Good war movies & what you like about 'em

Status
Not open for further replies.
Vietnam era portrayal

Now this wasn't a fighting/war in the traditional sense movie, but Last Detail with Jack Nicholson was so accurate, I remember the Chief he responds to in the opening scene... and I love the Marine officer and his snarkey attitude. Every time I see this flick I think "He musta been in the Nav, in the 60's".

KKKKFL
 
Stalingrad Was a great movie period

Black Hawk down. The best for what its like in a battle, by the accounts in the book there should of been more "bag guys"

Das Boot, i hate Steven Spielberg, its all his fault for the ending:mad: :fire:

Tae Guk Gi - The brotherhood of War I thought it was a good movie about familys and friends. ITs about South Korea and North Korea

Band of brothers Of course



Edited to add two movies that are not out yet 300 and the movie that hopefully will be done this year (fliming wise) Molon Labe by the author of Gates of Fire
 
The Valley of the Wolves
Click to expand...

It's as absurd in its own right as something from Michael Bay's hindquarters. But it is useful as an insight into what the people of even a "progressive" Muslim nation such as Turkey believe. Anyone who thinks we can form a genuine friendship with these nations should take a good, hard look at that production. There's a chasm between us that will never be filled.
 
The best war movies I have seen are foreign films. For something different the Japanese have some great Samurai films such as RAN. The Chinese film productions, in Hong Kong, have also been making great anicent period war films for sometime. For Western films, The Finnish movies mentioned above are excellent films, Aussy film Breaker Morant, Battle of Britian, Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot, and so is the German production Stalingrad. The only Hollywood production that is both realistic and good film making is Band of Brothers. Most other Hollywood productions are just summer popcorn movies and/or just terribly unrealistic with cheesy dialouge. Which is not a bad thing, it just something to take into account when watching the movie. Out of the Hollywood Production movies. War films, I found enjoyable of all periods:

All Quiet of the Western front. The original version.
Platoon,
Full Metal jacket,
Black Hawk Down
Apocalypse Now
Heartbreak Ridge
Tora Tora Tora
Saints & Soliders
Thin Red Line
Patton
The Longest Day
A Bridge too Far
MASH
The Great Escape
Glory
Gettysburg
Lion of the Desert
Braveheart
Zulu
Some others I can't think of the names.
 
Last edited:
Good War Movies and what you liked about them

Full Metal Jacket: Realistic
They Were Expendable: Whats not to like?
The Longest Day: Pretty Factual
Hamburger Hill, Platoon, The Thin Red Line. All good, basically realistic. We were Soldiers: Followed the book on most major points.
 
Windtalkers was a favorate of mine; Being of Native American descent myself it holds a special place in my heart just for that content; it definitly held my attention, and Nick Cage's typical deadpan intensity fits well with a Wartime G.I.'s mental state.

I also liked Tears of the Sun, it was a good movie, of course if anyone wants to get into accuracy of it's battles; I'm out, because I haven't a clue how they train a group of Navy SEALs or how stringintly.

Black Hawk Down is my 'Once a Year' movie; it's just that damn intense. It's probably the closest re-creaction of an actual Urban battlefield I've seen in military film yet; right down to what happens when you take a defective RPG in the torso. All in all a good movie, but far too heavy and just plain laeden with the gritty hellishness that is war for me to watch all that often; I'm a tough sort of guy, but watching a guy get blown in half makes even my eye twitch a little.

As for a classic, I liked The Sands of Iwa Jima; just good old John Wayne military films.
 
As far as totally unrealistic Vietnam war movies,

Platoon and Full Metal Jacket take the cake, followed by Apocalypse Now. If you like them, fine, and I like parts of them myself, but please don't think they are realistic.
 
Moxie...The Green Berets was unrealistic (at the end the sun setting over the beach looked pretty but was impossible since the sun rises over the Vietnam coast).

Compared to your service in Vietnam what do you find different in movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket?

Sure they are not 100% realistic but my father and some of his friend who were Vietnam vets like most of both movie, there was some grumblings and BS comment, but some parts the found realistic and that opened up conversations.
 
Rules Of Engagement

It shows the way our boys hands are tied, and that the wole world is more concerned with the well being of criminals than that of the Good Guys.
 
"Twelve O'Clock High" with Gregory Peck. Fascinating character study and tons of authentic B-17 aerial combat footage.
 
Arrrggg Windtalkers was one of the worst movie ever. You want Hollywood BS.... Windtalker is the way to go. They fired full auto at enemies from 100+ yards and they all drop. Then the part where Cage and the native guy is getting bum rushed.... all of a sudden everything seem to stop (the bullets, the enemy advances etc) for them to do their over dramatical dialogue.

