OT: Favorite War Movies

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[RN7]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

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

The Thinking Man's Rambo!!