Favorite War Movies
 

In pursuit of the ultimate DVD collection, I'd like to continue the favorite movie thread with war movies. A few minor guidelines -

Can be TV, cable, or film based
Up to 5 main, 5 honorable mention

Here's my top 5 in no particular order-

"Hell In The Pacific" (Lee Marvin, Toshiro Mifune)
"Fix Bayonets" (Richard Basehart)
"Mash" (Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould)
Catch-22 (Alan Arkin, ensemble cast)
"Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (Robert Mitchum)

Runners-up

"Das Boot"
"Band of Brothers"
"Enemy at the Gate" (Jude Law)
"Stalingrad" (German production)
"Murphy's War (Peter O'Toole)

We've pradickly worn out the VHS copy we have of "Midway".

I would have to put up several:
1. Stalag 17
2. In Harms Way
3. The Dirty Dozen
4. Kelly's Hero's
5. Patton
6. Tora Tora Tora
7. Bridge Over the River Kwai
8. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

OK - that was more than a couple!!

Dave

Saving Private Ryan
All Quite on the Western Front (original)
Patton
Longest Day
Dirty Dozen
Rat Patrol, and Blacksheep for tv shows

I like the made for TV version from the 70's with Richard Thomas although the original is compelling. If you are a reader, get the book. Written in 1927, it reads as if written yesterday. It is truly fantastic.

Agreed with the above plus adding Full Metal Jacket... :yes:

Scott

1. The Dirty Dozen
2. Where Eagels Dare
3. Midway
4. Patton

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Some John Wayne:
The Longest Day
Sands Of Iwo Jima
They Were Expendable
Back To Bataan
And of course,
The Green Berets

Favorite War Movies
 

Here's one no one mentioned: King Rat, a b/w film starring George Segal as a slick hustler from the Bronx in a Japanese POW camp. Came out in the late 50s or very early 60s. Very good flick.

I have to throw my vote for Full Metal Jacket as well. Loved it.

"The Enemy Below". Great U-boat flick. :yes:
Does anyone remember "The World At War" miniseries about WWII? Beautifully done documentary.
Tom

Anybody remember "The Big Red One" ? pretty good flick w/Lee Marvin.-Sandy G.

In no particular order

Das Boot
Patton
Tora Tora Tora
Midway
A Bridge Too Far
The Beast


Tora Tora Tora deserves special mention - the movie seems ahead of its time in its relatively neutral examination of the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor and the events/mistakes/miscalculations that lead up to it. And the Japanese are portrayed with surprising respect and dignity for an early 70's movie. The recent "Pearl Harbor" cannot hold a candle to Tora Tora Tora.

Also, the soundtrack was remastered on the DVD into Dolby Digital 5.1 with THX enhancements and sounds fabulous, even in plain Dolby Digital. Now that I have a pre-amp with THX decoding, I'll have to watch again - at "THX Reference Level" ;)

My top 5:

"Bridge On The River Kwai" (1957)
"Saving Prvt. Ryan"(1997)
"Band Of Brothers" (HBO series) (2001)
"Go Tell The Spartans" (1978)
"Das Boot" (The Boat) (1982)

Runners up:

"The Longest Day" (1962)
"Air Force" (194?)
"The Red Badge Of Courage" (John Houston version, 195?)
"30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (194?)
"The Bridges At Toko Ri" (year??)

Russ

Yes indeed Sandy! Great underrated WW2 film. :thmbsp: I loved it although its not in my top ten. The writer & directer, Sam Fuller...based the movie on some of his personal experiences during that war....in Eroupe.


Russ

I always liked:

"Guadalcanal Diary" 1943
"Run Silent, Run Deep" 1958
"All Quiet on the Western Front" 1930
"The Boys from Company C" 1978

The one that sticks in my mind is "The Train" from 1964.

An incredibly tense film about the resistance trying to keep a trainload of stolen art from being sent to Nazi Germany.

from the IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059825/#comment

"Burt Lancaster is Labiche, a French station manager who becomes entangled in efforts to prevent German Colonel Von Waldheim (Scofield) from shipping hundreds of classic pieces of artwork out of Paris before the Allies re-take the city."

I've seen so many repeats of my favorite war movies that none of them have any special appeal to me anymore. But the ones that I liked the first time I saw them:

1.Cross of Iron
2. Saving Privat Ryan
3. The Lost Battalion
4. Stalingrad
5. Tobruk

Ovenmaster, I think the World at War series was a great series. However I like the Unkown War series better if you ever get a chance to see them. You'll learn things about the WWII that isn't commonly known. Example one show if I remember correctly. The allies had cracked the German code machine 'Enigma'. And Montgomery knew ahead of time, Rommel's plans. So he was able to counter his attacks. Rommel was so frustrated by this he thought he had a spy within his organization. He never thought that their codes had been cracked since they figured their code machine to be unbreakable.
Lots of other interesting stuff about the war in that series.

I was quite surprised by "Lost Battalion". Whodathunk Ricky Schroeder could pull it off? Evidently it is a fair recounting of the actual events too. Sadly Schroeder's character (Maj. Whittlesey) comitted suicide a few years after the war ended. Evidently broken over what happened to his men under friendly fire.

