[ReveBM]

Thanks for your help. Also, as an aside, does anyone know of any movies that portray businessmen and the capitalist system in a positive light?

[katykelly]

If you're a Alfred Hitchcock fan, try "Lifeboat". WWII

[Basil Duke]

Cross of Iron, with James Colburn and James Mason (Colburn plays a veteran German army sergeant on the Eastern Front circa '44). I've yet to see a movie about the Korean War that was satisfying. I've got a strong, personal interest in that; my father was a machine gunner in the 180th Infantry Regiment (45th Thunderbird Division) the last year. His battalion - First - was nearly wiped out in the final Chinese attacks in July '53.

[Cowman]

How could I forget Chisolm with the Duke? A great flick about the Lincoln County War.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

"The Odd Angry Shot". A great war movie from 1979 about an Australian unit fighting in Vietnam. They did play the song "Leaving On A Jet Plane" a bit too much, but it's worth your time. One of the best.

"Sea Chase" The Duke as A German Captain (but not a Nazi) trying to get his well worn freighter home without the British Navy sinking it. Kinda hokey but entertaining.

[Dante3]

WINTER WAR (Finnish, with subtitles, available in DVD)

WAR DRUMS

BROKEN ARROW

SHAKA ZULU

[RushLake]

Battleground--made in 1947. According to a WW II combat vet that I have had the privelege to get to know, this has the most realistic winter artillery sounds he ever heard in a movie. Much more realistic depicition of the events surrounding the Battle of the Bulge then the 70s movie of the same name. Also: Glory. The Lost Battalion. Gettysburg. Gallipoli

[TheCPA]

The Dirty Dozen, The Green Berets

[Axenolith]

Das Boot and one I recently watched by the same director, Stalingrad. Both very well done, there is definitly NO happy endings though.
Also, Enemy at the Gates, One thing that makes all of them good is the use of historically accurate equipment. I never could get around the tanks being the same in Battle of the Bulge but in both Stalingrad and Enemy at the Gates the T-34's and Pzkfw-III's were either real or really good mock ups.
As an aside, if you're looking for an excellent game\educational tool on a second World War battle you can't go wrong with Microsoft's Close Combat - A Bridge To Far (or the other modules which are great but don't have as much added extras) which covers the entirety of Operation Market Garden. The realism is fabulous and it has an encyclopedia of equipment and vehicles attached that ROCKS, even footage of StG 44 in use, which is what the AK-47 was derived from.

[LTCJ]

The Lost Battalion by A&E is now available on DVD. Watched it last night.

[texson66]

BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES -1945

[dan909]

Just a few that come to mind are:

- The Longest Day. It's already been mentioned plenty, but I especially like it because it's about the best war movie I've seen in giving you a feel for the whole strategic situation. So many movies (like Private Ryan) just give you a bunch of random battles, but Longest Day is great in showing you the whole sweep of the operation and still keeping you focused on the characters. It also is the best movie I've seen for presenting both sides in a really human light- you care almost as much for the Germans as the Americans.

- 60 Seconds over Tokyo. Great thrills and a perfect real life story. What surprised me the most when I saw it was that about half the movie is about the heroics of our Chinese allies- once the pilots do their job, it's up to the chinese resistance to find them, protect them, and get them home. It's a real testament to the bravery & sacrifice of those that fought with us.

- A Winter's Night. I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this interesting little movie- it's from the early 90's, and has Gary Sinise & a young Ethan Hawke. It's a little fable of sorts in the midst of the battle of the bulge, where an American patrol meets a German patrol on christmas eve. Parts are a little hokey, but it's stuck with me a lot more than many other war movies I've seen.

- The Best Years of our Lives. This has been mentioned too, and although it isn't exactly a war movie, it must be one of the most sophisticated and compelling movies Hollywood's ever made relating to war (I'd even say probabley even one of the best Hollywood movies at all).

[ReveBM]

I know it's a sci-fi/fantasy flick and not a real war movie, but do any of you guys have an opinion about "The Final Countdown" with Kirk Douglas?

[meanspirit77]

"THE WILD BUNCH" Peckinpah's best.