle kick. Michael Caine is too old and Sylvester Stallone knows too little about football, but thanks to a bunch of extras from Ipswich Town, the movie has become a classic. Particular
Top Gun - with Marina Hyde
Their egos writing cheques that their bodies can't cash, Rob and Duncan are joined by Top Gun superfan Marina Hyde to mark the 40th anniversary of the greatest film about naval aviators ever made. It's the movie that confirmed the status of Tom Cruise as a star, and also as a man who has no chemistry with his female co-leads. Is that because his real sparks were with Val Kilmer? Are Anthony Edward
Jarhead - with Owain Mulligan
One of the classic films of military misery, Jarhead is a tale of just how awful life can be if the US Marine Corps sends you to the desert. The true-ish story of one man's Gulf War I, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, it offered a ho-holds-barred portrayal of the way that making people into killers can leave them struggling to find their way back. We're joined by Owain Mullig
Sahara (1943)
Short of ammo, short of water, and short of options, Humphrey Bogart is holding off the Nazis in this 1943 tale of wartime daring that was so popular it's been remade at least twice. Could anyone but Bogart have carried off the role? And is it really a parable about the future cooperation between nations? Next week: Jarhead, with Owain MulliganDrop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmo
Sink The Bismarck!
Is there a more classic World War 2 naval story? The Royal Navy's hunt for the mighty Bismarck retold as a detective story, as Kenneth More, deep in the Admiralty, directs the chase. Did it help that the producer's father-in-law could lend the production some battleships? Were they unfair to the Nastiest Nazi? And can a man who blubs win the Stiffest Upper Lip?Next week, by popular demand (sort of
Fort Apache
A classic tale of bravery, snobbery, heroism and idiocy, the first film in John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy cemented John Wayne as a leading man for Westerns. It's a tale of military life -- unless like Rob you skip the first half to get straight to the charging -- that also features one of Shirley Temple's final performances. But does Duncan know his Peter Fonda from his Bridget?Next week: Sink The Bi
The King's Choice - with Eline Storeide
Norway 1940: the Nazis are arriving. The government is paralysed. And one man needs to help a country decide its future. The amazing true story of how Norway faced the invader. Listen even if you haven't seen the film as we discuss a small hinge of history.Next week: Fort ApacheDrop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Would you like to know more? See the list of f
The Duellists - with James Landale
"Ridley Scott's good Napoleonic Wars film." This week, the Bonapartist Duncan makes the case for this 1977 tale of honour and obsession, as Harvey Keitel chases Keith Carradine around Europe demanding to know if he spilled his pint. Joining us is James Landale, whose ancestor fought what is believed to be the last fatal duel in Scotland, the subject of his terrific history Duel.Next week: The King
The Colditz Story
For you, the war movies are over! Yes, we're watching the stone cold war movie classic The Colditz Story, a film which showed how the most fun a chap could have during the war was to be taken prisoner. Hang on, have we got that right? Perhaps there's a little more to the reality. But with John Mills and Eric Portman, why not just enjoy the myth?Next week: The Duellists (1977)Drop us a line! Send c
The Bridge at Remagen
An absolute classic of war movie Sunday afternoons, it's a tale of American guts as George Segal and Ben Gazzara risk everything to try to capture the last bridge over the Rhine, while Robert Vaughn is the German trying to stop them. The film nearly caused an international incident after the producers had the brilliant idea of filming in Czechoslovakia in 1968 - what could go wrong? Next week: The
Good Morning Vietnam - with James Cary
Robin Williams said he wasn't sure he was leading man material until he picked up the script for this comedy about a military DJ fighting authority in Saigon. Backed by an incredible cast of supporting actors, he delivered one of the hits of the 80s, helped by a soundtrack album that every teenager knew by heart.James Cary knows a thing or two about finding the humour in war. As well as working on
Barry Lyndon - with Robert Smith
