Just watched this documentary on the fate of Art during World WarII and it was very moving. It gives details of what people did to protect their Art and the Nazis that destroyed . the bravery of the French and other countries. Just wanted to share this. It's on Netflex and it's the prelude to the movie the Monuments Men.
Margaret
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
Thank you Margaret! I'll be sure to watch it.
Posted by
Portland
3644 posts
You can also read the book - - same title - - by Lynn H. Nicholas. Much more detail
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Two other books by Monuments Men author: Saving Da Vinci (mostly photos and documents with narrative) and Saving Italy (too much to pack into Monuments Men, according to the author).
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7168 posts
That title is actually "Rescuing Da Vinci" by Robert Edsel.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Thanks, Nancy! Edsel is too creative to use the same word in two titles.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
This revived interest is carried along by all the hoopla for the star-laden movie Monuments Men, now showing everywhere (well, the United States and Canada.) Film buffs can look much further back, to The Train, in 1964. This tingling war adventure starred Burt Lancaster at his most steel-jawed, trying to kidnap a train hauling stolen artworks from France back to Germany. It was shot in dazzling black and white by John Frankenheimer, still young enough to rival Hitchcock for disciplined direction. Jeanne Moreau and Paul Scofield (as the villain) offered fascinating support. According to Wikipedia, the project also had literary roots, in the book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7168 posts
@brandt - I believe the documentary and the books emphasize the bravery of the French Resistance, a few key people in the art world of Paris, and the citizens of many small villages/towns who helped save the art of their churches; not so much the French government or the country in general.
Posted by
Happy Valley, PA
672 posts
I found 'The Monuments Men' movie to be disappointing. It also bothered me that they did not use the real names of the men and women who were being portrayed, but I guess that is Clooney's poetic license. I would recommend reading Edsel's books instead of seeing the movie; or spend your money on 'The Train', which I agree was a much better film.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7168 posts
I just saw the Monuments Men movie and I enjoyed it a lot, it was very entertaining and who (among us women) doesn't enjoy looking at George Clooney and Matt Damon for a couple of hours. However I agree with Robert about the subject matter and I think that not using the real names may have been wise with so much dramatic license being taking. This movie is to the real events somewhat like the Sound Of Music was to the real events experienced by the Von Trapp family. Unfortunately the movie The Train also didn't use real names and was about as true to events as Monuments Men is. That usually happens with movies that are made as entertainment rather than documentaries.
Anyone interested in this subject should read the books; and there are others besides Robert Edsel's.