burning_phoneix Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) I don't know how many people at SF have ever actually watched a war film but I'm bored so I decided to start this thread. First off are the classic, well known war movies I think everyone should watch: Das Boot(1981): Possibly the greatest submarine movie ever made. This is the movie Wolfgang Petersen is most known for. The lengths that they took to make this movie as tense and authentic as possible is jaw dropping. Zulu(1964): Perhaps the greatest British war movie ever made. Both Ridley Scott and Peter Jackson used it for inspiration in Gladiator and Lord of the Rings. The Wild Bunch(1969): Possibly the most violent movie ever made when it was released. I think they invented the "R" rating after this movie came out. Full Metal Jacket Apocalypse Now Platoon:The famous trio of Vietnam war movies. Pretty much everyone knows about them. Lawrence of Arabia(1962): Pretty much speaks for itself. The Bridge on the River Kwai(1957): Okay , maybe not a historically accurate version of the real Bridge over the River Kwai but a damn fine film. Saving Private Ryan(1998): Yeah...I know some people like to be hardcore and think this movie sucks but it still deserves to be here. Tora!Tora!Tora!(1970):The best Pearl Harbor attack movie ever made. It's particularly remembered for inspiring the "awakened a sleeping giant" quote by Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto Red Dawn(1984): I'm apprehensive of putting this movie here since it seems so....Kitsch. Most of the SFers here won't understand the whole "Russia is invading!" angle because they don't know or remember about the cold war (I sure don't) and the actual movie is a bit silly but still fun overall. Braveheart(1995): I'm apprehensive about this too but I still think it's a great movie. Mel Gibson going around yelling "FREE-DOM!" everywhere is good. War and Peace(1968):The Russian version not the American one. Epic doesn't even begin to describe it. The film is 8 hours long and is a candidate for most expensive film ever made (700 Million $ inflation adjusted) and has a battle that contains 120'000 extras! Okay now that I'm through with that I have to say one thing. I'm a fucking lair if I claimed to actually have watched all these movies so I'm not. I know that I left a lot of classic movies such as Dr.Strangelove (which I consider a comedy) or the Battleship Potempkin and other early silent films (because I know feck all about them) and others I probably simply forgot to mention (give me a break). The following though are movies I watched myself and are not so classic or well known but I recommend: We Were Soldiers(2002): Mel Gibson strikes again. The first part of the movie kind of drags on but the second half is one the longest most brutal battles I've ever seen, it's like a scene from Rambo rather than a war movie. Also, I like how the American soldiers in this vietnam movie are unlike the ones in FMJ or Platoon where they are foul mouthed sons of bitches. Instead, the soldiers are more reminiscent of WWII movie "Good Ol' Boys". Lion of The Desert(1981): Since the cunt Al-Gaddafi financed this movie (Akkad couldn't find any investors in Hollywood, go figure) it got panned when it first came out but it's a great movie about the Libyan national hero, Omar Al Mukhtar, and his desperate guerrilla war against Benito Mussolini's Italian army. Anthony Quinn,Oliver Reed and Ron Steiger as Omar, Rodolfo Grazaini and Mussolini are great in this. Especially Steiger. Anyone with basic 20th century historical knowledge should know that this doesn't end in a happy ending. Battle For Haditha(2007): A semi-documentary look at the Haditha killings in Iraq. Doesn't attempt to paint anyone as "The bad guy", just a lot of people at the wrong place at the wrong time. Actual Iraqis were used to play the Iraqi characters, which might not seem significant to you but to me it is because I don't need the subtitles to know what they are saying. Saints and Soldiers(2004): An Indie war movie about the Malmedy Massacre. It does a great job of stretching that 700'000$ budget to great effect and the acting is good too. Days of Glory aka Indigènes aka بلديون(2006): A french war movie that won the best male actor award at Cannes (the entire male cast won the award as a group) about how native North Africans were recruited into the french army and treated like shit during WWII (similar to African Americans in the US army) despite fighting for a country they have only heard about. Okay now I'm done. Discuss your own favorite war movies. Edited August 1, 2009 by burning_phoneix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fei Mao Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) Hmm I watch Tora Tora Tora it was pretty good (had that guy from the Karate Kid movie the sensei person,) I watched Macarthur's the return that one was okay, Braveheart I liked that one, Saving Private Ryan also liked that one, and Pearl Harbor I kinda liked it action films are okay, and Platoon. Edited August 1, 2009 by Jason W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Communard Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) Great list--I've seen most of these, and agree--but I've got a few things to add. Das Boot(1981): Possibly the greatest submarine movie ever made. This is the movie Wolfgang Petersen is most known for. The lengths that they took to make this movie as tense and authentic as possible is jaw dropping. Stalingrad, about said battle, was done by the same people, and is also totally indispensable. It's one of my "favorites". Red Dawn(1984): I'm apprehensive of putting this movie here since it seems so....Kitsch. Most of the SFers here won't understand the whole "Russia is invading!" angle because they don't know or remember about the cold war (I sure don't) and the actual movie is a bit silly but still fun overall. A brilliant comedy, if you ask me. For a film made at about the same time that looks actually like what war with Russia would be like (and definitely deserves to be on this list), go for The Day After. Other than that, I would also add Patton, The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, The Great Escape, Stalag 11, The Dirty Dozen, andM*A*S*H. EDIT: And Waltz With Bashir. That was amazing. Edited August 1, 2009 by Le Communard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Letters From Iwo Jima is an excellent film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burning_phoneix Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 Fuck! I forgot to add Waltz with Bashir and Letters from Iwo Jima to my personal favorites in the first post! :( Also, I've seen A bridge too Far and it definitely deserves to be called a classic. Iwo Jima>Flags of our Fathers (though FooF is a decent film as well). Has anyone seen Battle of Britain? I saw it in a DVD store a long time ago but was too broke to buy it and now it's gone. :( I heard it was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defeatist Elitist Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Did they ever do a movie about those 21 Sikh soldiers in the British Army that died holding off like 10,000 Afghans? I thought that would make a great war movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxas Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Transformers Uh.. i see you don't have Glory on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burning_phoneix Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 As I said, I can't possibly remember ever single war movie. Glory is pretty good but I prefer The Patriot for battle scenes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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