Exactly!

Note though, that "Bible" was crying during a lot of the dinner table scene.

Good discussion.  

@RBaer: Most definitely platoons, late in the fight, had mixed engine type Shermans.  With cobbling together fixed up veteran tanks and pulling in new replacements, this was VERY common.

As for "Bible" asking the replacement "Are you saved" as the first words, that absolutely is not out of character among some people.

Hmmm, maybe I'm a little confused here, was the 'Bible' guy (Swan) there during the dinner scene? The driver (Gordo) and loader (Travis) showed up but I was thinking he sat out with the tank drinking coffee and reading a book, I'm assuming it was his Bible during the whole thing.

Commander- Don 'Wardaddy' Collier, Brad Pitt

Gunner- Boyd 'Bible' Swan, Shia LaBeouf, had a mustache, 'Bible guy' 

Driver- Trini 'Gordo' Garcia, Michael Peria, Latino guy

Loader- Grady 'Coon-#@#' Travis, Jon Bernthal, Clean shaven guy, scar on his nose, biggest guy on crew,  bully, sorta psychotic 

Assistant Driver- Norman Ellison, Logan Lerman, rookie guy

I'll admit I did kinda tune out during the character stuff though and then perked back up during the action scenes so maybe I missed it.  

Edit: Dunno why I didn't check the IMDB for the names in the first place?!! 

Yes, "Bible" (LeBeouf) was sitting closest to the kitchen at the dinner table with his back to the windows. All three other crew members (Gordo, Bible & Coon) arrived as the two women, Brad and Logan were sitting down to eat eggs and potatoes (I think that's what they had).

The three of them were quite perplexed that Wardaddy left them out of this quaint little dinner. Of course, their behavior made it quite clear exactly why they were left out. Brad was looking for a brief moment of normalcy in the chaos of war.

Rob, that's what I got out of that scene as well.

Roy, thanks, I didn't know that engine types were mixed up within units, but it opens up some more display options/dio ideas for me.

And I thing that Bible asking the new guy if he "was saved" right away like that was "in character", and maybe, given the circumstances, appropriate, since statistically new guys were to most likely to become casualties in a hurry.

I still think it was a good movie.  My wife got on YouTube last night and searched "the making of Fury", got some very interesting results.

As far as mixed tanks, if you lost several tanks out of your 17 tank platoon and you were sent new tanks and crews, you add them regardless of the variant. The Cold War army had something called "WSRO" pronounced Whiz-Row. It stood for Weapons System Replacement Operations. Meaning if your unit lost a weapons system like a tank, you got a new tank (new to you) along with a full crew. Back in the 1980s,  it would be expected to get whatever version of tank was available whether your unit was equipped with M1IP, M60A3TTS, M1A1 or even M60A1 RISE/Passive.

Again thanks Rob for the correction, my attention did start to wander as the dinner scene went on.

Anyway back to the tanks, it was great to see a real Tiger in action, I don't mind those T-34/Tigers but still this was fantastic. Just wondering though are there any Panthers or Panzer IVs in runnable condition? I've seen an operational Hetzer at a show in Northern Virginia, guess it really isn't intimidating enough for Hollywood to want to use it maybe?  

I watched a show once that was a filler program between movies on one of the cable channels (Starz I think). It was a 15 minute piece on faux military vehicles used in the movies. They had Panzer IVs that were originally Sherman tanks but had the upper hulls cut off and new German upper hulls constructed on the chassis. It was very convincing.

They had Centurion tanks dressed to resemble Abrams tanks. To my trained eye, they looked small and the proportions were off, but still were a fairly good representation.

I figured it was an older show because they also had a number of pickup trucks that had been heavily modified to be HMMWVs. Today, they would probably just buy surplus HMMWVs.

Rob, you can't walk into a Dr. Mo (DRMO) and pickup a surplus Hum-Vee today.  They have to be crushed, cut up, etc and scrap-metalled just like the M-151's.  There is only one source for a surplus actual military Hum-Vee.  A military contractor just happened to be driving past a USMC motorpool, and saw rows of hulks lying there.  He inquired about them, and was told they couldn't be surplussed.  He went to the Contracting folks and told them that he wanted to accept partial payment in Hum-Vee hulks.  They accepted his offer, and he got somewhere between 5-10,000 units which he is reconditioning for sale to the public.

im not going to gt caught up in the realism thing because most times, when using real equipment, you use what you can. it never bothered me that M-24s were American and M-46/47/48s were German. and i don't mind dark movies when they represent dark situations. and the TIGER was COOL!!!!!

all that aside i thought it was awful and 3 hours of my life i will never get back.

i thought the first 30 minutes of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN were dark but fascinating and done very well.

and i know it's hollywood but why in the hell would any TIGER commander who survived that long get in a knife fight with a SHERMAN?

