In regard to the recent thread on films there was a piece in the Independent on Sunday today in which Simon Thurley, head of English Heritage attacked Holywood history films http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=546798

I think he was a little unfair on Segeant Ryan for not portraying British involvement in Normandy as British and American soldiers mostly fought in their own sectors- to the relief of many British soldiers whose war diaries reveal they thought American friendly fire was dangerous as the Germans  (Ammunition was regarded as expensive and not to be wasted in the British army, my grandad went over the trenches in the Somme with six bullets and one of those was unofficial, and killed six men that day but he was a genuine Lincolnshire poacher). I also think the criticism made in the states over the German TV series Heimat a few years back not showing concentration camps was silly as it was about the experiences of an ordinary German family. This and its post-war set sequel Heimat 2 are among the best historical films ever and Heimat 1 explains a lot about the popularity of Nazism. Heimat 3 is due soon. I saw the Thirteenth Warrior the other night on TV and thought it actually made a good job of its historical setting despite being an outright fantasy plus it had a muslim hero. One of my worries about Hollywood is not just rewriting history (I am sure a film showing the Americans winning Stalingrad is only prevented by the fact the Russians still have a nuclear arsenal ) but the underlying racism of many such films. Hollywood dehumanisation of Muslims/Arabs/English/French/Russians like the 1930s racist schools of Germany and Japan is not a joke and I am sure has real consequences in the modern world (I will say no more). 

paul courtney
leicester
UK