Irish War Movie Month ends with Stanley Kubrick's tale of a socially ambitious rogue during the Seven Years War. Will Rob and Duncan be forced to duel? Would this film have been better if it had been about Napoleon? Joining us is Robert Smith, Corporate Finance Editor at the Financial Times, to explain why the film has become the subject of rap memes. No, we can't really explain either. Next week:
Michael Collins
Fighting Irish Month continues with Liam Neeson as Michael Collins, the inventor of urban guerilla warfare and the man who negotiated independence. It's an epic from director Neil Jordan, but does it play favourites with the history? And how many categories will Julia Roberts win?Next week: Barry Lyndon.Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Would you like to kn
The Wind That Shakes The Barley - with Padraig Reidy
The worst wars are civil wars. Ken Loach's tale of two brothers in Cork in the 1920s deals not just with the Irish War of Independence but also with the civil war that followed it. We're joined by Cork man Padraig Reidy to discuss whether what this movie really needed was one more lengthy chat about class conflict.Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Would you
The Siege of Jadotville
It's Fighting Irish Month! First up, a forgotten true tale of 150 soldiers sent to keep the peace in Congo. Low on ammunition, running out of water, can they hold off their attackers? How did the makers navigate the potential Dam Buster's Dog moments? Can anyone explain Conor Cruise O'Brien? And what fascinating facts has Duncan brought along about Bren guns and French mercenaries?Next week: The W
Reach For The Sky - with Peter Apps
Douglas Bader was a man who lost both his legs but became a World War 2 flying ace, a disability campaigner who could be insufferably rude, a prisoner in Colditz who was nearly killed by his American liberators. We're joined by Peter Apps, who was paralysed in an accident while working as a Reuters war correspondent but has since rejoined the Army, to talk about the amazing film of Bader's life. D
Edge of Tomorrow (Live Die Repeat) with Charles Arthur
Is it "Groundhog Day meets Aliens" or "World War 2 of the future"? Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt strap on their exoskeletons and go to war against alien invaders, over and over again.We're joined by the writer Charles Arthur to watch a film that, amazingly, Duncan knew nothing about. Marvel as he tries to work out why Cruise is dying 10 minutes in. Thrill as we try to work out the bodycount,Gasp as R
The Heroes of Telemark
Skis against the atom! We're watching one of the all-time classic war movies. Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris jump from planes, scale ice cliffs and sink a ferry in the quest to stop the Nazis getting the bomb. Directed by Anthony Mann, it's based on an amazing true story of Norwegian heroism. Has knitwear ever looked better? Are Norwegians really this horny? And can Rob successfully explain "heav
Nuremberg - with Henry Dyer
Russell Crowe makes another pitch for an Oscar as he plays Herman Goering, on trial for his life. But is he let down by a film that is determined to both show and tell? Does he have the silliest last line in history? Is this, fundamentally, a crime against cinema? We're joined by Henry Dyer of the Guardian, who has become so obsessed with why this film doesn't work that he's read the screenplay. A
The Last of the Mohicans
Our journey through classic war movies reaches back to colonial America, as we watch Michael Mann's amazing The Last Of The Mohicans. It's an epic tale of obsession and men who won't compromise -- and that's just the making of the film. Daniel Day-Lewis insisted on living like a native American. Mann tried to turn the sun off. But the result, well. Rob and Duncan discuss why this film stands up, w
Dad's Army (1971) - with Matt Chorley
Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring! Our journey through classic war cinema brings us to the 1971 big screen spin-off of one of the most successful BBC sitcoms ever. BBC Radio 5's Matt Chorley, a man who knows a thing or two about jokes, joins Rob to explore what a comedy about a bunch of geriatric misfits tells us about Britain in 1940, the 1960s and 70s, and even today. Why did Arthur Lowe have a clause
The Cockleshell Heroes
Kayaks! Commandos! Courage! José Ferrer and Trevor Howard pull out their paddles as they set off to blow up blockade-running boats, in this loosely-based-on-a-true-story tale of wartime derring-do. It's also a story of a culture clash between two quite different men, and of someone branded a coward seeking redemption.On top of that, it's the film that links much post-war British cinema, from James
