Oliver Stone: I'm going to put Hitler and Stalin in context

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Stone announced yesterday that a 10-hour crash course in the history of the 20th century he is putting together for American TV is designed as an antidote to the inaccuracies and biases he believes exist in the conventional historical narrative dished out in American schools and mainstream media. The title alone gives an inkling of what lies ahead: Oliver Stone's Secret History of America.

...

"Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and it's been used cheaply," he said. Then he mentioned the S word. "Stalin has a complete other story. Not to paint him as a hero, but to tell a more factual representation. He fought the German war machine more than any person."

Then he went on to mention two M words – Chairman Mao and Joseph McCarthy, architect of the 1950s anti-communist purges in Washington, and the T word – Harry Truman's dropping of the atom bomb in 1945.

Of the many potential storms that could be brewing over his Secret History, which will be broadcast by the cable channel Showtime later this year, Hitler promises to be the most incendiary. Stone told the Television Critics Association that "we can't judge people as only 'bad' or 'good'. [Hitler] is the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect. People in America don't know the connection between WWI and WWII."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jan/10...r-stone-history

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Stone told the Television Critics Association that "we can't judge people as only 'bad' or 'good'. [Hitler] is the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect."

Sounds like Buddhism.

[Danno 1,228]

Let me get my crystal ball and see where this is heading in under ten posts.

[jundp 191]

We can judge Hitler as 'bad.' And yes, plenty of people in America understand the connections between WWI and WWII.

Oh good, Oliver Stone's going to give us "his" version of Hitler. Can't wait. Wonder if he'll screw it up as much as he screwed up his film JFK?

Oliver Stone should perhaps get a degree in history before he starts trying to tell people 'the truth.'

[SuperDuper! 230]

Oliver puts the Stone in STONED.

[scandal 951]

I just watched Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds".

OK, so maybe I'm 6 months behind the rest of y'all who saw it in the theaters. But I'm cheap, so I waited for the $1 DVD at Redbox.

Anyway, I was bracing to not like the movie.

Since, after all, it's billed as a somewhat comedic take on a subject I find rather somber -- Nazis and SS pricks and Gestapo thugs and Hitler and Goebbels and all that jazz.

So, of course it's wildly historically inaccurate. But who cares??????

It's a GREAT film.

Really great.

If you haven't seen it, and you like Quentin, then do so.

I've always claimed that Reservoir Dogs was my favorite and that everything thereafter - Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, From Dusk Till Dawn .. all were good, but none reached the cinema that was Reservoir Dogs.

Until this movie.

I seriously really loved it.

I just loved the usage of David Bowie's Cat People theme "Putting out fire with gasoline..." as the soundtrack to the red-lipsticked red-dressed femme fatale scene! That was classic Quentin.

And I found that I did enjoy the humor. And the action. And the gore (though there really wasn't all that much, compared to R.Dogs or Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction). And, of course, I just loved the great climactic ending. It's just so nice to see bad Nazi guys getting bashed around by Jews, even if it is all just make believe.

And I really loved the role of Christoph Waltz as Standartenführer Hans Landa. He's everything you imagine a devilish Nazi to be - suave, sophisticated, debonair - yet cold-hearted calculating Jew-hating sonofabitch #######. Wow.

Scandal's 2-cent movie recommendation and contribution to this thread: I'll take a Quentin Tarantino movie over an Oliver Stone movie about Hitler any old day.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I just watched Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds".

OK, so maybe I'm 6 months behind the rest of y'all who saw it in the theaters. But I'm cheap, so I waited for the $1 DVD at Redbox.

Anyway, I was bracing to not like the movie.

Since, after all, it's billed as a somewhat comedic take on a subject I find rather somber -- Nazis and SS pricks and Gestapo thugs and Hitler and Goebbels and all that jazz.

So, of course it's wildly historically inaccurate. But who cares??????

It's a GREAT film.

Really great.

If you haven't seen it, and you like Quentin, then do so.

I've always claimed that Reservoir Dogs was my favorite and that everything thereafter - Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, From Dusk Till Dawn .. all were good, but none reached the cinema that was Reservoir Dogs.

Until this movie.

I seriously really loved it.

I just loved the usage of David Bowie's Cat People theme "Putting out fire with gasoline..." as the soundtrack to the red-lipsticked red-dressed femme fatale scene! That was classic Quentin.

And I found that I did enjoy the humor. And the action. And the gore (though there really wasn't all that much, compared to R.Dogs or Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction). And, of course, I just loved the great climactic ending. It's just so nice to see bad Nazi guys getting bashed around by Jews, even if it is all just make believe.

And I really loved the role of Christoph Waltz as Standartenführer Hans Landa. He's everything you imagine a devilish Nazi to be - suave, sophisticated, debonair - yet cold-hearted calculating Jew-hating sonofabitch #######. Wow.

Scandal's 2-cent movie recommendation and contribution to this thread: I'll take a Quentin Tarantino movie over an Oliver Stone movie about Hitler any old day.

That's what movie-making is all about. Has anyone ever questioned the accuracies of Shakespeare's King Lear?

[Nagishkaw 510]

We can judge Hitler as 'bad.' And yes, plenty of people in America understand the connections between WWI and WWII.

Oh good, Oliver Stone's going to give us "his" version of Hitler. Can't wait. Wonder if he'll screw it up as much as he screwed up his film JFK?

Oliver Stone should perhaps get a degree in history before he starts trying to tell people 'the truth.'

[NickD 202]

Son calls the History Channel the Hitler Channel, can't even imagine what Stone can add to already has been showed. Same with Stalin, starting off from the time they were born and how they rose to power. Insinuations as to how Hitler was our greatest ally and we didn't want him dead. No doubt, he bite off more than he could chew. The real earth shaker was Stalin, leading into a forty year cold war for all practical purposes, still isn't over.

But still, this is all history, if Stone really wanted to do something worthwhile, would tell what in the hell is going on right now. If he evens knows.

[slim 1,525]

As long as he doesn't turn it into some Hitler/Stalin lovefest ala Alexander.

If I see more than one longing look at a meeting.... I'm calling bullsh!t.

[peejay 327]

We can judge Hitler as 'bad.' And yes, plenty of people in America understand the connections between WWI and WWII.

Oh good, Oliver Stone's going to give us "his" version of Hitler. Can't wait. Wonder if he'll screw it up as much as he screwed up his film JFK?

Oliver Stone should perhaps get a degree in history before he starts trying to tell people 'the truth.'

You don't need to be spoon fed a degree at a university to inform yourself on a wide variety of subject matter. Anyone can go down to a public library in a large city and read a variety of books with differing viewpoints on any subject. Then decide for yourself what is bogus and what is not.

For sure Oliver Stone uses creative license to butcher history to make an entertaining film or push his personal viewpoint. He ain't the only moviemaker to do so. For me any film he would produce would be just one more viewpoint on the subject and I would judge it as such. Anyone that would use an Oliver Stone movie (or Hollywood) as the definitive work on any subject is being lazy or is comfortable being blissfully ignorant.

[slim 1,525]

Anyone that would use an Oliver Stone movie (or Hollywood) as the definitive work on any subject is being lazy or is comfortable being blissfully ignorant.

Platoon was pretty accurate, no?

[Ricardo_C 4]

Having seen his take on JFK, Jim Morrison, and Hugo Chávez, I can't wait for the next opus from the master of fiction

[jundp 191]

Having seen his take on JFK, Jim Morrison, and Hugo Chávez, I can't wait for the next opus from the master of fiction

Exactly.

There's a difference between using creative license to tell a story (aka fiction) and trying to pull it off as historical accuracy, as is what it seems from the OP he will try to do with this show for cable.

I'm quite aware, peejay, that one can educate themselves without being, what did you say? 'spoonfed a degree'? Not really sure how earning a degree equals being 'spoonfed' but w/e. The point is for OLIVER STONE to be pretending this is historically accurate is laughable at best.

And, I still believe we can certainly judge Hitler to be evil. Series of actions leading up to his actions, sure. However, he still chose to do what he did.

[peejay 327]

Exactly.

There's a difference between using creative license to tell a story (aka fiction) and trying to pull it off as historical accuracy, as is what it seems from the OP he will try to do with this show for cable.

I'm quite aware, peejay, that one can educate themselves without being, what did you say? 'spoonfed a degree'? Not really sure how earning a degree equals being 'spoonfed' but w/e. The point is for OLIVER STONE to be pretending this is historically accurate is laughable at best.

And, I still believe we can certainly judge Hitler to be evil. Series of actions leading up to his actions, sure. However, he still chose to do what he did.

I'm just being coy with my "spoonfed" comment. Didn't you know...if you don't have a piece of paper to prove it, you're not qualified to know anything about anything.