War movies

[notre dame joe 186]

2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

WWII is a great genre. So many good films, but I have my reservations about the modern movement towards realistic/grotesque violence and gore.

I wish they'd make another Dirty Dozen/The Great Escape type film. Something fathers and young sons can watch together. My dad, myself and my younger brother would watch a WWII movie every Saturday night during the football offseason. Memphis Belle was probably the last WWII movie like this and it came out in 1990. 

Not hard to box out the War Hero films from the general war genre. 

Does it stop being a 'war movie' once there are no more living grand children from the soldiers?  No pre-WWI films have been named despite the many good choices.

[RPM 26315]

26 minutes ago, notre dame joe said:

No pre-WWI films have been named despite the many good choices.

That's a limited genre. You have the Civil War and Indian War skirmishes which are considered separate subjects. Prior to that is Revolutionary War. 

Edited May 28, 2019 by RPM

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

There’s a 1945 movie based on a book, called “A Walk in the Sun”, about troops in the invasion of Italy.  Been years since I watched it but it was a great realistic movie in its time.  

[mulletpelini 5210]

Rogue 1 had some great battle scenes.

[billfromlaketravis 11444]

I still think The Dirty Dozen is the perfect WWII nostalgic movie. Humor, action, great acting, well developed relationships, and odd ball characters. 

Force 10 from Navarone is another good one in my opinion. 

Edited May 28, 2019 by billfromlaketravis

[TexEx15 17509]

Restrepo Andy Korengal are amazing.  I want to check out They Will Not Grow Old.

[Plorant 799]

Civil War recommendation would be Gettysburg.  I haven't seen it in this thread yet, but I really enjoyed Fury.  WW2 tank movie starring Brad Pitt. 

[InkaUtexas 25853]

6 minutes ago, Plorant said:

Civil War recommendation would be Gettysburg.  I haven't seen it in this thread yet, but I really enjoyed Fury.  WW2 tank movie starring Brad Pitt. 

Add Glory to the list. 

[jimmyjazz 45877]

Fury was annoying, the reasons not the least of which were that Brad Pitt was about 20 years too old for the role.

[Braff Zacklin 13552]

Currently watching Catch-22 for about the fifth time. Given the nature of the book, a perfect adaptation was impossible, but I feel Buck Henry and Mike Nichols did as well as could be expected.

[Nivek 16916]

Generation War - German 3 part series about 5 friends in WW2. Not bad.

 

Stalingrad is another good movie.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 hours ago, notre dame joe said:

Not hard to box out the War Hero films from the general war genre. 

Does it stop being a 'war movie' once there are no more living grand children from the soldiers?  No pre-WWI films have been named despite the many good choices.

Glory, and Paths of Glory have both been mentioned I believe.  All Quiet On The Western Front was a good movie, but an amazing book.

 

EDIT:  Read WWII not WWI.    Yep, pre WWI is a limited genre like RPM said. Breaker Morant is a Great War Time movie (Boer Wars), but more about a trial, and not a strictly war pic.  

WWII era I believe, but The Hill hasn't been mentioned.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Onboard 2.0

[Gil Bang 25907]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

Haven’t seen “Twelve O’Clock High” mentioned yet; very good film. 

I liked it.

[Gil Bang 25907]

Midway is still my favorite

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4974]

Has To End All Wars been mentioned yet? POW films are kind of a seperate gener, but I feel they are appropriate for memorial day.

[Nivek 16916]

Glory, and Paths of Glory have both been mentioned I believe.  All Quiet On The Western Front was a good movie, but an amazing book.
 
EDIT:  Read WWII not WWI.    Yep, pre WWI is a limited genre like RPM said. Breaker Morant is a Great War Time movie (Boer Wars), but more about a trial, and not a strictly war pic.  
WWII era I believe, but The Hill hasn't been mentioned.

There is a Ricky Schroeder WWI film and of course Sgt. York.

[Fondren & Main 6698]

Where Eagles Dare

Von Ryan’s Express

Edited May 28, 2019 by Fondren & Main

[notre dame joe 186]

4 hours ago, RPM said:

That's a limited genre. You have the Civil War and Indian War skirmishes which are considered separate subjects. Prior to that is Revolutionary War. 

They Died with Their Boots On + 3 John Wayne cavalry movies, The Patriot, Glory.

 

They just feel more like versions of Lord of the Rings than an attempt to portray the war they are set in. 

[52-80 19140]

5 hours ago, Nivek said:

Generation War - German 3 part series about 5 friends in WW2. Not bad.