I liked the film.  Only thing that clinked for me was in the very last shot as the camera goes up, showing the ruined tank in the intersection.  What got me was the Thompson sub machine gun lying on the tank by the open top hatch.  If I had been a dogface with an 8 in the clip M1 Garand and saw a Thompson just lying around, I would snatch it fast, and promote me some .45 ammo and some mags ASAP.  

BTW, I am not an expert on Shermans, but remember reading some accounts of the use of them in WWII, including the account of the 761st, that spoke of the need to do anything to repair and get these tanks back into action.  My guess is that anything that might fit was used, without regard of make or model.

@fificat: with all due respect, but being a combat rifleman is not like playing a video game where you "upgrade" your character by picking up the biggest and baddest weapon lying around.

1) That M1 Garand on your shoulder: what do you do with it? You're 100% responsible for it.  You're NOT going to carry both right?  Five minutes after you set down your M1, you can bet the SGT is going to be on your ***

2) Likely, you only had basic training in the .45 SMG.  Now you're going to be Sgt Rock?

3) you'd look like an NCO or officer -- and be targeted more

4) what's an SMG useful for: assault.  You planning on volunteering much?

Still haven't seen the film yet, but hoping to do so soon. As somebody who has handled both the Garand and a Thompson, in Europe, in most cases, except room clearing, I think that would prefer the Garand. The Thompson is one heavy piece of weaponry. But I guarantee you that one abandoned on the battlefield that was still operational would be picked up by somebody... Finders keepers is a way of life for GIs...

Well well, along comes a movie about a subject pretty much passed over by Bollywood and it gets great raves and picked apart at same time.  I am a ole Cav Sprocket Head, that's Tanker to those who know no better.  I have ate, slept, releaved myself and anything else you can think of inside one of these armored rolling monsters.  I have fired the main gun when it was so hot, water was sprayed onto the vehicle to help the crew from passing out from heat exhaustion.  I have dug them out of the Earth bured to the fender with both tracks thrown to the inside.  I have mounted up and the outside of the tank was so cold, to touch with bare hands resulted in a layer of your palm skin sticking/frozen to where you placed your hand.  I went from the driver seat to the commanders position.   What does this have to do with a movie, I will tell you, been there and done it and this was as close as I believe they could get you into the world of the armour fighting crewman on a tank.  Best movie I have seen and take my word, if you are looking for something to pick apart and critique then stay away.  But for those wanting a hit you in the gut, on the line by the seat of your pants tank movie........then waste some of your life and go see it.  As for that Tiger, is most certainly the real deal and when one is in combat, anything is liable to happen, Tiger takes out three before getting his just deserts.  For those who do not know, tactics of the war for Sherman's was to attack in groups of three to take out a Tiger.  I believe they did just that.  So what do I have to say about the movie.......Gary Owen!

Most tankers will love this movie. Most movie critics and average movie goers can pick apart the story line fairly easily. I think it is well worth the few bucks and couple of hours out of your life.

Several armor modelers are interested in making the various Sherman tanks used in the film. I've seen questions about which kits will best represent each tank. The owner of the M4A4 Murder Inc is a member of one of the modeling websites I frequent.

I imagine at shows and contests in the near future, models of Fury, Murder Inc, Matador, Lucy Sue and Old Phyllis will make an appearance.

 One more bob to the top......

 There aren't many movies that I'll go see more than twice in a period of say 5 years; however, this is an exception.

 I accepted this movie for what it is, which is a fictional account of an event in WWII.

I sat back (had the whole viewing area to myself) and just had a great time watching this entertaining tank themed war movie.

 We all read comic books as kids and I know many of you remember for example,  the "Haunted Tank" (from G.I. Combat), "Sgt Rock", "Sgt. Fury" and way back in the day, Captain Midnight (Yikes - 10¢) complete with the back page adds for a 125 piece toy soldier set packed in a footlocker for $1.25. Of course we ate it up as the gospel because we were kids and well, we wanted to believe - even the toy advertisements.

  Okay, now fast forward 50 years and we're all grown up and know better and well, that just takes the fun out of it.

