Movie: World War Two: 1942 and Hitler's Soft Underbelly

Top 1 Billed Cast

David Reynolds
David Reynolds

Himself

  • HomePage

  • Overview

    The British fought the Second World War to defeat Hitler. This film asks why, then, did they spend so much of the conflict battling through North Africa and Italy? Historian David Reynolds reassesses Winston Churchill's conviction that the Mediterranean was the 'soft underbelly' of Hitler's Europe. Travelling to Egypt and Italian battlefields like Cassino, scene of some of the worst carnage in western Europe, he shows how, in reality, the 'soft underbelly' became a dark and dangerous obsession for Churchill. Reynolds reveals a prime minister very different from the jaw-jutting bulldog of Britain's 'finest hour' in 1940 - a leader who was politically vulnerable at home, desperate to shore up a crumbling British empire abroad, losing faith in his army and even ready to deceive his American allies if it might delay fighting head to head against the Germans in northern France. The film marks the seventieth anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein in 1942.

  • Release Date

    2012-10-15

  • Average

    6.5

  • Rating:

    3.3 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Resident Evil: Degeneration
68%

Resident Evil: Degeneration(ja)

2008-02-13

Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield must battle a rogue warrior seeking revenge after unleashing the deadly G-Virus, whilst a mutated monster goes on a rampage.

Guardians of the Galaxy
79%

Guardians of the Galaxy(en)

2014-07-30

Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.

Joker
81%

Joker(en)

2019-10-01

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

Ready Player One
76%

Ready Player One(en)

2018-03-28

When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.

Inception
84%

Inception(en)

2010-07-15

Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
80%

The Grand Budapest Hotel(en)

2014-02-26

The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.

The Matrix
82%

The Matrix(en)

1999-03-31

Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

WALL·E
81%

WALL·E(en)

2008-06-22

What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
78%

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(en)

2003-07-09

After Port Royal is attacked and pillaged by a mysterious pirate crew, capturing the governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann in the process, William Turner asks free-willing pirate Jack Sparrow to help him locate the crew's ship—The Black Pearl—so that he can rescue the woman he loves.

The Revenant
75%

The Revenant(en)

2015-12-25

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

Blade Runner 2049
76%

Blade Runner 2049(en)

2017-10-04

Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

Halloween
76%

Halloween(en)

1978-10-24

Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.

The Imitation Game
80%

The Imitation Game(en)

2014-11-14

Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

Thor: Ragnarok
76%

Thor: Ragnarok(en)

2017-10-02

Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his home-world and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.

The Godfather
87%

The Godfather(en)

1972-03-14

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

Parasite
85%

Parasite(ko)

2019-05-30

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
83%

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse(en)

2023-05-31

After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie
76%

The Super Mario Bros. Movie(en)

2023-04-05

While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario and Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.

Limitless
72%

Limitless(en)

2011-03-17

The life of an unsuccessful writer is transformed by a top-secret 'smart drug' that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
69%

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)(en)

2020-02-05

Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord.

Similar Movies

Hanover Street
56%

Hanover Street(en)

1979-05-18

Margaret is a nurse in England during WW2, and married to a secret agent. Things get complicated when she falls for David, an American pilot.

Shock Waves
49%

Shock Waves(en)

1977-07-15

Visitors to a remote island discover that a reclusive Nazi commandant has been breeding a group of zombie soldiers.

Forbidden Games
78%

Forbidden Games(fr)

1952-05-09

Orphaned after a Nazi air raid, Paulette, a young Parisian girl, runs into Michel, an older peasant boy, and the two quickly become close. Together, they try to make sense of the chaotic and crumbling world around them, attempting to cope with death as they create a burial ground for Paulette's deceased pet dog. Eventually, however, Paulette's stay with Michel's family is threatened by the harsh realities of wartime.

The Eternal Sea
64%

The Eternal Sea(en)

1955-04-19

Biography of Admiral John Hoskins' efforts to retain active command despite WW2 injury.

Long Dark Night
64%

Long Dark Night(hr)

2004-03-07

"Long Dark Night" follows the life of the fictional character Iva Kolar: his experiences as a Croatian University student, his role as a Partisan fighting Hitler's troops during W.W. II, his involvement in his nation's post-war government, and his eventual downfall.

Train of Life
74%

Train of Life(fr)

1998-09-16

In 1941, the inhabitants of a small Jewish village in Central Europe organize a fake deportation train so that they can escape the Nazis and flee to Palestine.

