OT My Favourite War Film

[SteveLohr 0]

No particular order:

 

12 o'clock High-Excellent study of leadership

 

 

Das Boot

 

Battle of Britain

 

Winds of War/War and Remberance (TV miniseries). Robert Michum's role as Pug Henry was my personal ideal of how a US Navy Officer should look and act.

 

The Blue Max

 

Glory-One writer noted that this movie makes the link between liberty and the willingness to fight for it. An apt description

 

Bridge over the River Kwai-Another leadership movie

 

The Man who Would be King (Okay, not a real war movie per se, but still worth seeing)

 

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (again, not a real war movie, but the discussion of comraderie, brotherhood and morality is directly related to war)

 

Zulu-Military discipline, organization, training and leadership against impossible odds

 

Tora, Tora, Tora-Good History

 

Saving Private Ryan-Great movie. So good, I have only watched it twice, since I have to mentally prepare myself for it.

 

Band of Brothers. See "Saving Private Ryan"

 

Henry Vth (either Branaugh's or Olivier. Both very good)

 

Gettysburg

 

Best Years of our Lives-the costs of war, played by actors who paid it.

 

Galiipoli

[SteveLohr 0]

To slightly modify this thread to include bad war movies I like anyway:

 

 

 

Kelley's Heros-Donald Sutherland's portrayal of a Hippie tanker is priceless. In 28 years of military service, I constantly heard references to this role

Stripes-Using Manfred Mann's "Do wah Diddie" as a Jodie. Worth the price of admission

[kaa 0]

Of course, much of these movies are amongst my favourites, with a preference to early post WW2 movies, specially US for the great role playings, 12 o'clock high or objective Burma ...French can do good war movies too, although rare :

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAYHarxB13E&feature=related

 

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LFj4YUnp40&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLA417346

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

To slightly modify this thread to include bad war movies I like anyway:

 

 

 

Kelley's Heros-Donald Sutherland's portrayal of a Hippie tanker is priceless. In 28 years of military service, I constantly heard references to this role

Stripes-Using Manfred Mann's "Do wah Diddie" as a Jodie. Worth the price of admission

 

Ah yes... Kelly's Hero's!...daft, funny and very entertaining!

[33LIMA 972]

And for our Antipodean friends, let's not forget The Odd Angry Shot:

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBrGoSkp9ro

Edited January 3, 2012 by 33LIMA

[Javito1986 14]

Kudos to the mention of 12 O'Clock High. Add that to my short list of favorites. Such a great movie that is, it really really shows people who were actually in the 8th Air Force were involved in the production. That's a movie ahead of its time. Wasn't it made in the same year as Sands of Iwo Jima? Good lord... also Gregory Peck is just an incredible actor.

Another really great one from that era is The Story of GI Joe. I like my war movies b.s. free, and these two certainly qualify in terms of the emotional impact. And 12 O'Clock High uses real battle footage quite seamlessly.

[Capitaine Vengeur 263]

The Beast of War (1988). Armor and run in despair versus guerilla and hunt for revenge. Sun, rocks, and RPG. Fantastic characters too, with George Dzundza as a Communist Ahab...

[Siggi 10]

The Thin Red Line for me.

[Flyby PC 23]

Good call Capitaine Vengeur. Very tense film if I remember correctly, and definitely not run of the mill.

[Hauksbee 103]

....Dambusters

Right! Forgot about this one. No obligatory romance, no emotional suffering on the home front, just a nice tight focus on the mission. Can't wait for Peter Jackson's version. The only drawback to the first was the cheesey effects on the dam explosions. (tho' for the time, not all that bad. At least, back then, they could lay their hands on real Lancasters) What will you bet they change the dog's name?

[von Baur 54]

Many excellent choices. I liked "The Eagle Has Landed", "Cross of Iron" (both of which I read before seeing) and "Das Boot", as well as the here-to-fore unmentioned "Letters from Iwo Jima" (only saw the last hour or so, so far) for their humanistic portrayals of 'the enemy'. Not every German soldier was a fanatical Nazi guilty of war crimes and not every Japanese soldier lopped the heads off prisoners with Samurai swords and glady chose death over surrender. Most of them were told the same things that we told our troops about the Japanese, that they'd be tortured before being executed anyway. Too many movies have painted with too broad a brush.

