OT: Favorite War Movies

[dragoon500ly]

So what are everyone's favorite war movies?

My List would be:

All Quiet on the Western Front
Bridge Too Far
The Longest Day
Midway
Gettysburg
Guns of Navarone
Where Eagles Dare (cheesy but it has its moments)
Das Boot
Siege of Fire Base Gloria

[mikeo80]

For me, my list goes like this.

Saving Private Ryan
Longest Day
Battle of the Bulge
Troy (Yeah, I know it is archaic weapons, but watching Achillies and the Myrmidons take the beach before Troy....WOW)
Terminator II (Great scenes of man vs machine PLUS watching LA bite the big one in Sarah Connor's dream)

There are more, but my mind is blank right now, again, still, yet :confused:

My $0.02 !

Mike

[Fusilier]

Mine...

Apocalypse Now
Cross of Iron
Stalingrad
Das Boot
Downfall
Thin Red Line

[dragoon500ly]

How could I forget...

To Hell and Back
Strike Force Z

[95th Rifleman]

A Bridge too far
Stalingrad (this is a MUST see) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalingrad_(film)
Das Boot
Zulu
Zulu Dawn
Spartacus Kirk Douglas, they don't make them like that anymore.
Lawrence of Arabia

[James Langham]

A few gems that are worth looking for:

* An Ungentlemanly Act - the Argentine Invasion of the Falklands - very dry sense of humour but very, very accurate.

* Went the Day well - Graham Greene's story of Germans impersonating British troops written and filmed in World War Two

* The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp - Another film made in World War Two showing the death of the "gentleman" type of officer.

* Heartbreak Ridge - Lost track of the number of times I have nicked Clint Eastwood's line when training people on the AK.

* Dog Soldiers - British ARmy vs Werewolves in a horror (dark) comedy. If you want to roleplay a British character watch this. It has then squaddies to a T (and look for the brilliant homage to Zulu).

* 9th Company - the Soviet War in Afghanistan through Russian eyes.

* Top Gun - no plot but great soundtrack and great air to air sequences.

* Go Tell the Spartans - Green Beret advisers to the South Vietnamese.

* Who Dares Wins - cheesy film but some very interesting sequences by some special advisors.

* Contact - next to impossible to find dramatized film of a Parachute Rgt tour of Northern Ireland in the 1970s. No background music in a (successful) attempt to increase the realism.

* Raid on Entebbe - account of the Israeli raid on Uganda. Very accurate for the info available at the time.

* A Day in Iraq - an Australian film of a very hectic day in Iraq. A bit over the top and too many events but a few really nice sequences (in particular the first firefight).

* The Wild Geese - for Merc 2000 players - should teach you not to trust your employers. Just don't look at the cap badges worn on the wrong berets.

* Children of Men - the final battles in the refugee camps are straight out of Twilight 2000.

[Sith]

Where does one start?

A bridge too far
Cross of Iron
Dirty Dozen
Saving Private Ryan
Hamburger Hill
The bridge on the river Kwai
Platoon
Where eagles dare
Stalingrad
Kelly's heros
Seven samurai
Breaker morant
Gettysburg

To name a few.

[pmulcahy11b]

Here's one that ends up on few lists: Go Tell the Spartans, about the US's early involvement in Vietnam.

[James Langham]

Here's one that ends up on few lists: Go Tell the Spartans, about the US's early involvement in Vietnam.

Beat you to it! :-)

[Matt Wiser]

Here's my list, in no particular order:

A Bridge Too Far

Kelly's Heroes

Midway

Tora!Tora!Tora!

Patton

Siege of Firebase Gloria

Red Dawn

The Hanoi Hilton

By Dawn's Early Light

Run Silent, Run Deep

Battle of Britain

Not movies, but they're among my favorites:

Band of Brothers

The Pacific

Tour of Duty

China Beach

[Targan]

Very much enjoyed many of those mentioned above. I won't repeat them. One that hasn't been mentioned so far is Gallipoli. A bit cheesy but great soundtrack and it's about AIF soldiers from right here in Western Australia. Also had some great lines by the recently deceased, great Australian actor Bill Hunter. For those who aren't aware, one of the two main characters the film follows is played by Mel Gibson. Oh Mel, what the hell happened to you? He seems mad as a cut snake nowdays.

