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

All Quite on the Western Front


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.

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

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

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

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

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.

3. The Lost Battalion

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:

No love here for Sergeant York, I see.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:Marine Corps Capt. Marion Carl, a multi-ace (18.5 air victories), makes an appearance as a Marine Corps pilot. Capt. Carl wears his baseball cap with the bill pointed skyward and makes the comment, "Don't look now, fellas, but a truck of gas just came on the field." Capt. Carl was a survivor of the Battle of Midway and the air campaign for Guadalcanal in 1942. He was awarded 2 Navy Crosses for his actions at Midway and Guadalcanal. Sadly, on June 28, 1998, he was murdered in his Oregon home by a home intruder.

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.

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.

1. Kelly's Heroes
2. Patton
3. All Quiet on the Western Front (original version)
4. Dr. Strangelove
5. We were Soldiers

Honorable

6. Tora, Tora, Tora
7 Apocalypse Now
8. MASH
9. Dirty Dozen
10 (tie) Saving Private Ryan / U-571

Doc Strangelove
1941
MASH
Slaughterhouse 5
Starship Troopers

I tend to like the ones with the more explicit anti-war message:


Paths of Glory

Johnny Got His Gun

Born on the Fourth of July

Platoon

Dr. Strangelove

Die Brücke (the bridge)
Full Metal Jacket
The Great Escape
The Young Lions
Dr. Strangelove

My Top 5 war films:

"A walk In The Sun" Dana Andrews,Richard Conti,Etc. 1945
"To Hell and Back" Audie Murphy 1955
"Porkchop Hill" Gregory Peck, 1959
"Here To Eternity" Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Cliff, 1953
"Saving Private Ryan" Tom Hanks 1998
There are too many more to choose from...

John.

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

I've probably read that book four or five times. Excellent. Clavell puts you right there.

Hi,
"King Rat" is available on DVD if you do an ebay search.

John.

Not yet mentioned - Twelve O'clock High, Gregory Peck - '49.
(Back when I went to the movies).

Ron.

Not yet mentioned - Twelve O'clock High, Gregory Peck - '49.
(Back when I went to the movies).

Ron.

Oh yes forgot about THAT one! :thmbsp: But then, I've a soft spot in my heart for B-17's!


Russ

when was the last time you watched "The Longest Day?" epic........

Bataan (1943): Japan has just invaded the Phillipines and the US Army attempts a desperate defence. Thirteen men are chosen to blow up a bridge on the Bataan peninsula and keep the Japanese from rebuilding it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035664/maindetails

Guns at Batasi (1962): It's a splendid character study of a British Army Regimental Sergeant Major set in an absorbing - and rather accurately prophetic - plot of a post-colonial African revolution.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058166/

Immortal Sergeant (1943): Out on patrol in the war-time desert a Canadian corporal reminisces about the woman he has left behind in London and ponders whether she will fall for the charms of his rival in love. At the same time he worries about how he would get on with his outfit if his crack sergeant was not there to guide him. Circumstances combine to give answers to both questions.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036037/

The War Lover (1962):Buzz Rickson is a dare-devil World War II bomber pilot with a death wish. Failing at everything not involving flying, Rickson lives for the most dangerous missions. His crew lives with this aspect of his personality only because they know he always brings them back alive.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056676/

Bravo Two Zero (1999):This is the true story of the most highly decorated British patrol since the Boer war: an eight man SAS team inserted behind Iraqi lines during the Gulf War in January 1991. Their mission was to take out the scud missiles which Saddam Hussein was using to terrorize his enemies, as well as to sever strategic communication lines between Baghdad and North West Iraq. This top secret mission was called "Bravo Two Zero" and it was commanded by Sergeant Andy McNab. Of the eight who went out, only five returned. Dropped into "scud alley" carrying 210-pound packs, McNab and his men soon found themselves surrounded by Saddam's army. Their radios didn't work; the weather was brutally cold. And they had been spotted. For the SAS, the Bravo Two Zero patrol has always been seen with mixed feelings. On one hand, its most famous ever action is a tale of remarkable endurance and heroism; on the other hand, only one of the eight-man patrol managed to escape death or capture (as told in The One That Got Away by Chris Ryan.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120617/maindetails

The Sand Pebbles (1966): Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat U.S.S. San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China. His iconoclasm and cynical nature soon clash with the "rice-bowl" system which runs the ship and the uneasy sybiosis between Chinese and foreigner on the river. Hostility towards the gunboat's presence reaches a climax when the boat must crash through a river-boom and rescue missionaries upriver at China Light Mission.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060934/


Other Favorites that were already mentioned:
The Train
Pork Chop Hill
Hamburger Hill
Action in the North Atlantic
Air Force


Almost al of these films are now on DVD! :thmbsp:

My recommendations would have to include;

1. Memphis Belle
2. The Great Escape
3. Hell in the Pacific
4. The Battle of Britain
5. Tora Tora Tora

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


Boy...that saved me alot of typin!!...lol :banana:

Schindler's List

These are rarely shown on TV. Some are not available on VHS or tape.

