I was around 8 when I first saw this great film. I did not know it at the time, but it was based on a true story. Recently, a group went out to find the original tunnel. They had to research the location of the camp, and then approximate the location for the tunnel. To their surprise, they found it! They even found the "door" plate and the gripping tool to pull it out (as seen in the movie). They then brought in one of the survivors to inspect the dig, and he was totally amazed at what they had found. Pull this movie out and blow off the dust. It is so worth it! Here is an interactive map of the escape tunnel "Harry".
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Great Escape
I was around 8 when I first saw this great film. I did not know it at the time, but it was based on a true story. Recently, a group went out to find the original tunnel. They had to research the location of the camp, and then approximate the location for the tunnel. To their surprise, they found it! They even found the "door" plate and the gripping tool to pull it out (as seen in the movie). They then brought in one of the survivors to inspect the dig, and he was totally amazed at what they had found. Pull this movie out and blow off the dust. It is so worth it! Here is an interactive map of the escape tunnel "Harry".
The Blind Side
It is rare to see movies that portray Christians as genuine people and not narrow-minded morons--let alone Conservative Republicans. The Blind Side tells a true story with great humor and touching reality. It also touches on issues like the severe disconnect between the upper-class and the lower-class sections of one's own hometown. Yet that does not make them bad people for such, just not thoroughly engaged in being able to help. Drugs are the real problem that keeps those in its grip, slaves to the very end. And there are more than enough scum to keep you in those bonds for their own gain. A sad untold story, touched upon in the end credits, is the young boy hanging with the dealer who used to play ball. The sorrowful epilogue was that he was killed in a gang-related incident. While one stayed in football and went on to play with the Baltimore Ravens, the other found only death in his slavery to poverty and drugs. It stands as a stark contrast.
The Ten Commandments
What more difficult role could be played than Moses? Yet, Heston did it with such power and reverence, I was awe inspired as a kid watching it at the Fox theater. The grandeur of the Exodus scene would never be matched with today's computer graphics, and seems to becoming a lost art like special effects model-making. I actually sent Heston a treatment for a sequel to the Ten Commandments that takes place during the wilderness wandering. I wish it could have been done.