[Matt Wiser]

I'll add a few more:

We Were Soldiers

Raid on Entebbe

Operation Thunderbolt (the Israeli movie on Entebbe)

The Longest Day

The Enemy Below

Black Hawk Down

Gettysburg (and the prequel: Gods and Generals)

Enemy at the Gates

Windtalkers

The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (made for TV, 1987; Lorne Greene's last peformance as Sam Houston, the late James Arness as Jim Bowie, Brian Keith as Crockett, and Alec Baldwin as Travis; Raoul Julia was Santa Anna)

The Great Raid: the story of the 6th Ranger Battalion's raid on the POW camp at Cabanatuan, the Philippines in Jan 1945.

[waiting4something]

predator
death before dishoner
delta force
invasion u.s.a.-chuck version
13th warrior
conan the barbarian-arnold version
rambo series of films
shooter
sniper
patriot games
porkchop hill
the dirty dozen

[TiggerCCW UK]

* Contact - next to impossible to find dramatized film of a Parachute Rgt tour of Northern Ireland in the 1970s. No background music in a (successful) attempt to increase the realism.


Is that based on Tony Clarke's book of the same name?

[Rainbow Six]

Would agree with many of those already mentioned (and pleased to see the Wild Geese sneaking in).

One that I don't think has been mentioned so far is Taegukgi, a South Korean made film set during the Korean War. Highly recommended.

[rcaf_777]

Omega Force - I highly recomend this one me and brother watch with our kids, the best line is "The Good Guys Always Win in the 80's"

[RN7]

Favorite Films
1) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
2) The Dirty Dozen
3) A Fistful of Dynamite

Others
Apocalypse Now
A Bridge to Far
A Fistful of Dollars
Ben Hur
Bullitt
Commando
Death Wish
Dr. No
Flags of Our Fathers
For a Few Dollars More
Gladiator
Invasion USA
Kellys Heroes
Letters from Iwo Jima
Magnum Force
Midway
Predator
Rambo First Blood
Rambo (IV)
Saving Private Ryan
Seven Samurai
Southern Comfort
The Battle of Britain
The Big Country
The Blue Max
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Desert Rats
The Dogs of War
The Expendables (I know, but it was fun)
The Great Escape
The Guns of Navaronne
The Hunt for Red October
The Longest Day
The Magnificent Seven
The Sand Pebbles
The Terminator
The Wild Geese
Unforgiven
Von Ryan's Express
Where Eagles Dare
Zulu

Favorite Actors
1) Clint Eastwood
2) Lee Marvin
3) Charles Bronson
Others) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charlton Heston, Chuck Norris, Gregory Peck, Harrison Ford, James Coburn, James Mason, Jack Palance, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier, Lee Van Cleef, Marlon Brando, Matt Damon, Richard Burton, Robert Duvall, Robert Mitchum, Russell Crowe, Sean Connery, Stanley Baker, Steve McQueen, Sylvester Stallone, Telly Savalas, Til Schweiger, Tom Hanks, Trevor Howard

Hottest Actress ever
1) Raquel Welch
2) Ursula Andress
3) Sophia Loren

[James Langham]

Is that based on Tony Clarke's book of the same name?

It is (A F N Clarke so presumably anyway).

[pmulcahy11b]

Invasion USA -- ridiculous premise and plot, but fun to watch.

[Raellus]

I generally prefer to read non-fiction books about war than watch movies. After you've read a lot of eyewitness stuff, war movies just seem so... phony. Even when I was growing up in the '80s and early '90s- before I'd read quite so many war stories and military histories- I knew how cheesily bad most war movies made during those decades were. I just could never get into Missing in Action and Commando. I'm not even sure those should be categorized as war movies. There are still a couple war flicks that I've enjoyed, though.