Under Siege - with Joe Twyman
"I'm just a lowly cook." To mark Arrow Video's release of Under Siege in 4K UHD, we're watching the indisputable high point of Steven Seagal's career for the first time since we were teenagers. Will the bit we remember still be in there? Is his acting still terrible? Has there ever been stronger competition for the Dam Buster's Dog Prize For Most Problematic Moment? Joining us is Joe Twyman of Del
A Few Good Men - with Hadley Freeman
You want answers? You think you're entitled? You can't handle the truth! This week we're marking the death of Rob Reiner by watching the closest thing he made to a war movie: A Few Good Men. Was Tom Cruise ever snappier? Was Jack Nicholson ever shoutier? How many of those medals did any of the characters deserve? Joining Rob is Hadley Freeman, Sunday Times journalist, author, and interviewers of e
Bedknobs and Broomsticks - with James Kettle
What could be more Christmassy, or more war-y, than Angela Lansbury punching Nazis? This week, we're off down Portobello Road and away under the briny sea as we watch the Disney classic war movie-witchcraft crossover Bedknobs and Broomsticks. We're joined by comedy writer James Kettle, whose hits include The Life I Lead, a play about Bedknobs actor James Tomlinson.Next week, in memory of Rob Reine
The Boys From Brazil - with Jack Blackburn
Laurence Olivier! Gregory Peck! Baby Hitler! Excited by the news that scientists have finally - finally! - managed to sequence the Fuhrer's DNA, Rob and Duncan are joined by Times history correspondent Jack Blackburn, a young man with a disturbing resemblance to... no, that can't be right. They're watching The Boys From Brazil, the Nazi buffet-crashing, father-murdering Nazi-cloning thriller comed
Malta Story - with Matthew Doyle
This week, Rob and Duncan are stranded in the Mediterranean, holding out against constant bombing, and starving under siege conditions, watching Malta Story. They're joined by former Downing Street Director of Communications Matthew Doyle, who since we recorded has joined the House of Lords - the second peer to come on the show. Jack Hawkins is as good as ever, but how is Alec Guinness as a romant
The Desert Rats
For the second week running, we're with Australian troops, this time in the 1941 defence of Tobruk. Desert Rats took its name from a different unit, and quite a few liberties with the history, but it also delivered a some terrific scenes of commandos sneaking through the enemy lines on do-or-die missions, and caught Richard Burton as he was on the brink of stardom. And then of course there's James
Gallipoli - with Chris Kempshall
Peter Weir's 1981 Gallipoli set both him and Mel Gibson on a path to Hollywood glory, and also helped establish the popular narrative for a campaign that is crucial to Australia's national identity. Which is hardly a surprise, as it's one of the greatest films about the Great War. Even though -- or because -- it actually doesn't feature that much war. Rob and Duncan are joined by Chris Kempshall,
Biggles: Adventures In Time - with Mark Wallace
A beloved British hero, an evil German, a super-weapon, and... a time-travelling 1980s New York executive? How did everyone get it so wrong when it came to putting WW1 flying ace Biggles on the big screen? It was supposed to be a rival to Raiders of the Lost Ark, then it was going to be the new Back to the Future. In the end it was a war crime. And that's before we get to the music. Rob and Duncan
All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
Is this the war movie that explains all war movies? Rob and Duncan watch the first version of All Quiet On The Western Front, made barely a decade after the First World War ended. Somehow, it turns out to be a chance to talk about Starship Troopers again.[Apologies for a fat-finger error that led Rob to delete the first five minutes of this episode when we first uploaded it. All fixed now, we hope
1917 Live at the Imperial War Museum - with John Crace
Live from the Imperial War Museum's Podcast Festival, we kick off Great War Month by watching Sam Mendes's men-with-a-mission trench-running bonanza, 1917, with John Crace of the Guardian. Is this the operation that changed the course of the Great War? Should they have searched that farmhouse? Might there, in fact, be a better way to get the message through? All this and more. Drop us a line! Send
