Five Came Back (2017)

This is a movie for cinephiles and for history buffs and especially for those who love film history like me Films have an important role in history. I took a course on history and film. In war, they played a big role as propaganda, but not everything was propaganda. This three-part documentary tells the stories of five famed Hollywood directors during their service in WWII and their work before and after the war. Legendary directors Frank Capra, George Stevens, John Ford, John Huston and William Wyler all answered the call to service during WWII and they made enormous contributions by documenting the war, not always honestly but always powerfully to effect for the war effort. Modern directors heap praise on their idols, demonstrating their love for the art and their admiration for their cinematic accomplishments. Meryl Streep narrates the documentary.There are some really powerful, emotional moments when the reality of war sets in. They discuss how the war influenced their postwar work, and how their war experiences will always live with them. 

Patton (1970)

The Strategic Studies Club screened Patton for the obvious reasons, but it is such a sprawling epic that there were only four of us left in the end. Patton is a film about a complicated man. I kind of drew some parallels with Lawrence of Arabia, another film about a crazy (I think Patton was further along the crazy scale--he thinks he was reborn as all the great generals) historical war figure who dies in an automobile accident. George C. Scott really embodies the character in all his eccentricities. We go inside him and try to understand how he craves war. And by the end, we kind of get it. That iconic opening monologue in front of the American flag is really telling. It is an introduction to the man and the myth that is fully developed over the next three hours with unflinching reality.