Great WWII Movies.

Jan, 05 2002 | Justice

[Justice]

My wife and I just finished "Band of Brothers" and "Guns of Navarone". Two WWII movies which we both enjoyed very much. Please post any recommendations that any of you have for more movies of the same ilk. Many thanks!

[kidd]

I can't remember the name of it, but HBO had a made-for-HBO movie on about a year ago. It was factually based - it was about one of the first meetings the Germans had about what they were going to do with the Jews. Most of the movie took place in a meeting room and involved members of all branches of the German government. Outstanding story.

[Hatteras]

"It will make your pride in America soar."

If you need a boost of pride, I would add "The Fighting Sullivans"

[Spook86]

"They Were Expendable," director John Ford's classic film about Navy PT boat crews in the Philippines during the dark days that followed Pearl Harbor. Ford, BTW, was a Navy Reserve officer who reached the rank of Rear Admiral before the war ended. He arrived at Pearl Harbor (along with a Combat Camera team) about a week after the Japanese attack. Ford was absolutely stunned by the devastation he saw, and became convinced that FDR had directed a conspiracy that led us into WWII.

"They Were Expendable" is on most Top 10 lists of WWII movies and I'd put it among the Top 10 war films of all times. Ford does a superb job of conveying the heroism, sacrifice and hopelessness of Americans fighting in the Philippines in early 1942. John Wayne is superb as a PT boat skipper and the rest of the cast is outstanding as well. I've seen "They Were Expendable" on AMC several times, and it's available on video as well. A great film, well worth watching, IMO.....

[Chapita]

I burned out on movies in the '70s and just about quit watching. Before my favorites were CasaBlanca as #1 then From Here To Eternity as #2!

[Shooter 2.5]

The first half was good. The battle scenes were shown with as much authenticity as possible. The second half turned into 'The Seven Samauri"[sp], or "The Magnificient Seven".
I just felt I was emotionally manipulated.

For a better movie of sacrifice, "Uprising", The Story of the Warsaw Ghetto.

[tm22721]

Till We Meet Again

Danger UXB

BUMP

[dd5339]

Check out the lists, so many more movies to add to the library....

Semper Fi

[Austin Willard Wright]

Has anyone mentioned King Rat? It is my favorite WWII movie and probably one of the best movies of all time.

[Vic3O3]

for VN, try The Odd Angry Shot--hard to find on video anywhere but Ebay. It comes highly recommended by a Marine combat vet I know.

[Experiment 6-2-6]

Um, for WWII movies, the ones that haven't been named like:
A BRIDGE TOO FAR
DAS BOOT (German Language/Director's Cut Only, not the dubbed)

Try THE BRIDGE. It's a German film, which actually shows the horror of war..

And if you really want to see the BEST WAR MOVIE EVER: WATERLOO

Fairly accurate, and all that..

Meega, Nala Kweesta!

[PJ-Comix]

"The Longest Day".

I HATE that movie. It makes it look like D-Day was just one big excuse for filming gag lines. Saving Private Ryan had a much better depiction of what went on there.

[Vic3O3]

Gallipoli--WWI
Breaker Morant--Boer war era

[Rummyfan]

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE.... US Navy in the Philipines by John Ford...

BATTLEGROUND..... the Battle of the Bulge

TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH ...... excellent Gregory Peck, almost a documentary it is so spare....

THE TRAIN...... Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield

These are 'oldies' that pop into mind.....

[PJ-Comix]

Ballad Of A Soldier. Okay, it was made back when Russia was Commie but it was a really great movie. It shows a soldier during the Battle of Kursk who takes out a German tank and is rewarded with a brief military leave to visit his mother. Most of the movie is made up of him going on leave to visit home to see his mother (for the last time since he is eventually killed). I recommend this movie, although if it is available on video, I don't know.

[Terriergal]

Enemy At The Gates (if you can get past the british accents and the sloppy way the snipers move around).

[Terriergal]

"We Were Soldiers"---

I thought I would die when he was going around saying his silent goodbyes to all his sleeping children. Just yank my heart out and throw it on the ground, then stomp all over it, mel...

[PJ-Comix]

I recently saw The Great Escape...

Historically inaccurate since at the time of the Great Escape, all the American prisoners had been removed from that prison camp.

[Vic3O3]

Cockleshell Heroes--the origins of the British SBS.

[PJ-Comix]

"Lawrence of Arabia"

Wrong war.

[Terriergal]

Just watched "The Great Escape" - pretty good! I hardly recognized Richard Attenborough.