The Battle of Algiers
Adored by Stanley Kubrick and studied at the Pentagon, 1966's The Battle of Algiers is a film quite unlike any other. Is it a guide to how to run an insurgency, or how to fight one? Supported by the newly independent Algerian government, it doesn't shy away from the violent realities of the independence movement's terrorist campaign. There's never been anything quite like it.Next week, we'll be wa
Who Dares Wins - with History Rage's Paul Bavill
Is this the film that changed the course of the SAS? Helicopters on the roof as we watch some of the worst spying in cinema history, followed by some of the best embassy-storming. Released as "The Final Option" in the US, this is the film that failed to turn Lewis Collins into James Bond. We're joined by Paul Bavill of the History Rage podcast, and he's not even the angriest person featured. That
49th Parallel - with Terry Stiastny
This week, we're hunting Nazis through Canada as we watch Powell and Pressburger's 1941 breakthrough movie 49th Parallel. Would the submarine crew on the run have made it further if they hadn't felt the need to kill everyone who was rude about Hitler? And what was the frankly appalling reason the US censor demanded so many cuts? We're joined by Terry Stiastny, author of Believable Lies: The Misfit
Is Paris Burning - with Karim Palant
Zut alors! This week we're popping over the Channel to watch the Frenchest war movie ever made, the true story of the frantic arguments on both sides about how to save - or destroy - the city. Featuring effortlessly cool members of the Resistance, battles of bicycles, and a furious Fuhrer. Rob and Duncan are joined by former Labour party policy man Karim Palant, whose entire street WhatsApp group
The English Patient - with Lucy Beresford
This week, a Booker-winning novel that becomes an Oscar-winning film. A tale of war and love in the desert, based, very loosely on a real World War 2 espionage mission. Rob and Duncan are joined by the author and psychotherapist Lucy Beresford, to talk about her relationship with war movies, why she loves this film, and whether it would have been better if the studio had got their way and cast Dem
Fail Safe - with Mark Pack
A 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with homicidal ideas? That's right, it's Dr Strangelove... hang on, no, it's Fail Safe. Overshadowed on release because of a lawsuit from a rival film (you can guess which), this parable from Sidney Lumet has come to be regarded as a classic, with fans including George Clooney.The Ocean's 11 star co
Aliens - with Brian Raftery
Is this going be a bug hunt, or a stand-up fight? Rob is joined by Brian Raftery to talk about James Cameron's 1986 magnificent take on the Alien universe. Has there ever been a better sequel? Is it really a Vietnam allegory? And after all that time in hyper-sleep, shouldn't Ripley's savings be worth more?Next week, it's Cold War countdown Fail Safe.The podcast series by Brian mentioned in the sho
Memphis Belle - both of them
Rob and Duncan have done their job for Uncle Sam. Now they're podcasting for themselves. This week we're watching the 1990 movie Memphis Belle and the 1944 documentary that inspired it: The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. Is the crew going to finish its 25th mission? Which of them will go on to save Frodo? And would Eric Stoltz have had a better career if he'd realised Back To The Fut
Platoon - with Hugo Rifkind
An obsessed director, a cast of unknowns, and a country on the brink of revolution. Somehow these ingredients produced one of the great Vietnam movies. Hugo Rifkind of The Times goes further, making the case that Platoon is the greatest Vietnam movie of them all. Hugo's novel "Rabbits", about a different kind of teenage battle, is now out in paperback. Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions
Classic Episode: The Longest Day with Al Murray
Pub landlord and war-waffler Al Murray joins Rob and Duncan to watch The Longest Day in this episode from 2024. Can any American be more gratuitous than John Wayne? And while everyone knows Sean Connery was in the film, not that many people know about the TWO other Bond stars in tiny roles...Next week, we're back with a new episode, watching Platoon.Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to
Classic Episode: King Rat