When Trumpets Fade (1998)
In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning (Ron Eldard) reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135706/


Decision Before Dawn (1951)
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043459/


The Victors (1963)
Some short tales about the inhumanity of war, in front of the history of WWII, showing that the individum always looses.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057652/


Attack and Retreat (1965)
Chronicle of the unheralded and unsuccessful invasion of the Soviet Union by the Italian army during World War II

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059323/


Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Later, he catches up with the unit in Italy and accompanies it through the battles of San Vittorio and Cassino. He learns from its commanding officer, Lt. (later Capt.) Bill Walker of the loneliness of command, and from the individual G.I.'s of the human capacity to survive drudgery, discomfort, and the terror of combat.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038120/

Limited to movies about WW II infrantrymen... no boats, POW camps, planes, or subs. And in no order.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/56/A_Bridge_Too_Far_DVD.jpg/200px-A_Bridge_Too_Far_DVD.jpg
A Bridge Too Far (Operation Market Garden...Monty's Folly that could have won the war 6 months early, but probably prolonged it by three)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a5/TheLongestDay.png/200px-TheLongestDay.png
The Longest Day (D-Day)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ac/Saving_Private_Ryan_poster.jpg/200px-Saving_Private_Ryan_poster.jpg
Saving Private Ryan (D-Day and following)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/Kelly%27s_Heroes_movie.jpg/200px-Kelly%27s_Heroes_movie.jpg
Kelly's Heroes (Comedy, but one of the VERY few films where you'll see the difference between a Tiger Mk I and a Sherman M4-A3...which was a joke in itself)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3d/Stalingrad_film.jpg/200px-Stalingrad_film.jpg
Stalingrad (German film)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/33/Battleground.jpg/180px-Battleground.jpg
Battleground (Battle of the Bulge: remarkable film considering that it was filmed so close to the war's end)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/The_Thin_Red_Line_Poster.jpg/200px-The_Thin_Red_Line_Poster.jpg
The Thin Red Line (Guadacanal..the most beautiful war movie, if that's possible)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bb/Poster.jpeg/200px-Poster.jpeg
Band of Brothers (The 101st from Normandy to Austria)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/How_I_Won_the_War_DVD_cover.jpg/200px-How_I_Won_the_War_DVD_cover.jpg
How I Won the War (Richard Lester directs John Lennon. Not a pro-war film.)

(There are so many others, but these leap out at me for not having any real weaknesses in acting, direction, score, or cinematography.

I tend to like the ones with the more explicit anti-war message:


Paths of Glory

Johnny Got His Gun

Born on the Fourth of July

Platoon

Dr. Strangelove
Paths of Glory is one of the best movies I've ever seen.
Ed

Lots of great films here, but the one with most brutal battle scenes I've seen is "The Messenger, The Story of Joan of Arc"; sort of "Saving Private Ryan" meets "Braveheart".

I'm also partial to "Von Ryan's Express" with Sinatra; I always wind up watching that one when I stumble across it.

There was a sorta hokey one starring Jimmy Stewart in the late 1950s about the then-new B-52...I've caught pieces parts of it over the years, never have seen the whole thing end-to-end...It was in color, too, which was kinda unusual then...Anybody ever seen "7 Days in May ?"

There was a sorta hokey one starring Jimmy Stewart in the late 1950s about the then-new B-52...I've caught pieces parts of it over the years, never have seen the whole thing end-to-end...It was in color, too, which was kinda unusual then...Anybody ever seen "7 Days in May ?"

Strategic Air Command (1955) :yes:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048667/

Star Wars?!

Ok how about Murphy's War with Peter O'Toole.
Galipoli
Das Boot
Patton
Great Escape
The Dirty Dozen
Kelly's Hereos
Enemy at the Gates
Bridge on the River Kwai
Green Berets
Hunt for Red October
Mephis Belle
Saving Private Ryan
Deer Hunter
The original War of the Worlds

Shoot I liked them all.

Thanks for the thread. Definately added some to my list of must sees. For me personally Full Metal Jacket is untouchable. My dad served in Vietnam and in his opinion this was the best movie done on the war that this country would love to forget. It may seem strange to you but watching that movie makes me feel like I understand him more.
I know that sounded unmanly and I don't care. flamesuit is on.

Any war movie that has "Surfin' Bird" innit has GOT to be good.....

Never been much of a war flick fan. I always suspected that the Holleywood renditions Vs a grunt's reality were probably worlds apart, but no combat experiance here to base that opinion on.

