What are your favorite war movies?

[Hawaii Hiker]

I have to go with "Tora, Tora, Tora" - "Saving Private Ryan" - "Full Metal Jacket"...

The worst one was "Pearl Harbor"....The love story disaster epic theme worked in "Titanic" but not in PH in my opinion...

[arbusto_baboso]

1. Sadly, I was an extra in Pearl Harbor....

And yes, the movie sucked beyond belief, at least for the second half.

It was fun being on the set, though. Ben Affleck is as much of a tool as he seems, but Kate Beckinsale is a real sweetheart.

As for my fave, I like an obscure one called "Objective: Burma".

[Orrex]

59. You were awesome in that movie!

I knew you looked familiar!

[arbusto_baboso]

90. Yeah, remember that scene when I did that thing?

Pretty cool, huh?

[cloudbase]

2. The Great Escape.

[pokerfan]

23. +1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III#The_.22Great_Escape.22

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/greatescape

[Captain Hilts]

73. you betcha!

[cloudbase]

100. Well, yeah.

With your user name, that's a given.

[hippywife]

3. None.

I can't abide anything to do with war, whether it be a movie, book or video game.

[yawnmaster]

38. whew...good thing the internet didn't grow from a military project! eom

[hippywife]

39. That has nothing to do with what it is

now and how it's used.

[Orrex]

57. Schindler's List is a war movie

As are and Slaughterhouse Five.


For example.

[Captain Hilts]

84. Yep. nt

[Orrex]

97. Oops. I meant to include Dr. Strangelove in that post but apparently messed up the formatting

[hippywife]

104. I can't watch any of them anymore.

I watched those when they came out. War is such a useless and wasteful thing. I hate that it's glorified in so much of our society and media.

[Orrex]

110. But that's an entirely different issue

You're welcome to avoid whatever movies you wish, of course, but it's really a mistake to generalize all movies that happen to deal with war as an issue. Some of the finest films ever made have attacked the stupid brutality of war, yet they can still be considered "war movies."


It would be akin to rejecting all romantic comedies simply because a lot of them glorify a grossly unrealistic picture of an actual interpersonal dynamic.

[Captain Hilts]

83. Or any of your hand-held technology and medical research....nt

[nytemare]

4. "All Quiet on the Western Front", "Downfall"

"Tae Guk Gi" a Korean made film. It was wonderful.

"On a Midnight Clear", a lesser-known film with a great cast.

I would have to add Private Ryan as well. Very well done.

[Swede]

5. The Thin Red Line,the Bridge and Saving Private Ryan

just off the top of my head.

[recoveringdittohed]

6. Either The Mouse That Roared or Dr Strangelove

No fighting in the war room.

[Forkboy]

9. Peter Sellers was brilliant.

The Mouse That Roared is a great pick. An absolutely hilarious movie.

And everyone loves Dr. Strangelove. How could they not? :)

[GoCubsGo]

72. "Dr. Strangelove" is one of my most favorite movies in general.

Other favorite war movies of mine:

Sahara (the 1943, Humphrey Bogart film)
Twelve O'Clock High
Mister Roberts
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The African Queen
The Three Kings (Only because George Clooney was in it.)
Windtalkers
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Tuskeegee Airmen
Good Morning Vietnam
Duck Soup
Casablanca
Stalag 17
The Dirty Dozen

[Forkboy]

7. Stalingrad, one of the heaviest movies ever made, is easily my favorite.

Patton
Das Boot
The Guns of Navarone
Operation Burma
Battle of the Bulge
The Longest Day
Kelly's Heroes
Run Silent, Run Deep
Threads
Dr. Strangelove


and about 50 more. :)

[Hawaii Hiker]

13. How could I forget "Das Boot" - that was a great one to

There's a special edition DVD released that's about 45 minutes longer than the original theatrical version...

[Forkboy]

15. Yup, that's the one I got.

:D

[msanthrope]

40. Sweatiest. Movie. Ever. n/t

[jellen]

41. Mash! (nt)

[Captain Hilts]

92. Folks say that movie is one of THE most unrealistic, ever, even if the sets

are depicted accurately.

[Captain Hilts]

75. I wouldn't let me dad, a sub skipper see it in a theatre. It freaked out the sailors

in the theatre - in Norfolk VA - I saw it in.

When it was on TV dad was barking "BLOW!" "Good man!" and so forth, at the screen.

[Captain Hilts]

74. I REALLY want to see Stalingrad. The movie and city.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

8. Patton

George C. Scott rocked!