 Other than the fact that the Tiger was an early model variant portrayed in the last month of the war (which WAS possible) and that the land mine severed the track above and ahead of the drive sprocket (while the tank was headed forward) when the blast was actually beneath the second set of bogies.

 That wheel was trashed and the track appeared to have parted in the wrong area.  I just couldn't help but notice that (and yes there were other mistakes too). I didn't let that get in the way of having a good time though.

 The final battle scene reminded me of the "Wild Bunch". It "really" got my attention, which I'm sure it was supposed to do. Although based on several accounts from WWII, there is no claim that this movie is an actual event that ever happened.

 Just like those really far fetched comic books from years back, this was made for entertainment; something to sit back, relax and enjoy.

                    I think I'll go see it again........... 

I went with several fellas from my local (AMPS) modeling club this past Saturday night and we all really enjoyed it.  Not too much to nit pick about.  Reminded me a lot of 'Saving Private Ryan' especially the part about throwing a raw clerk/typist in to a combat situation.  Still, suspend your disbelief a little and enjoy.

Right, remember it's a movie, not a supposed "documentary" or "historical account", and enjoy it for what it is.

My hope is that this movie will make enough money for it's producers that Hollywood will see it as an indicator that this type of production, using historically accurate equipment, is good for their bottom line and make more of the same type, to the same standards.

Not only will I go see it again, to view it on the big screen, but I'll buy the DVD when it comes out.

I finally saw it tonite. Good stuff. Yes it has it's Hollywood artistic license, but really I think I liked it better than most movies of this century "inspired by actual events". This one made no such claim and could best be seen as the typical WWII war novel put to film, and very well done at that. Sort of a cross between "The Haunted Tank" and "Saving Private Ryan". I think WWII US Army tankers finally got their film made.

I will definitely be adding this to my DVD library.

Yes, it did remind me of an edgier WW2 comic book like Sgt Rock on steroids, or some other one of those 1970s war comics but done to a 2010s standard.

Exactly... a good fictional war tale. Not attempting to tell actual history, just telling a good war story. Intense, gritty, edgy, but not claiming to be something that it is not. Everybody seems to love "Kelly's Heroes" and it makes no such claims either. But it is a bit more fun, and has a far happier ending.

Just about all the World War II movies we love are not based on real events, other than the actual war itself. Sahara, Saving Private Ryan, Dirty Dozen, and any number of the old 1970s war action movies, like what's that one with Clint Eastwood? Where Eagles Dare? Enjoyable movies, but not supposed to represent an actual event.

I tend to prefer war movies that don't pretent to tell real, factual stories. When Hollywood tries to do that, it generally screws things up pretty badly. I'm thinking of "Battle of the Bulge," "Pearl Harbor," and "Midway."

I can't think of many supposedly "true" war movies that I really like, Two that come to mind are "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" and "Escape From Sobibor." But my three favorite war movies (or maybe "military movies" would be more appropriate) are "The Bridge On the River Kwai," "The Sand Pebbles," and "Twelve O'Clock High," all of which really qualify as historical fiction. I can think of at least a dozen other good ones that fit in that category.

Well, on the "plus" side of the whole experience, after taking my wife to see it last month, she walked in to the local HobbyTown and asked for the "Fury tank", and the guys there, gotta love 'em, set her up with the Tamiya boxing of the Tasca/Asuka M4A3E8.

Happy happy happy Birthday to me.

I would never have bought it myself, and I finally get to build a Tasca Sherman.

 Now all you need is.....

1. A helmet
   
2. A gas mask.
3. A set of #AF 35033 M4 Sherman HVSS T84 Workable Tracks ..........and away you're on your way.

                                 What  a Sweet wife.

And a few hundred Dragon 1/35 SS figures in various late war cold weather uniforms ;)

I went to see it a whopping 5 TIMES over the past few weeks with my dad (as there are no other good movies on at the minute) and we both loved it, it has some minor historical inaccuracies such as how the tiger's rounds would almost always bounce harmlessly of their armour, and how their tank could survive in one piece after encountering 300 SS men with rocket launchers

The Smithsonian Channel has a show called "Tanks of Fury" which features interviews with some veteran tankers along with close looks at how they filmed many of the tank scenes, planned and staged the battle scenes and what they used for vehicles. They built a number of accurate replicas using modern running gear to avoid wear and tear on priceless vehicles. They also built elaborate sets for interior shots of the Shermans. Definitely worth watching

Ken

Good to know.

Thanks