So with that said I would vote

Patton George Scott is a great actor

Dr. Strangelove black humor and satire at it's best

Tora Tora Tora Well just an OK flick, but it was filmed in Hawaii while I was serving in the Air Force and I even worked as an extra for a few days. Hey $35 a day was big buck in those days for a single GI :thmbsp:

Lefty

The Longest Day is a special favorite of mine since my Dad was in the 29th Division and landed on Omaha Beach during the longest day.

You guys keep mentioning SAC and I'm gonna cry. From 1978 through 1992 I flew for SAC. Then they disbanded the command and handed us (the tankers) over to AMC (MAC) and our lives changed immeasurably for the worst. To this day we are miserable. Curtis E. is probably spinning in his grave.

I haven't seen the movie for a long time, but I remember Jimmy Stewart crashing a B-36 in Strategic Air Command, not one of the Bongo-52's.

Hey Blownsi,

Take your flame suit off. What you posted was pretty manly the way I see it.

Always heard that Gen. LeMay is/was regarded with an almost deity-like reverence amongst those who served under him. He could be a real bastard, but he made sure every man under him had whatever he needed to do his job, whether it was a grunt cleaning latrines or his chief-of-staff. He instilled a level of professionalism in his men that's seldom been equalled.

Fiery boy. If one crewmember screwed up, the ENTIRE CREW got busted one rank. Do good? The ENTIRE CREW got promoted. It was his insistence on tight bomber formations during daylight raids that busted the air over Europe wide open. Naturally, the eventual design of fighters that could escort the bombers all the way to Germany and back (P-51's) was a big deal, but it was his tactics that were the real reason.

There are no individuals like General LeMay in service today.

U-571
Master and Commander
Patton
Behind Enemy Lines
Enemy At The Gates
Saving Private Ryan

Lets see, Ten to Chi to (Heaven & Earth), which is set during the wars in feudal Japan during the 16th century.

Thirteen Days, although I'm not sure if the Cuban Missle Crisis is really a war, perhaps an almost war flick.

Plus a lot of films that have already been mentioned.

Fiery boy. If one crewmember screwed up, the ENTIRE CREW got busted one rank. Do good? The ENTIRE CREW got promoted. It was his insistence on tight bomber formations during daylight raids that busted the air over Europe wide open. Naturally, the eventual design of fighters that could escort the bombers all the way to Germany and back (P-51's) was a big deal, but it was his tactics that were the real reason.

There are no individuals like General LeMay in service today.

Father was as a tailgunner on a B-24 in the 8th during WWII and later I served in SAC, after Lemay, but SAC did treat everyone with respect and purpose for a dreadful mission that thankfully didn't come to pass :thmbsp:

Lefty

This damn thread started me on a war movie film festival. Watched "Enemy at the Gates" and "The Thin Red Line" over the past two nights. Bit of an emotional drain.

"Enemy" is set at Stalingrad, and while pretty good, becomes a little to mano a mano with its sniper duel among the total destruction. The opening scenes of Russian cannon fodder (er, soldiers) being brought to the front in locked railroad cars, ferried across the Volga under fire, and fed directly into the slaughterhouse (one rifle for every two soldiers, shot by your own officiers if you tried to retreat) that was Stalingrad were worth the rest of the movie. If anything sums up the total insanity of war, it's these opening sequences.

"The Thin Red Line" has moved right to the top of my list of greatest war movies ever. Set at Guadalcanal, it's range from dreamy to terrifying to reflective to intellectual to senseless is simply astounding, as the US Army tries to take that hill from entrenched Japanese (who are treated like real people rather than mindless Samurai-charging automatons). The director, Terrence Malick, uses voiceovers to get inside the heads of his many characters. If you think war is in anyway glorious, or heroic, or anything but a totally senseless waste of humans, nature, and resources, watch this movie. It depicts war in all its aspects, terrifying, visceral, bloody, boring, dreamy, heroic, debilitating, and at its crux the most insane and senseless of all of humanity's mass activities. A great film.

Lot of excellent recommendations here! Hard to pick favorite war movies, but two that haven't been mentioned are "Seven Samurai" and "We Were Soldiers Once". Have to have watched Seven Samurai 20 times, Kurosawa is such a master.

David

Gotta chime in regarding "The Guns of Navarone". I was OBSESSED with that one when it came out. Only one theatre in the small town where I grew up...new releases got a 3 day run. A couple buddies and I saw the 1st and 2nd showings of "Guns" for its entire run....then went out and attempted to re-enact the film. Typical kids.
"The Great Escape" still resides near the top of my list...not much combat here, but Steve McQueen ruled.
Don't think I've seen "Von Ryan's Express" mentioned...maybe I missed it in amongst all the posts. Again...not much in the way of combat...but a thouroughly enjoyable flick nonetheless.
And...what was the one where Laurel and Hardy enlisted in the Foreign Legion?

Paths of Glory. Generals mess up and cover their asses by selecting 3 soldiers for execution.

