To End All Wars on DVD

[Bobtheduck]

It's rated R for good reason, first off, just to get my disclaimers out of the way.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00021R7BM/qid=1087369508/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-3694423-3367148?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

Check it out, if you're over 17 and can handle some brutal scenes...

[Zedian]

This movie looks REALLY good, you know what I think along with City of God I'm picking up some movies over the weekend.

[Shao Feng-Li]

You must see this movie. I wonder why I never heard of this movie before it came to VHS/ DVD. It proably has to do eith the fact that they showed the Chrsitians in a good way and the Japanese for who they were. Not polytically correct? Heh. But of course, I'll not get into poytics and get this thread closed, so I'll drop the matter for now. (PM if you must.)
This is one of the saddest movies I've ever seen, and I liked that Japanese guard who was kind to the POWs, even saying that there was no honour in his position.

[Bobtheduck]

Thanks for your support, RK (which is easier to say than SFL)

I just rented it to watch on DVD for the first time, and I'd like to quote something from the director's commentary to put it in perspective.

"And what we did is we watched documentaries of the atrocities of World War II together {with the Japanese actors in the movie} and we addressed the issue of what happened in World War II with the Japanese head on, and all kind of owned up to it together and discussed it. And, so, it wasn't like this 'us and them' kind of thing. The cast really bonded, both... both sides. It wasn't... It was never them secluded. It was a beautiful thing to watch... I think 'cause everyone really understood the spirit of this movie that this is ultimately about reconciliation and forgiveness, and so they were willing to go on this journey. It was a real priviledge to be a part of this process with this cast." (1h:04m+)

This movie can be rather harsh with all of the racial slurs and the abuse. I didn't know until today that they cut out much of the violence because of the response from the test audience. Part of me wants to see a director's cut, but it's good it's not more, because it would have been that much harder to show it to people.

[spoiler=Don't read if you want to be completely surprised, but it's not much of a spoiler]

The interviews with the cast was a study in the subject of fact and interpretation. Faced with the (majority) fact, different people had different interpretations and different inferrences from the story. Most of the Japanese Actors said they got a strong anti-war feeling from the movie, which is why they agreed to play in it for the most part. Of course, the purpose of this wasn't to be an anti-war movie, but to be a movie about forgiveness. I think when faced with the truth of a lot of things, particularly things so harsh, people tend to see things that will support what they believe.

I think that the different views as to the secondary purposes for this film shows how accurately this situation was portrayed. Though the message of forgiveness surely shines through, this movie is not like most movies in that it really doesn't try to cram anything down your throat. It is that to the point that people can come up with various things they love about it that may not even be there because they see what really went on.

Despite my own views (I am not anti-war, and even tried to join the Navy in 2002) I think that this movie is worth showing because it shows the truth, and especially because it demonstrates Forgiveness in such a powerfull way.

The end scene is powerfull, but it is greatly enhanced by the commentary. There was a lot of stuff they couldn't shoot in the meeting between Ernest Gordon and Takashi Nagase. I suggest watching it with commentary and watching the making of afterwards. [/spoiler]

Now for something somewhat off-topic, but not really:

I'm pretty torn now. I really want to work on Games. Christians are only starting to make their way in movies. In fact, I think this was the first really worthwile Christian film. However, Video games are an entirely untapped resource and a medium we have no foot in. I am a big video game fan, and I want to see a breakthrough Christian game with the sort of value and importance behind it as this movie, but seeing this, I just want to take part in a film like this...

I still haven't decided whether I'd work on the computer animation or the design or the programming, but I know that I would not be happy if I didn't see an important project through and make sure that it wasn't mediocre like, you know, my spelling and grammmer... (sorry, self depricating humor)

I am beginning to play with the idea of doing a video production and cinematography school before I go to Full Sail. Considering I'll likely, if I'm accepted, be in YWAM full time for 2 years, I am thinking about doing the University of Nations video production school and internship. If I do, I am going to beg to intern under David Cunningham (the director of "To End All Wars"). I think that getting the fire and passion, not to mention guiding, of someone who has done in this industry exactly what I want to see done in the game industry will be a good starting point, moreso than the technical I hope to get at Full Sail...

I am upset that it is taking me so long to be able to get that technical training (due to money and my own lack of mathematical ability as of now), but I know there is a reason for it...

Anyhow, I once again recommend this movie and sorry for going off topic like that... I often think with my fingers...

[Shao Feng-Li]

No problem Bob. So you know, Shao would be the family name. Feng Li is the name given at bearth. "FL" would work just fine.