Classic War Films a Good Bet for Memorial Day Weekend

War has been the inspiration for countless movies, including “Casablanca,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Platoon” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Monday marks the day Americans remember all the men and women who bravely served our country during wartime. And a great way to spend Memorial Day is to check out these classic films set during World War II.

Paddy Chayefsky scripted “The Americanization of Emily” (MGM, $20), a delicious 1964 black comedy about a happy-go-lucky naval officer (James Garner) who, as a PR stunt, is selected to be the first American casualty during the Normandy invasion. Julie Andrews shines as a British nurse.

Vincente Minnelli directed 1945’s “The Clock” (MGM, $20), a tender, delicately crafted drama about an office worker (Judy Garland) who meets and marries a soldier (Robert Walker) during his two-day leave in New York City. A gem.

Mickey Rooney gives an endearing, Oscar-nominated turn as a small-town teenager who discovers the meaning of faith in 1943’s “The Human Comedy” (MGM, $20). Donna Reed, Van Johnson, Barry Nelson and Robert Mitchum co-star. Based on William Saroyan’s novel.

George Stevens directed the oh-so-romantic 1943 comedy “The More the Merrier” (Columbia TriStar, $20), starring Jean Arthur as a working woman living in overcrowded Washington, D.C., who ends up sharing her apartment with two bachelors (Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn). Coburn won a best supporting Oscar. The best scene: super-hunk McCrea romancing Arthur on the apartment steps.

David O. Selznick’s lavish “Since You Went Away” (Fox, $40) is an unabashed 1944 tear-jerker that’s absolutely irresistible. Claudette Colbert, in an Oscar-nominated performance, plays the matriarch of a middle-class family who tries to keep the home fires burning while her husband is off at war. Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotton and Robert Walker also star.

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WWII: Even five decades after its conclusion, World War II is still a popular film subject. Flying into stores Tuesday is “The Tuskegee Airmen” (HBO Video), HBO’s Peabody Award-winning drama chronicling the little-known story of the first squadron of African American pilots allowed to see combat. Laurence Fishburne stars.

“In Service to America” (Dane Hansen Productions, $30), a compelling documentary on the history of women in the military, features terrific interviews with female veterans of WWII. Also from Dane Hansen is “We Were There” ($25), a moving, powerful account of Jewish GIs who helped liberate Nazi concentration camps. To order either documentary, call (800) 546-8871.

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Foreign Affairs: “Spirits of the Dead” (Water Bear, $60) is a bizarre 1968 French flick based on three Edgar Allan Poe tales. Roger Vadim directed “Metzengerstein,” starring then-wife Jane Fonda as a sex kitten who believes the spirit of the dead cousin she loved (real-life brother Peter Fonda) has entered a magnificent black stallion.

Louis Malle directed “William Wilson,” starring Alain Delon as a gambler who murders his doppelganger and kills himself.

Federico Fellini directed “Toby Dammit,” starring Terence Stamp as a British film star who literally loses his head.

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Curio: “Those Doggone Dogs & Puppies” (Brentwood, $10 for a single; $20 for the two-volume set) features funny footage set to classical music of man’s best friend playing, fighting, bathing, sleeping, barking and running. Cute but too doggone long for its own good.

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Documentary: “Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business” (Fox Lorber) is a fascinating, unique examination of the colorful but sad life of the ‘40s Brazilian bombshell.

“Mickey Mantle” (Brentwood, $15) is a fairly engrossing documentary on the late, great New York Yankee. No new career insights but a lot of nifty archival footage.

Killer B: Arriving Tuesday is “Desire” (Monarch), a warmed-over erotic thriller about a former cop (Kate Hodge) trying to discover who is dousing Beverly Hills babes in perfume and then murdering them. Martin Kemp and Deborah Shelton also star.

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Coming Next Week: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo and Danny DeVito star in “Get Shorty” (MGM/UA), the hit adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel about a Miami loan shark who goes Hollywood.

Walter Hill directed “Wild Bill” (MGM/UA), a western adventure about Wild Bill Hickok (Jeff Bridges).

Jason Alexander and Eric Lloyd star in the family comedy “Dunston Checks In” (FoxVideo, $20).