Catherine, an out-spoken Parisian laundress follows Napoleon’s army to the battlefront to be near her Sergeant Lefevre. The couple perform a deed of heroism which abets Napoleon’s victory, so that after the war the grateful Emperor bestows on the now married couple the title of Duke and Duchess. Catherine squabbles with Napoleon’s haughty sisters, scandalizes the nobility with her lack of courtly manners, flirts with the men – and consistently creates havoc as she remains true to her earthy background.
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War
Rok spokojnego slonca / Year of the Quiet Sun (1984) Krzysztof Zanussi, Maja Komorowska, Scott Wilson, Hanna Skarzanka, Drama, Romance, War
Shortly after WWII an American soldier (Norman) and a Polish refugee (Emilia) fall in deep love. Eventually he will return to USA and both expect that she will soon follow him. Emilia’s mother is sick but would recover by available medicine. Somehow the mother but not Emilia knows that there will only be one ticket. Realising that Emilia would never abandon her, the mother secretly throws away the daily doses given her by Emilia – and dies. Somehow Emilia discovers her mother’s sacrifice and refuses to benefit from it. She gives the ticket to a female friend and retreats to a cloister, living like the nuns except not wearing their dress and not having given a promise to stay forever. For decades she will apparently live in peace. Then a nun tells her that Norman has died and has bequeathed his fortune to Emilia. The nun suggests that Emilia gives the money to the cloister. But from that moment Emilia’s religious devotion flies away. She only thinks of going as speedily as possible to …
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The Spy in Black / L’Espion Noir (1939) Michael Powell, Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Sebastian Shaw, Thriller, War
Captain Hardt (Conrad Veidt), a World War I German submarine commander, is ordered to lead a mission to attack the British Fleet at Scapa Flow. He puts ashore on the Orkney Islands to meet his contact but finds more than he bargained for in the local schoolmistress (Valerie Hobson).
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Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) Anatole Litvak, Edward G. Robinson, George Sanders, Francis Lederer, Drama, War
Prior to the United States entry into World War II, Nazi spies try to steal American military secrets. Among those whose passions are roused is Kurt Schneider who was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged from the US Army. Schneider is not very bright and is easily swayed by the oratory of Dr. Karl Kassel, a prominent physician who is eventually made the head of the Nazi spy ring. When Schneider’s contact is arrested in Scotland, the US military asks the FBI to root out the spies. Agent Edward Renard is put in charge of the case and they methodically arrest all who have been spying.
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Kono ko wo nokoshite / Children of Nagasaki (1983) Keisuke Kinoshita, Gô Katô, Yukiyo Toake, Chikage Awashima, Drama, War
In Nagasaki, Japan, on 09 August 1945, at 11:02 AM, 80.000 dead and thousand of persons wounded or contaminated by radiation were victims of one of the most hideous crimes of the mankind history. This low-budget movie is a dramatization of this deplorable event, based on the report of one of the survivors of the ‘day after’ of Nagasaki.
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Popioly (1965) Andrzej Wajda, Daniel Olbrychski, Boguslaw Kierc, Piotr Wysocki, Drama, War
Set in the time of Napoleon wars, shows how the wars swept over the unfortunate Polish country at the beginning of the XIX-th century. Story revolves around the Polish legion under command of General Dabrowski, who then fought on Napoleon’s side with the hopes of Poland’s revival.
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The Flying Ace (1926) Richard E. Norman, Laurence Criner, Kathryn Boyd, Boise De Legge, Adventure, Crime, War
A veteran World War I fighter pilot returns home a war hero and immediately regains his former job as a railroad company detective. His first case: recover a stolen satchel filled with $25,000 of company payroll, locate a missing employee, and capture a gang of railroad thieves.
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D’homme à hommes / Man to Men (1948) Christian-Jaque, Jean-Louis Barrault, Bernard Blier, Hélène Perdrière, Biography, Drama, War
The story of the Swiss soldier, Henri Dunant (Jean-Louis Barrault), who was responsible for the founding of the Red Cross, and who was offered the first Nobel Peace Prize.
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Shenandoah (1965) Andrew V. McLaglen, James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Drama, War, Western
In Shenandoah, Virginia, widower farmer Charlie Anderson lives a peaceful life with his six sons – Jacob, James, Nathan, John, Henry and Boy, his daughter Jennie, and his daughter-in-law and James’ wife Ann Anderson. Charlie does not let his sons join the army to fight in the Civil War that he does not consider their war. Jennie marries her beloved Lieutenant Sam, but they do not have a honeymoon since Sam has to return to the front. Charlie’s youngest son Boy is mistakenly taken prisoner by soldiers from the North so Charlie rides with his sons to rescue Boy, while James and Ann stay on the farm. It is time of violence and war, and tragedy reaches the Anderson family.
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Gibraltar / It Happened in Gibraltar (1938) Fyodor Otsep, Roger Duchesne, Erich von Stroheim, Viviane Romance, Drama, War
In 1938, in Gibraltar to infiltrate terrorists who sabotage the boats with troups which should sail to Palestine, a British officer poses as a traitor… The pulpy Mercedes (Viviane Romance), a dancer in a seedy cabaret of Tangier “who draws men like light attracts butterflies…” is spying on behalf of the mysterious Marson interpreted masterfully by Erich Von Stroheim.
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