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 ...
I also enjoyed "Force Ten from Navaronne." Probably due to being a huge Han Solo fan at the time, because Harrison Ford was in it. It also had "Jaws" (Richard Kiel) from "The Spy Who Loved Me."
Some of it was hokey, but, as a kid, I liked it. Plus, Barbara Bach. She made quite an impression on me. I was 9. Of course, that was when a "PG" movie could still show things you only get in "R" movies now.
I’m in Anderson County. There could be a damn good movie made about East Tennessee during the Civil War and men of The First Tennessee Cavalty fighting just a few miles from their own homes in Jefferson and Knox Counties. Two of my great grandmothers brothers were in the First Tennessee Cavalry and were in the Battle of Mossy Creek (Jefferson City now). Joseph and Thomas Thornhill lived near Morristown. I have seen some records of meetings where men met to discuss what would happen if Tennessee left the Union. A lot of them went to Kentucky for fear of their lives. Some of them tried to burn the railroad bridges They nearly burned the bridge that crossed the Holston river in east Knox County. The exact same spot where the railroad crosses the Holston along side Highway 11E.
Anyone remember “Battle Cry?”
If you're talking about that pink swill they're right. Now if you're talking about a real deep red, grab you by the collar, smack you in the face, I'M A ZINFANDEL DAMMIT wine then it's most definetely real wine.
L
The interesting part of the movie is that it was based, at least in part, on the wartime experiences of the director, Samuel B. Fuller. Fuller wrote the part of the seargent specifically with Lee Marvin in mind. Marvin was a WW2 Marine combat veteran who could bring a sense of realisim to the role.
My mother was raised on the banks of Mossy Creek in Jefferson City...area called Jaybird Hill...Dad’s family was from the Qualla reservation in Cherokee, NC...(I’m a half-breed *GRIN*) Have you looked at the history of Cades Cove during the War Between the States??? It is fascinating...
It’s not a military movie per se, but the scene in The Wind and The Lion where they “Land the Landing Force” and capture the palace is really good stuff.
I was just re-watching it the other night, a really good film, very well acted and a great/sad story.
This is the story of a conflict between two senior officers in the cloistered environment of a Scottish military regiment. Major Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) has been the acting Colonel of the Regiment for a lengthy period of time. He is admired and respected by officers and men alike and there is a general assumption that he will be made their commanding officer. To everyone's surprise, they learn that Lt. Colonel Basil Barrow (John Mills) has been named to the post. Although a member of the Regiment, Barrow left as a young subaltern, made his career in staff functions and is basically unknown. Barrow is a strict disciplinarian compared to Sinclair's easygoing approach and as he tries to impose his own style of leadership on his command, he struggles to gain the loyalty of his officers, particularly that of Sinclair who bristles at being a second-in-command with little to do. A final confrontation between the two men leads to tragedy for both of them. Written by garykmcd
My comment: similar dynamic to "The Caine Mutiny".
Watching a MITO is one of the most awe inspiring events.
I have seen a few from the ground but my wife got to ride the jump seat of a KC-135 in a eight plane MITO. She was plane number six and said it was quite exciting since they were rolling down the runway in a black cloud and couldn't see a thing until they rotated and veered out of the smoke.
I have to disqualify HBO’s “Band of Brothers” on account of the fact that it is not a feature length movie, but rather a mini-series. The flexibility that the mini-series offered allowed them to get into a lot of sub-plots that otherwise would have been cut. It’s really a different category.
I don’t know much about Cade’s Cove. My mother lived in Elkmont when she was a child and her father worked for the Little River Lumber Company in the 1920s. I asked her once about Cades Cove and she said that she never went there until after the Park was created. Her mother and father were born in Alpha community, near Morristown
No reason to split hairs...We ain’t giving out awards...
How about we go ahead and include it???OK???
My 2 cents. Whatever.
I have trout fished all over the Park and still see in certain places evidence of where Little River Lumber had camps set up along the river and some streams...Old pots, foundation stones...railroad ties almost gone to dirt...
*L* That’s fine...It’s worth just as much as my 2 cents...
Oh yeah - hockey is pretty big in our family. I played, and Jr. plays - he’s much better than I ever was. It’s our favorite team sport.
Knoxville, TN got a minor league hockey franchise in 1961!!!
They’ve had a team all but a very few of the years since then...
A lot of northern guys I met in the military found it strange that a southern “hillbilly” knew the game...*LOL*
Could Red Dawn be considered?
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