Oh yeah Apocalypse Now was great too.
 
worthwhile oldies

My thanks to Dr Dickie; I sat here trying to remember "The Longest Day," which I believe starred Robert Redford, in part, as an 82nd paratrooper crossing one of the German Rivers in an inflatable. The unit got as far as midstream when the Germans opened fire, so the unit had passed the half way point and had to press on under fire. Redford recited the Hail Mary all the while that gun was chopping all around him up. Very similar to the realism of the Private Ryan beach landing scene, but not done with twentyfirst century technology. Someone correct me if I am mistaken on this.
There was also the scene where a company of GI's marched along a road in heavy fog only to encounter a larger force coming in the opposite direction. The click -click; cricket signal was given to recognize friendly units and it sounded as though a reply click -click was given. So the formations of men approached each other in opposite directions until face to face with each other, and then realized they were facing the enemy!

The "silence was deafening" as they walked right past each other, everyone afraid to look at each other. Off they went until they faded into the fog.
Both of these were actual combat incidences.

My congratulations for the recently deceased actor Jack Palance {a veteran who suffered facial burns that aided his sinister looks for acting}, in an old movie (?) where he had been cornered in a european village by a Panzer tank, and it slowly crushed his arm and leg under the tread. Palance was a great actor. It sickened me. He screamed real good. If anyone knows what movie that one was, please contribute.
 
thanks to Dr Dickie; I sat here trying to remember "The Longest Day," which I believe starred Robert Redford, in part, as an 82nd paratrooper crossing one of the German Rivers in an inflatable.
Click to expand...

You were remembering "A Bridge Too Far," a film from the 70's. Not "The Longest Day."

The scene with the cricket clicker does come from "The Longest Day."
 
Let me add:

The Great Raid - lots of M1, little known but most succesful rescue mission in US military history.
The Mosquito Squadron - for DH Mosquito fans
 
Most of my favorites made the list already.

Zulu is probably at the top. And it is pretty close to what really happened.

Battle of the Bulge, The Longest Day, They Were Expendable, Midway, The Great Escape, A Bridge Too Far, D-Day, and any number of other similar epics are enjoyable just for the ensemble cast. No moral dithering either.

Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, and We Were Soldiers are more modern and have "better" choreography of the battle scenes, but are still fascinating, and no moral dithering to be found here either (at least for the most part).

Lots of films by the Duke are classic. No moral dithering to be found there either. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon can't be beat as the classic cavalry tale.

Full Metal Jacket is worth seeing just for R. Lee Ermey's inspired portrayal of the drill instructor.

Ice Station Zebra, Guns of Navarone, and Force Ten are all based on books/characters created by Alister MacLean and are almost as good as the books. That is a very difficult thing to accomplish. I think there was another one that I can't think of off the top of my head.

Plenty of other good ones.
 
Top War films (Off the Top of MY Head!!)

1. The Longest Day - best cast, great action scenes, no preaching

2. The Guns Of Navarone - just one of the best written and acted with a great cast

3. The Wild Geese - one of the best character studies of mercenaries at war

4. Patton - 7 Oscars says it all

5. We Were Soldiers - Mel G's finest work, and very factual

6. Midway - great movie showing the luck and blunders of both sides in WW2

7. A Bridge Too Far - Fine battle scenes and it pulls no punches

8. The Sea Wolves - a great true story seldom heard about in WW2 -

9. Kelly's Heroes - altho it's a work of fiction, it's still just plain FUN to watch (WOOF,WOOF!)

10. Band of Brothers - the best of the recent WW2 genre movies
 
Last edited:
My two favorites would be "To Hell and Back", and "Band of Brothers". Both were done very well.
 
There was a movie from the 60's or maybe late 50's with Robert Mitchum about Anzio, That may have been the actual title, Anzio. Hollywood shlock for the most part but I watched with my dad when I was 10 or 11 on TV. Since my dad was with the "Red Bulls" 151st FA Bn 34th ID it opened a bit of a dialogue between us that was kind of rare. Crappy movie but good memories about it.
I wish they would make a good movie about the untold and mostly unspoken Italian Campaign. From Salerno to Livornio was a brutal war for over two solid years.
I liked Private Ryan and Windtalkers, Gardens of Stone was excelent excelent I haven't seen it mentioned.
Another movie I would like to see is one about Whitefeather aka Gunny Hathcock
 
Did anyone see a movie called 'The Hill'? It was about British solders in a military prision in North Africa I think and how thry dealt with a sadistic cadre of guards.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

N
  • Locked
War Movies
2
Replies
45
Views
2K
Viking6
V
N
  • Locked
Guns you'd LIKE to see in movies?
2
Replies
45
Views
2K
Checkman
C
K
  • Locked
A list of war movies
2 3
Replies
58
Views
2K
bobhaverford
B
A
  • Locked
Good book about US infantry weapons......
Replies
0
Views
337
aspen1964
A
B
  • Locked
THANK YOU VETERANS (sweeet website link)
Replies
0
Views
397
buzzcut
B
Back
Top