I never found Tony Curtis to be terribly versatile but he did have charisma, and that comes to his rescue here in what might be his best on-screen performance without the benefit of a comedy foil. Here he is "Ira Hayes" - a Native American who determines to join the US Marine Corps. Initially, he faces bigotry and bit of supremacy, but now nicknamed the "Chief" and befriended by his erstwhile antagonist "Sorenson" (the terribly wooden James Franciscus) he finds himself in the heat of battle and enjoying the rewards of victory and enduring the bitterest of tragedy. It's afterwards that the rot starts to set in, though. His superiors want some of their bravest soldiers to embark on a nationwide tour to help raise war bond cash, and he's drafted in. In the beginning thrilled by the adulation, it all starts to go to his head (and his liver) and he starts to become a bit of a liability. Returned to the front lines then back to his tribe where he takes a vow of sobriety, even tries for election, but somehow contentment evades him. He feels guilt for his fallen friend, he feels guilt for surviving himself, he feels truly alone - and... It's a poignant story that resonates well with Curtis putting great effort into characterising this brave, but flawed, man largely abandoned by the military authorities when he was of no further use on the battlefield or on the television. The booze or the bullets or both? Well worth a watch, this.
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg is on assignment covering the Cambodian Civil War, with the help of local interpreter Dith Pran and American photojournalist Al Rockoff. When the U.S. Army pulls out amid escalating violence, Schanberg makes exit arrangements for Pran and his family. Pran, however, tells Schanberg he intends to stay in Cambodia to help cover the unfolding story — a decision he may regret as the Khmer Rouge rebels move in.
The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.
The story of a 21-year-old Somali boy named Ayaanle living in Nairobi who aspires to become a world-famous actor. His life is turned upside down after a series of unlikely and unfortunate events force him to defy the odds for his survival.
At the end of World War II, a German soldier is looking for his daughter while an SS troop is looking for a Jewish treasure.
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.