Over August, we're replaying old episodes while we record some new ones. This is one from 2023 where we watched a film we hadn't seen before and which really stayed with us, a depiction of hunger, betrayal and the struggle to survive in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Is it possible to do so and keep your integrity? And has anyone seen my dog?Next week: The Longest Day.Drop us a line! Send commen
Classic Episode: Where Eagles Dare with Tim Shipman
Continuing our August season of repeats, this week's classic episode, first aired in May 2024, sees Rob and Duncan high in the Bavarian Alps on a mission of such complexity that they need special guest Tim Shipman to tell them what's going on. But can they trust him? Can they trust anyone? And what will win the Broadsword Radio Award for Total Implausibility? Next week: King RatDrop us a line! Sen
Classic Episode: Casablanca with Hadley Freeman
The first in our August repeat run is the revival of our Christmas 2023 episode on Casablanca, with special guest Hadley Freeman. A passionately political film disguised as a romance, this is also a Jewish movie where no one mentions being Jewish, and a war movie where the war is all offscreen. It's hardly a surprise that Rob and Duncan think Humphrey Bogart is cool, but Hadley's pick for the sexi
Prisoner of War - with Phil Tinline
In what is surely the most obscure episode of any podcast ever recorded, Rob and Duncan are joined by author and documentary-maker Phil Tinline to watch 1954's "Prisoner of War", the film that was going to turn Ronald Reagan into a major movie star. The reason that never happened wasn't simply the quality of the movie. It was also because of a shift in the US military's attitude to prisoners retur
The Wild Geese - with Tim Shipman
Pop down to Africa, would you, and pull off a quick coup? This week, Rob and Duncan are joined by Tim Shipman to watch the most 1978 film ever released. Richard Burton! Richard Harris! Roger Moore! It's The Wild Geese!Problematic moments, war crimes, it's got them all - or has it? Marvel as Duncan explains that the Geneva Convention might not apply. Thrill as Tim describes how, in a way, the film
Lawrence of Arabia - with Jack Blackburn
This week, we're going back to World War 1 and over to the desert to watch the epicest epic of them all, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. Has sand ever looked better? Has casting ever been more problematic? And has my telly broken, or is the screen supposed to be black during the overture? With guest Jack Blackburn of The Times, who loves this film so much that his infant son has already watched i
Attack! With Mark Greig
Rob and Duncan are joined by screenwriter Mark Greig to discuss Robert Aldrich's 1956 noir war movie Attack. Will they make it to the end of the episode with one of them killing another?Next week, it's back to the desert, with Lawrence of Arabia.Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Would you like to know more? See the list of films we'd like to do? Buy merch?
Five Graves to Cairo
Rob and Duncan watch the 1943 film that promised to tell audiences the secret story of British victory in the desert. That was not in any sense true, but unknown to the filmmakers, this movie would inspire a real D-Day operation. More than that, it's an early Billy Wilder film, with all his trademark style. War movie? Spy story? Film noir? You decide.Next week, Robert Aldrich's Attack!Drop us a li
Das Boot - with James Landale
Rob and Duncan are joined by Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale to pick noses, smell farts, and torpedo Allied shipping in the greatest submarine movie ever made, Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 Das Boot. If the submarine war was hell, then making this film wasn't much more fun. But find out how the crew ended up giving Indiana Jones a lift.Next week: Five Graves to Cairo. Drop us a line! Send commen
Master and Commander - with Alex Massie and Henry Dyer
Rob and Duncan are joined by Alex Massie and Henry Dyer to watch Peter Weir's magnificent 2003 Napoleonic naval epic. How did it compare to the novels? Is this the only war movie in history where an American character was removed? And why are people getting bits of the script tattooed onto their bodies?Next week, we're still at sea with Das Boot.Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to war
Mosquito Squadron - with John Crace
Rob and Duncan are joined by John Crace, sketchwriter for The Guardian, to watch Mosquito Squadron, a film John's dad took him to see in the cinema. Is this the perfect example of the less-than-golden age of war movies? Is there any movie it doesn't rip off? What does it say about life on the home front? And, hang on a second, were the land-based bouncing bombs real?Next week, all aboard HMS Surpr
Glory
Rob and Duncan turn their attention to the American Civil War, watching the 1989 true story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army's first African American regiments. The film won Denzel Washington an Oscar, launched Andre Braugher, and caught Morgan Freeman just as his career was taking off. But it also captures much of the changing way war was fought in the Nineteenth
Starship Troopers - with Jonn Elledge
Klendathu must be destroyed! Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are joined by Jonn Elledge, best-selling author of A History of the World in 47 Borders, as they strap on their helmets and go on a bug hunt to watch Paul Verhoeven's oft-misunderstood masterpiece Starship Troopers. Clunking misfire or brilliant satire of modern fascism? Next week, it's Ferris Bueller's Civil War, as we watch Glory.Drop us
A Canterbury Tale - with Sanchia Berg
Rob and Duncan are joined by journalist Sanchia Berg for another Powell and Pressburger outing. This time, it's 1944's A Canterbury Tale, where three pilgrims try to unravel a mystery in the wartime Kent countryside. Not a hit on release, it's since found an obsessive fan base. But will it win our hearts?Next week, in a slight change of pace: Starship TroopersDrop us a line! Send comments and sugg
Dunkirk (1958) with Joe Twyman
Following listener outrage after we watched Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, we're watching Leslie Norman's 1958 version, starring John Mills and Richard Attenborough. Joining us is pollster Joe Twyman, whose grandfather barely made it off the beach in 1940.Did we prefer the sweeping epic nature of this version, or were we too distracted by John Mill's accent and age?Next week, we're watching A Canter
BONUS: Britain's Top 10 WW2 Movies
To coincide with VE Day, we asked Deltapoll to find the nation's favourite WW2 movies. Now that people have stopped shouting abuse at *us* over the resuls, we thought we'd take a look at them. With Rob, Duncan and Deltapoll's Joe Twyman, who's here to tell you you're not as normal as you think you are. Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Would you like to kno
The Bridge On The River Kwai - with Miles Jupp
Actor and comedian Miles Jupp (whose own war movie credits include Napoleon and Rogue Heroes) joins Rob and Duncan to discuss Alec Guinness's Oscar-winning performance in the 1957 classic. The film was based on a novel by a Pierre Boule (who would go on to write Planet of the Apes) who decided to transpose his experiences at the hands of his fellow Frenchmen into British characters. At the time it
EMERGENCY EPISODE - The Rock
EMERGENCY EPISODE! Prompted by Donald Trump tweeting about Alcatraz, Duncan felt he had to watch 1996's The Rock, which Rob thinks is probably a war movie. Is this the first second-screen movie? Does director Michael Bay understand subtlety? How much Nicolas Cage is too much? And is Sean Connery really playing James Bond for the last time. We're back to our regular schedule on Thursday, with The B
Civil War - with Helen Lewis
Rob and Duncan watch 2024's Civil War with Helen Lewis of The Atlantic, whose forthcoming book The Genius Myth is dedicated to the film's director, Alex Garland. Is it really more of a road movie? How come Texas is in an alliance with California? And that's the guy without the camera doing there, anyway?Next week: The Bridge on the River Kwai.Drop us a line! Send comments and suggestions to warmov
I Was Monty's Double
This week Rob and Duncan pretend to be Duncan and Rob, in an elaborate plan to persuade the enemy that the podcast will actually be taking place in the Mediterranean. That's right, we're watching I Was Monty's Double, starring John Mills. The true story of Operation Copperhead is told in Rob's book The Illusionist, out now in paperback.Next week: Civil War (2024)Drop us a line! Send comments and s
Red Dawn (1984) - With Joe Twyman
Rob and Duncan are joined by pollster and war movie nut Joe Twyman to watch the 1984 teen-resistance classic Red Dawn, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, and just re-released in glorious 4K. Think of it as Dirty Dancing: The WW3 Years.It features a Problematic Moment so Problematic that it ended up being cut, a director who demanded he be paid in firearms, and Joe's unforgettable descripti