Another good WWI offering is "Once an Eagle" with Sam Elliot. It was a miniseries in the mid-70's and spans both WWI & WWII.

For fans of warbirds, "Battle of Britain" is superb. It was filmed primarily in Spain. After WWII, Spain built German pattern ME-109's & HE-111's well into the 50's and both of which were used in the real Battle of Britain. IIRC, the real issue for the film crew was tracking down enough Spitfires & Hurricanes to use in the big scenes.

Dr. Strangelove
The Caine Mutiny
Mister Roberts
Patton
Paths of Glory
The Americanization of Emily
Casablanca

"Why We Fight" is so pertinent to current foreign affairs issues and is a great piece of politically incorrect filmaking. Can you imagine Hollywood making a war movie about Iraq with a boys' chorus singing "Onward Christian Soldiers"?

The ones that always made my hair stand up were the Cold War nuclear movies since I was acutely aware that I was the target. "Fail Safe" was scary as was "The Morning After".

Loved "Dr. Strangelove" -

"There will be no fighting in the war room!"

For a real WWII heartbreaker, "Mrs. Miniver"

For a Civil War movie, "Glory."

"Rough Riders" was interesting for a Ted Turner cable movie.

"Enemy at the Gates" with Jude Law and Ed Harris. WWI in Russia about snipers. Its the beginning that is strange. The Russians have plenty of "volunteers" but limited weapons. They send them into battle in pairs with only one rifle between them and a few rounds of ammo. When one is shot the other picks up the rifle and keeps shooting. Also if anyone tries to retreat they are shot their commanders! Only one direction, forward.

Impossible to name only 5. There were 5 on tv every Sunday when I was a kid.

Air Force
God is My Co-Pilot
Fighter Squadron
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
The Purple Heart
A Wing and A Prayer
Guadalcanal Diary
Back to Bataan
Attack
A Walk in the Sun
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison
Run Silent, Run Deep
Destination Tokyo

Then there's

The Great Escape
The Guns of Navarone
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Longest Day
The Eiger Sanction
Hell is for Heroes
Midway
A Bridge Too Far
The Battle of the Bulge
Pork Chop Hill
Patton
Sink the Bismarck
The Enemy Below
The Bedford Incident

Television shows were all about Sgt. Saunders and Gen. Frank Savage.

No love here for Sergeant York, I see.

Anyone mention the "Dirty Dozen" or "The Guns of Narvarone?"

Yes, they did.

I'm not the first one to tell you that freakin' gas has got you 1/2 hour, maybe 45 minutes behind the power curve am I?

Uh, did I mention "King Rat" and "the Dirty Dozen?" :smoke:

I just saw that movie for the first time a few months ago. Very very good!!

Saving Private Ryan is almost a cliché because of its popularity, but still one of the best.

Patton

Midway

Das Boot

Guadalcanal Diary has a sad footnote:T.A., great list!

Check out " Saints and Soidiers" fairly new excellent war flick based on a true story during the Battle of the Bulge. Won a bunch of awards. One of the very best I have every seen.

Sorry it's " Saints and Soldiers" excellent war flick.

TAE GUK GI a (Korean release 2005)- BATTLE OF BRITIAN - SAVING PVT. RYAN- BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI- THE STORY OF GI JOE (BURGESS MERIDETH)-WE WERE SOLDIERS-APOCALYPSE NOW-THE DOGS OF WAR-DEER HUNTER-GETTYSBURG-DAS BOOT-BLACK HAWK DOWN-LOST BATTALION-ScHLINDERS LIST-THE PIANIST(TRUE STORY)-HAMBURGERHILL-AND SO MANY MORE

Das Boot letter box in German with subtitles. I took two years of German in high skool, years ago, only pulled a C both years, but I'm always amazed at how well I understand the dialog. The subtitles almost seem to disappear.

I'm a sucker for pretty much any submarine movie. I must be agoraphobic. Love those tight warm humid little closed-in stanky dark spaces ; )

King Rat was great. They never show it though.

Let's slip back to the Napoleonic Wars:

"Master and Commander"

Great 5.1 sound effects.

King Rat
 

They showed King Rat on one of the satillite movie channels maybe 6 months ago. But like a dope, I didn't tape it.

King Rat was adapted from a very good book by James Clavell,of "Shogun" fame.Lotsa good books to read in that list of movies.David

Most of my faves have already been listed:
Band of Brothers
Apocalypse Now
Full Metal Jacket
Patton
Das Boot
Lost Battalion
Lawrence of Arabia-a personal favorite
World at War-I have the DVD boxed set, its outstanding!!!

I haven't seen the Red Badge of Courage, I saw a doc on Huston and the film 75?minutes was originally much longer until studio butchered it. Sad considering the uncut original (which is gone forever) was considered a masterpiece by those who saw it(or such was my impression).

Also love some Japanese films
Kurosawa-Ran & Kagemusha
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun--Fukasaku--just watched last night, over the top in places & difficult to watch in spots, the way a war film should be

Would Failsafe count? I like that show a lot.

I know it wasn't the entire focus of the film, but the battle scenes in Braveheart were awesome. Ditto on Gladiator.

When PBS had Matinee at the Bijou, they ran the original documentary about Memphis Belle's last mission. That was great.