Under the Radar:

Lesser known but still pretty good- at least as a teen when I taped them off of the TV and watched them over and over on my VCR- are:

Uncommon Valor
Attack Force Z

Overrated:

Maybe it's because I love the books so much (I've read BHD at least half a dozen times and WWSO at least three) but I really disliked the movie versions of Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers... I also did not like the movie version of Thin Red Line. The book was much better.

I really liked A Bridge Too Far and the Longest Day when I was a kid. After I read the books, the movies lost some of their luster.

Like:

Unlike several folks here, I really like Saving Private Ryan. I also really like Band of Brothers; The Pacific, not so much.

I'm not sure whether it should be considered a war movie, but I really liked Inglorious Basterds.

I risk getting flamed for this one- I know it's very "Hollywood"- but I enjoyed Behind Enemy Lines.

[Matt W]

Some good choices. How about these?

Casablanca (only a few people get shot - but it is a war movie)
The Last Valley (The 30 Year's War - but it could be updated to T2K)
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Cruel Sea
Ice Cold in Alex
And starring Pancho Villa as himself (a TV movie)
The Wackiest Ship in the Army

[RN7]

Invasion USA -- ridiculous premise and plot, but fun to watch.

The Thinking Man's Rambo!!

[RN7]

I'm not sure whether it should be considered a war movie, but I really liked Inglorious Basterds.

I liked it too, but I wouldn't know if it should be categorised as a war movie, a horror movie or a comedy! Brad Pitt pulled off a good redneck in it tough and Christopher Waltz was just class.

[RN7]

II risk getting flamed for this one- I know it's very "Hollywood"- but I enjoyed Behind Enemy Lines.

I thought Behind Enemy Lines was a good movie, and I'm not a big fan of Gene Hackman, although I did like him in Mississippi Burning. It wouldn't be one of my favorites but I though the storyline and the special effects were generally good.

[RN7]

Any one ever see the British techno-thriller the Fourth Protocol, with Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan plays a KGB agent who is on a mission to set off a nuclear bomb in a USAF base in England. Not a war movie and a bit slow moving but I thought it was quite good.

Or another British film Who Dares Wins with Lewis Collins; a well know British action actor of the 70's and 80's who was one of the Professionals, but who's star has faded since. Its about the SAS and was inspired by the Iranian Embassy Siege in London. It started well but then sort went off the rails and and only in the final scene do you see the actual SAS in action.

[Fusilier]

I just could never get into Missing in Action and Commando.

It has been said that Commando is quite possibly the greatest cinematic achievement ever.

I risk getting flamed for this one- I know it's very "Hollywood"- but I enjoyed Behind Enemy Lines.

I enjoyed it... all except for the cheesy ending.

[Targan]

Raellus, I agree that the movies Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers... were not as good as the books but both were far better than most war films I've watched. I thought We Were Soldiers... stuck pretty closely to the book although obviously due to time constraints the movie left a lot out.

As for Behind Enemy Lines (or as I prefer to call it, "Behind the enema line") had a couple of good moments such as the sequence showing the hundreds of steps involved in an ejector seat being activated but most of the film was absolute crap. But hey, everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Inglorious Basterds was hilarious (with some pretty grim moments too).

[Matt Wiser]

Who Dares Wins is known as The Final Option on this side of the Atlantic. And it was good.

[Rainbow Six]

Any one ever see the British techno-thriller the Fourth Protocol, with Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan plays a KGB agent who is on a mission to set off a nuclear bomb in a USAF base in England. Not a war movie and a bit slow moving but I thought it was quite good.

Or another British film Who Dares Wins with Lewis Collins; a well know British action actor of the 70's and 80's who was one of the Professionals, but who's star has faded since. Its about the SAS and was inspired by the Iranian Embassy Siege in London. It started well but then sort went off the rails and and only in the final scene do you see the actual SAS in action.

