Favorite War flick?

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by tchanson

The Best Years of Our Lives.

Absolutely! Twelve 'Clock High too.

[sc_rufctr]

There are so many good ones. Saving Private Ryan would have to be in the top five.

But the best IMO... Cross Of Iron. (1977)

Brutal and no nice ending.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Iron

[rusnak]

I forgot The Dirty Dozen.

[AFC-911]

Joyeux Noel
Rescue Dawn
Enemy At The Gates

And yes, Star Wars also.

[stuartj]

Some the British 50's films were almost documentary in nature, inasmuch as the victors write the history. "Dambusters" and "Sink the Bismarck" come to mind. And ofcourse, not really in the same vein, The Battle of Britain- still an awesome movie.

Its a shame "Apocolypse Now" has come to be considered a war film, as an adaptation of Joeseph Conrads "Heart of Darkness, its much more. And the later extended release changes it entirely.

The Thin Red Line- both film versions are fine movies, but both miss the mark I think. The novel, written soon after the Pacific campaign went to places which were clearly judged unpalatable in the eras of both films. Probably still.

[MDH]

Castle Keep....Peter Falk and Burt Lancaster........bizarro war movie
Dr Strangelove.....
The Longest Day....every June 6

[MDH]

Oops...double

[Baz]

"The Blue Max"

[KNS]

Originally Posted by stuartj

Some the British 50's films were almost documentary in nature, inasmuch as the victors write the history. "Dambusters" and "Sink the Bismarck" come to mind. And ofcourse, not really in the same vein, The Battle of Britain- still an awesome movie.

A couple of my favorites as well, especially "Sink the Bismark".

George Lucas was a fan of "The Dam Busters" and there are a few lines lifted directly from the movie and used in the Death Star battle in the original "Star Wars".

One of my favorite movies of all time: "Bridge on the River Kwai".

[Nickshu]

Classics:
The Enemy Below
Run Silent, Run Deep
Das Boot
Mister Roberts
Bridge over the River Kwai
Tora Tora Tora
The Great Escape

More modern:
U-571
Hunt for Red October
Men of Honor
Band of Brothers series
Horatio Hornblower series
Crimson Tide
Master and Commander

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by KNS

A couple of my favorites as well, especially "Sink the Bismark".

George Lucas was a fan of "The Dam Busters" and there are a few lines lifted directly from the movie and used in the Death Star battle in the original "Star Wars".

One of my favorite movies of all time: "Bridge on the River Kwai".

Peter (Lord of the Rings) Jackson has had a remake of 'Dambusters' on the boards for a couple of years. Its all gone quiet, seems to have died. One notable issue was the codeword for success, taken from the name of mission commander Guy Gibson black Labrador.

One amazing thing about the Dambusters movie is the inclusion of real War Ministry test footage, including shots where the bomb bounced up back into the aircraft travelling at 250 knots at 60 feet, and where clearly, crews died.

[scottmandue]

Battle of the bulge
Enemy below

Apocalypse now... kimda creepy I know... couldn't sleep the first night I saw it...

There is a new(er) movie I just watched about WWI pilots that was good but I don't remember the name.

[craigster59]

Platoon is at the top of my list. Another good flick seldom seen is "Silent Night" with Linda Hamilton. 3 American and 3 German soldiers end up in her house in the forest on Christmas Eve. Based on a true story and worth a watch.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by stuartj

Its a shame "Apocolypse Now" has come to be considered a war film, as an adaptation of Joeseph Conrads "Heart of Darkness, its much more. And the later extended release changes it entirely.

Coppola also borrowed heavily from 'Dispatches' by Herr.

Patton is probably my favorite because like Apocalypse Now it is much more than a war movie.

Where Eagle Dare and Three Kings are excellent.

Letters From Iwo Jima, so many more.

[herr_oberst]

Lots of good mentions above;

how about The Big Red One.

(And I know lots didn't but I really liked "Fear" and I think "Inglourious Bastards" is a modern classic.)

"Downfall", this gets parodied all the time with Hitlers' rant in the bunker, but damn it is a good film.

[Bob Kontak]

Deerhunter.

Originally Posted by stuartj

SThe Thin Red Line- both film versions are fine movies, but both miss the mark I think. The novel, written soon after the Pacific campaign went to places which were clearly judged unpalatable in the eras of both films. Probably still.

I watched it last night. Stayed up until 3:00AM to finish. Enjoyed it. Phenomenal, in my opinion. Had never heard of it, so ok, I live under a rock.

Stayed at the shop so I could crank the speakers and hear all the dialog. Nolte's part was superb in that his role unlocked (by force) the character development of several pivotal roles.

[fred cook]

My all time favorite War movie is "Midway". Second would probably be "Flyboys".

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

Paths of Glory
Soldier of Orange

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by tchanson

The Best Years of Our Lives.

Yes, most excellent

I think you can cast a pretty wide net when the subject is "war movies." Manchurian Candidate is a great movie, I don't think of it as a war movie, though many would. From Here to Eternity, The Great Escape, Paths of Glory, Apocalypse Now, In Harm's Way, Full Metal Jacket, Dr Strangelove, The Great Dictator; there are literally too many to list.

I am sorry, I do not beleive I could pick a favorite war movie

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Baz

"The Blue Max"

Great film, my dad took me to see it when I was a little boy; it wasn't until I saw it again as an adult that I realized that the real plot had less to do with flying and a heck of a lot more to do with having sex with married women! (okay, that's overstated, but George P sure knows his way around a darkroom, so to speak!)

Two other WW1 flying movies that are worth a look,

"Aces High" with Malcolm McDowell (Alex in A Clockwork Orange)

"Hell's Angels" - Howard Hughes financed (and directed) this in 1930. The flying scenes were the absolute state of the art for the time, and if you like WWI aircraft, or you just like historical drama, this is very much worth seeing.