 

not bad?  it was awesome

[baboso 6054]

One thing I appreciated about Generation Kill was the little technicalities they absolutely nailed, like the gun trucks having alternating fields of fire when in transit.  Ray Person was a funny motherfucker.

 

[tantric superman 4667]

13 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I still think The Dirty Dozen is the perfect WWII nostalgic movie.

It's fucking terrible but it's still great.  So is Where Eagles Dare.  They are cartoons.

"They Were Expendable" may be my favorite patriotic little WWII movie.  I just love the arc of the story and especially the way it ends.

"Paths of Glory" still my favorite war anti war movie, but I'll admit I'm a sucker for "trail" war movies, with Breaker Morant a close second.

[ABSR 5308]

I don't think I have seen it mentioned, but A Bridge too Far is a good WWII movie as well.

[BonzoMontreaux 1036]

I would like to see a movie or two about the 442 Infantry Regiment during WWII.  I just watched the Ken Burns documentary on WWII and the story of 442 stands out to me the most.  It was comprised almost solely of Japanese Americans that fought in the European theater.  

 

 

[MAROON 445]

17 hours ago, Dutch said:

Haven’t seen “Twelve O’Clock High” mentioned yet; very good film. 

possibly one of the best leadership movies ever made.  still used in grad school today to teach leadership.

[notre dame joe 186]

 

5 hours ago, ABSR said:

I don't think I have seen it mentioned, but A Bridge too Far is a good WWII movie as well.

 

 I caught bits and pieces of it and "The Desert Rats" last night.  They are both very long and require commitment to get through.  (must be an allegory in there somewhere).

 

seeing that actor reminded me "The Horse Soldiers" is another example of a war movie transformed into a John Wayne movie.

 

[High Plains Drifter 11024]

Didn't see these mentioned:

 

Big Red One

Deer Hunter

[HouTex 1866]

Midway is damn good too. And Bridge on the River Kwai. Alec Guinness played the arrogant Brit perfectly.

[Lazarus Bocanegra 304]

I found the box set of BoB at the thrift for $5 a couple of weeks ago and bought it for my curmudgeonly FiL who professes to hate everything.  I told him I was going to force him to watch it and, despite his protestations to the contrary, he would like it.  

Sat him down yesterday and got him through the first three episodes before we had to leave for Houston.  After the assault on the howitzers at Brecourt Manor at the end of E2, he was all "BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO GONORRHEA???!!" and I had to point out that Wild Bill was awarded the silver star.  I think I may have gotten through.  To be continued...

[Brisketexan 105041]

Sat down and watched the beginning of Saving Private Ryan last night, had the boy and wife join me.  Every time, she gets pissed off -- "what a fucking waste."  Every time, I explain to her "yeah, but we had no real choice -- when taking a beach, you just gotta have more bodies than they have bullets."  Still...she's not wrong.

I for one am pleased that modern war movies have focused more on the brutal reality of war, as opposed to heroism and glory.  Good reminders that war is nasty fucking business to be avoided at all reasonable costs.   Not cheerleaded and flag-waved on to battle.  We owe our fellow citizens better than to send them into a meatgrinder unless absolutely necessary, and we owe the rest of the world restraint so that they don't do the same, unnecessarily.

I just think it's interesting how war movies have evolved over time.  I wasn't sure how I felt about that as it was happening.  But I think it's important.  That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate stories of brotherhood and heroism like BOB....hell, it makes me appreciate them more.

[RPM 26315]

8 hours ago, tantric superman said:

"They Were Expendable" may be my favorite patriotic little WWII movie. 

It's terrific. Robert Montgomery filling in for Ford made it a better movie.

[TexasBeta 1261]

A Bridge Too Far.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

8 minutes ago, TexasBeta said:

A Bridge Too Far.

Maybe it's aged well, but when it came out it was not received well.  Lots of big names in a really empty movie. Ryan O'neil in a war movie just didn't play.

[Michael Knight 12976]

A bridge too dull 

[TexasBeta 1261]

Maybe it's aged well, but when it came out it was not received well.  Lots of big names in a really empty movie. Ryan O'neil in a war movie just didn't play.

It’s more a personal thing. I also love Pekinpah’s The Iron Cross about the German soviet war.

[Gil Bang 25907]

One thing I appreciated about Generation Kill was the little technicalities they absolutely nailed, like the gun trucks having alternating fields of fire when in transit.  Ray Person was a funny motherfucker.
 

