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’m sorry for your loss. Thank you to you and your father for your service!
Sahara is a good movie but it telegraphs the time it was made, released in 1943. Sgt. Gunn talks about the M3 Grant tank “Lulubelle” and says “It’s a good tank.” That was pure propaganda and nearly a lie.
The M3 Grant was an example of how unprepared the US was for WW2. In 1941, US industry was incapable of producing a cast steel turret of the size that was necessary to house a 75mm gun. It took a while, but they learned and made the M4 Sherman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_Grant
Go Tell the Spartans with Burt Lancaster is a fave of mine. It’s low budget, and very cynical (more akin to films like The Deer Hunter than The Green Berets). Still, Lancaster is excellent, and it’s the only film I know of that deals with the early years of Vietnam.
Here’s a clip of Lancaster talking with a psych warfare type.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF4-gqOW1_E
You are quite welcome...It was both our honors to serve...
Plus there's a movie w/ Kirk Douglas playing a WW1 sargent who's forced to execute three of his soldiers for cowardice by bureaucratic @sshole generals. Something do do w/ Honor, that's a great movie.
The Great Escape is my personal favorite.
Er, profanity at the link, btw.
My Grandpa was in that battle. He served under Colonel Moore and is good friends with Sergeant-Major Plumley. Matter of fact, they meet on Fridays and have breakfast at McDonald’s together with a few other guys from the 1st Cav. I’d love to sit in on their conversations and listen to their stories although, according to my Grandpa, they don’t talk too much about the war (understandably). Guess I just like the thought of sitting in the presence of men who have accomplished great things...
I hate to bring this up, but for every “best war movie” list there is probably a corresponding “worse war movie” list and I have to nominate “The Fighting Seebees” for some place on that list. I do that because my dad was a Seebee and landed on Iwo Jima on the third day. Ninety percent of the unit he was attached to were killed or wounded in a night attack by the Japanese. The movie portrayal of the Seebees was pathetic and not the honor I was hoping they would get and deserved.
That being said, “Letters from Iwo Jima” was a great film.
Paths of Glory.
Great movie - Stanley Kubrick directed it.
In no special order:
Longest Day, Orders to Kill, Merrill’s Marauders, The Desert Fox, Stalingrad, The Quiet American (remake with Michael Cane), Saving Private Ryan, The Story of GI Joe, Decision Before Dawn, All Quiet on the Western Front (the original).
Check out Marshall Thompson’s A Yank in Vietnam
Being in their presence would be an honor.
All good ones! Tora! Tora! Tora! sounds really good with my Velodyne 18” 3000 watt subwoofer :)
I also enjoy the movie The Final Countdown with Kirk Douglas. Its about a USN Nimitz gets swept back in time to just before Pearl Harbor. The captain has to decide should he use the power of a nuclear aircraft carrier and its flight crews to stop Pearl Harbor. Good movie even if the premise is a bit out there...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080736/
Lets add “Pearl Harbor” to that list. Casting Alec Baldwin as Doolittle was a travesty and having two fighter pilots fly B25s off an aircraft carrier was beyond ridiculous.
Instead watch “Tora Tora Tora” and “Thirty Seconds over Tokyo.”
I liked Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot.” I watched it through once, then started it over again and watched it a second time right after.
I have never done that with any other movie.
Full Metal Jacket, The Blue Max, Flyboys, The Longest Day, 30 Seconds over Tokyo, Black Hawk down, The Bridges at To-Ko-Ri. PT-109.
I was shown 12 o’clock High in a class for new Petty Officers in the Navy, it was to help us understand Leadership, Esprit de corps and Teamwork. I have my own copy of it and show it to my Sea Cadets to teach them about Leadership as well.
I also show them Mr. Roberts, which I truly believe is a good movie to show Young People what Teamwork and Loyalty means. And also not to mess with my “Palm Tree” in our office!
Agree. Let’s add “Destination Tokyo” which was tied to “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” historically, to the great movie list.
what about the patriot?
that scene where he ambushes the british soldiers with his two sons is intense
and braveheart as well
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