Brad Pitt, Second Amendment Supporter, Has New WWII Movie Opening Tomorrow

Article by Frank Jardim . Photos by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.

With the upcoming cinematic release of FURY tomorrow, October 17, the war movie genre finally has a realistic, historically accurate, film focusing on tank crews and armored combat in World War II. It comes right after the 75th anniversary of the start of WWII, which began on Sept. 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. The film was written and directed by David Ayer and stars Brad Pitt in the lead role as Staff Sergeant “Wardaddy,” a Sherman tank commander in the 2nd Armored Division.
Filmed on location in England, the movie takes us to the last days of World War II, when American (and Russian) forces had put 9,995 of the 10,000 German tanks produced out of commission, and the Nazis had to defend der heimland with their elderly and youth. The wear of war is reflected in Pitt's battle-hardened character, who’s been riding in a tank since North Africa, and contrasts sharply with his fresh-from-the-cornfields driver as they lead a charge for a crucial crossroads, which they have to unexpectedly defend when their armored vehicle is blasted out of its tracks. Yeah, we all know how the war ends, but this film takes us along for a more realistic ride than most other recreations of the European theater.

Pitt’s character is a bit reminiscent of the role he played as a soldier in Inglourious Basterds, which also took place during WWII. He takes his five-man crew behind enemy lines, where they are outnumbered and outgunned. Yet he is determined to succeed in the deadly mission, “I started this war killing Germans in Africa. Now I’m killing Germans in Germany. I promised my crew a long time ago that I’d keep them alive,” he pledges.

Since Saving Private Ryan premiered in 1998, we’ve had several movie and cable television productions realistically portraying the violence, blood and gore of infantry and air combat that give the viewer a real sense of the mortal terror of battle. By doing a better showing of how it really was, they have honored the sacrifices of the real participants. That is not to say that some earlier films were not excellent and realistic. One that leaps to mind is the superb 1949 film Twelve O’Clock High staring Gregory Peck, which is frequently studied in our military training academies to this day. However, most of the older films simply couldn’t recreate how it really was because of the technical limitations of filmmaking and special effects, and viewer tastes.

Click here to read the rest of the review as well as Brad Pitt's views on the Second Amendmen at Western Shooting Journal