[Forkboy]

12. "When you reach over and stick your hand into a pile of goo that used to be your best friend's face

...you'll know what to do. "

Best opening to a movie ever. One of the best war movies, no doubt.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

68. My favorite...

Thirty years from now, when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks you, "What did you do in the great World War II," you won't have to say, "Well... I shoveled shit in Louisiana."

[Captain Hilts]

76. Dog, I LOVE that line! I kind of regret Spencer Tracy never got the chance for the role...

though I've no doubt the movie was better for being made when it was.

But Tracy would have delivered that speech masterfully.

[Forkboy]

101. I never knew Spencer Tracy was even up for the role.

Cool bit of trivia there. He'd have been excellent I bet, but I'm glad Scott got it instead. He really becomes Patton.

"I read your book, you magnificent son of a bitch!"

[Beer Snob-50]

98. gotta agree with this choice.

My wife and I were out running errands on vets day and told her I was surprised I didn't see where this was being played. We got home and I was able to only catch the last 1/2 hour or so of it on AMC.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

10. I have a few

Paths to Glory
Hell is for Heroes
The Big Red One
Saving Private Ryan

[Broken_Hero]

11. hmm,

Kelly's Hereos, The Dirty Dozen, Mr. Roberts, The Longest Day, Full Metal Jacket, Good Morning Vietnam...to name a few. :)

[Forkboy]

14. How could I have forgotten The Dirty Dozen?

Doh!

[Broken_Hero]

17. Not sure, :)

My dad was a war movie buff, I grew up watching a ton of War movies, including a lot that have been listed in this thread(Tora, Tora, Tora, Anzio, Flying Leathernecks, etc).

There hasn't been many War style movies I haven't liked, about the only one that jumps out at me that I "didn't" enjoy was Harts War, and The Thin Red Line.

I also got to give a shout out for Tears of the Sun.

[Forkboy]

16. Some more....

Stalag 17
Apocalypse Now
The Bedford Incident
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Bridge Over The River Kwai

[Captain Hilts]

93. The Bedford Incident is GREAT. Widmark is perfect as the skipper of the can. nt

[charlie and algernon]

18. OK

Saving Private Ryan
Thin Red Line
Platoon
We Were Soldiers
Glory
Gettysburg
Empire of the Sun

[jrandom421]

19. My Favs

1. We Were Soldiers
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. Up Periscope
4. Pork Chop Hill
5. Twelve O'Clock High
6. The Bridges at Toko-Ri
7. Hamburger Hill
8. A Bridge Too Far
9. The Longest Day
10. The Dambusters
11. 633 Squadron
12. Midway
13. Dien Bien Phu
15. Torpedo Run

[Callalily]

20. Deer Hunter

Apocalypse Now
Das Boot
Bridge on the River Kwai
Afrian Queen
Empire of the Sun

[BeachBaby]

81. Deerhunter really shook me up like no other.

I've only watched it once, and I don't think I could ever watch it again.

[AsahinaKimi]

21. Letters from Iwo Jima directed by Clint Eastwood

[Captain Hilts]

94. That one is terrific. nt

[begin_within]

22. The attack scene in Pearl Harbor is worth watching.

The rest of the film is pretty sappy, but the attack on Pearl Harbor is spectacular.

[Forkboy]

24. Except for the modern day Aegis cruiser in the background.

:)

[Captain Hilts]

85. You'd think they'd of tacked a less modern bow on that thing...nt

[pokerfan]

25. Spectacular but not very accurate

I realize that it wasn't intended to be a documentary but still...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor_%28film%29#Pearl_Harbor_sequences

[begin_within]

26. Paths of Glory

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/

Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DHhTjiVlF4

[6000eliot]

35. Mine too. This movie is absolutely devastating.

[Rising Phoenix]

27. Red Dawn

[begin_within]

28. "The Americanization of Emily" (1964) is brilliant.

Top-notch script by Paddy Chayefsky and strong performances by James Garner and Julie Andrews (she filmed it right after filming "Mary Poppins" and right before fliming "The Sound of Music," and proved in this film that she doesn't need to sing a note to turn in a fine performance. And the supporting cast, particulary Melvyn Douglas and James Coburn, is remarkable. It's really more of an anti-war film than a war film but it's worth watching several times.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057840/

Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA-UbX5NZxA

[Captain Hilts]

86. I've never seen this one and would like to. nt

[begin_within]

91. I got it from the public library,

but any good video store will carry it, or Netflix has it.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Americanization_of_Emily/60011005?strackid=621cf1b1fada8eff_0_srl&strkid=1998026519_0_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&trkid=222336

[EastTennesseeDem]

29. Gettysburg

[The2ndWheel]

30. A Midnight Clear

Glory, Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket, a few others.