 

"Kelly's Heroes". One of my favorite movies of any genre. First of all I'm a big Eastwood fan, it has lots of action and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I loved the scene where Eastwood, Savallas and Sutherland step out for a 'showdown' with the Tiger. Even that early in his career Clint wasn't afraid to spoof the Spaghetti Westerns that made him a star.

[kaa 0]

Many excellent choices. I liked "The Eagle Has Landed", "Cross of Iron" (both of which I read before seeing) and "Das Boot", as well as the here-to-fore unmentioned "Letters from Iwo Jima" (only saw the last hour or so, so far) for their humanistic portrayals of 'the enemy'. Not every German soldier was a fanatical Nazi guilty of war crimes and not every Japanese soldier lopped the heads off prisoners with Samurai swords and glady chose death over surrender. Most of them were told the same things that we told our troops about the Japanese, that they'd be tortured before being executed anyway. Too many movies have painted with too broad a brush.

 

"Kelly's Heroes". One of my favorite movies of any genre. First of all I'm a big Eastwood fan, it has lots of action and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I loved the scene where Eastwood, Savallas and Sutherland step out for a 'showdown' with the Tiger. Even that early in his career Clint wasn't afraid to spoof the Spaghetti Westerns that made him a star.

 

"Letters from Iwo Jima " was absolutely brilliant, not only in the depiction of the average japanese soldier and in what meant for him being part of these "banzai assaults" or forced suicides, but also in depicting the way the Japanese could have seen the US troops opposing them, in contrast with "Flags of our Fathers" : well entranched men, inhumane , a kind of deadly, robotised war machine (you see only their camouflaged helmets, rarely their faces) with huge firepower.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Wow. You folks have listed sooooo many of my favorites here already. I did notice a few however that have not come up yet.

 

'Sergeant York' . Not a lot of action scenes but still one of my all-time favorites because of Gary Cooper's superb performance.

'The Great Escape' . Classic, simply classic.

'Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo' . Wonderful and now seemingly forgotten film about Dolittle's Tokyo Raiders.

'The Guns Of Navarone' . Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn together in one film; how can you go wrong.

'Midway' . Epic.

'The Sand Pebbles' . Here's another gem that's been overlooked for years. When Steve McQueen has to take "the shot" from the deck of the ship ... worth it for that scene alone.

'We Were Soldiers' . Might be hard to watch if you can't stand Mel Gibson, but it is still an outstanding war film.

'A Farewell To Arms' . More romance than war, but still worth a watch.

 

 

There are others, just can't think of them at the mo.

 

.

[Capitaine Vengeur 263]

'Sergeant York' . Not a lot of action scenes but still one of my all-time favorites because of Gary Cooper's superb performance.

'We Were Soldiers' . Might be hard to watch if you can't stand Mel Gibson, but it is still an outstanding war film.

"We were soldiers" is fine and accurate on many points about Ia Drang ("Too Tall"'s feats, the first "Mad Minute" ever near the riverbed...), but the ridiculous depiction of the outcome on Day 3 ruins all of the work. Damn, the last bayonet charge by US Army occured in Korea! About "Sergeant York", it's one of the films I have never watched that I'd like to see the most. The original storyline is legendary, and I've always heard the best of it.

[Javito1986 14]

We Were Soldiers the book depressed the hell out of me when I read it at 16. In a good way I suppose. It was all the letters home that did it for me. So many guys who went in there legitimately thinking that nothing would happen to them, or that they WOULD be back. You know. "Don't worry honey, things are fine here. Once my tour's up next week we'll put in for the new house in Vermont." And then the next day things go down, and the fellow just doesn't exist anymore. That book blew my mind on a deep, philosophical level when I was a teen.

 

The movie was actually good, I agree. The cinematography was amazing, i love the overhead shots of troops debussing the choppers. But I agree it more than dropped the ball in the end, and I tend to think that was more a concession to American audiences who just needed to see our boys win the battle, when in reality the results were much more mixed. Especially with what happened at LZ Albany, but I understand why that part couldn't be included in the film.

 

Anyway, I'm watching Twelve O'Clock High again right now entirely in thanks to this thread reminding me of it. That incredible scene of the real B-17 really crash landing alone is worth the price of admission.

