World War Two has proved to be a treasure trove of material for books and film since its start. Among them: James Jones’s novel The Thin Red Line, the classic film “From Here to Eternity” and more recently Steven Spielburg’s “Saving Private Ryan”. Now, an Alabama filmmaker has tackled the Second Great War.
Birmingham native Eric Bryan is, admittedly, fascinated by World War Two. That fascination led Bryan to begin writing the screenplay for what he thought would be a five-minute short dealing with a group of American G.I.’s at the war’s end. That short eventually ballooned to 51 minutes. Bryan’s movie “The Last Days” is among the films being shown at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, “Film for the People”.
Bryan spoke with WBHM’s Rosemary Pennington about the film. He says getting the movie made was a terrific challenge, as was creating authentic German dialogue.