History Film / TheMonumentsMen

*** In the film he gives a lecture to Roosevelt and identifies a work by "Da Vinci", rather than Leonardo. This is a classic post -- ''TheDaVinciCode'' mistake that '''no''' art historian -- and certainly none living in the 1940s -- would have made. The ''name'' of the artist was Leonardo and he ''was born'' in the town of Vinci -- Leonardo Da Vinci means "Leonardo, of Vinci".

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Subverted, it is noted that the Russians are seizing the art they recover as reparations for the 20 million men they have lost in the war, and this loss is treated with decent gravity. They are still treated as rivals at best and the lesser evil at worst, since most of the art they are stealing was already stolen from the ''other'' millions of people the Nazis conquered and killed.

* EvilCounterpart: the Triumph Brigade, the Monuments Men's Soviet counterparts, who don't give back the art they take.

* XMeetsY: ''OceansEleven'' meets ''IndianaJones''.

* CreatorCameo: AlexandreDesplat not only composed the score but also appears onscreen as a member of the Resistance in several scenes.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The Monuments Men accidentally stumble upon [[NaziGold Germany's gold reserves]] while searching for stolen art, but in the film it's treated as just something that happened that seemed irrelevant to their primary mission. In RealLife, though, this accidental discovery did more to end the war than almost any soldiering on the part of any of the Allies: the world was still on the gold standard, and when word got out that there was nothing backing the Deutschmark, the Third Reich had no way to continue to fund their war effort, and the ''Wehrmacht'' fell apart very quickly after that. ''That'' is why Generals UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower, George S. Patton and Omar Bradley are getting their picture taken.

'''''The Monuments Men''''' is a 2014 War Movie directed by Creator/GeorgeClooney and starring himself, Creator/MattDamon, Creator/BillMurray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Creator/CateBlanchett. It is based on the history book ''The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History'' by Robert M. Edsel.

!Tropes displayed include:

* EvilCounterpart: the Triumph Brigade, the Monuments Men's Soviet counterparts, who don't give back the art they take.

To that task, Lt. Frank Stokes assembles an elite team of experts to accomplish this mission. However, they find their work complicated by their own combat units who hardly see the point of risking their own lives being delicate around art and the Nazis who determined to keep their loot or destroy it if they are defeated. Furthermore, they have to deal with natives like French curator Claire Simone who suspect the US wants to steal the art for themselves and the Soviets who definitely want to do that as reparations for the horrors they have suffered in that war.

* TheAtoner: Jeffries regards his WW2 service as making up for his alcoholism, which has ruined his reputation and [[WellDoneSonGuy disgraced his father]]. His father even writes to Stoltz thanking him for giving his son the [[RedemptionEqualsDeath chance to redeem himself]].

** Stoltz asks for permission to continue searching for the Raphael painting ''Portrait of a young man'', in the belief that it survived the war. The painting is shown being destroyed by the Nazis earlier in the movie.
** In his first lecture Stoltz states that the war will be over in a few months once the Allies invade, when it actually lasts another year.
* {{Egopolis}}: References are made to Hitler's proposed "Fuhrermuseum" near his birthplace in Austria.

** Stoltz looking at the BloodStainedLetter Jeffries is narrating in voiceover cues the audience to his death just before we see it happen.

*** In the film he gives a lecture to Roosevelt and identifies a work by "Da Vinci", rather than Leonardo. This is a classic post -- ''TheDaVinciCode'' mistake that '''no''' art historian- and certainly none living in the 1940's- would have made. The ''name'' of the artist was Leonardo and he ''was born'' in the town of Vinci -- Leonardo Da Vinci means "Leonardo, of Vinci".

* XMeetsY: OceansEleven meets IndianaJones.

* RunningGag: French people constantly asking Granger to please ''not speak French.'' TruthInTelevision, as Granger says that he learned French while studying in Quebec, which has a dialect quite different from that spoken in France.
** Apart from some slang, not to that extent. People ask him to stop speaking French because he is beyond terrible at it (pronounciation, grammar, syntax are all wrong and he is barely understandable).

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Epstein. Although he doesn't display any stereotypically "Jewish" traits, it's easy to read between the lines when he mentions that his family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1938. Also, during the ending montage, he's the one shown returning a Torah to a synagogue.

** Stoltz looking at the blood-splattered letter Jeffries is speaking in voiceover cues the audience to his death just before we see it happen.

* XMeetsY: Oceans11 meets IndianaJones.

* XMeetsY: BandOfBrothers meets IndianaJones.

* BurnBabyBurn: When the Nazis destroy an art depository with [[FireBreathingWeapon flamethrowers]], ''Portrait of a young man'' by Raphael is prominently displayed as it burns.

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Justified -- Stahl shoots at Claire at the railway station and misses even though she doesn't try to take cover, but he's a non-combatant soldier using a Luger pistol at long range. Colonel Wegner kills Jeffries with his Luger after being shot in the shoulder, but he's an experienced soldier firing at a much closer range.

* HopeSpot: Jeffries sneaks into German-occupied Bruges to ensure the safety of Michelangelo's ''Madonna and Child'', and is relieved to discover it untouched by bombing or looting. Then a Nazi colonel enters the church to steal it at gunpoint.

* SpitefulSpit: Viktor Stahl tells Claire Simon to [[YouGetMeCoffee fetch him another champagne glass]] so he can share a toast with Hermann Goering. She selects a glass from the kitchen and spits in it. A member of the staff is looking on in surprise, but [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating when Claire informs her it's for Stahl she spits in the glass as well]].

* GoldTooth: The Men find an entire barrel full of them.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Claire reads about the arrest of Viktor Stahl as a small story buried within her newspaper, while drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette at a cafe. See the ButForMeItWasTuesday entry.