The Ghost Army

2013 "Illusion was their ultimate weapon."

The Ghost Army

7.6 | 1h8m | NR | en | Documentary

During World War II, a hand-picked group of American GI's undertook a bizarre mission: create a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the German Army as their audience. The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops used inflatable rubber tanks, sound trucks, and dazzling performance art to bluff the enemy again and again, often right along the front lines. Many of the men picked to carry out these dangerous deception missions were artists. Some went on to become famous, including fashion designer Bill Blass. In their spare time, they painted and sketched their way across Europe, creating a unique and moving visual record of their war. Their secret mission was kept hushed up for nearly 50 years after the war's end.

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7.6 | 1h8m | NR | en | Documentary , War | More Info

Released: May. 26,2013 | Released Producted By: Plate of Peas Productions , Country: Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://ghostarmy.org

Synopsis

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Cast

Peter Coyote

Director

Dillard Morrison

Producted By

Plate of Peas Productions ,

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Cast

Peter Coyote

as Narrator (Voice)

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Reviews

matthijsalexander How does one rate a documentary? How can this documentary not be a 10? if 10 is excellent.What a story, what a stroke of genius and, oddly, how awesome to learn that hippies, artists and such people that are generally opposed to war seem to have had a crucial part in it.The Ghost Army is a tale of deception and ingenuity, a must watch documentary!

MartinHafer "The Ghost Army" is a very exciting and weird WWII documentary. Although I turned it on Netflix very, very late at night, my wife and I couldn't stop watching until the film was over...at this was long after 3am! It's the story of a unit that is seldom talked about in other films--the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. The name gives no indication of their purpose--which was to deliberately confuse and trick the Germans. So, instead of killing the enemy, their job was to spread disinformation to aid the Allied war effort. Using fake radio broadcasts, loud recordings of troops who really were not there and inflatable tanks and trucks, the unit was able to convince the enemy that troops were concentrated where they actually weren't, that the D-Day attack was about to occur at a different location and saved thousands of lives. See this film and you'll understand why it's so interesting...but it is. It's a well written and fascinating film throughout.By the way, one reviewer said that this story would make a terrific film and I would agree. With films like "Monuments Men" talking about other previously unsung Allied contributions, why not one about these tricksters?

Ric-7 I was reminded of Clooney's "The Monuments Men." As much as I liked Clooney's movie, I think these guys and their story would be ideal material for a film. The Monuments Men involved the plan to save priceless art, but Frankenheimer had already used that theme for The Train. On first impression, the camouflage brigade seems almost a parody of The Dirty Dozen. The idea of assembling a squad of specialists, drawn from professionals in the fine arts, is something new. A war movie featuring various artists, art directors and designers for film and theatre, recording engineers, not only to create camouflage but later to create decoys, plus it all being TRUE--how could such a film not make a mint? I totally loved this documentary, and I am very grateful that the recollections of many of the participants were recorded at last. It is a shame that their story was not told sooner.

runamokprods Tremendously entertaining and off-beat documentary about a U.S. WWII corps largely made up of artists, designers, stage folk, and craftsmen, tasked with both improving camouflage, and creating the illusion of troops where they weren't. They used a combination of inflatable tanks and infantry pieces, along with broadcasting false orders by radio, and playing the sounds of an army unit over loudspeakers. They did a lot of good, while often taking on the nerve shattering task of trying to draw fire themselves, directing it away from the real battle units. There's a lot of humor here, unusual and appreciated for a WWII doc. But on the flip side, there's not a lot of emotion, and it can be a bit repetitive. An interesting true story of an oddball but important group of soldiers.