Essential War Epics Boxset – Days of Glory; Assembly; Overlord; Saints & Soldiers (4 discs) DVD – Hanyu Zang, Jun Hu

Set Comprises: Assembly (2007): Based on a true story Assembly follows one man’s journey in search of truth and honour. The Huaihai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War broke out in the winter of 1948 and became one of the bloodiest battles in Chinese history. Thousands from The People’s Liberation Army and the KMT Army fought in a bloodbath in between Xuzhou and Bengbu. Captain Guzidi commanding the Ninth Company led the infantry unit which consisted of a mere 46 men on a sniping mission to defend the south bank of the Wen River. His orders were to fight until the retreat assembly call was charged. After long hours of defence ammunition was running out and the number of men standing in the Ninth Company was quickly decreasing. Everyone began to wonder if they had missed the retreat bugle call. But Guzidi insisted that the bugle had not sounded and that they were to continue to battle at all costs. It was not until later when he found that all the neighbouring troops had already left the field that he realised he might have made a mistake and contributed to his men’s deaths. Guzidi woke up in the hospital and discovered that due to a military re-organisation he and the 46 men who sacrificed themselves during the deadly engagement had lost their identities and ranks and were deemed missing. Determined to prove the existence of the 46 men and honour their glorious deaths Guzidi embarks on his journey to search for his troops… Days Of Glory (2006): The critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated war epic Days of Glory (Indigenes) is a chronicle of courage and sacrifice… told with power grace and feeling and brought alive by first-rate acting. Telling the true story of a band of World War II soldiers who heroically fought their way across Europe while battling discrimination within their own ranks the film was hailed for its eloquent performances and potent action sequences. Saints And Soldiers: Belgium: December 1944 and German troops open fire on unarmed American prisoners of war provoking the historic Malmedy Massacre. Four soldiers trapped behind enemy lines discover a stranded R.A.F. pilot who holds the key to German intelligence which could save thousands of American lives. The five men must battle through the bitter Winter landscape to smuggle their precious cargo from the clutches of the enemy. Overlord: Seamlessly interweaving archival war footage and a fictional narrative Stuart Cooper’s immersive account of one 20-year-old’s journey from basic training to the battle front lines at D-day brings all the terrors and isolation of war to its viewers with jolting authenticity. Overlord impressionistically shot by Stanley Kubrick’s longtime cinematographer John Alcott is both a document of WWII and a dreamlike meditation on man’s smallness in a large incomprehensible machine.