"THE GREAT ESCAPE" IS MY FAVOURITE!!! (I have it in analog on VHS)

Steve Mqueen was VERY GOOD and its sad he is gone... (I like many of his movies)

"Cross of Iron" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Iron) by Sam Peckinpah
"Paths of glory" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paths_of_Glory) by Stanley Kubrick
"Full metal jacket" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Jacket) by Stanley Kubrick
If it qualifies for a war movie (it's actually an adaptation of "King Lear")
"Ran" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ran_(film)) by Akira Kurosawa

Another good Nam one not mentioned yet is Uncommon Valor. Gene Hackman is terrific in this.

Enjoy the music,
-Mark

I love them all.

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

This is a wonderful selection of thoughtful films about war. With the exception of The Americanization of Emily, with which I am not familiar, these films are timeless explorations of the individual confronted by the desperation and brutality of war.

Reach for the Sky. A film that I can watch again and again.

Reach For The Sky, the WWII biopic of Douglas Bader, the British airman who, in the immortal words of Derek Trotter, "didn't let a little thing like having no legs" stop him contesting the crucial chuckers of the Battle Of Britain.

Familiar to millions owing to this picture's constant presence on British television since its release, the details of Bader's story have lost none of their power. A gifted rugby player and cricketer, the cocksure Bader lost his limbs in a flying accident in 1931. Given no hope of recovery, he stubbornly fought against the doctor's diagnosis, his pig-headedness leading him to return to the air within a decade of his near-fatal crash. A key contributor to Britain's successes against the Luftwaffe in 1941, Bader's never-die-spirit was so great that, upon being captured by the Nazis, he promptly escaped, so forcing his captors to confiscate his legs. Along the way, Bader met and romanced his future wife, received a knighthood for his public work for the disabled and became a talented golfer.

Of course its not my words but it gives a general idea of whaut the film is about.

It was a good list the first time I posted it (though not the best), but I'll repost.

Limited to movies about WW II infantrymen... no boats, POW camps, planes, or subs. And in no order.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee62/nafishasan60/ABridgeTooFar1977.jpg
A Bridge Too Far (Operation Market Garden...Monty's Folly that could have won the war 6 months early, but probably prolonged it by three)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000EHSVRS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
The Longest Day (D-Day)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ac/Saving_Private_Ryan_poster.jpg/200px-Saving_Private_Ryan_poster.jpg
Saving Private Ryan (D-Day and following)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/Kelly%27s_Heroes_movie.jpg/200px-Kelly%27s_Heroes_movie.jpg
Kelly's Heroes (Comedy, but one of the VERY few films where you'll see the difference between a Tiger Mk I and a Sherman M4-A3...which was a joke in itself)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3d/Stalingrad_film.jpg/200px-Stalingrad_film.jpg
Stalingrad (German film)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/33/Battleground.jpg/180px-Battleground.jpg
Battleground (Battle of the Bulge: remarkable film considering that it was filmed so close to the war's end)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/The_Thin_Red_Line_Poster.jpg/200px-The_Thin_Red_Line_Poster.jpg
The Thin Red Line (Guadacanal..the most beautiful war movie, if that's possible)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bb/Poster.jpeg/200px-Poster.jpeg
Band of Brothers (The 101st from Normandy to Austria)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/How_I_Won_the_War_DVD_cover.jpg/200px-How_I_Won_the_War_DVD_cover.jpg
How I Won the War (Richard Lester directs John Lennon. Not a pro-war film.)

(There are so many others, but these leap out at me for not having any real weaknesses in acting, direction, score, or cinematography.

...and I shamefully excluded "The Big Red One".

Kelly's Heros
Mr. Roberts
The Great Escape
Bridge on the River Kwai
Thin Red Line

I believe you have named all of my favorites and some that I haven't seen. But, this list of favorites is absolutely incomplete without including 1941, starring John Belushi.

http://dballnet.com/uploaded_images/1941-717126.jpg



Seriously, I watch Band of Brothers every year and many of the other movies on this list as well. In fact, I own many of them. For pure realism, Das Boot makes me feel slimey
and wet. I always get cold and depressed when I watch Stalingrad. I cannot help choking up when Sgt. MacKenzie plays on We Were Soldiers.

Excellent thread and to all of the veterans here at AK and who have served through the years, you have my gratitude and respect for your sacrifice.

EDIT: Why We Fight has been named already. This is a chilling documentary, centered around Dwight Eisenhower's farwell address, warning US citizens of the hazards of a large, healthy military industrial complex. Well worth viewing, if only to marvel at how clearly Eisenhower saw into the future.

EDIT^2: Ken Burn's documentaries on The Civil War and World War Two will be in my library within the next 12-24 months. I have a 13-year old son and I believe that these documentaries are invaluable aids for teaching children about our history and about what war really means.

EDIT^3: Not my favorites, but 300 and Troy are both good movies about mythical historic battles. They are both stylized and heavy on graphic novel violence.

