World War II Collection: Honour and Glory

Triple bill of features set during World War II. 'Assault On the Pacific' (2007) is a Japanese World War II drama about a squadron of Kamikaze pilots fighting in the Pacific. The film follows the training and final moments in the lives of young pilots including Bando (Yosuke Kubozuka) and Kaneyama (Yasuyuki Maekawa) as they bid farewell to their families and girlfriends and embark on their suicidal missions against the US Navy over the Pacific Ocean. 'The Final Sacrifice' (2010) tells the story of a doomed German army platoon, led by Lt. Gunther (Thomas Pohn), stranded in the mountains of Northern Italy in the last days of the war. Surrounded by Italian resistance fighters, including Gianini (Fabio Sartor), the demoralised and starving soldiers helplessly await reinforcement from Mussolini's remaining loyalists. When the Italian reinforcements do finally turn up, they are reluctant to take arms against their fellow Italians, sensing that the war they are fighting is a lost cause. 'Max Schmeling - The Fist of the Reich' (2010) is a sports biopic detailing the life and times of German boxer and heavyweight champion Max Schmeling (Henry Maske). Schmeling attained fame in the 1930s for a series of classic fights with American boxer Joe Louis (Yoan Pablo Hernandez) and became known after the Second World War for risking his life to save two Jewish children in 1938.