Thursday, March 7, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #243: Cold War



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Cold War

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I haven't seen that many cold war movies, so my choices today are limited. I am picking the ones I like.
  
Barbara (2012)
The Gist: Set in 1980's East Germany, flagged as a potential defector, Barbara, a doctor, comes under the surveillance of the Stasi and is fearful that her neighbours and colleagues have also become Stasi informants. This one was quiet and quite scary with its atmosphere of suspicion and distrust.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)  
The Gist: An insane paranoid general deploys a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. I've picked this one several times before and once again here. There are not many, if any, cold war comedies; somehow Dr Strangelove manages to take a situation that is terrifying, it's still terrifying but also make it funny. This is one of those must watch movies.
 
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
The Gist: News reporter Edward R. Murrow challenges Senator Joseph McCarthy and expose him for fear mongering. It's been a long time since I've seen this so I don't remember much other than I had liked it and found the story interesting. 
 
 The Lives of Others (2006)
The Gist:A Stasi officer conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover becomes increasing absorbed by their lives. Once again it's been a long time since I've seen this so I don't remember much of this now, but I do remember liking it. I'd say watch this and then Barbara.



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7 comments:

  1. We share Dr. Strangelove for this week's list :-D

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  2. I don’t know your first film but would love to see it as I love anything to do with the Berlin Wall. I am one who still needs to see Dr. Strangelove but I have seen Good Night and Good Luck and I love it. I also really love The Lives of Others with its original story

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    1. If you like The Lives of Others, I think you'll like Barbara.

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  3. We match on Good Night and Good Luck. I've seen The Lives of Others and I did enjoy that, I think I *may* have seen Barbara too, that sounds really familiar.

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  4. Barbara is a good pick indeed. I've seen it myself but didn't even think of it. The Lives of Others s one my faves.

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  5. We match on Good Night and Good Luck which is a wonderful film. I like Dr. Strangelove but not to the degree most do. I've heard of the others but haven't seen them.

    Aside from our match I went with some that are better known than I usually do.

    Bridge of Spies (2015)-During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks), recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court. Excellent performances by all and strong direction by Steven Spielberg keep this involving throughout.

    Good Luck, and Good Night (2005)-Senator Joseph McCarthy begins a vicious witch hunt to root out Communists in America destroying lives and careers without concern. Powerful CBS News reporter Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) dedicates himself to exposing the atrocities being committed by McCarthy's Senate "investigation." Murrow is supported by a news team that includes long-time friend and producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney). The CBS team does its best to point out the senator's lies and excesses, despite pressure from CBS' corporate sponsors to desist. Directed by Clooney in stark black and white to evoke the period this has a stacked cast, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jeff Daniels among others, all working at top speed but it’s Strathairn’s Oscar nominated turn that makes the film run.

    The Manchurian Candidate (1962)-Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers are captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon returns home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and, together with fellow soldier Allen Melvin (James Edwards), races to uncover a terrible plot leading to the top tiers of power. John Frankenheimer directs with laser point precision guiding the story without wasting a frame. Angela Lansbury is flat out amazing in a portrait of coiled evil hidden behind a placid veneer.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't seen your first and the third one, they are both on my to-watch list.

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