“In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy.” – John C. Sawhill
“You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they’ll still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements and it’s as if they never existed. That’s what Hitler wants and that’s exactly what we are fighting for.” – Frank Stokes, The Monuments Men
George Clooney and Grant Heslov once again hit it out the ballpark with this movie, based on the real “Monument Men” and their quest to recover art during WWI.
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The Monuments Men
The cast was fantastic. I know Clooney likes to work with certain actors over and over again (i.e., Matt Damon and Grant Heslov), but I thought it was a brilliant idea to bring his own father into the mix and let him portray Frank Stokes as an old man.
I like how the story evolved from when the art was being documents and then shipped away to different mines for holding to when the art was recovered and returned to its proper owners. It did break my heart to see the soldiers burning some of the art, but I guess that’s what really happened. Some artwork was never recovered due to their being burned, and that’s just tragic.
suite101, Yahoo Movies, Gizmodo, Mother Jones
The group of actors that Clooney put together to portray the Monument Men that were great — Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville. And Cate Blanchett was an added bonus.
Here are some of the archival photos from the real Monument Men.
BuzzFeed, Smithsonian Magazine
On a side note, Clooney has become a wonderful screenwriter, director, and producer. He and Heslov founded the production company Smoke House after Clooney’s production company Section Eight closed down. They have been friends since 1982 when Heslov loaned Clooney $200 to buy his first headshots and they have been friends ever since. They later became writing and producing partner. Together they have co-wrote three screenplays – The Monuments Men, The Ides of March, and Good Night, and Good Luck.
What is your favorite George Clooney movie? I’d love to hear from you!
Have a great day!
