OT: Post season distraction discussion: Greatest War Movie

[TenerHallTerror]

need a good distraction discussion now that the "regular" season is over

just re-watched the restored Director's Cut of "Das Boot" . . . all 3+ hours of it. Roger Ebert opined that there is no such thing as an "anti-war" film, since all war movies glorify events to a certain degree. With the exception of this film.

This is Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece, a taut and frightening look at a patrol of a WWII German submarine during late 1941. Really examines the psychological effects of war, even more terrifying from the confines of a tiny metal tube that can sink and flood at any moment. Also examines the split between professional sailors defending their homeland, and the disdain they have for the politicians (NAZIs) with whom they share no values.

Your thoughts?

 

[yesjayme]

Full Metal Jacket. Nothing even comes close, IMHO.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

I voted for SPR, but think you could have included Tora tora tora and Deer Hunter

 

[Nitwit]

Having taken basic training during Vietnam, the scenes from Full Metal Jacket still give me feelings in the Pitt of my stomach. Apocalypse Now may be a better overall film but the realism in FMJ wins me over. I’ve watched it about 10 times.

 

[drunkatmydesk]

Kelly's Heros

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Having taken basic training during Vietnam, the scenes from Full Metal Jacket still give me feelings in the Pitt of my stomach. Apocalypse Now may be a better overall film but the realism in FMJ wins me over. I’ve watched it about 10 times.

My boot camp commander looked and talked EXACTLY like R Lee Ermey. it was terrifying.

 

[hotmetal]

The War of the Roses with Gen. Michael Douglas.

 

[rudedude]

 

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

need a good distraction discussion now that the "regular" season is over

just re-watched the restored Director's Cut of "Das Boot" . . . all 3+ hours of it. Roger Ebert opined that there is no such thing as an "anti-war" film, since all war movies glorify events to a certain degree. With the exception of this film.

This is Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece, a taut and frightening look at a patrol of a WWII German submarine during late 1941. Really examines the psychological effects of war, even more terrifying from the confines of a tiny metal tube that can sink and flood at any moment. Also examines the split between professional sailors defending their homeland, and the disdain they have for the politicians (NAZIs) with whom they share no values.

Your thoughts?

 

[LionJim]

It's amazing how well All Quiet on the Western Front holds up. But for my money the best war movie is Aliens.

 

[rudedude]

How about:
Dunkirk
Beasts of No Nation
Kingdom of Heaven
War Horse
Inglorious Basterds
There are a lot out there

 

[Nitwit]

Sergeant Hartman: If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying for war. But until that day you are pukes. You are the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even human ****ing beings. You are nothing but unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian shit! Because I am hard, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. I do not look down on ******s, kikes, wops or greasers. Here you are all equally worthless. And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps. Do you maggots understand that?

 

[Mack_Daddy]

need a good distraction discussion now that the "regular" season is over

just re-watched the restored Director's Cut of "Das Boot" . . . all 3+ hours of it. Roger Ebert opined that there is no such thing as an "anti-war" film, since all war movies glorify events to a certain degree. With the exception of this film.

This is Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece, a taut and frightening look at a patrol of a WWII German submarine during late 1941. Really examines the psychological effects of war, even more terrifying from the confines of a tiny metal tube that can sink and flood at any moment. Also examines the split between professional sailors defending their homeland, and the disdain they have for the politicians (NAZIs) with whom they share no values.

Your thoughts?

 

[harbest]

A Bridge too far.

 

[harbest]

Watch this scene and remember, this movie was made in 1977 long before CGI & after these planes and gliders went out of production.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

need a good distraction discussion now that the "regular" season is over

just re-watched the restored Director's Cut of "Das Boot" . . . all 3+ hours of it. Roger Ebert opined that there is no such thing as an "anti-war" film, since all war movies glorify events to a certain degree. With the exception of this film.

This is Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece, a taut and frightening look at a patrol of a WWII German submarine during late 1941. Really examines the psychological effects of war, even more terrifying from the confines of a tiny metal tube that can sink and flood at any moment. Also examines the split between professional sailors defending their homeland, and the disdain they have for the politicians (NAZIs) with whom they share no values.

