Memorial Day thread...What's your Favorite WW II war movie?

one man's opinion

[ken5050]

If you happen to turn your TV set on at any time this Memorial Day weekend, there's a strong probability you'll come across a World War II war movie..... the classic Hollywood genre. There are many of them, and, happily a lot of very good ones. So, on this weekend of remembrance, and the dedication of the WW II memorial, what's your favorite, or favorites, and why?

[Ciexyz]

"The Big Red One" (@1980) starring Lee Marvin. Extremely moving ending.

[Trinity_Tx]

"Since You've Been Away" (ww2 on the home-front)
"Winds of War/War & Remembrance"
"Saving Private Ryan"
"Patton"

[SierraWasp]

I think it's called "On Wings of Eagles," staring John Wayne. He sings to a wounded and paralyzed soldier "I'm gonna move that toe, I'm gonna move that toe!"

[Pragmatist]

Right on.

[tubebender]

You may be able to find a picture of his air crew. Do a search using the pilots name such as Harry S. Cook crew

[tubebender]

Here is a good start on Jeeves...

http://web.ask.com/web?q=Photos+B17+air+crews&o=0&qsrc=0&askbutton.x=31&askbutton.y=17

[William Tell]

Homer_J_Simpson said: "My uncle was a navigator on a B-17 and was shot down and spent time as a POW, but I didn't know the details. "

The 381st web site is perhaps not quite as well organized as that of the 303rd, but I did track down the following (perhaps you did too) :

Pilot: Chason
Squadron: 533rd ( squadron letters "VP" )
Radio Call Letter: V
Aircraft: B-17F Serial #:42-3514
Name: Dinah Might II (aka Doll Baby)
Tail Number: 23514 (from serial number)

Unfortunately, there is no picture of the plane or its nose-art. If your uncle has one, it would be a fine addition for the site, I am sure.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

We Were Soldiers.

[MplsSteve]

Here's my list (in no specific order):

1. A Bridge Too Far

2. Saving Private Ryan

3. The Longest Day

4. Midway

[Long Cut]

As a longtime movie buff, war movies have always been some of my favorites.

My list of favorites is far too long to get into, but it is quite varied. Actually, there are several different types of war flicks, IMHO.

There's the "realistic" sort...exemplified by Balck Hawk Down and We were Soldiers.... They depict real events with an eye towards accuracy and the gruesome britality involved. Saving Private Ryan would fall in this category, too, even though it does not depict a true story.

Then, there's the "John Wayne" sort, which is best for the purpose of entertainment. They would be unabashedly patriotic, rousing stories geared to "keep the home fires burnin'", with heroism and tough-guy stuff in abundance. It is here that you'd find the classic elements like the Grizzled Tough Sarge, the Earnest Young Recruit, the Hustler/Scrounger (who is almost ALWAYS of Italian descent, and from New York), and the Strong, Honorable Officer. Sands Of Iwo Jima falls squarely into this category, as would a host of others. John Wayne himself need not be the star, but he sure helps.

Nowadays, we also have the "postmodern" war movie, which does the exact opposite...it seeks to depict all war as incontrovertibly BAD, offering no patriotism and much cynicism. "Tough Guys" and Gentlemen Officers do not appear here, unless they are either ridiculed, shown to be evil, or killed because of their qualities. Soldiers are normally depicted here as slimy slackers at best or war criminals at worst. Doing one's duty is portrayed as foolish or to be ignored. Examples include Platoon, Casualties Of War, M*A*S*H*.

Another type which recently developed is what I call the "Lone Wolf" war film. In it, one superman-type character takes on entire armies, using his superior training and skills to win his victories. Obvious entries include Rambo and Commando.

Ironically, considering that we are now IN a war, Hollywood has all but banned the production of Terror War movies. Besides the obvious political reasons, PC plays a role...they do not wish to have to depict Muslims as "bad guys". Doubtless some will eventually be made, but it is fairly obvious which category they will fall into.

[Spook86]

Thanks for mentioning "The Dam Busters," a vastly underrated WWII film. It received solid reviews when it was released in the mid-1950s, but never did much at the box office, perhaps because it was a "British" film. However, the film gets the story right, and the special effects are remarkably good for that era. I keep hoping that someone will remake "Twelve O'Clock High," or "The Dam Busters," perhaps as a cable film. The special effects would be terrific, but the real problem would be casting. After seeing "Twelve O'Clock High" dozens of times, I can't imagine anyone besides Gregory Peck playing General Savage, and Dean Jagger is forever etched in my memory has Harvey Stovall...

One more note on "The Dam Busters." The real Guy Gibson, the RAF Wing Commander who led the raid on the Ruhr dams, was all of 25 years old when he planned and led that mission. Sadly, he died a year later while flying an RAF Misquito on a "pathfinder" mission over Holland.

[null and void]

The Dam Busters is one of my fav's too. (But then again I am an engineerr...)

[null and void]

The Man Who Never Was

[xp38]

By the time you get to this point in the thread its harder to come up with films not mentioned. As a kid I loved the movie Tobruk from the 1960s. It starred Rock Hudson but I didn't know anything about him at the time. Also no one has mentioned any of the great WWII era patriotic and propaganda cartoons from Warner Bros. and Disney. Probably because they are hard to come across today with their racial overtones (eg Bugs Bunny nips the nips from 1944) but they are worth seeking out and great to pair with movies from the same era.

[The Scourge of Yazid]

Here's a few more I neglected to mention the first go around:

The Marriage of Eva Braun

Aimee & Jaguar

There is also a very good documentary which aired on PBS a few years ago about pacifists and conscientious objectors during World War Two. I can't recall the exact title, but it was an interesting film.

[grumblibear]

Favorite classic Hollywood movie about WWII?

That would have to be Tora!Tora!Tora!. Despite the hokey human plot, the movie intriques with its stately depiction of political manuverings in both Washington and Tokyo, matter of fact display of military tactics, lucid exposition on how the US managed to be caught off-guard, and pretty good special effects considering the time of production. For me it answered some questions.

Midway is another very good one. Another hokey human subplot, but this time with a bit of social conscience, in the best sense of the term. There's great coverage of the cryptographic puzzle and the correct decision to commit 100% based primarily on decrypts and traffic analysis.

Das Boot is good also...

A lot of other good ones: Sink the Bismark, Battle of the Bulge, The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan.

Ok, I think Sink the Bismark was made in England. Still a great one. Saving Private Ryan is too new to be a classic, but it likely will be.

[wardaddy]

TLD

Cross of Iron

Das Boot

Patton

Stalingrad

[wardaddy]

Original TRL?

the second had lush cinematography but was too ethereal.

[P-Marlowe]

I saw private ryan once. I couldn't watch it again. I won't watch it again. I can't recall now if it was even a good movie. All I remember is that I have no desire whatsoever to see it again.

I judge a good movie by the number of times I can watch it. I've seen Patton about 15 times. I've seen the Longest Day about 15 times. I've seen Run Silent about 10 times. I've seen The Caine Mutiny about 20 times. I've seen Casablanca about 25 times. I saw Ryan once. That was enough.

[lainde]

I'm waiting for your movie review of CG!