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War Movie Theatre

The show formerly known as A Pod Too Far


Latest episode

  • 9. Reach For The Sky - with Peter Apps

    01:17:23||Season 6, Ep. 9
    Douglas Bader was a man who lost both his legs but became a World War 2 flying ace, a disability campaigner who could be insufferably rude, a prisoner in Colditz who was nearly killed by his American liberators. We're joined by Peter Apps, who was paralysed in an accident while working as a Reuters war correspondent but has since rejoined the Army, to talk about the amazing film of Bader's life. Did Kenneth More make him seem to nice? Why were the film's makers so personally invested in the portrayal of Bader's rehabilitation? Why did Bader refuse to go and see it?Peter's new book is "The Next World War: the New Age of Global Conflict and the Fight to Stop It".Next week: We kick off Fighting Irish Month with The Siege of Jadotville.

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  • 8. Edge of Tomorrow (Live Die Repeat) with Charles Arthur

    01:08:47||Season 6, Ep. 8
    Is it "Groundhog Day meets Aliens" or "World War 2 of the future"? Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt strap on their exoskeletons and go to war against alien invaders, over and over again.We're joined by the writer Charles Arthur to watch a film that, amazingly, Duncan knew nothing about. Marvel as he tries to work out why Cruise is dying 10 minutes in. Thrill as we try to work out the bodycount,Gasp as Rob explains director Doug Liman's seat-of-his pants approach to film-making.

  • 7. The Heroes of Telemark

    01:08:47||Season 6, Ep. 7
    Skis against the atom! We're watching one of the all-time classic war movies. Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris jump from planes, scale ice cliffs and sink a ferry in the quest to stop the Nazis getting the bomb. Directed by Anthony Mann, it's based on an amazing true story of Norwegian heroism. Has knitwear ever looked better? Are Norwegians really this horny? And can Rob successfully explain "heavy water" to Duncan?Next week: Edge of Tomorrow (Live Die Repeat)

  • 6. Nuremberg - with Henry Dyer

    01:12:59||Season 6, Ep. 6
    Russell Crowe makes another pitch for an Oscar as he plays Herman Goering, on trial for his life. But is he let down by a film that is determined to both show and tell? Does he have the silliest last line in history? Is this, fundamentally, a crime against cinema? We're joined by Henry Dyer of the Guardian, who has become so obsessed with why this film doesn't work that he's read the screenplay. And Rob and Duncan can't stop thinking of different stories the makers could have told instead.Next week, by popular demand: The Heroes of Telemark.

  • 5. The Last of the Mohicans

    01:16:57||Season 6, Ep. 5
    Our journey through classic war movies reaches back to colonial America, as we watch Michael Mann's amazing The Last Of The Mohicans. It's an epic tale of obsession and men who won't compromise -- and that's just the making of the film. Daniel Day-Lewis insisted on living like a native American. Mann tried to turn the sun off. But the result, well. Rob and Duncan discuss why this film stands up, why it was overlooked at the Oscars, and why it really might have been the operation that changed the course of World War 2/

  • 4. Dad's Army (1971) - with Matt Chorley

    01:22:52||Season 6, Ep. 4
    Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring! Our journey through classic war cinema brings us to the 1971 big screen spin-off of one of the most successful BBC sitcoms ever. BBC Radio 5's Matt Chorley, a man who knows a thing or two about jokes, joins Rob to explore what a comedy about a bunch of geriatric misfits tells us about Britain in 1940, the 1960s and 70s, and even today. Why did Arthur Lowe have a clause in his contract about his trousers? What did the Home Guard really do? And which member of the cast really had been stabbed with a bayonet? Perfect for fans of cinema history, war film analysis, and classic war movies.Next week: The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

  • 3. The Cockleshell Heroes

    01:08:56||Season 6, Ep. 3
    Kayaks! Commandos! Courage! José Ferrer and Trevor Howard pull out their paddles as they set off to blow up blockade-running boats, in this loosely-based-on-a-true-story tale of wartime derring-do. It's also a story of a culture clash between two quite different men, and of someone branded a coward seeking redemption.On top of that, it's the film that links much post-war British cinema, from James Bond to The Go Between. Find out what Daniel Craig owes to a 1950s tax break.Next week: Dad's Army. The 1971 one, obviously.