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

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]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

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]

Originally Posted by James Langham

* 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]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

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]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

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

The Thinking Man's Rambo!!

[RN7]

Originally Posted by Raellus

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]

Originally Posted by Raellus

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]

Originally Posted by Raellus

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.

Originally Posted by Raellus

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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