Seen them both a couple of times, although not recently. The Fourth Protocol was OK, although I thought the book was much better.

[kota1342000]

Heres a few I dont think have been mentioned yet...

Come and see (Ive only seen the Russian version without subs so far)
Bat 21
Boys of Company C
MASH

....and one for just the sheer fun of CHEESE....
Megaforce
:D

[James Langham]

A few more:

* The Dam Busters - just remember when watching the final scene that Richard Todd had written all too many letters to next of kin in real life.

* Breaker Morrant

* The Dogs of War (although not a patch on the book which really is a manual for taking over a small African country and essential for Merc players).

* Sands of Iwo Jima

* Carry on Sergeant - first and best of the series. Gives me the idea of starting a campaign where the characters are just starting training...

[Legbreaker]

"The Odd Angry Shot" - a brilliant film about SAS troops in Vietnam.
One of the more memorable scenes is the VC burning to death after being on the receiving end of a WP grenade.

[Targan]

"The Odd Angry Shot" - a brilliant film about SAS troops in Vietnam.
One of the more memorable scenes is the VC burning to death after being on the receiving end of a WP grenade.

"Should we shoot him?"

"Nah, let him burn!"

Classic.

[Legbreaker]

The ending was a bit anti-climatic, but I suppose really summed up what happened when troops returned from Vietnam - nothing. No recognition, no parades, not even a handshake and a "well done".

[Antenna]

Some Finnish Movies...

"Talvisota" - Finnish Winterwar or just Winterwar
"Tuntematon Sotilas" - Unknown Solider both the B/W and the color version (based on the Väinö Linna book "Unknown solider")

Then most of you have mentioned most movies but I couldn't see ...

"The Beast" - Lonely Soviet tank in Afghanistan

Antti

[Raellus]

War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg. It's not out yet so I have no opinion one way or the other, but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRf3SfeMRD4

Could be interesting considering the discussions we've had here about horse cavalry in the T2KU.

[RN7]

Watched We Were Soldiers on TV tonight. The body count must rival Rambo IV.

[Targan]

Watched We Were Soldiers on TV tonight. The body count must rival Rambo IV.

The book is even better. I recall a passage in the book where an Air Cav machine gunner had been cut off and had expended all of his 7.62 link during the night, fighting on with his .45; in the morning there were enemy bodies literally heaped up around him like a bloody, meaty barricade.

[LVI]

84 Charlie MOPic (a must see)
We were soldiers
Band of brothers
Saving private ryan
Troy
Last Samurai
Apocalypse Now Redux
Letters from Iwo Jima
Longest day
Blackhawk down
Platoon
Full metal jacket


And recently thanks to this board 9th Company

[James Langham]

Not a war film but really nice post apocalyptic film - Doomsday - from the director of Dog Soldiers. If nothing else it has a fantastic villain that could almost be Dain Dangerous.

[Panther Al]

For what it is worth, saw this movie on the telly a while back, and watched it with my father, who was stationed in Germany during the movies time frame (72-78). At the end of it, looked at him and asked, "OK, so how far from reality was that?" He replied that it was a lot closer to reality than anyone will ever admit.

The movie? Buffalo Soldiers (2001).

[pmulcahy11b]

For what it is worth, saw this movie on the telly a while back, and watched it with my father, who was stationed in Germany during the movies time frame (72-78). At the end of it, looked at him and asked, "OK, so how far from reality was that?" He replied that it was a lot closer to reality than anyone will ever admit.

The movie? Buffalo Soldiers (2001).

That was pretty common in Korea too. Our Mess Sergeant got court-martialed and thrown out of the Army when he was caught doing it with the mess hall food supplies. (After that, our chow quality took a quantum leap in quality.) But let me underline caught. Most black marketeers in the Army aren't caught, unless they get sloppy.

[dragoon500ly]

All right, my son talked me into buying Sucker Punch...

It is something that only a teenager could love....but the combat scenes!

Not to bad!

Won't make my list of all time favorites, but some nice touches.