Your thoughts?

Went SPR for the sheer intensity. Admittedly, haven’t seen all the movies on the list. I may have added The Thin Red Line, Catch 22, Biloxi Blues, and even Three Kings for something more contemporary.

 

[PSU Dave]

How about:
Dunkirk
Beasts of No Nation
Kingdom of Heaven
War Horse
Inglorious Basterds
There are a lot out there

Bridge on the river Kwai
Battle of the Bulge

 

[Pinkhippo PeanutButter]

Rogue one.

 

[Nittanyfarmer]

No love for "The Blue Max"? World War 1 movies are hard to come by, and especially ones that feature the air war. Excellent real-time use of vintage aircraft for dogfight scenes and no CGI crap in it.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Z U L U !

An OUTSTANDING movie!

 

[Ranger Dan]

PSU Dave mentioned Bridge on the river kwai, and I’ll throw in my all time number one, Lawrence of Arabia.

 

[kijanacat]

I know whoever started this thread meant "war" in general. Also the term movie has relative meaning.

WWI--best is either All Quiet on the Western Front or Oh! What a Lovely War. This last movie is very important to WW1 crowd

WW2--Downfall or Katyn (about the massacre of Polish soldiers by the Soviets during their occupation of Poland prior to June 22, 1941), Patton (great film although mostly propogand) and The Longest Day

Others--Alexander Nevsky, Admiral, Dr. Zhivago, The Light Horsemen, Lawrence of Arabia, Battle of Britain

Japan War--Tora, Tora, Tora (outstanding)

American Civil War--Glory, Red Badge of Glory and Gone with the Wind (I remember my mother reading the Italian version--Via Col Vento)

Arab Independence--Battle of Algiers (necessary viewing for those interested in understanding terrorism)

Cold War--Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Topaz, (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy--lousy movie but necessary); The Good Shepherd (just terrible but tells an important story about James Jesus Angelton and Allen Dulles)

Saving Private Ryan is the worst war movie I have seen. Great opening and closing battle scenes but nothing in the middle. All schmaltz

 

[kijanacat]

PSU Dave mentioned Bridge on the river kwai, and I’ll throw in my all time number one, Lawrence of Arabia.

 

[Ranger Dan]

Red Badge of Glory

Did you mean the red badge of courage, or am I confusing this with the novel I read in high school?

 

[Ranger Dan]

Did you mean to say something?

 

[kijanacat]

Did you mean the red badge of courage, or am I confusing this with the novel I read in high school?

Typo. should have been Red Badge of Courage. Sorry

 

[Snow Shoe Lion]

Stalag 17
Tobruk

 

[JosephNit]

need a good distraction discussion now that the "regular" season is over

just re-watched the restored Director's Cut of "Das Boot" . . . all 3+ hours of it. Roger Ebert opined that there is no such thing as an "anti-war" film, since all war movies glorify events to a certain degree. With the exception of this film.

This is Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece, a taut and frightening look at a patrol of a WWII German submarine during late 1941. Really examines the psychological effects of war, even more terrifying from the confines of a tiny metal tube that can sink and flood at any moment. Also examines the split between professional sailors defending their homeland, and the disdain they have for the politicians (NAZIs) with whom they share no values.

Your thoughts?

Full Metal Jacket is without question the most vivid and memorable depiction of boot camp. Or at least the way Marines used to be trained back when men were men, women were women, and you didn’t get to pick which one you wanted to be on any given day. Times have since changed.

In any case, FMJ doesn’t remotely cut it after the plot shifts from Parris Island to Vietnam. The climactic scene of a Marine unit’s desperate search for what turns out to be a little girl sniper is a bad joke. It made me want to retch and laugh at the same time. Platoon is much better and more realistic than FMJ in terms of its depiction of combat.

My own candidate for all-time best war movie is actually a little known documentary -- Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam. That flick is real, baby, in more ways than one. There are scenes in it that hit you right in the gut and are hard to watch without crying.

