New Shop Movies

Based on a true story, Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List stars Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German businessman in Poland who sees an opportunity to make money from the Nazis' rise to power. He starts a company to make cookware and utensils, using flattery and bribes to win military contracts, and brings in accountant and financier Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) to help run the factory. By staffing his plant with Jews who've been herded into Krakow's ghetto by Nazi troops, Schindler has a dependable unpaid labor force. For Stern, a job in a war-related plant could mean survival for himself and the other Jews working for Schindler. However, in 1942, all of Krakow's Jews are assigned to the Plaszow Forced Labor Camp, overseen by Commandant Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), an embittered alcoholic who occasionally shoots prisoners from his balcony. Schindler arranges to continue using Polish Jews in his plant, but, as he sees what is happening to his employees, he begins to develop a conscience. He realizes that his factory (now refitted to manufacture ammunition) is the only thing preventing his staff from being shipped to the death camps. Soon Schindler demands more workers and starts bribing Nazi leaders to keep Jews on his employee lists and out of the camps. By the time Germany falls to the allies, Schindler has lost his entire fortune -- and saved 1,100 people from likely death. Schindler's List was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Picture and a long-coveted Best Director for Spielberg, and it quickly gained praise as one of the finest American movies about the Holocaust. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When a top secret naval mission leads to the torpedoing of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at the end of WWII, it began one of the most scandalous court-martials in the history of the military. For five days the surviving crew members were left in the shark-infested waters, with only half of them surviving to be rescued. Their well-respected Captain accepted the responsibility to keep the scandal to a minimum but his court-martial only served to show that justice is not always found in military proceedings but rather mere expediency. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Murs Kulgawcowa was a servant for rich Jewish people for many years, and the necessity for her to kow-tow and take orders from them was galling to her. Still, at their request, she goes to see them where they now are, in the Warsaw ghetto. They want her to take their youngest child with them "until its safe." She sees an opportunity to get some revenge for the humiliation she suffered and is very rude and difficult with them. All the same, they give her so much money and so many valuable things that she finally relents and takes the girl with her. The two odd companions travel for some time together and grow friendly, so that when it looks like it might be necessary for her to do so, the former washerwoman is willing to die to protect her young charge. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Bette Midler stars as a Martha Raye-type entertainer during the World War II era in this big-budget nostalgia piece. Midler plays big-band singer Dixie Leonard, who is chosen to perform at an overseas USO Christmas show by her uncle Art Silver (George Segal), a comedy writer for famed comedian Eddie Sparks (James Caan). Dixie is shuttled to London, where she is thrown on-stage with Eddie, who takes an immediate dislike to her. But her performance is a sensation, and the audience can't stop howling at Dixie's smart one-liner comebacks to Eddie. Dixie is catapulted to stardom, and the repartee between Eddie and Dixie becomes the stuff of legend. The two spar together through World War II, the McCarthy era, and Vietnam. But Dixie stops speaking to Eddie when he fires a writer for being a communist sympathizer and, later, she doesn't speak to him again after he arranges for a reunion between her and her son on the battlefields of Vietnam. Finally, Dixie, now an old woman, is cajoled to appear on a television awards show to reunite with a now decrepit Eddie, age 91. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Unabashedly sentimental, this war film was produced by David Putnam in partnership with Catherine Wyler, whose father William Wyler directed an acclaimed documentary about the real-life events depicted in the film. The ensemble cast is composed of ten young actors portraying the crew of the World War II B-17 bomber "Memphis Belle," anticipating their 25th and last mission before they will be able to go home. Having won fame with their exemplary war record and amazing lack of casualties, they expect their final assignment to be a cakewalk, but instead they are ordered to bomb Bremen, a heavily defended German city that will mean almost certain loss of life. Led by their experienced captain, Dennis Dearborn (Matthew Modine), the crew shoulders its responsibility despite mounting fears, while their commanding officer (David Strathairn) and a public relations specialist (John Lithgow) wait anxiously for their return. Aboard the bomber, there's friction between Dearborn and his disgruntled co-pilot Luke Sinclair (Tate Donovan), and between medical officer Val Kozlowski (Billy Zane) and the rest of the crew when it's learned that Val lied about his qualifications. Despite impressive technical credits and a popular Generation-X cast, Memphis Belle (1990) was a box-office disappointment, its enthusiastic patriotism considered a throwback to a bygone era of filmmaking. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Soviet radicals upset with the thawing of the Cold War explode a nuclear weapon in Russia, setting off a series of events that may very well trigger World War III. The president (Martin Landau) has been isolated after a helicopter accident and must outwit government and military officials who are attempting to go forward with the war. The film centers on the relationship between a pair of American pilots who have been ordered to bomb the U.S.S.R. and the attempts by some factions to bring them home before global Armageddon. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Casualties of War was based on a New Yorker article by Daniel Lang. This, in turn, was inspired by a true incident which illustrated the dehumanizing aspects of the Vietnam experience. Michael J. Fox plays Eriksson, a member of an American squadron stationed in the deepest jungles of Southeast Asia. Sean Penn co-stars as Meserve, the squadron sergeant, who vows revenge after his best friend is killed. He orders his men to invade a village and "requisition" a young Vietnamese girl (Thuy Thu Lee), who is repeatedly tied, gagged and gang-raped. The horrified Eriksson refuses to participate in these atrocities, and he does his best to console the girl and to attempt to free her. Before this can happen, however, Meserve orders another man to kill the girl. Once he returns to camp, Eriksson attempts to file a report on the tragedy and to bring Meserve and the others to justice, but he is stonewalled by the brass and threatened with death by his fellow soldiers. Eventually Meserve and his co-conspirators are jailed for their crimes, but Eriksson can never forget his "compliance" in the incident by failing to save the girl. The script is by well-known playwright David Rabe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