[95th Rifleman]

Watched "age of heroes" today. Ok, it's not oscar-winning material but it's a pretty good, low budget, WW2 movie about British commandos starring Danny Dyer and Sean Bean.

It's worth a punt as the combat scenes are surprisingly well filmed and the cats where drilled by Royal marines. Such anti-hollywood concepts as conservation of fire and single shots are used which make it more realistic than most offerings in the genre. The combat scenes are relatively short ranged aswell which adds to realism, none of these 2000 yard pistol headshots you see in hollywood flicks.

[HorseSoldier]

84 Charlie MOPic (a must see)


Big +1 on that one, though it's apparently pretty hard to find these days. I think I saw it on cable back in 1990 or 91 or so. Great example of a low budget war movie done right.

The movie? Buffalo Soldiers (2001).

Also a +1.

Most recent thing I saw that was pretty interesting was Cease Fire!, made in 1953 and depicting the closing day of the Korean War. As movies go it really isn't very good, but it's supposed to be a reenactment/documentary with actual soldiers retracing a patrol they did right before the cease fire went into effect. Acting is what you'd expect from telling Joe to play himself and the plot's pretty straightforward (go on patrol, get into firefight with Chinese, have air and arty save the day, roll credits), but it's a real superb look at weapons, gear, and equipment as used right at the end of that war.

[pmulcahy11b]

I might go way out on a limb and nominate Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back...No? OK, Oops...

[James Langham]

I might go way out on a limb and nominate Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back...No? OK, Oops...

Good call, a bit like saving Private Ryan though where most of the film is an anti-climax.

Caught the second part of Rough Riders last night - some really nice touches and one of the few non-SF films where the US is technologically behind. Made me think that if the ACW was the first modern war then this was a throwback!

[B.T.]

Not movies about "modern warfare", but still to mention:

Aliens - the sequel with the Colonial Marines. Some very much clichee characters but very inspiring (IMHO that is!).

Ride with the Devil - the history of the American Civil War is not a big issue here in Germany, but I thought, it is a movie worth looking!

[B.T.]

A strange movie. It was on TV last night in Germany. An "animated documentary" based on a real life story about Israelian Soldiers in the Lebanon 1982/83: "Waltz with Bashir"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_with_Bashir

It is a different kind of war movie, but it gave me a lot of food for thinking.

[headquarters]

I agree. Good Movies

[dragoon500ly]

A Walk in the Sun, caught that the other night on TCM...

Sergeant York

Porkchop Hill

[Targan]

Utu, a New Zealand film set during the Māori Wars in the 1860s. A Māori warrior in British service turns renegade after British forces destroy his village. A white farmer then seeks his own revenge after the renegade slaughters his family and destroys his homestead. This film strongly helped to reinforce my desire never to go into combat against Māoris. Big, scary, angry people seemingly built for war. I'm related to a couple of tribes by marriage and I'm really glad they're on my side!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086497/plotsummary

[WallShadow]

Some of my choices have already been mentioned, but I hadn't seen these yet:

Memphis Belle, both the original documentary and the cinematic portrayal.

Twelve O'Clock High, movie and TV series.

The Tuskegee Airmen -- late '90s docudrama about the 332nd Fighter Group.

Red Tails--story of the Tuskegee Airmen with a bit more CGI and action. Note: I had previously spoken with several of the surviving Tuskegee flyers at several air shows and reenactments--one of them described in detail the destruction of the German destroyer resulting from a machine-gun strafing run.


Combat--1960's tv series that some troops recently fighting in urban areas reportedly called upon from memory for tactics and technique.

Battleground--story of the 101st Airborne and their contribution to the Bulge.

Threads--British film about the unravelling of society and civilization after nuclear exchange. Unnerving and unsettling but good.

Jericho--TV series about a small Kansas town trying to survive after multiple terrorist nukes take out major US cities.

Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.--schlocky but fun Dystopian rebel-vs.-facist society films. And the basis for at least part of one module.;)

Tears of the Sun

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

So Proudly We Hail--WW2 nurses on Corregidor

Since You Went Away--Home Front during WW2

The Fighting Seabees--John Wayne vs. the Japs on Guadalcanal

633 Squadron--Mosquitos on a suicide bombing mission to Norway

Glory--54th Mass in the American Civil War

Dad's Army--British sitcom about the Home Guard/Local Defense Volunteers during WW2

'Allo, 'Allo--the machinations of a French Resistance cell and the occupying German troops in a small French village.

[pmulcahy11b]

Seen them both a couple of times, although not recently. The Fourth Protocol was OK, although I thought the book was much better.

In almost every case I can think of in any subject, the book is better than the movie. No producer, director, scriptwriter, or FX wizard can ever hope to match your imagination.

[Targan]

A bit OT but I have to say, if this guy's story was used as a work of fiction in a film, it would be considered over the top and a bit ridiculous.

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/lucas.html

I'd never heard of Jack Lucas before reading that article but I'm glad I have now. Jumping on one grenade to save your brothers in arms is one thing, surviving it and making a full recovery is quite another. But lying on two grenades, surviving the blast and still being conscious. Say what?

[WallShadow]

http://www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_young.htmlhttp://www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_young.html

This is what Robert Heinlein's story of "Starship Troopers" was really about and why he chose the song for his protagonist's recall beacon: it's not about the super weapons, not the Ubermensch Super-Soldiers, not the rabidly fanatical political mental drones, but about the Little Guy with a lot of heart, the geeky, nerdy schlub in the trenches who does more than anyone ever expects of him or anyone.

A half-blind, half -deaf small town kid who looks like Radar O'Reilly. This story really needs to be told.

[Graebarde]

A bit OT but I have to say, if this guy's story was used as a work of fiction in a film, it would be considered over the top and a bit ridiculous.

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/lucas.html

I'd never heard of Jack Lucas before reading that article but I'm glad I have now. Jumping on one grenade to save your brothers in arms is one thing, surviving it and making a full recovery is quite another. But lying on two grenades, surviving the blast and still being conscious. Say what?

Seems he had a death wish that was never fulfilled.

[Olefin]

In Harm's Way

The Big Red One

Gettysburg

The Longest Day

We Were Soldiers

Saving Private Ryan

Twelve O'Clock High

Letters from Iwo Jima

Das Boot

Red Dawn

Enemy at the Gates

[DCausey]

I won't repeat the many great movies in these lists:I love most of them. I do want to tell you about a movie I watched last night:

9th Company

It's the story of Russian VDV troopers through training and into the Afghan War circa 1988-89. It reminds me of Full Metal Jacket except even better! A Russian production, the movie shows actual vehicles like T-72s, BMPs, HIND Ds, and HIP helicopters!

I can't recommend it enough.

[B.T.]

Hi Dave!
Nice to see you post again!

Someone mentioned the movie in an earlier post. I think, this is interesting to watch and it gave me actually some ideas about Soviet NPCs.

[DCausey]

Thanks, B.T.! :)

It's been quite a year, but things are better now. I didn't forget you all, and it's good to be back.

I must not have read closely enough, but then I was very excited to talk about this movie! :D

- Dave

[Graebarde]

Eight Iron Men (1952) Lee Marvin WW2 story of a squad on the line.
Hell is for Heros (1962) Steve McQueen WW2 Seigfried Line
The Big Red One (1980) Lee Marvin The WW1 vet fighthing his second war over the same turf.

Seven Samurai (1953) directed by Akira Kurosawa.
This is my all time favorite, though with English subtitles and LONG (~3 hours) is sort of a war movie, set in medieval Japan and the basis for the US western The Magnificent Seven.

I like the WW2 and Korean war movies made in the 50s and early 60s, when they used regular explosions rather than can of gasoline fireballs for grenades etc. Plus many of the actors were veterans of the wars.. Lee Marvin was a Marine, wounded on Saipan that got him a medical discharge.