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Favourite War Films?
goldberry1
Posts: 2,699 Forum Member
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Because I didn't learn much about either WW1 or WW2 at school I really like (if that's the right word) war films. I'm usually quite a girly female.
Some of my favourites are Valkyrie, Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day and one about the Battle of the Bulge (?) where a U.S. General is supposed to have replied 'Nuts' to calls for surrender, Battle of Britain, the Douglas Bader film and the Great Escape.
I wondered if other people liked such films or are they a bit old fashioned now,
Some of my favourites are Valkyrie, Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day and one about the Battle of the Bulge (?) where a U.S. General is supposed to have replied 'Nuts' to calls for surrender, Battle of Britain, the Douglas Bader film and the Great Escape.
I wondered if other people liked such films or are they a bit old fashioned now,
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On the one hand you can have serious, artistic masterpieces that look head-on at the brutality, inhumanity and consequences of it all (All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, Come and See, The Deer Hunter etc).
And on the other you can have hokey wartime action/adventure, full of rat-a-tat machine guns and comic book nazis (Where Eagles Dare etc).
Old-fashioned be damned. They're both fine with me.
Also a few favourite tv series.......
Colditz (1972)
Band of Brothers
Danger UXB
Secret Army
Fun war movie: Where Eagles Dare
The Thin Red Line
I remember seeing 'Battle of the Bulge' on the biggest screen I've ever seen - saw 'Lawrence of Arabia' there the following week and that has never left me either.
Leaving the usual airforce stuff and general war films, I'll just add that submarine films were a great sub-genre that gets ignored these days: 'Run silent, run deep' and 'We dive at dawn', and the naval movies: 'Sink the Scharnhorst' and Nicholas Monserrat adaptations - 'The Cruel Sea' and 'The Ship that Died of Shame'
A personal favourite that never gets shown any more: 'Murphy's War' - and I've just remembered tv's 'The Desert Rats'
For me though the best war movie ever is 'Ice Cold in Alex'. It makes me want a beer right now
Aha! I forgot that one - John Mills so great!
Apocalypse Now is a good take on Vietnam probably the first war to get regular TV coverage and some of the photo journalists deserved medals for their honest depiction of the horrors.
My late father said that nothing could ever show the true nature of war in the form of entertainment but the opening scene in Private Ryan must have come close.
(An afterthought - Das Boot. Tension throughout and a finale you just did not see coming)
However, I LOVE Full Metal Jacket and am looking forward to Fury.
I watched it properly from the beginning just lately on TV and confess it was difficult to watch as they landed on Omaha Beach but I stuck with it though it was hard. I'm glad I watched the film the whole way through - excellent, and thought provoking.
I like the contrast!
An incomplete list.
Von Ryans Express
Kelly's Heroes
Where Eagles Dare
The Bridge at Remargen
Sink the Bismark!
The Dam Busters (just such a shame the climax features the worst SFX ever)
The Train
The McKenzie Break
Night of the Generals
I find the really long films tend to disappoint in the end (sore bum syndrome)
Apocalypse Now along with Platoon are probably the best Vietnam movies. I don't think The Deer hunter is as good.
Dr. Strangelove is an excellent cold war movie satire. And Schindler's List would be my favourite WWII movie.
If you've never seen The Cruel Sea then I would recommend that. One of the greatest British war movies ever, not jingoistic unlike most American films and the book is a good read as well.
Winter in Wartime
The Front Line
Dark of the Sun
The Flowers of War
Welcome to Dongmakgol
71 Into the Fire
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Red Cliff
Inglourious Basterds
Musa, the Warrior
Black Book
Zulu
Letters from Iwo Jima
G. I. Samurai
Brotherhood
The Thin Red Line
Apocalypse Now
Platoon
The Great Escape
Enemy At The Gates
Full Metal Jacket
The Bridge Over The River Kwai
We Were Soldiers
Inglourious Basterds
Breaker Morant
Sea of Sand
Stalag 17
The Great Escape
A Bridge Too Far
The Dirty Dozen
Attack (1956) - Eddie Albert and Jack Palance are great in this one.
Where Eagles Dare
Battle of Britain
Paths of Glory
but my favourite is......
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp - Which takes place over a forty year time span.
Regards
Mark
Great movie
Stalag 17
Von Ryan's Express
The Great Escape
Platoon
Ice Cold in Alex
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
All Quiet on the Western Front
Paths of Glory
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Downfall
Das Boot
Come and See
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Ice Cold in Alex
Cross of Iron
Stalingrad
Dr Strangelove
Black Book
Gallipoli
Valkyrie
I agree - very good film. I've read some stuff by people who were in the bunker then including Traudl Junge's account. Downfall was how I imagined it, mostly.
One thing that got me thinking though - I've heard a recording of Hitler's conversational voice which was actually a warm baritone - I know he used to have horrific temper tantrums, ranting and raving. I think maybe his day to day voice, as opposed to his speech making one, could be gentler and obviously persuasive as some people who met him thought he was a nice guy and a good boss
I read something by the (Swiss?) actor who played Hitler in Downfall - asked about Hitler's voice he said he had a definite Austrian accent mixed with military German.