Posted on 11/26/2008 4:39:25 AM PST by mattstat
Here’s my list.
1. Twelve O’Clock High : Inarguably the best. No show, no false notes, no forced emotion like you see so much nowadays. No political correctness in the sense that there are no directorial heavy-handed “war is evil” sub-tones. No actors posing or posturing. Utterly realistic. This takes place during a time when the outcome of the war was by no means assured. The actors believe it: there is no foreshadowing of ultimate victory here as in so many other movies. A son of a general learns his lesson that even the privileged must do what is expected of them. Gregory Peck is the perfect leader, trying to get “Maximum effort” from his men, giving more of himself than he asks from anybody. 2. Tora! Tora! Tora! : Stays exceptionally close to what is known historically. Brilliant idea to have a Japanese director direct Japanese actors reading lines written by Japanese writers. Increases the sense of realism to a remarkable degree. The “special effects” are astonishing, especially since no computers were involved (Thank God). Gordon Prange (who wrote many Pearl Harbor books) contributed to the script—which is why we never see the emperor Hirohito’s involvement (Prange could never let himself believe that the Showa emperor was what he was). People who know me won’t watch this with me anymore because I like to point out just what did and did not happen at each moment in the movie. 3. The Train ...
(Excerpt) Read more at wmbriggs.com ...
No mention of the classic-Pork Chop Hill?
Also-Glory!
No mention of “Patton”? George was right, all glory is fleeting.
Midway.
All Quiet on the Western Front.
The Longest Day.
Patton.
The Sands of Iwo Jima.
Pearl Harbor.
The Alamo. (John Wayne version)
Last of the Mohicans.
Saving Private Ryan.
The Green Berets.
A squad of the 101st Airborne Division copes with being trapped in the besieged city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.
no mention of windtalkers? IMO the best of the new breed of war movies.
No foreshadowing of victory in Twelve O’clock High? It STARTS as flashback. Other then that, excellent war movie. They actually used it in OCS in the Air Force to stimulate discussion of leadership qualities and strategies.
I’ll never forget the day I first saw Twelve O’lock High: June 27, 1950. A classmate and I, recent (unemployed) engineering grads, had spent the morning looking unsuccessfully for any kind of job, went to the afternoon movie. Afterward we hit the streets where the newspaper extra was out, “Truman Orders Troops to Korea”. We looked at each other and agreed that our immediate employment was assured. I guess I have seen the movie a dozen times since and I still rank it number one also.
I would put Zulu in the Top 5.
No mention of “We Were Soldiers”? IMO, that was a very good war movie - of course, I have a personal connection to that story, so I may be a bit biased towards it, but still...
ok...i'll ask...what?
(anything to get out of getting ready for work!)
Patton
MacArthur
To Hell and Back
The Great Escape
Battle of Britain
Bridge on the River Kwai
Sargent York
The Man Who Never Was
Guns of Navarone
Dambusters
Stalag 17
The Longest Day
Saving Private Ryan
Midway
Force 10 from Navarone
A Bridge Too Far
Where Eagles Dare
Battle of the Bulge
Bridges at Toko Ri
We Were Soldiers
And for TV Specials:
The Winds of War
Bank of Brothers
My List:
1. Tora, Tora, Tora!
2. Zulu
3. Midway
4. The Sands of Iwo Jima
5. Bridge Over the River Kwai
6. Twelve O’Clock High
7. The Dirty Dozen
8. The Bridges at Toko Ri
9. Strategic Air Command
10. Blackhawk Down
Most realistic war movie made....”84 Charlie Mopic”
I am a Vietnam vet and thought it was a documentary when I saw it on TV by accident one evening...
Actually shows the boredom of inaction that occurs in the lulls of that war....
Agree - “We Were Soldiers” - noticably absent. Also add “Battle of Britain”, “A Bridge Too Far” and “Gods and Generals”. Most movies must take liberties with composites of characters and actions, but this list is missing quite a few that do that well.
On a previous post - also agree “Zulu” should bump up.
Great movie! And why aren't movies like it and “Tuskegee Airman” held up as examples for minorities?
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