The Top Twenty War Movies You Love and Hate

[Waynos]

T Bolt - if your player is multi region you can get this movie on a double movie disc along with Colonel Blimp or on the Powell and Pressburger box set, both on R2. Not sure about R1 release. try looking on Play USA, they are very good and the postage is free.

Regarding the plane Niven was flying. Its interesting that it has been identified as a Mossie and a Lanc, I always thought it was a Wellington.

Makes me wonder, did it actually say or show the plane in the movie, or are these our own presumptions?

 

[ToughOmbre]

Glad to see TO mentioned "When Trumpets Fade"...not one that was heavily publicized, due to the fact (in my opinion) that the general entertain-me-now-dammit public simply could not handle the grisly and gory reality that is the insanity of war, much less the lower levels of hell that was the Hurtgen campaign. The movie itself only depicts three days' worth of battle, but oh holy crap how it depicts them! My recommendation, do not eat before watching this movie. Its too real.

RA, I always tried to envision what combat must have been like in the ETO. While no depiction could ever duplicate reality, "When Trumpets Fade" gave me a good idea of what it might have been like.

Also loved John Wayne's "They Were Expendable"...great depiction of the struggle to survive in the Philippines during the opening stages of the war, and the lengths the troops went to in order to try to hold off the tide of the Japanese troops. I found myself yelling at the screen "don't do it!" every time Wayne had to send another PT boat crew over to Bataan to man the lines there, because they didn't have enough boats to go around. Of course, they never heard me.

And George Montgomery, who was a real life PT boat commander in WW II, gave the movie great credibility.

TO

 

[Njaco]

Anybody mention "Paths of Glory"? One of Stanley Kubrick's forgotten gems. One of the most realistic WWI battle scenes - enough to rival "All Quiet...."

 

[syscom3]

Good one NJACO.

Also one I just thought of was "PT-109". It was always aired around Thanksgiving, as a tribute to JFK.

 

[hawkeye2an]

Thanks guys, reminded me of a lot of good ones I haven't seen in a while. I'm pulling out Band of Brothers to put in the VCR tonight.

 

[Colin1]

Makes me wonder, did it actually say or show the plane in the movie, or are these our own presumptions?

in all honesty
my own presumptions, a Mosquito over-flies him while he's on the beach and if it's a ten-man Lancaster crew and not a two-man Mosquito crew, why's there only Trubshaw waiting for him in heaven? Where's the rest of the crew?

 

[renrich]

Njaco, I mentioned Paths of Glory a few posts before you. That was the film a real live ace, Wayne Morris was shot by a firing squad. It was a very good war film.

 

[herman1rg]

Just posting for the sake of accucracy (pedants corner is open)

A Matter of Life and Death : George R, Busby, Michael Powell, and Emeric Pressburger : Free Download Streaming : Internet Archive

if you look there you can watch the film, if you watch till approx 6 mins in and just after I'm fairly sure that is the cockpit of a Lancaster.

 

[Waynos]

You know herman, I just gonna have to put the DVD on tonight now

 

[Njaco]

Njaco, I mentioned Paths of Glory a few posts before you. That was the film a real live ace, Wayne Morris was shot by a firing squad. It was a very good war film.

Sorry, renrich, don't know how I missed that!

 

[renrich]

Not a problem, Njaco. What intrigues me about that film, aside from the quality of it, is that Wayne Morris had a so so acting career in films which were mainly B westerns until getting that role in a very serious and artistic film. Of course, he mainly just had to act horrified that he had been picked out to be executed. and perhaps he got the role because he looked somewhat French.

 

[Colin1]

...he looked somewhat French

Some folks were just born unlucky...

 

[herman1rg]

You know herman, I just gonna have to put the DVD on tonight now

So Waynos did you watch it?

 

[Waynos]

Yes mate, you were spot on. Not only do you see the canopy framing but, just before that, you get an exterior shot (actually a model) but both shots definitely depict a Lancaster.

 

[Juha]

In no particular order, sorry still 11 after hard process of elimination, I really rate:

Kelly's Heroes
Stanley Kubrick: Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Edvin Laine: Tuntematon Sotilas ("Unknown Soldier") (1955)
Parikka: Talvisota, the original film
Mark Robson: The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954 )
Zulu
Battle of Britain
Ashquit: The Way to the Stars (1946)
Das Boot
Sam Peckinpah: Iron Cross
The flight of Intruder

A couple which I couldn't watch very long when shown in TV
U-571
Pearl Harbor

I didn't like Rukajärven tie because of the numerous tactical mistakes in the film.

Juha

 

[skipperbob]

Just a quick note, in Paths of Glory, Wayne Morris wasn't shot - he played a French officer who was a coward and picked a man who had witnessed his cowardice to be one of those shot. The Col.(Kirk Douglas) realized it and put him in charge of the execution. Paths of Glory is certainly one of the greatest war movies ever made.

Others on my list -

Twelve O'Clock High - My all-time favorite with Gregory Peck!

Away All Boats - Good story and effects about a subject not covered very much, action on an attack
transport in the Pacific.

Objective Burma - A terrific story with Errol Flynn and in this movie he is not the invincible hero but a
commander of a raid behind Japanese lines who makes tough choices and some mistakes.
Very realistic look at the war for being made in 1945.

The Story of GI Joe - Another remarkable movie made in 1945, this one based on Ernie Pyle who follows an
infantry unit through the fighting in Italy. Vividly shows the suffering of the men going up
against the tough German defenses. And the ending, when the beloved commander of
their company is brought down on a mule having been killed and his men pay their
respects before moving on, you will never forget it!

A Walk in the Sun - Another powerful movie about an American unit marching down a road to try and
capture an important farm house from the Germans.

As far as bad movies go, certainly at the top is Pearl Harbor but one of my biggest disappointments was the Memphis Belle. A great story and they went to all that trouble to get those B-17s together - I couldn't wait to see it - and they totally ruined it with a ridiculous story line and terrible acting.