MovieChat Forums > Tobruk (2008) Discussion > Why no Germans being decently portrayed?

Why no Germans being decently portrayed?



Why wasn't he captured by some random German patrol?

What's with the Axis being so ghost-like when they actually rolled in with tanks and everything motorized to capture Tobruk?

Why no German portrayals ?

Even the Pianist had Hosenfeld.

Why didn't Tobruk consist of something more rather then some battalion struggle with their seargeant and long desert shots?

I mean: Where's the enemy in this picture?!!






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A limited budget would probably answer most of your questions but I think the film does a good enough job:well-acted,beautifully shot,intelligent.Yes no Germans but there are a few Italians !!!

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Greetings khazi, I was just about to pm you to see if you'd heard of this and ask if it was worth the dvd hire, needn't bother now. ;o))

Marlon, Claudia & Dimby the cats 1989-2010. Clio the cat, July 1997 - 1 May 2016.

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The film is set in 1941 - when the axis failed to capture Tobruk.

Also the majority of the casualties in WW2 were as a result of artillery, so it's nice to see this accurately represented for a change - especially as the type of terrain they're fighting in in the film isn't exactly great for sneakily getting up close!

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It's a Czech movie about the single Czech battalion that served in Tobruk for around three months during the 1941 siege.

What you see in the movie is what they experienced for almost the whole of that period - standing guard in fox-holes against an almost invisible enemy in a vast, totally alien environment.

The experience is all the more surreal because they are fighting for a country that has already been conquered, and as far as the Germans are concerned no longer exists.

Why no Germans rolling in with their tanks and everything motorised?

1. There were no full-scale Axis attacks during the time they were there.

2. The main Axis attacks, involving the Afrika Korps with their tanks etc were in April-May 1941, when the perimeter was held by 9th Australian Division.

3. The troops actually besieging the town while the Czechs were there were almost entirely Italian.

4. The only major battle around Tobruk in that time was during the Crusader offensive (18th November - 5th December), when the British 70th Division attacked south-east from Tobruk towards Sidi Rezegh in support of the offensive. From memory, the Czechs did take a turn in the front-line of the advance, suffering heavy casualties.

5. The Germans didn't actually roll into Tobruk until 20th June 1942, at which time it was garrisoned by 2nd South African Division.

If it was a Hollywood movie, of course they wouldn't have let the facts get in the way of an action movie with Rock Hudson whipping the Germans single-handed. Come to think of it, they already didn't. That's why this movie is so much better than a Hollywood movie.

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Good reply, Dave.

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The film is an adaptation of Red Badge Of Courage the US Civil war novel so the storyline is pretty well set by that.

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