Days of Glory [DVD] (2006)

I had never heard of the director, Rachid Bouchareb, before until I watched "Two Men In Town". I liked that film so much that when I saw that this film was by the same director, I had to see it. I was not disappointed.There is a lot of interesting stuff, film-wise, coming out of North Africa these days. It is a change to get an Arab (Algerian, in this case) perspective on WW II. What I don't understand is why the Algerians (and Moroccans) joined up, apparently so enthusiastically, to fight for France. The colonial powers in Algeria can have been no better than colonial powers anywhere else. I cannot imagine that the Algerians were treated any better before the war, than they were during it. The Algerians were used as cannon-fodder. But then, so were French citizens. If people really were that willing to fight for the homeland i.e. for the wealthy and powerful, then there would be no need for conscription.One of my favourite characters was Sgt Martinez. I liked the way he stood up for his men, especially in the incident with the tomatoes. (Big Joe in Kelly's Heroes is of the same ilk.) Do such bosses/line-managers really exist? I ask this question because none of my bosses ever showed the least interest in my welfare (not even when it was obvious that my health was suffering due to a bad working environment)! Perhaps Martinez' function in the film, then, was less a matter of authenticity, but rather to emphasise the raw deal meted out to the "native" soldiers by those higher in the chain of command.

Terrible film.

The French title of Indigènes or “Natives” is a better description of this film – namely the poor treatment of North-African soldiers fighting in the Free French Army during the Second World War.The film has stunning photography and with great acting, is a moving story that has repercussions to this day.There are no extra features with the DVD, just the film with optional scene selection, but a very good film.POTENTIAL SPOILER FOLLOWSSome, may be critical of the perceived hypocrisy from a people who change allegiance, that is to say their desire for independence, but it does not in any way alter the fact that they risked their lives as equally as (and very possible more than) their French comrades. So just because one lot of politicians gain a country’s independence and another lot then decide the worth of someone as being different to someone who now belongs to a foreign country they should surely be given the same reward.worth more than someone else who fought along side,

Days of glory cannot be compared to saving private ryan or bands of brothers they both show spielbergs american we won the war on our own prejudices, also battle scenes are integral and vital parts of both films, days of glory is more a film addressing colonial powers attitudes to colonial troops, ok this is about france and its african troops but it could equally be about the usa and their african american troops, or britain and their indian, anzac and african troops. i found the film compelling, moving and tense the battle scenes were not important, however in the scenes in alsace i almost felt i was there with them not knowing who would appear first the germans or the reinforcements, much more important were the obvious and not so obvious prejudices of the french hierarchy and the naivety, loyalty and grievances of the african troops, the film would not have been the same dubbed, similarly das boot and stalingrad did not seem right in english. and was it the script or the translation that seemed juvenile i would suggest the translationreviewers who condemn this film appear to me to be believe war films should be gung ho blood and guts affairs with no deeper meaning they should open their minds and delve into the directors reason for making the film

I am very pleased with this Blu-Ray release of 'Days of Glory'- the picture is sharp, focused, and very obviously HD. I would say that the visual quality ranks as one of the best in my blu-ray collection. The battle at the beginning of the film, with paned out shots of large numbers of infantry attacking a hill, looked stunning. I definitely recommend buying this on Blu-Ray instead of DVD.As for the film itself, I think this has taken its place as one of my favourite war films. It sheds light on a side of WW2 which has very rarely been explored, and it educates the viewer on the topic of race relations within the ranks of the French military with sensitivity and very naturally- it is not melodramatic, the characters feel like human beings and not actors- which makes it all the more shocking and powerful. It's one of those films where the full emotional impact sinks in in the days after watching it. It's interesting to see the conflict through the eyes of Algerian soldiers- the second world war is seen as such a good versus evil, unambiguous conflict that the situation of the colonial forces is difficult to grasp.Truly, this film will make you think. It's powerful, sad, well-acted, stunning in high def and an essential purchase for anyone's blu-ray collection.