The 300 Spartans

Come and See

They Were Expendable

With Fire and Sword

The Red and the White

To Hell and Back

The Grand Illusion

The Blue Max

Alexander Nevsky

Run Silent Run Deep

The Enemy Below

Capitain Conan

If you want to see strong visual influence on "Paths of Glory" watch "The World Moves On", a 1934 John Ford picture about the Great War.

I hate them all....everytime I go into a Home Theatre setting they have to put on that damned Saving Private Ryan movie...I just don't want to see that crap.

"Black Hawk Down" is one of my favorites. It's a great movie and an even better book.

"Saving Private Ryan" has one of the best surround effects I've heard on my system. In the beach scene when they are hunkered against the sand berm, I can hear German artillery fire rounds in the distant left (well beyond the screen), hear the shells scream over my head as they pass from deep left to to impact near right rear. On one of the last shells, the sound travel from the deep left to overhead center, then changes direction and goes back to impact near left. The change in sound direction matches the change in screen shot. As the sound goes overhead, the scene goes from looking up at the wall to turning the viewer around to face the beach when the shell impacts and explodes on the viewers near left instead of the right rear when you were "looking" the other way.

U-571 is a great movie,also flags of our fathers, and the companion movie, letters from iwo jima.

As ex-Army (5th, 2nd and 8th Combat Engineers "Essayons") and a military historian this is one of my fave category of film.

On Land:
"Glory" - The campire scene... my god brings me to tears every time.

"Bataan" - Made while the contest was still in doubt. Valiant men in a hopeless fight.

"Fort Apache" - John Ford puts his spin on Custer and his vanity. This time the Indians win.

"War and Peace" - The Battle of Borodino in the Russian version is epic!

"When Trumpets Fade" - The little known Battle of the Hurtgen Forest... wow.

"Alexander Nefsky" - Russian film that is a stark reminder to the Germans of the last time they invaded Russia, too bad they didn't listen. The battle on the frozen lake is epic!

"Gettysburg" - Doesn't get any bigger or better.

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" - Both the Flynn and later version are marvelous. One is history as it should've been and the other as it was. Brilliant.

"Inglorious Basterds" - Most fun I've ever had with WWII.

On Sea:
"The Cruel Sea" - Destroyers vs. U-boats, what it does to men to have to hunt and kill.

"In Harms Way" - Bad models but a great ripping yarn.

"In Which We Serve" - Wartime Propaganda but a great tale of men and the fighting ships they love.

"Das Boot" - Nothing need be said.

"Master and Commander" - Wish they'd left it like the book and had the Brits fight an American Privateer, but hey.

"Ben Hur" - "We keep you alive to serve this ship, row well and live."

"Tora Tora Tora" - Everything Pearl never was.

"They Were Expendale" - One of my favorite films of all times. Valiant men in a desperate struggle.

In the Air:

"12 O'Clock High" - Some of the best ass chewing scenes I've ever seen.

"Dawn Patrol" - The Errrol Flynn version is pure entertainment. Historically inaccurate but fun.

"The Battle of Britain" - Desperate men in a desperate fight!

"The Tuskegee Airmen" - Another story that needed to be told.

"The Blue Max" - They got the planes right and the action too.

Just off the top of my head.

Da Worfster

Many of the films previously mentioned are absolute classics that cannot be overlooked by anyone who admires the genre. However I have endeavored to come up with some legitimate contenders definitely worth a watch.

The Search, 1948 -- Montgomery Clift, stationed in post-war Germany, helps a war orphan find his mother. I first saw this movie as a child in the mid-1950's and was taken by the folorn little boy adrift without family in a bombed-out country. Filmed on location with impressive footage of bomb damage in Germany, the film has Wendell Corey and a number of fine European actors in supporting roles.

The Big Lift, 1950 -- Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas help the US Air Force overcome one of the Communists' first efforts of the Cold War--the 1948-49 blockade of Berlin. Clift and Douglas meet unattached German females and their mission gets complicated. More footage of post-war Germany plus film of the Berlin Air Lift. The Big Lift features an uncommon story-line with an interesting twist.

The Cruel Sea, 1953 -- Jack Hawkins and other familiar, but not so well known, British actors man a British corvette assigned to protect merchant ships from the depredations of German submarines. Based on a novel of the same title by Nicholas Monsarrat, who served aboard British anti-submarine vessels during WWII, this is an absorbing and excellent film. It presents an engrossing depiction of life at sea aboard ships that were, in real life, too small and under-powered to be sea worthy, not to mention effective u-boat hunters.

Action in the North Atlantic, 1943 -- Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey serve together on merchant ships crossing the Atlantic during the height of the German submarine menace. Many wonderful character actors help bring this picture home.

I Was a Male War Bride, 1949 -- Cary Grant, as a French army officer, and Ann Sheridan, as an American WAC, carry out a joint administrative assignment in post-war Germany. A very funny comedy. Do not miss an early scene where Grant tries to find the office of the American officer to whom he must report.

