Warsaw 44: PIAT Scene Analysis 

It looks like it, thought the explosion is CGI enhanced. Thanks for watching Matt!

Thank you! It's a great little scene.

Oh really that's really interesting. I haven't heard of that or seen any images. So I see from a couple of comments here. It seems to me the lead actor is rather wooden and there's some odd stylistic choices but it's certainly not awful. I know the scene you mean, if I recall correctly it shows Poles driving it towards Germans and then there's an explosion and a crowd are rained down on with blood it's rather stark and I've no idea what it was historically based on!

@@TheArmourersBench hmm, it seems the directors portrayed a diferrent situation or changed this one a bit. In reality, it went like this: Germans tried blowing up Polish barricade with Borgward IV, but failed, I believe the crewman evacuated it in heat of the fight without planting the explosive charge, partisans captured the vehicle but didn't do much to it fearing it's a trap, skilled mechanic was sent from HQ to check out what is it, meanwhile a young group of fighters approached it and fired the engine, started driving it around the city streets with crowds gathering and cheering at it. The mechanic sent to check it out actually saw this, and assumed there was some miscommunication and someone other was assigned to deal with the vehicle, so he went back to his post. Meanwhile the vehicle drove into a big plaza, surrounded by crowds, and then exploded, most likely because of fighter pushing a random lever in it. Explosion killed a few hundred people and maimed many others, and covered the plaza in blood and body parts. People or what was left of them were buried in a mass grave. And, adding to that, if the vehicle drove another hundred meters in direction it was going in, it could completely obliterate the building where Polish leadership stationed! A horrible tragedy that happened because young people touched something they shouldn't...

@@revolverocelot6334 the movie has many moments that are highly stylized rather than attempting to bs grounded. The scene plays almost identically to how you described, just more simplistic for plot reasons. There is an unnatural amount of blood and body parts but its not meant to be literal, its rather a representation of how it likely felt to have been there.

Indeed it could, one of its advantages. Thanks for watching!

@@TheArmourersBench I think I'm right in saying that the only other anti-tank weapons safe to use like that were anti-tank rifles largely obsolete in the anti-tank role by 1944, though I bet anti-tank rifles would have been very useful against those Goliaths.

In British service you had the Boys and the No68 rifle grenade prior to the PIAT, which you could use from confined cover but as you say by 1943 they were not much use on the bigger stuff that was being encountered!

Yes, I think the probably would have been useful against Goliaths and lighter vehicles. I think the brave Poles would have welcomed anything during the fighting.

Yeah it has its flaws for sure, that scene individually is quite well put together. I've watched Kanal, what a film that is. Had to include a little of it here. Ahh thank you, I was worried I'd botch them. Thanks for watching.

Could you point what scenes you find ridiculous I'm just curious

I honestly strongly disagree. They aren't the same kind of film. Warsaw 44 is an art piece. Its about the feeling mostly, not necessarily the literaly events. Kanal is a much more grounded movie. I think Warsaw 44 acheives its purpose extremely well, if too heavy handed at times. The final third of the movie is very nearly a masterpiece in my mind. The pacing is perfect and the score really maintains the overwhelming feeling. Very immersive.

@@kcocrekcus8760 i mean the animated stuff was weird, the highly stylized scene where Germans shoot down a narrow alleyway. The cemetery battle. It definitely has silly moments, which make the third act all the weirder as it gets much more grounded after the giant bomb on the road (which is another somewhat silly moment, though at least it is based on something, even if the real events were a bit different)

Thanks so much Craig, glad you enjoyed it!!

Yes! Good eye.

Know me too well mate ha.

@@TheArmourersBench what do all the colour bands on the piat mean

On the bomb?

Yeah, I find the lead actor rather wooden and some of the score won't age well as you say.

That was representation of their imagination and wish full thinking. How could you not see this?

Haha thanks Harold!

@@TheArmourersBench I'm just stating facts, so, no, thank YOU.

Haha I guess people like us notice but they know the average cinema goer is none the wiser. 🤷‍♂️

@@TheArmourersBench Of course, but it's at odds with the attention to detail with the PIAT.

Yeah! I think it's the foley artist/audio SFX guys during post production that have just botched that quite badly. As you say the practical historical accuracy jars against it. (Gonna have to rant about it on the podcast as some point I guess haha).

Weird comment. Thanks for watching.