By the time Tour of Duty commenced its (extremely belated) second season on CBS, there'd been a considerable personnel turnover in Company B, not to mention a complete change of scenery. Though it's still the Vietnam of 1967, the platoon has been reassigned to the Tan Son Nhut air base, not far from Saigon. Lt. Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey) and Sgt. Zeke Anderson (Stephen Caffrey) are still in charge, and troopers Percell (Tony Becker), Johnson (Stan Foster), Taylor (Miguel A. Nunez), and Ruiz (Ramon Franco) are present and accounted for; but Wallace, Horn, Baker, and "Doc" are all gone. New to the landscape are chopper-pilot John McCay (Dan Gauthier), attractive army shrink Dr. Jennifer Seymour (Betsy Brantley), and female news correspondent Alex Devlin (Kim Delaney). The addition of two female regulars not only insured Tour of Duty an increase in viewership but also allowed the scriptwriters to inject some romance in the proceedings: namely, Sgt. Anderson's fling with Dr. Seymour, and Lt. Goldman's liaison with Alex. ~ Rovi

Based on a true story, Bat 21 follows the harrowing adventures of Lt. Colonel Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman), whose plane is shot down over enemy territory while on reconnaissance behind enemy lines in Vietnam. Because Hambleton used to call the shots from behind a desk, he lacks combat survival experience and is forced to adapt while the enemy surrounds him on all sides. As the Air Force plans a risky rescue mission, he is befriended by pilot Bartholomew Clark (Danny Glover), who can't land to pick up Hambleton due to the enemy activity but keeps him company by radio. Hambleton's plight takes a turn for the worse once the brass decide to execute an intensive bombing mission in the area, whether or not they can rescue Hambleton. The colonel, meanwhile, confronted for the first time by the horrors of war, begins to reassess his role in the bloodshed. An overlooked film at the time of its release, Bat 21 is a smaller war picture that focuses on an ordinary man in an excruciating situation, and how it ultimately changes his life. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Stanley Kubrick's return to filmmaking after a seven-year hiatus, this film crystallizes the experience of the Vietnam War by concentrating on a group of raw Marine volunteers. Based on Gustav Hasford's novel The Short Timers, the film's first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey, a real-life drill instructor whose performance is one of the most terrifyingly realistic on record). Part two takes place in Nam, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Ironically, Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

U.S. Army Company B reports for its first Tour of Duty in the Vietnam of 1967. B's spiritual leader, Sgt. Zeke Anderson (Terence Knox), doesn't quite see eye to eye with rules-are-rules Lt. Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey), a shave-tail straight out of OSC. New platoon members Roger Horn (Joshua Maurer), Danny Percell (Tony Becker), Alberto Ruiz (Ramon Franco), and Scott Baker (Eric Bruskotter) don't think much of Goldman either, preferring to turn to Anderson in moments of crisis. Also signed for this tour are seasoned troopers Marvin Johnson (Stan Foster) and Marcus Taylor (Miguel A. Nunez Jr.), and company commander Captain Wallace (Kevin Conroy). Before the season has run its course, both Wallace and company medic "Doc" Matsuda (Steve Akahoshi) will have fallen in battle. ~ Rovi

Though the anti-war sentiments of Hamburger Hill come through loud and clear, the film is squarely on the side of those courageous, much-maligned Americans who fought and died in Vietnam. Based on a true incident, the story takes place in 1969, as the 101st Airborne Division confronts the Vietcong in a bloody battle over Hill 937 (aka "Hamburger Hill") in the A Shau Valley. During the next ten days, both sides incur heavy losses, but the Cong refuse to surrender the hill. The ultimate American "victory" turns out to be a hollow one indeed. Scripted by Vietnam War vet Jim Carabatsos, Hamburger Hill not only underlines the futility of the war but also the pressures brought to bear upon the troops by an insensitive, often hostile media. By utilizing a cast of unknowns, director John Irvin deftly avoids the Hollywoodized slickness of such bigger-budgeted efforts as Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi