FIGHTING ON FILM

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ fighting-on-film/id1537243706

I’ll be honest, I just flat out love Fighting on Film. It’s a podcast devoted to war movies and I urge any wargamer worthy of the name to tune in because it’s just perfect. The hosts are genial, the content excellent and the episodes weigh in at about forty minutes a time. Robbie and Matt at Fighting on Film discuss war movies with an eye to the history and often look into the production and the shooting schedule as well. Each

episode follows a format, they look at a particular war movie, discuss the film itself, how it came about, what it’s trying to represent and the compromises that had to be made. They round up with the “Ally Tally”, a discussion of the kit and vehicles that were used in the film. If you’re any kind of rivet counter, this is pure catnip. Mathew Moss is a professional firearm historian (author of books on the Sterling and PIAT for Osprey) and Robbie McGuire, his co-host, is a man with an eye for military vehicles. The lads really know their stuff.

My personal top three episodes are:

Bataan!

An in depth review of a 1943 classic made all the more interesting because they went into detail on the challenges of filming with blank firing weapons in the 1940s.

Wild Geese

I actually turned this one off and watched the film The Wild Geese before listening to it. McGuire’s love of Bedford trucks is really on show in this one.

Kelly’s Heroes

An episode with guest host, military historian Peter CaddickAdams, where he proposes the controversial thesis that it is the greatest war film ever made. He doesn’t do a bad job of defending his position either.