whats the best war film ever?

[Deej]

Bgrade wrote:

> Papillon is a prison movie.  But it has a war movie flavor.  I
> maybe mistaken, but I think was a French Foriegn
> Legion/military type Prison which makes it war realted enough
> for me.  Can I call it the non-war part of a war movie?

Dude, It was Devil's Island! But, I  guess it could be construed as a war movie...man's inhumanity to man or something...There were some guys in uniforms, so, close enough...war movie it is!

[Eirik]

"Not as many foreign films to conciter, truth be known. Not as many available here."

That's true.  One I am trying to find is a Finnish movie called "Winter War" about the Soviet invasion of Finland in the late 1930s.  A friend said it is considered by many to be the most realistic war movie ever made.  Anyone heard of it?

[Lee]

Does "The Alamo" count? Either way great movie. Kelley's Heroes is awesome, great flick all around. Eastern Condors-Action packed men-on-a-mission flick brought to us by the legendary Sammo Hung.

[eeeee5]

.  .  .  .  Dad, is a vnv (Vietnam Vet) so I was subjected to soo many films about Vietnam that I cannot remember them all.  Regarding Vietnam, I'm really fond of Full Metal Jacket, but for a more communal, and uplifting film about war that depicts positive and negative in a more accurate light (according to some) try We Were Soldiers.  If you're looking for after effects try Deer Hunter, Distant Thunder (dir. Rick Rosenthal), or The Park is Mine (1986).  Or for surreal (though true and false) effects, try Combat Shock! and Jacob's Ladder, they are similar to the point that some credit that the first Vietnam fighting sequences ever shot in NYC (Shock!), spawned the latter Ladder.
.  .  .  .  Troma's War shows that during the crusades, people occassionally had very large nostrils, and ran their buggies into ships.
.  .  .  .  No one mentioned Paths of Glory as a good WWI film, it is also by Kubrick.  That was before Kirk Douglass and Kubrick had their falling out, I think.
.  .  .  .  A recent entry into describing confrontations possibly (?) occuring, is Tears of the Sun.
.  .  .  .  To me it is Full Metal Jacket.  Truly about many facets, but you may want to consult a vet, if you mean accuracy.

[Bgrade.]

Fine. Deej, You're right.  I'll admit I was wrong. I think I was smoking something.

 I was just trying to make an excuse for calling it a war movie the first time.  

I'm dumb.  My brain put it in there because it came up with Bridge over the river kwai first which is a POW movie. Then my brian used the prisoner part and went to the next best film.

[Deej]

Bgrade. wrote:

> Fine. Deej, You're right.  I'll admit I was wrong. I think I
> was smoking something.
>
>  I was just trying to make an excuse for calling it a war movie
> the first time.  
>
> I'm dumb.  My brain put it in there because it came up with
> Bridge over the river kwai first which is a POW movie. Then my
> brian used the prisoner part and went to the next best film.

I'm just pulling your chain man, it IS a good movie!!

[JohnL]

I was going to recommend All Quiet on the Western Front, but Eirik beat me to it. It's interesting to see the war front the other side's perspective for a change.

[Flangepart]

"Winter war". The Finns kicked the Russkies ass, if i'm not mistaken. Lost by sheer weight of numbers.
Kelly's Heros....gotta love it!
" Negitive waves, Moriarty...always with the negitive waves!"

[mandy]

thanks guys that was  a very interesting read, i will be watching band of brothers, I have heard of it but i have never watched it.

thanks for your input

mandy

[Jayson]

If you have not seen Kurosawa's "RAN" You are missing one of the greatest war movies EVER!! Warning.its extremely bloody.

[trekgeezer]

Saving Private Ryan must be the most realistic. Platoon was not a balanced view of what  went on in Viet Nam, but then Oliver Stone never gives a balanced view of anything.

Some of  my personal  favorites are;

Battleground  (James Whitmore, Van Johnson, Marshall Thompson, and Ricardo Montalban)

Hell is for Heroes (Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Bob Newhart,  Harry Guardino, Nick Adam, Fess Parker, and Bobby Darin)

Pork Chop Hill  (Gregory Peck, Rip Torn,  Norman Fell, George Peppard, Gavin  Mcleod, Woody Strode, Harry Guardino, and Martin Landau)

[Chris K.]

PLATOON, FULL METAL JACKET, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Yeah, these are some pretty damn fine war movies that I admire.

But, if their is one war film that I would constitute to be the best war film ever it would be none other than TORA! TORA! TORA!, which is the best telling of the Pearl Harbor attack and better than any other variation done on 'The Day of Infamy'. Right next to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, TORA! TORA! TORA! was a first taste at a real war film that was not a one-dimensional John Wayne war flick.

[ulthar]

JohnL wrote:

> I was going to recommend All Quiet on the Western Front, but
> Eirik beat me to it. It's interesting to see the war front the
> other side's perspective for a change.

Have you read the book by chance?  My first attempt (about five years ago) led to nightmares.  I did finish it on the second try (this past fall).

[mandy]

your not alone on this one I think it was a brilliant film, but my best still has to be Saving Private Ryan

tmandy.

[The Burgomaster]

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, hands down.

If your talking about the best combat scenes, then it's SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

For "behind the scenes" war drama, SCHINDLER'S LIST is the winner.

Comedy? M*A*S*H

OBJECTIVE BURMA is a tremendous movie . . . if you haven't seen it, then put it at the top of your list.

And please don't forget THE GREAT ESCAPE, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE

I also enjoy Sam Peckinpah's CROSS OF IRON, although they screwed up the DVD release by issuing it in full frame instead of widescreen.  Plus, I swear that a couple of times when people are using vulgar language, the sound cuts out (almost like they used a television print of the movie . . . they cut out some of the cursing but left in all of the violence).

One of the most clever war films is WHERE EAGLES DARE.  It's a great combination of commando tactics, espionage, and mystery.

Then you have THE LONGEST DAY, HELL TO ETERNITY (not to be confused with FROM HERE TO ETERNITY or TO HELL AND BACK), HELL IS FOR HEROES, PORK CHOP HILL, THE DIRTY DOZEN, PLATOON, FULL METAL JACKET, THE BOYS IN COMPANY C, VON RYAN'S EXPRESS, etc., etc.

Most disappointing: A BRIDGE TOO FAR . . . too many stars, not enough screen time for any of them.

Worst: INGLORIOUS BASTARDS starring Bo Svenson.