The Best War Movies Ever Made

Freepers who know their war flicks | June 25, 2002 | wimpycat

[wimpycat]

As a companion to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/705904/posts' The Worst War Movies Ever Made thread, I offer you the best war movies ever made, and I wanted to get mine in first. Here's my list, in no particular order.

1. Battleground (love James Whitmore in this!)

2. Full Metal Jacket (love the DI, R. Lee Ermey. "Hard core, man! F***ing Hard core!")

3. Glory (even though it's not quite historically accurate and it's about Yankees, it's a very moving film, IMHO. Great musical score, too.)

4. The Boys in Company C (same DI as in Full Metal Jacket. Made very soon after Vietnam, but it's still pretty good.)

5. Tora! Tora! Tora! (forget Pearl Harbor, the movie, this is the definitive Pearl Harbor movie)

6. Das Boot (definitely one of the all time great war films--great camera work, great sound effects, it makes you feel claustrophobic. Best viewed on DVD with SurroundSound system. Make sure you watch it in German, with the subtitles, not dubbed! Awesome!)

[Teacher317]

• Gallipoli

[DreamWeaver]

Sands of Iwo Jima
From Here To Eternity

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

A Bridge Too Far

Definitely. The book is compelling. History Channel's History vs. Hollywood gives it high marks for accuracy and it is very close to the book. Couldn't done without Redford (insipid) and Gould (awful).

Patton lost my vote, in part because of my unit's Roman Catholic chaplain, Father Andreas, a local German priest, who spent the War in Dachau because of his outspoken anti-Nazism and met with Patton shortly after the War. Patton extended him and the Friars for whom he served as chaplain prior to the War kindness and consideration. Father Andreas thought Patton was cultured, intelligent and humane. He thought the film was a distortion of Patton's true character.

[Northern Yankee]

Max,

the book, We Were Soldiers is breath-taking. You won't be disappointed.

there were actually 2 battles fought during that time. The first at Landing Zone X-Ray, which is depicted in the movie, and the second is the battle for Landing Zone Albany, which takes place hours later.

The battle for LZ Albany is even more amazing!

[dsutah]

You like any movie with J. Wayne and R. Mitchum? There's a movie with J. Wayne at least, that I haven't seen anyone mention. It is "Allegheny Uprising". It took place 16 years before the Revolutionary War. It had a few similarities to "The Patriot"; but the rest was not. It is quite old, and not mentioned anymore. J. Wayne was pretty young in it. Actor George Sanders was in it too; as a Brit officeer.

If you've seen it; tell me what you think of it. If not, try to find it, and see it. It has an interesting story. It illustrates a time between the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War; when the colonists were just beginning to get angry, and beginning to bite at British rule, and leadership.

[Momaw Nadon]

I LOVE all of the Star Wars movies. There are great intense battles in all of them.

I would rank them in this order:

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Episode IV: A New Hope

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

[tophat9000]

"Rough Riders" how could I forget that one great movie

You think those Krag carbines are something were did they come up with the old Browning "Potato Digger" machine guns?

[TLI]

"The Siege of Firebase Gloria" (1989), was also a good one.

I can't believe there is only this one mention of SFG.  There is a lot of behind the seen "dirt" regarding Hollyweard and the making of this movie.  As in it did not get any promo cause it was not made within the Left Coast "fold."   I think it wound up being filmed in AU.

Not a fancy FX film, just realistic hot, dirty and nasty conditions.  Based on a true story, according to my CO.

[max61]

I'll be picking it up this weekend. Just got the VMX from B&N.

BTW, is there anything other than a Northern Yankee??? ;)

---max

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

I dont remember that one but i may have seen it what about Red Dawn....Delta Force [all of them lol]....In Harms Way....PT 109....Dirty Dozen....Im this very minute watching Apocalypse Now....I dont know why but my mother calls me a war monger !

[Rummyfan]

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE - great John Ford / John Wayne WWII flick

BATTLEGROUND - especially the scene where the chaplain explains that the trip was necessary

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

GLORY

and recently saw BLACK HAWK DOWN - simply excellent

[NC_Libertarian]

Flight of the Intruder was destroyed on film. Hollywood ruined it IMO. Definately my favorite war novel however.

[Righty1]

Apocalypse Now had its' moments like the sunrise attack out of the rising sun to the strains of Ride of Die Valkyries. Wagner must have been spinning in his grave.

[dsutah]

I haven't seen "We were Soldiers" yet, but I've heard good reviews of it. I just don't get to theatres anymore. I usually wait until they get to video. I saw "The Patriot", "Gladiator", and "Braveheart", all when they got to video. I mentioned all four of these movies to my Vietnam vet cousin recently when he and the family was visiting from Nevada. Both he and his sister loved said they loved The second three movies I mentioned. I then asked the vet cousin if he had seen "We Were Soldiers Once", and I believe he hadn't seen it yet, but had heard it was good, and would see it.

[max61]

Im this very minute watching Apocalypse Now.

First DVD I purchased (then I had to get a big screen to go with it).

I dont know why but my mother calls me a war monger !

Same thing my ex say's about me.

---max

[Husker24]

The attack scene in Pearl Harbor was very good, the main plot in the movie kind of sucked though.

[georgiabelle]

Since no one has mentioned these I will.
Father Goose with Cary Grant
Mr. Roberts with Henry Fonda
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison with Robert Mitchum
The Final Countdown(where the battle ship of today goes back to the day of Pearl Harbor,yes I know, a little odd).

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

I saw Mrs. Miniver just once many years ago, but its stark depiction of life in England in the early years of WW2 still haunts me (and I'm a fellow who often can't remember what he had for lunch six hours later).

[lara]

Which war movies listed here do you think are liberal propaganda? Might make another good list.

[Momaw Nadon]

Yes, Red Dawn is excellent.

As for the more recent ones, I would have to say that Black Hawk Down is a great movie.