A variety of activities to honor the victory and pay homage to the victims of the war have been held across the world.

World War II has also long been a favorite subject for filmmakers. After watching bunches of World War 2 DVDs, I survived to pick three of them in this edition of Movie Boulevard to review with you.

Each of them takes a different point of view in interpreting and reflecting on this war, but all embody the same “anti-war” theme. That’s exactly why we commemorate this great tragedy for human beings.

The first film on our recommendation list is director Franklin J.Schaffner’s ‘Patton’, one of the greatest screen biographies ever produced.

This monumental film which runs nearly three hours, and won seven Academy Awards, follow World War II through the career of the controversial American general, George S. Patton.

It was released in 1970 when protests against the Vietnam War still raged at home and abroad, and critics and moviegoers have struggled to reconcile current events with the movie's glorification of Patton. as a brave genius.

It is about the rise and fall of a man whose life was literally defined by war, and who felt lost and lonely when not in pursuit of an enemy.

Actor George C. Scott embodies his role so fully, so convincingly, that we can't help but be drawn to and fascinated by Patton as a man who is simultaneously bound to hell and glory.

The film's opening monologue alone is a masterful display of acting and character analysis, and everything that follows is sheer brilliance on the part of Scott and director Franklin J. Schaffner.

Now, let’s review this famous monologue.

Filmed on an epic scale at literally dozens of European locations, Patton does not embrace war as a noble pursuit, nor does it deny the reality of war as a breeding ground for heroes. Through the awesome achievement of Scott's performance and the film's grand ambition, Patton shows all the complexities of a man who accepted his role in life and played it to the hilt.

After the great general, let move the spotlight to another military general, but a villain, Adolf Hitler. It is a risky and controversial job to humanize Adolf Hitler even in a film.

Assuming the man was more than a one-dimensional monster re-opens the wounds of an unspeakable period in modern history -- which is precisely what director Oliver Hirschbiegel sets out to do in film “Downfall”, a dramatic re-telling of the decline of Hitler's fantasy.

“Downfall” is a windfall for anyone who, like me, is fascinated by stories from World War II.

This is the first internationally released German production to feature Hitler as a central figure, but it has been criticized in some circles as presenting a portrait of the Fuhrer that is "too sympathetic."

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The film is based on the memoirs of Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge and Joachim Fest's Inside Hitler's Bunker, which means rigorous historical accuracy.

The recreations of a bombed-out Berlin are especially impressive. Downfall takes us into a realistic replica of a city that has been devastated by countless days of bombings.

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