Favorite Military Movies

The Washington Times ^ | Oct. 10, 2003 | John McCaslin, Inside the Beltway

[EdJay]

 Our item on retired and active military members being asked by USAA Magazine to rank their all-time favorite military movies (the most popular, in order, were "Twelve O'Clock High," The Bridge on the River Kwai," "The Longest Day," "Patton," "The Deer Hunter," "Saving Private Ryan" and "We Were Soldiers") generated considerable response from within the ranks.

 "I saw that article ... and wondered how they came up with those movies. Then I saw the writer was a retired Air Force officer. Well, no wonder," writes retired Army officer Bob Thomas of Guthrie, Okla.

 "Soldiers would choose a different set of favorite war movies, as would sailors and Marines. I can't believe no one mentioned 'Black Hawk Down,' 'Flight of the Intruder,' 'Gettysburg,' 'Memphis Belle,' or 'Full Metal Jacket.' "

[wardaddy]

I saw No Man's Land...and Vukovar and Sarajevo....a bunch of Balkans movies.....Savior's massacre by the lake with the big Bosnian with the mallet is hard to watch.

[Shanda]

I like war movies as long as they do not go overboard on the blood and fighting.

I saw one a few days ago which was really good. My Father who is an amateur historian said it was unusually accurate. It was about General Rommel, I think the title was something like "The Desert Fox".

There is another old one with Richard Burton where he plays Alexander the Great. He was such a great general.

[CyberAnt]

I don't watch "some of the shows on there". I just watched that movie because I happen to like it.

[mikegi]

Most if not all of my favorites have already been listed, but I think Hamburger Hill comes as close to the raw emotion most of who've "been there" have experienced.

I'd like to see a thread listing the most realistic war movies. Ones that capture what it's really like to be in a battle. I wonder if there are any Freepers who've been in particularly nasty battles.

[wolficatZ]

ON THE BEACH

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0053137/

[yarddog]

Add me to the one's who liked "Patton and Sargeant York".

I think an underappreciated one is "Alvarez Kelly" which is loosely based on a fantastic and true story.

[2111USMC]

I like most all that have been named.

How about "To Hell and Back" with Audie Murphy?

[Travis McGee]

In no order...just a few faves.

The Dirty Dozen (Actual SEAL Team training film)

Cross of Iron ("I'll show you wear the Iron Crosses grow!")

Blackhawk Down

Bridge on the River Kwai

Outlaw Josey Wales (early American dirty war)

The Good the Bad and the Ugly (great take on CW1)

[Squantos]

Wha ?!?!? nothing with Charlie Sheen ???..........:o)

[Travis McGee]

What's the name of the Bosnian war flick with Quaid? Isn't there another Bosnian war flick about two shooting team buddies who become snipers on opposite sides? Or is that the same one?

[Squantos]

This One ?

[Travis McGee]

Yep, great movie. I forgot Oliver Stoned was involved.

[Squantos]

Looks like the sniper from Behind Enemy Lines.....which was pretty good too.....:o)

Stay Safe !

[wardaddy]

Savior was great....at least it wasn't they heavy handed Serbs are the devil usual stuff and Quaid is good in it trying to hold his mud and honour and get some getback.

That movie about the Olympian former teammates where the Boz finally killed the Serbo was called:

[Travis McGee]

That's the one! Both are great training films for life in a dirty civil war.

Coming soon to a city near you.

[Squantos]

Damn........my list of movies to buy tomorrow is gonna melt my credit card.......I think that is a movie I saw part of where one waits behind the others house as his "opponent " visits some lady..wife ...sister ???

They seemed to walk about as if deer hunting for the most part ?

Stay Safe !

[wardaddy]

I see Cross of Iron gets everybody's nod. Stalingrad was not too shabby either along the same lines....subtitled I think though.

Outlaw Josey Wales....doesn't get much better than that...spit!

I just watched a flick directed by John Malkovich (his debut) that is more or less about a cop torn in a Peruvian looking civil war and surrounds the search for a Guzman like terr and the Sendero Luminoso loonies. Filmed in the altiplano of Ecuador and Guayaquil (guess Peru is still too hot) and some city scenes from Lisbon and Madrid.

A really good film....not a lefty film...just resigned jadedness. It's called Dancer Upstairs.

TM, did you get that ship approaching Isabel pic I sent you from Ernies can of Whoopass site?...incredible pic

[anglian]

Where Eagles Dare (1968) One of the all-time great war stories that never actually happened, about a group of Allied agents who attempt the rescue of an American general from a seemingly impregnable German fortress located in the Bavarian Alps.

CAST

Richard Burton
Clint Eastwood

Mary Ure

Michael Hordern

Donald Houston

Peter Barkworth

Robert Beatty

William Squire

[wardaddy]

Boy the killing scene where Quaid almost smothers that bastard baby nobody wants is hard to watch. I thought he was great...really pushed his character's usual envelope.

I think the lesson from those films is to be prepared to kill folks you used to like...or just be prepared in general.

[wardaddy]

They were best friends....the Boz visits him one last time, spends the night with him and his chick and then goes outside and drills the Vincent Perez Serbo character right thru the ticker as he goes out early AM to get some air and you get the sense that the war weary Serb knows he's getting pegged and offers himself up...like some kind of atonement for being nasty. It's almost but not totally a Wesley Clark perspective.