 

Have you guys seen the trailer for Red Tails? I can't help but think it looks positively god awful :-( I liked the original film but the flight sequences in the new movie just look so... well, it gives me Red Baron movie flashbacks.

Edited January 8, 2012 by Javito1986

[von Baur 54]

I've seen the trailer, Javito. The part that aboslutely turns me off to the movie is the scene they always show at the end, pilots huddled up as if before an (American) football game, with the "rah-rah" dialogue. I can't help but think that if anyone really did that before a mission, in any war, they'd have pulled him for being unstable.

[Javito1986 14]

Ugh, yea I know. So bad.

 

Having just rewatched Twelve O'Clock High this evening, it makes me sad to realize movies like this just can't be made today. Can you imagine a modern remake of Twelve O'Clock? It would be full of loads of ridiculous CGI special effects, gore, blah blah blah... I honestly can't think of any movie made in the last two decades that even comes close to depicting the psychological impact this stuff has on men that Twelve O'Clock does. The whole last 15 minutes just broke my heart all over again. Easily one of my top 5 all time, thanks to the thread for reminding me.

 

Audiences today just wouldn't stomach a movie like this. I really think we've lost something in cinema these last few years! We have the technology to make movies like Avatar, depicting visuals in an amazing way that was never possible before. And I honestly think that's great. But in the process we've left human emotion by the wayside. We need to get that back darnit.

 

On the other hand, maybe we haven't changed? After all, most movies back in the day had more in common with Sands of Iwo Jima (which I hate) than Twelve O'Clock.

 

I'm on a retro movie binge now. Next up Bridge on the River Kwai. Has that been mentioned in this thread yet? If not, for shame on all of you

[themightysrc 5]

Interesting thoughts, Jav.

 

One of the problems nowadays is that directors are so keen to reach for CGI - the nonsense movie about Richtofen was simply very silly, as it allowed maximum "artistic" licence with an absolute minimum of realism or believability.

 

When it comes down to it, the best war movies - in fact, the best movies - usually have nothing to do with the action or the effects; what makes them so exceptional is what they tell us about human beings in extraordinary circumstances, about the human condition.

 

I had the 'pleasure' of catching The Cruel Sea on TV last week. Not an all time great, but certainly, and within the confines of the 1950s mindset, a fillum that explores the interior life of the protagonists, as opposed to simply celebrating action and/or success.

 

I wonder if Warhorse will be the usual Spielberg s**te?

[carrick58 23]

Interesting thoughts, Jav.

 

One of the problems nowadays is that directors are so keen to reach for CGI - the nonsense movie about Richtofen was simply very silly, as it allowed maximum "artistic" licence with an absolute minimum of realism or believability.

 

When it comes down to it, the best war movies - in fact, the best movies - usually have nothing to do with the action or the effects; what makes them so exceptional is what they tell us about human beings in extraordinary circumstances, about the human condition.

 

I had the 'pleasure' of catching The Cruel Sea on TV last week. Not an all time great, but certainly, and within the confines of the 1950s mindset, a fillum that explores the interior life of the protagonists, as opposed to simply celebrating action and/or success.

 

I wonder if Warhorse will be the usual Spielberg s**te?

 

So far I have heard the women cry and the men stop eating popcorn when the horse meets Barbed Wire. I can do without seeing it since I still remember the sadness of " Old Yeller"

Edited January 10, 2012 by carrick58

[Javito1986 14]

I doubt I'll see it. I, like many others am wholly desensitized to violence towards humans in movies. But animals? Not there yet. I read the plot summary, that was good enough for me

[Flyby PC 23]

Sure it's been posted before, but have you seen the clips on Youtube about the stage version of Warhorse? Incredible puppetry...

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFupJ8JqAw

[Hauksbee 103]

I'm on a retro movie binge now. Next up Bridge on the River Kwai. Has that been mentioned in this thread yet? If not, for shame on all of you

While I enjoyed the clash between Alec Guiness and Sessue Hayakawa, the rest of it was an exercise in getting the audience to feel "Oooh, wasn't it awful". Of course it was, but if that's what you're after, why not get right to the 'awful bits'? Which happened after they had left the river and were pushing the railway up into the sweltering, claustrophobic, bug infested jungle. Where the going was harder, food was even more scarce and beatings more frequent. By the river, they had fresh water, bathing facilities and even, on occasion, got fish added to their rice and near-rotted vegetables. Once inland, most of that went away. Comparatively speaking, building the bridge was remembered fondly (but only just...)