Others: somebody mentioned Zulu, which is an outstanding war movie. Once the action starts, it does not let up. Lesser known, and as much a crime flick as anything else but still very effective is Breaker Morant. Also, Paths of Glory with Kirk Douglas.

I think Saving Private Ryan belongs on the list without question. Also, The Longest Day. And don’t forget the great John Wayne cavalry movies directed by John Ford, the best of which was She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.

Finally, another less famous but outstanding cowboys-and-Indians movie called Ulzana’s Raid. Can't argue with Das Boot either. That's a fantastic war flick.

 

[Nittany_93]

Plenty of good selections, I'll add a couple: Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, the Big Red One, Gallipoli.

 

[Roar More]

A "movie" aired over several weeks: "Band of Brothers." Or am I stretching the terms of the discussion? "Gettysburg" deserves a mention.

 

[PSUcup1]

Hacksaw Ridge was pretty good

 

[Victor E. Bell]

I was a fan of Gardens of Stone. Great cast and story. I read Killer Angels which is basically the Gettysburg movie and thought it was an exceptional book. Those two get my votes, if I can vote for two. Hard to have a strong opinion on war movies for one who never served. No frame of reference to discern fact from Hollywood.

 

[masterbaker65]

HBO series Band of Brothers and Pacific were outstanding. I know they’re not movies, but, they are damn good. HBO has another WWII series in production. It looks to be outstanding. It’s about the Eighth Air Force’s B-17’s over Germany. The Eigth’s losses over Germany where staggering. Speaking of which, Memphis Bell was a pretty good movie.

 

[masterbaker65]

I know whoever started this thread meant "war" in general. Also the term movie has relative meaning.

WWI--best is either All Quiet on the Western Front or Oh! What a Lovely War. This last movie is very important to WW1 crowd

WW2--Downfall or Katyn (about the massacre of Polish soldiers by the Soviets during their occupation of Poland prior to June 22, 1941), Patton (great film although mostly propogand) and The Longest Day

Others--Alexander Nevsky, Admiral, Dr. Zhivago, The Light Horsemen, Lawrence of Arabia, Battle of Britain

Japan War--Tora, Tora, Tora (outstanding)

American Civil War--Glory, Red Badge of Glory and Gone with the Wind (I remember my mother reading the Italian version--Via Col Vento)

Arab Independence--Battle of Algiers (necessary viewing for those interested in understanding terrorism)

Cold War--Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Topaz, (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy--lousy movie but necessary); The Good Shepherd (just terrible but tells an important story about James Jesus Angelton and Allen Dulles)

Saving Private Ryan is the worst war movie I have seen. Great opening and closing battle scenes but nothing in the middle. All schmaltz

I thought Saving Private Ryan showed the true insanity of war. One minute you’re peacefully walking thru cow field, the next you're fighting for your life or watching a buddy die, then back to peace again.

 

[OldTiredLion]

As a former navy guy who spent way too much time on aircraft carriers, I'd have to nominate "Midway," with Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda.

 

[Nitwit]

Bridge Of Spies
Eye in the sky
Zero Dark 30

They are all more contemporary films about war on a more intellectual level - each with an outstanding cast. They’re war movies for the thinking viewers.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Z U L U !

An OUTSTANDING movie!

ZULU and Zulu Dawn are incredible films

also should drop a film based on a similar incident . . . Siege of Jadotville on Netflix

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Plenty of good selections, I'll add a couple: Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, the Big Red One, Gallipoli.

ugh Gallipoli. fantastic film if you want to cry all day.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

HBO series Band of Brothers and Pacific were outstanding. I know they’re not movies, but, they are damn good. HBO has another WWII series in production. It looks to be outstanding. It’s about the Eighth Air Force’s B-17’s over Germany. The Eigth’s losses over Germany where staggering. Speaking of which, Memphis Bell was a pretty good movie.

I thought "Pacific" was a better series.

the Pelelieu landing and airfield battles were some of the most accurate and gruesome depictions of those pitched battles. man, those Marines were tough as hell

 

[Roar More]

Also consider "Master and Commander on the Far Side of the World." Shame they never did a follow up. The movie got me hooked on the books and a read them all.