Objective, Burma, 1945 -- one the greatest all-time small group action films of World War II. Errol Flynn and James Brown, later famous for his roll as Lt. Rip Masters in the TV series, the Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, lead American commandos into Japanese-occupied Burma. Great action, great human interest.

Operation Pacific, 1951 -- This is a realistic account of the American navy's defective torpedos that took forever to troubleshoot. Despite evidence of substandard design and defective components, the US Navy Ordnance Department stubbornly, unconscionably, resisted testing their torpedos. John Wayne plays a navy submarine officer frustrated by torpedos that do not detonate.

They Were Expendable, 1945 -- A wonderful John Ford film about the men and officers of a Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron (PT boats) in the Phillippines at the time of the Japanese invasion. A very good study of command in a hopeless situation, the film stars Robert Montgomery with John Wayne and a young and beautiful Donna Reed in supporting roles.

Night People, 1954 -- This is a Cold War thriller about a young American soldier stationed in post-war Berlin, who is seized by Soviet operatives and taken into the Russian sector beyond the reach of American military authorities. It is Gregory Peck's job to get him back. The film also stars Broderick Crawford, although I think his role is overshadowed, despite a lot of muscle flexing as a powerful American industrialist, by the able Buddy Ebsen in a rich and witty supporting role. Good stuff for those who remember the Soviet Union as a real threat to humanity before Hollywood-types set us straight.

49th Parallel, 1941 -- Officers from a destroyed German submarine try to hide in early war-time Canada as they make their way to still-neutral America. Laurence Olivier, Lesley Howard, Glynis Johns and Raymond Massey are magnetic in supporting roles. Will the Nazis make it to freedom in the USA?

I've read every post and have seen almost every film mentioned. Here's one not yet brought up: "The Bedford Incident" with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier. A US Navy destroyer tracks and harasses a Soviet submarine during the height of the cold war. Those two gentlemen and a strong supporting cast would ensure any film is solid, but the tension in this one is relentless!

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Is that a movie?:D

Thanks for the thread. Definately added some to my list of must sees. For me personally Full Metal Jacket is untouchable. My dad served in Vietnam and in his opinion this was the best movie done on the war that this country would love to forget. It may seem strange to you but watching that movie makes me feel like I understand him more.
I know that sounded unmanly and I don't care. flamesuit is on.

Semper Fi to your Dad.
I can tell you from personal experience that the boot camp part of the movie is pretty realistic too. I went through recruit training at MCRD-Parris Island 6/76-9/76. Right after Viet Nam. Those guys who were in Viet Nam were my drill instructors. In fact, my Senior Drill Instructor was in the battle of Hue City, during The Tet Offensive. I had then, and still today have a great amount of respect for those guys.

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, 1, 2, 5 & 7 are at the top of my list, along with 'They Were Expendable'. And, there is the 1st 30 minutes of 'Full Metal Jacket'.

Another vote for The Cruel Sea

Also 'Ice Cold in Alex' (absolutely bloody excellent)

I've read every post and have seen almost every film mentioned. Here's one not yet brought up: "The Bedford Incident" with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier. A US Navy destroyer tracks and harasses a Soviet submarine during the height of the cold war. Those two gentlemen and a strong supporting cast would ensure any film is solid, but the tension in this one is relentless!

Look closer. Mentioned over 3.5 yrs ago.

Look closer. Mentioned over 3.5 yrs ago.

Got it, sorry to steal your thunder!

It was an outstanding movie. Why nobody mentioned it before I did is a good question.

Hey, no one posted Sahara with Humphrey Bogart as the tank commander from Brooklyn (you should have remembered that one TA.)
It was made in '42 or '43. Bogie & his ragtag group of lost & separated soldiers consisting of a Frenchie, a Brit, an Italian, a couple of Americans & an Indian from India end up shooting up & capturing a hundred thirsty Nazis in the desert.
Great flick.

And that reminds me that The African Queen was also a war flick, with Bogie & Katerine Hepburn using their ship the African Queen to sink a German
warship on a lake in Africa.

By far the best war movie for me is !2 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck. From what I have read ( and I have read just about every book published about the 8th Air Force) it's very realistic.

Hey, no one posted Sahara with Humphrey Bogart as the tank commander from Brooklyn (you should have remembered that one TA.)
It was made in '42 or '43. Bogie & his ragtag group of lost & separated soldiers consisting of a Frenchie, a Brit, an Italian, a couple of Americans & an Indian from India end up shooting up & capturing a hundred thirsty Nazis in the desert.
Great flick.

"Wasser! Wasser! Wasser!"

A bridge to far..............


People have mentioned this movie but, my Grandfather WAS THERE!

Serving with the 1st Para, 3rd battalion British army..........

You seriously did NOT want to F$%k with these gentlemen.............