[madamesilverspurs]

31. Band of Brothers

[Retired AF Dem]

111. Yes

And read the book. You will learn much more. Also, Pvt Nieland is mentioned. The real "private Ryan".

[NNN0LHI]

32. None But the Brave

[NNadir]

33. "Das Boot" (in German), "The Thin Red Line," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Glory..."

..."The Bridge over the River Kwai" and of course, Speilberg's other war Movie "Empire of the Sun."

It's weird. I'm a pacifist actually, but I love war movies.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

34. "Ryan" & "Jacket," plus "Platoon," "Dirty Dozen" and "Casualties of War"

"Casualties of War," to me, is the single most brutal war film I've ever seen. As good as it is, I have a hard time watching it again because of that brutality...it's too real. Of course, the point of the movie is that war is disturbing and not always a cut-and-dried "good guys versus bad guys" proposition.

Sometimes the good guys ARE the bad guys.

Why Thuy Thu Le didn't become an international superstar after that film is beyond me.

[Captain Hilts]

95. YES on Casualties of War. And Fox and Penn are great along with Le. nt

[rrneck]

36. Ebert

referred to Pearl harbor as the story of the Japanese attack on a love triangle.

[fNord]

37. The Great Escape......

and not just for Steve McQueen

[Captain Hilts]

87. True. The depictions of friendships are really neat. One of the guys that made it out

was Dutch and lived out his life in Va. Beach. My parents knew him. A gentle man. I have some items he gave me folks.

And, YES, there were United Statesians in the camp. They came about halfway through the project and were very helpful, especially in getting morale up.

[XRubicon]

42. 12 o'clock high, Mr Roberts and Caine Mutiny

[Paladin]

51. "Twelve O'Clock High," For Sure.

As I've said before, Gregory Peck's "Pretend you're already dead" speech to the bomber group is one of the great goosebump moments in American cinema.......

[XRubicon]

52. great leadership movie

I wish I was more like Gen Savage (Peck) but I'm afraid I am like Col Davenport (Merrill).

[XRubicon]

53. Here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVbnDBBtg3I

[Captain Hilts]

88. thanks for the link!

[Paladin]

109. Thanks So Much For That. (n/t)

[Captain Hilts]

78. Oh yeah. LOVE that speech. And the one to Gately...if there's a navigator

that can't find his plate with his fork, YOU get him...

[Captain Hilts]

77. Perhaps the three greatest. They're about the PEOPLE that fought. nt

[Paladin]

113. Good Point, C.H. (n/t)

[Twillig]

43. The Blue Max

George Peppard's finest hour.

"It's a cruel world, Stachel!"

Willi von Klugermann: By the way, Stachel... there's an impression around that... you care more about your unconfirmed kill than you do about Fabian's death.

Bruno Stachel: Perhaps it's force of habit. In the trenches, we couldn't even bury the dead; there were too many of them. I've never had the time... to discuss them over a glass of champagne.

[Sanity Claws]

44. Gallipoli

If I remember this correctly, it shows how the British use Aussies as cannon fodder. Fascinating.
I think the same director did one about a court martial during the Boer War. I can't remember the name but it also showed the Brits at their worst in their treatment of soldiers from the colonies. It came out around 1981.

[Twillig]

45. Breaker Morant?

Major Thomas: The barbarities of war are seldom committed by abnormal men. The tragedy of war is that these horrors are committed by normal men in abnormal situations.

[Sanity Claws]

48. That's it! Ding-ding-ding!!

There was so much I liked about Breaker Morant. It revealed the thinly veiled contempt that the Brits had toward the colonists. It also showed a seemingly dull attorney, of whom not much was expected, being extremely competent and almost preventing a grave injustice. Back then, I took it as a symbol of how much difference a single competent person can make. Now, I focus on how the system was set up to thwart his very competent efforts. Sigh, I've become very disillusioned.

[GCP]

46. That would be 'Breaker Morant'

:)

[Sanity Claws]

49. We have another winner!

You have a much better memory than I.
I hope you enjoyed that movie as much as I did.

[GCP]

55. I'm a Brit and even I thought it was excellent!

;)

[applegrove]

47. I saw Midway when I was a child. I really liked that story.

[Va Lefty]

50. "The Outlaw Josey Wales"

not a Civil War movie, but a post Civil War movie. Still 90% of what happens in that movie is war related.

[Twillig]

54. Two great unknowns from 1965:

The Hill starring Sean Connery and King Rat starring George Segal.

The Hill is more of a prison movie, albeit a military prison during time of war (WW2)movie.