 

While figures vary (often wildly) about 16,000 Allied prisoners died, in addition to 90,000 Asian forced laborers. 90,000? I don't recall seeing them in the movie. It drives me crazy when Hollywood decides to make a big, splashy movie about some historical event and then let the scriptwriters turn events on their head.

 

...and Nicholson's death. At last we get to see Nicholson wake up and see what he hath wrought. He has this epiphany that says, "You're a bloody collaborator!" and he should have just stomped the detonator. But no. A stray bullet kills him and he accidently falls on it. Sentimental nonsense. As if that wasn't bad enough, the truth of the matter is that the bridge was used from 1943 to 1945 when the Allies finally bombed it.

 

The following paragraph or two is excerpted from a website that promotes tours to the area.

 

About a hundred thousand conscripted Asian labourers and 12,000 prisoners of war died on the whole project. Although the suffering caused by the building of the Burma Railway and its bridges is true, the incidents in the film are mostly fictional. The real senior Allied officer at the bridge was Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey.

 

Some consider the film to be an insulting parody of Toosey.On a BBC Timewatch programme, a former prisoner at the camp states that it is unlikely that a man like the fictional Nicholson could have risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel; and if he had, he would have been "quietly eliminated" by the other prisoners.

 

 

Julie Summers, in her book "The Colonel of Tamarkan", writes that Pierre Boulle, who had been a prisoner of war in Thailand, created the fictional Nicholson character as an amalgam of his memories of collaborating French officers. The destruction of the bridge as depicted in the film is entirely fictional. In fact, two bridges were built: a temporary wooden bridge and a permanent steel and concrete bridge a few months later. Both bridges were used for two years until they were destroyed by Allied aerial bombing. The steel bridge was repaired and is still in use today.

 

 

Edited January 10, 2012 by Hauksbee

[themightysrc 5]

Aside from the saccharine nonsense that I expect Warhorse or indeed any Spielberg movie to be, I've recalled a couple of other war movies that I'd happily recommend, to wit,

 

Paths of Glory - the best film that ol' hole in the chin ever made, and Tumbledown, a film about the Falklands, in fact one of the very few decent films made about that conflict.

 

I believe that, with the 100th anniversary of Universal Studios, there's a good chance of All Quiet On The Western Front being remastered and rereleased. About f***ing time. The current release is gash, sound and visuals quality wise.

 

BTW, does The Battleship Potemkin count as a WWI movie or not? If it does, it's something of a corker, particularly if you like symbolism.

[BirdDogICT 3]

We Were Soldiers the book depressed the hell out of me when I read it at 16. In a good way I suppose. It was all the letters home that did it for me. So many guys who went in there legitimately thinking that nothing would happen to them, or that they WOULD be back. You know. "Don't worry honey, things are fine here. Once my tour's up next week we'll put in for the new house in Vermont." And then the next day things go down, and the fellow just doesn't exist anymore. That book blew my mind on a deep, philosophical level when I was a teen.

 

The movie was actually good, I agree. The cinematography was amazing, i love the overhead shots of troops debussing the choppers. But I agree it more than dropped the ball in the end, and I tend to think that was more a concession to American audiences who just needed to see our boys win the battle, when in reality the results were much more mixed. Especially with what happened at LZ Albany, but I understand why that part couldn't be included in the film.

 

I liked the book and movie, as well. By coincidence, one of my patients and I were talking yesterday, and he was a platoon leader in the 1st Cav, and thought the movie was pretty darn realistic. 16 guys in his platoon went in, 6 made it through the war.

[BirdDogICT 3]

I doubt I'll see it. I, like many others am wholly desensitized to violence towards humans in movies. But animals? Not there yet. I read the plot summary, that was good enough for me

I found Warhorse to be completely uninteresting & emotionally empty.

 

Sorta like "My Friend Flicka" but with more explosions.