Dave



Lest we forget

By far the best war movie for me is !2 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck. From what I have read ( and I have read just about every book published about the 8th Air Force) it's very realistic.

It is indeed a great movie. I read somewhere that it was filmed on a deserted Air Force base in Alabama, of all places. Dean Jagger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Gregory Peck's chief of staff. I have seen the film at least a half dozen times now and still get totally absorbed. Probably the best of the film's sub-plots is the tension between Peck, the hard-driving new commander, and Hugh Marlowe, who plays the assistant wing commander and an experienced bomber pilot who shirks his combat missions. Their relationship is not pretty, but ultimately it's very touching. And fortunately for the viewer, there is a lot more to this sophisticated and nuanced war film. If it is not the best war movie, it has to be among the best acted and most authentically plotted films about World War II.

By far the best war movie for me is !2 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck. From what I have read ( and I have read just about every book published about the 8th Air Force) it's very realistic.

It is indeed a great movie. I read somewhere that it was filmed on a deserted Air Force base in Alabama, of all places. Dean Jagger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Gregory Peck's chief of staff. I have seen the film at least a half dozen times now and still get totally absorbed. Probably the best of the film's sub-plots is the tension between Peck, the hard-driving new commander, and Hugh Marlowe, who plays the assistant wing commander and an experienced bomber pilot who shirks his combat missions. Their relationship is not pretty, but ultimately it's very touching. And fortunately for the viewer, there is a lot more to this sophisticated and nuanced war film. If it is not the best war movie, it has to be among the best acted and most authentically plotted films about World War II.

Most of my favorites have been mentioned; two strong anti-war films from Japan came from the same director, Kon Ichikawa:

"Fires on the Plain" and "The Burmese Harp."

Searing, humanistic storytelling that caused great consternation among (particularly) the right-wing factions in Japan for showing that Japanese soldiers could be human, have regrets and see that the war was futile.

Both films show the end of the war, with "Fires" going into how far down man can fall when all rules are thrown away.
"Harp" urges penance, as the lead character tries to find a way to make up for his (and his country's) sins.

"Come and See" from Russian director Elem Klimov is about a boy in the countryside and his getting caught up in WW2 when the Germans invade.
Some of the most terrifying scenes of civilian killings ever put on film.

"Downfall", about Hitler's last days in the bunker, is a good 'bookend' to "Das Boot". Bruno Ganz is perfect as Hitler.

Powell and Pressburger's "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" is a wonderful skewering of the notion of The Classic British Officer, with everything that that implies. Funny, touching, and, with everyone getting their moment of grace, a great viewing.

And we can't forget "The Dam Busters" and "Heroes of the Telemark", both based on daring real-life missions.

C.

Bridge over the river Kwai ( Sp ? )
The dirty Dozen
Kelly's Hero's
Patton
Apocalypse Now
Full metal Jacket
Brave heart ( hey,that was war )
There was a civil war movie with Heath Ledger that I liked but can't remember the name of.

Does the cold war count ?
The hunt for Red October !

Empires of the sun

There are some fantastic movies mentioned in this thread, and a few that I can't believe.

I don't know what the best are but my favorites are already listed:

1. Twelve-O'Clock High
2. All Quiet on the Western Front
3. They Were Expendable
4. The Longest Day
5. Platoon!
6. Tora! Tora! Tora!
7. In Harms Way
8. Patton
9. Red Badge of Courage
10.Apocalypse Now
11. Stalag 17
12. Bridges at Toko-Ri
13. Bridge Over the River Kwai
14. Full Metal Jacket
15.Halls of Montezuma

so how about these?:

An American Guerrilla In the Phillipines
Hamburger Hill
Little Big Man
Gettysburg
Glory
Jarhead
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo


this one is about those left behind:

Since You Went Away (1944)


three classics about the aftereffects of war:

The Third Man (1949)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
The Men (1950)


and for pure excitement you can't beat this one:

Zulu (1964)

No love here for Sergeant York, I see.

I just found this thread today and "Sergeant York" was one of the first movies I thought of. Alvin York's unit, The All American Division, later became The 82nd Airborne Division that I served with from 1968-1970.

Geez, three and a half years and no mention of "Good Morning, Vietnam"?

One of my fav. newer ones is Das Boot...or The Boat. A great sub movie from the German POV.

three classics about the aftereffects of war:

The Third Man (1949)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
The Men (1950)


and for pure excitement you can't beat this one:

Zulu (1964)

If one wanted the best movie to dramatize courage in the face of overwhelming lethal force, one would be hard pressed to find a better picture than Zulu, a 1964 film set in late nineteenth century Natal, South Africa. Starring Stanley Baker, Michael Caine and Jack Hawkins, it is a mostly true story about an 1879 battle between a Welsh company of the British army and thousands of Zulu warriors. The Zulus are impressive. Whether it is the commanding officer's gradual realization of what he and his relatively few soldiers are up against, or the incredible first appearance of the Zulu army, the movie is loaded with classic war-time conflicts and resolutions. The film should be mandatory viewing for all military basic training programs.