King Rat is a prisoner of war movie, which happens to be way better than Stalag 17!

[Adsos Letter]

56. "Go Tell the Spartans" "A Bridge Too Far" "Kelley's Heroes"

[Retired AF Dem]

112. A Bridge Too Far

The most realistic jump scenes ever filmed.

[jobycom]

58. "Grave of the Fireflies," "Apocalypse Now."

I tend to favor the ones that don't make war look like a sport.

[mix]

60. Come and See (Soviet Union, 1986)

[edbermac]

61. Full Metal Jacket...YOU MAGGOT!!

[proteus_lives]

62. WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION?!?!

[txwhitedove]

63. "Glory", "Ride with the Devil", and "Enemy at the Gates".

[Starbucks Anarchist]

64. Paths of Glory is the best, IMO.

Full Metal Jacket and Saving Private Ryan are close behind.

[proteus_lives]

65. Good question.

Saving Private Ryan
Stalingrad
Gettysburg
Letters from Iwo Jima
Full Metal Jacket
Platoon
Apocalypse Now
84 Charlie Mopic
Patton
Dirty Dozen
Gallipoli
Tora Tora Tora
Midway
The Big Red One
The Longest Day
The Great Escape

[HopeHoops]

66. Kelly's Heroes and The Big Red One

In that order.

[Paper Roses]

67. Guns of Navarone, The Dirty Dozen,

[LibertyLover]

69. Destination Tokyo - with Cary Grant

is one. Patton, Lawrence of Arabia, M*A*S*H, Tora Tora Tora, The Longest Day, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo and Midway are others.

[Captain Hilts]

80. In Destination Tokyo, no one notices the captain talks funny! But I like it too.

LofArabia is fantastic. And it's nice, as a Tracy fan, to see Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo get a mention.

[sarge43]

70. All Quiet on the Western Front and The Big Red One. n/t

[TZ]

71. No one has said Platoon?

I think that might be Oliver Stone's best work ever. Sooo powerful....The images are hard to forget.....

[Tommy_Carcetti]

79. It's not a movie but an HBO miniseries--Generation Kill.

Made by David Simon, creator of "The Wire" and "Homicide".

The whole story felt so incredibly real, like you were in the Humvee with them. Great acting, especially from James Ransone (Ziggy Sobatka from "The Wire") and Alexander Skarsgard (Eric the Vampire from "True Blood"). My guess is that of all the TV series and movies to be made about war, "Generation Kill" had to be the closest to the real thing.

[BeachBaby]

82. "Full Metal Jacket" and "Band of Brothers". n/t

[Deep13]

89. Das Boot nt

[Captain Hilts]

96. Folks, go see "The Hurt Locker" about our current war. nt

[nemo137]

99. Breaker Morant.

About a court martial for killing civilians during the Boer War. I first saw it when I was in 8th grade, the year before 9/11. And I sympathized with the protagonists, being railroaded by an uncaring panel of bloodless political appointees for a nebulous benefit. Then I saw it a few years ago, and was much more uneasy about the whole thing. One of the lines in the movie is something like "This is a new kind of war, where our enemies could be anywhere and don't wear uniforms" or something like that. I know it was made in a different time (mid 80s, I think), but watching it today is just chilling. It's still brilliant, though.

[enigmatic]

102. Paths To Glory (1957)

http://www.filmsite.org/path.html

[elocs]

103. The Longest Day because my dad landed on Omaha Beach.

I saw it when I was maybe 10 and never forgot the theme song and music. Not an easy movie for a kid to see with the subtitles and the Germans speaking German and the French speaking French--what a novel concept.

I also liked The Big Red One, Stalag 17, and The Great Escape.

[bikebloke]

105. The Great Escape

Gallipoli
Lawrence of Arabia
Joyeux Noel

[Hangingon]

106. Mr. Roberts

It tells the story of the great number of men who were not in direct combat but did the needed work of supply and support. The movie shows the monotomy and boredom of this work.

[jmowreader]

107. Thank God, someone's asking about light entertainment!

Full Metal Jacket
Dr. Strangelove
Apocalypse Now
The Dirty Dozen
The Great Escape
Patton

[Codeine]

108. Apocalypse Now, SPR, and Enemy at the Gates. nt

[Posteritatis]

114. Can we count Band of Brothers as 'a movie'? If so that's my vote

And god, Pearl Harbor was an atrocity. My inner historian burst into flames watching it.

[NoPasaran]

115. Many already cited, plus "The Bridges at Toko-Ri"

Also "The Battle of Britain", if for no other reason than it's chock full of REAL airplanes.