Today, the world marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day -- the massive Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France that began on this day in 1944. Early this morning, eastern time, Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron of France, and President Donald Trump spoke at a ceremony marking the anniversary, which included more than 60 World War Two veterans, and a large crowd in Normandy, France, near the graves of more than 9,300 Americans killed in the epic battle. Over the course of three months, a million Allied soldiers joined the battle to turn the tide of the Second World War. Nazi Germany surrendered less than a year later.
The existential threat to liberal democracies was a preoccupation not only of the political and military leaders of the day, but also of scores of filmmakers – then, and ever since. Today, we’re going to talk about the movies about and inspired by World War Two; films that were made during and soon after the conflict, and in the decades that followed.
Joining Tom are Midday's go-to movie mavens: Jed Dietz is the founding director of the Maryland Film Festival; Ann Hornaday is the film critic for the Washington Post and the author of the book TALKING PICTURES: HOW TO WATCH MOVIES…
Listeners are invited to join the conversation. What’s your favorite World War 2 movie? How do you think movies about that war have helped succeeding generations understand the sacrifices made 75 years ago to defeat fascism in Europe?