Female Agents
66%

Female Agents(fr)

2008-02-08

May 1944, a group of French servicewomen and resistance fighters are enlisted into the British Special Operations Executive commando group under the command of Louise Desfontaines and her brother Pierre. Their mission, to rescue a British army geologist caught reconnoitering the beaches at Normandy.

The American St. Nick
0%

The American St. Nick(en)

2015-11-10

On Dec. 5, 1944, American soldiers, led by Harry Stuts, put their guns down for one day and organized a party celebrating the town's centuries-old Saint Nick tradition. Soldiers made hot chocolate from their D-rations, company cooks made donuts and cookies for the children, and 22-year-old corporal Richard Brookins from Rochester, NY played the role of Saint Nick. An emotional and heartfelt story, THE AMERICAN SAINT NICK illustrates how American soldiers and residents of the hamlet were able to bond over a moment in time, creating a tradition that continues to this day.

Rome, Open City
80%

Rome, Open City(it)

1945-10-08

In WWII-era Rome, underground resistance leader Manfredi attempts to evade the Gestapo by enlisting the help of Pina, the fiancée of a fellow member of the resistance, and Don Pietro, the priest due to oversee her marriage. But it’s not long before the Nazis and the local police find him.

Das Boot
81%

Das Boot(de)

1981-09-17

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.

The English Patient
72%

The English Patient(en)

1996-11-14

In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.

The Pianist
84%

The Pianist(en)

2002-09-17

The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

Schindler's List
86%

Schindler's List(en)

1993-12-15

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

Bataan Death March
0%

Bataan Death March(en)

2021-01-01

Within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, bombs rained down on U.S. and Filipino forces in the Philippines. After months of vicious fighting, Allied forces surrendered on the island only to be met with a brutal march to P.O.W. camps dotted across the islands. Thousands died on the marches, before reaching the P.O.W. camps where countless more died. The surrender of the Philippines, now almost forgotten in U.S. history, is commemorated in the Philippines every year.

D-Day, 100 jours pour la liberté
75%

D-Day, 100 jours pour la liberté(fr)

2024-06-06

Using restored, colorized archives and testimonies from all the players in this conflict, this documentary covers the hundred days of apocalyptic fighting that wrote History. June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy. This odyssey was meticulously prepared for months. The construction of two artificial ports, the transport of Anglo-American troops, their training cost colossal efforts, and caused many cold sweats: the secret of D-Day almost came to light several times. The documentary reveals the inner workings of Operation Overlord, it also deciphers the military operations, and evokes the choices of the high command. Placed at human level, it retraces the fate of Norman civilians subjected to deadly bombings, the attitude of the Allied soldiers and their German adversaries, as well as the aspirations of the French population, torn between fear and hope.

A Good Lad
45%

A Good Lad(ru)

1943-01-01

A group of Russian partisans hiding within a remote forest attempt to destroy a nearby German airfield, all the while assisting a downed French pilot who happens to fall madly in love with a local girl.

Panfilov's 28 Men
68%

Panfilov's 28 Men(ru)

2016-11-24

USSR, Late November, 1941. Based on the account by reporter Vasiliy Koroteev that appeared in the Red Army's newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, shortly after the battle, this is the story of Panifilov's Twenty-Eight, a group of twenty-eight soldiers of the Red Army's 316th Rifle Division, under the command of General Ivan Panfilov, that stopped the advance on Moscow of a column of fifty-four Nazi tanks of the 11th Panzer Division for several days. Though armed only with standard issue Mosin-Nagant infantry rifles and DP and PM-M1910 machine guns, all useless against tanks, and with wholly inadequate RPG-40 anti-tank grenades and PTRD-41 anti-tank rifles, they fight tirelessly and defiantly, with uncommon bravery and unwavering dedication, to protect Moscow and their Motherland.

The Cardinal
65%

The Cardinal(en)

1963-12-12

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

The Victors
63%

The Victors(en)

1963-11-22

Intercutting dramatic vignettes with newsreel footage, the story follows the characters from an infantry squad as they make their way from Sicily to Germany during the end of World War II.

Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!
79%

Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!(fr)

1966-12-08

During World War II, two French civilians and a downed British Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Northern France and the South. From there they will be able to escape to England. First, they must avoid German troops – and the consequences of their own blunders.