Reviews

When I was very young, from 5 until 8 years old, Mom worked civil service at Turner AFB in Albany, Georgia. I vividly remember the B-52's taking off and landing. Watching the scene with Hudson and Taylor on the tarmac timing the take-offs brought that memory back as though it was yesterday..We actually lived on the base for awhile before moving into Albany. The housing that the officers lived in reminds me of going over for dinners and getting to wear the flight helmets...imagine a little kid running around the mid-century home with that on his head. My brother would fight over who got to wear one. I cannot comment on the script and the actual life of the members of the AF since I was just a little kid. I do remember Mom coming home from the base the day President Kennedy was murdered and saying the the whole base was gearing up as though WW III was about to start. Hudson's character would not be out of place in the service, since as a former military man, I can say I have served under men who makes him look like a pussy cat. The fact that the film was able to use authentic locales makes it much more enjoyable. I work in the prop industry in Hollywood and I was practically salivating at the production design until I remembered that it was current for the time.

I have seen this film on cable several times. Some of the scenes that are supposed to be in Wurzburg are actually in Munich. The chase scene in the rubble towards the end of the film was near the old Bavarian "Rezidence" or Royal palace that the Wittelsbach family lived in near the old town area of Munich. I recognized the Kriegsmuseum building which is now the seat of the Bavarian state government. Other than that I really enjoyed the film. Having read countless stories about the demise of the once mighty Wehrmacht this film was, to me, accurate in its portrayal of soldiers beaten down and waiting for the inevitable end. Werner has been one of my favorite actors. His performances in "The Spy who came in from the Cold", "Fahrenheit 451" are very good.

First of all the town in Germany where Elvis put his folks up is Bad Nauheim, not Bad Neuheim. That pretty little town is just outside of Friedberg. Friedberg is where Elvis and the armor battalion he was posted to was based. Second, where was the unit crest and rank on Elvis' cap? The cap was correct but the unit crest of the armor battalion was part of his uniform. He would have been considered out of uniform with out it. Moreover, the beer was being drunk out of bottles that were not in use in Germany at that time. Those long neck bottles were not in use but a short neck half liter size was. It's the little things that go towards making a poor movie better.

Merchant and Ivory are back in top form. This is the type of film they seem to be best at. The story, thanks to the screenplay adaptation, is crystal clear. Acting is excellent and the casting is spot on. Look for the art direction, lensing and costume design to get Oscar noms.