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 ...
wow....Welcome Home! and thank you for your service.
Paths of Glory should definitely be on any list.
I forgot about The Battle of the Bulge, too.
The rest looks like my TiVO list...
Why, thank you...It was my honor...
A Bridge Too Far is a great, great movie.
Very interesting list. I would add The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, my favorite Cold War movie. The moral ambiguity of the decadent West arched out to the extreme, Burton on the Berlin Wall, not sure which way to jump. The greatest actor to never win an Oscar.
For contemporary, I wonder what Briggs would make of Tears of the Sun? I thought it was a good portrayal of our modern day special ops guys—what they do and how they do it.
Here's Part One
Wow, 15 posts, and yours is the first mention of band of Brothers?
I caught that from a flight attendant. The doctor gave me some salve and it got better.
There is also an old black and white silent movie,,, I wish I could remember the name. It was about the the air war in WWI. Just absolutely incredible air shots even by today’s standards! The story is so so ,, little cheesy,, but the effects are so great. You are in the cockpits of these air aces and it is as though you are really there. They literally were risking their lives making this movie.
“Spartacus” - excellent. May I add “The Three Hundred Spartans” (original version with Richard Egan) and “A Walk in the Sun”.
What, no “Full Metal Jacket”. C’mon, how many of you Marines were laughing at the memories of boot camp?
U-571./Just Asking - seoul62........
The recruit was told to remain motionless but he slapped a mosquito. Jack Webb makes them all
search through the sand to find that damn dead mosquito. I only saw it once on tv and don't
remember if they found it.
I’ll second that. Battleground is one of my all time favorite war movies. Sahara, with Humphrey Bogart, should be on that list as well.
OK, it's not a great movie. But it sure is a good one!
(of course, I'm posting to someone who put a heck of a lot more thought into his screenname......way beyond me. mine is based on a wine...and not even REAL wine if you ask a lot of people!)
They Were Expendible
Saving Private Ryan
Sink the Bismark
and one of my favorites even though I don’t care for Robin William’s liberalness ...
Good Morning, VietNam
Thank you.
And especially thank you for not mentioning my misspelling of "Band" in the title.
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