The Best Years of Our Lives is simply one of the best films of Americana ever made. Period. It won seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. McKinlay Kantor, who wrote the novel upon which the film is based, and screenwriter Robert Sherwood, who won the Oscar for the film's screenplay, have created some of the best archetypal American characters ever to appear on a theater screen. Frederic March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright give peformances that easily demonstrate why they are among the best American actors ever. And the supporting cast is chock full of great characters. Is there a more under-rated, beautiful Hollywood blonde than Virginia Mayo? She gives a dead-on performance as a war bride with a whiny personality and a what's-in-it-for-me attitude. Can anyone better project a movie tough guy image by underplaying the role than Steve Cochran?--who plays Mayo's boyfriend while husband Dana Andrews is up in a B-17 over Germany. Hoagy Carmichael gives a near-perfect rendition of a neighborhood bar owner, neighborly, but no pushover. And Harold Russell wins a Best Supporting Actor Oscar portraying a double-amputee struggling to accept himself even as he tries to fit again into his family home with the girlfriend right next door. (Of course, Russell is famous as the World War II vet who lost his hands in an army training accident and then won two Oscars for his work in Best Years of Our Lives. The second Oscar was a special award for his leadership and work as a role model to other handicapped vets. Later in life, in a move than made the newspapers, he sold his Oscar to pay for medical care for his wife.) Best Years of Our Lives is filled with wonderful freeze-frames of America as it appeared at the end of World War II. From the drugstore lunch counter, to the shack by the tracks, the film depicts the America to which veterans returned to pick up their lives and begin again. Finally, the film score is one of the most haunting melodies ever to win an Oscar, courtesy of Hugo Friedhofer, composer and nine-time Academy award nominee.

As a war movie, The Best Years of Our Lives transcends the genre. It is currently ranked number 37 of 100 films in 100 years by the American Film Institute. Thank you producer Samuel Goldwyn and director William Wyler.

Patton, my favorite, and in TV sitcom it was 12 O'clock high.

Well my favorites are:

The 3 Days Of The Condor

The Battle Of Britain

The Bridge On The River Kwai

The Dam Busters

The Great Escape March

The Green Berets

The Guns Of Navarone

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Another vote for napalm in the morning.

As ex-Army (5th, 2nd and 8th Combat Engineers "Essayons") and a military historian this is one of my fave category of film.

"When Trumpets Fade" - The little known Battle of the Hurtgen Forest... wow.

Da Worfster


I'll have to watch this one. My father fought that battle as part of the 28th Infantry, Keystone division (Bloody Bucket). He doesn't like to talk about it much. Lost too many friends............. Endured too much misery. His feet got messed up pretty bad, with the cold wet conditions and all. He described the Hurtgen as bleak, a place where " you couldn't see the sky, even during the daytime"..... (because of the 100ft dense pine trees)

The Green Berets
Full Metal Jacket
The Longest Day
Sands Of Iwo Jima
Back To Bataan

I'll have to watch this one. My father fought that battle as part of the 28th Infantry, Keystone division (Bloody Bucket). He doesn't like to talk about it much. Lost too many friends............. Endured too much misery. His feet got messed up pretty bad, with the cold wet conditions and all. He described the Hurtgen as bleak, a place where " you couldn't see the sky, even during the daytime"..... (because of the 100ft dense pine trees)
I thank your father for his service, on this Veterans Day. If this film presents 1/100th of the hell of that battle it's no wonder he doesn't speak of it. Most of the casualties suffered in the battle on the allied side were from shapnel and splinters from those tall pines that were blasted to splinters by 88.mm shells from hidden batteries. Horrific from all accounts. The saddest thing is they didn't have to slog through that forest, they could've by passed it easily with a classic pincer movement and either destroyed the Germans at their leisure with artillery and air or left them surrounded and cut off with no option but surrender. However some bright general decided to make it a test of wills and plow unit after unit into that bloodbath... Sigh.

Da Worfster

Seeing as yesterday was Armistice Day I watched a John Ford silent picture about the Great War, Four Sons, about the effect of the war on a German family.

Very good picture and shows the profound effect Murnau and UFA had on Ford, the lighting is very expressive. The picture also has some bravura camera work much unlike the older Ford's work---intricate tracking shots (in one shot the camera backs up as a couple enters an elevator, rides up the elevator with them and then follows them down a hallway), many pans and a shot of a blacksmith quenching a piece shot upwards through the bottom of the slack tub.

I had to wonder if Spielberg and Scorsese have seen this picture because watching it you'll think of them.

Soldier of orange, one of the best Dutch films of the 20th century. The Battle of Neretva the most expensives film of the SFR Yugoslavia. Also Audie Murphy war films, whoose grave in Arlington cemetary is the most visited.