My son (Army Infantry with 2 tours) says its pretty realistic all around

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

15 minutes ago, TexasBeta said:

 

It’s more a personal thing. I also love Pekinpah’s The Iron Cross about the German soviet war.

 

Oh yeah, personal taste is key. I loved the Iron Cross.  Read the book in 77 or so before seeing the movie.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Onboard 2.0

[Michael Knight 12976]

The steel helmet 

[Nivek 16916]

Aces high, the blue Max, dawn patrol, wings captain of the clouds.

Sahara for WW2

[Steamboat1874 4048]

This is a very good WWII movie.....

[WhatTheBuck 28771]

On May 27, 2019 at 5:20 PM, Deej said:

Forward through the various love scenes and it's much better.

Not to mention the entire episode devoted to shore leave in Australia, with characters and plot lines that existed for one episode only. (Maybe thst was an homage to The Sopranos?)

The part of the documentary series WWII in HD that covered the Pacific campaign was far more compelling than The Pacific. And the actual film from the 40's was better than the CGI effects in 2010. 

[usmc0331horn 953]

On 5/27/2019 at 5:01 PM, RPM said:

True, but with the exception of the Jew thingy they treated captured civilians and POWs relatively well. Japanese had a different POV.

Someone doesn't understand WWII history on the Eastern Front.

[usmc0331horn 953]

The Russian war film "Come and See" is one of the greatest and most brutal war movies ever made about the war/Holocaust in Belarus and the harrowing experience to all involved. Stalingrad is another good one.

[WhatTheBuck 28771]

Two Saturdays ago I did a double feature of The Green Berets and Stripes. That was a blast. Over Memorial Day Weekend I did my usual Band of Brothers marathon. Still the single best piece of television ever produced, imo. It's still gripping from start to finish. 

I'm due for a rewatch of The Great Escape. Tora! Tora! Tora! should be in the queue too if I can find the time. 

I'm a sucker for any b&w WWII movie from the 40's. 

[usmc0331horn 953]

1 minute ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Two Saturdays ago I did a double feature of The Green Berets and Stripes. That was a blast. Over Memorial Day Weekend I did my usual Band of Brothers marathon. Still the single best piece of television ever produced, imo. It's still gripping from start to finish. 

I'm due for a rewatch of The Great Escape. Tora! Tora! Tora! should be in the queue too if I can find the time. 

I'm a sucker for any b&w WWII movie from the 40's. 

We finally got a 4K tv last weekend and one of the first things I threw on was the episodes from Peleliu on The Pacific. So stunning visually and just brutal.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 minutes ago, usmc0331horn said:

Someone doesn't understand WWII history on the Eastern Front.

Yeah Germans treated Russians pretty harshly and vice versa.  Germany treated most Eastern European as less than human.  A Russian holocaust would have been next had Germany defeated Stalin.

[Victorious1 140]

I'm sucker for many of the 40's & 50's era movies and watch all day long when possible.

Here's a few more:  Stalag 17, Here to Eternity, PT109, Sargent York, Up Periscope, Sink the Bismarck, Sands of Iwo Jima, Ice Station Zebra (cold war). 

Getting harder to get past the some of the bad, fake movie shots in the old movies but I guess that's what they had to work with back then. I do like when they add real footage from actual battles.

[GreenspointTexas 9598]

Battle of Britain - underrated and still contains the best aerial sequences ever captured on film

 

The Devils Brigade - interesting story about the 10th mtn div.

 

Gettysburg - best made for TV war movie imo

 

A Bridge Too Far gives a fantastic insight to the many sides of a specific battle and is very well acted and shot... and the locations they used were incredibly realistic

 

Bonus - Allied - really fell through the cracks but was extremely enjoyable

[TwiceHorn 31434]

Comes up here somewhat often, but hasn't made it here yet.

 

Bridges at Toko Ri.

[HouTex 1866]

Comes up here somewhat often, but hasn't made it here yet.
 
Bridges at Toko Ri.

That's a great film. Hard to go wrong with grace Kelly and William Holden.

It's more Holocaust history than WWII, but Conspiracy is very good. It's about the Wansee conference where Heidrich organized the logistics of killing and disposing of 6 million+ people.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

On 5/27/2019 at 6:06 PM, Onboard 2.0 said:

Yeah warriors who tortured civilians, raped Nan King, killed, tortured, and worked POW's to death. Worthy  of a battle to the end ?  

sounds like you're not familiar with the Bataan Fun March.