The "Actual" Greatest War Movie ever

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

Yep I am with you on that one Belasarius.

I do know what a grenade looks like going off, but I am hardly a munitions expert.

I have not fought in a war, but damnit I know what one looks like I have seen to much in documentaries.

Man have the world's film producers never watched a second of all the thousands of hours of actual combat footage?

Everytime I see a grossly fake explosion I am deeply offended. I find it insulting, I consider it the same as being told I am an ignorant doofus that would not know the real thing. I am being slated as someone that would not wish to see the actuality.

I find fake explosions to be no less offensive than excessively shallow artificial "beauties".
Grenades throwing up gouts of flame is the same as making all women live up to looking like Barbie dolls.

[Ironfist]

I think what most of Us are saying, from what I can tell is, We like Historic, Sometimes Humorious , but Honest views of events.
As military buffs, amateur historains, open minded searchers of truth. We like to view movies as a honest presception of that kind of conflict. True or personel storys with Historical facts is what makes the movies interesting unless a work of fiction. We forget that movies are the victims of the era that they are produced in. Special effects for example. Now-a days you can go all out useing Computer generated or research real locations and equipment. Back in the day I dont think anyone would have dreamed of or could afford to find real panther tanks and ect. But Needless to say. This does not take anything away from the "Great" movies themselfs. Example: Pork Chop Hill with Gregory Peck ? I think ?
Even tho black and white and not too many over- blown special effects. This movie gives the feel of actual hand to hand combat in north Korea. So in retrospect I think war movies in general will improve as long as good story lines with historical fact are presented. It will also depend on the message the writer/author is trying to say. Band of brothers was very good.It looked as if it were first hand experiences in battle and a good story line.Very beleaviable. but it was on cable tv. Not a true movie. In my oppinion anyways... Thin Red line did not impress me with story line, effects or any unknown truths. The one message it did give me was the futility of war ,as well as the movies' attempt to be good...

[Rhodan]

..although I liked Midway as well, but somehow TLD is the great grand daddy of all war movies done right. Actually also one of the few movies I liked better in black/white then in technicolor.

Why? I don't know exactly, I think it has to do witht eh actors. not so much their performance ( which was incredible in it's own right) but more because of their personality. Somehow , to me, they just combined great. Lovett was the man I pictured when I read Ryan's book..and even Sean Connery with a thick (cockney?) accent was perfect. I still like watching that scene where he and his buddy (cain?) are having problems getting their bren carrier started. Or the tense situation for the US paras in the middle of hedge country with their 'clicker'. Lots and lots of details.

[Plodder]

Gallipoli.I went there about 4 years ago and felt very powerful emotions for the blokes that fought and died there.The film captures those perfectly.But Cross of Iron has to be up there.

Worst film? Windtalkers what a load of absolute sh*te.It was almost offensive.

[Grenadier]

Having rewatched my laserdisc of "The Blue Max" I have to put it up there along with Cross of Iron and Stalingrad just for the epic battle scenes of the Ludendorf offensive and the aerial combat scenes.

I do find it vey sad and disturbing that the 2 of the prominent films that portray the German military, Cross of Iron and Blue Max, feature characters whose whole purpose is to get the respective medals, Stransky and the Iron Cross, Stachel and the Pour Le Merite. Both will do anything, including murder, to acheive their goals.

The 2 films have other parallels as well, the biggest is that they both have James Mason. In the Blue Max he portrays a general whose sole interest is to preserve the German Officer Corps from the coming defeat. In Cross of iron he portrays the war weary colonel who sees the coming defeat and welcomes it as being long overdue. In both films he is excellent as uasal and make both characters come alive.

Both films have members of the acting Schell family, Maxmillian as Stransky in Cross of Iron and Carl Schell, his brother, as von Richtofen in Blue Max

Link to my Cross of Iron article
http://www.wargamer.com/articles/cross_ ... efault.asp
and scenarios
http://www.wargamer.com/hosted/steelpan ... tlight.asp

I know, shameless plug:D

[Ironfist]

I was thinking today after reading the last post. I wondered if anyone has ever done a movie about the Final days in Berlin from the German soldat view? Like the last defense of the Reichstag ?
I'm sure that it would be possible to find some veterans willing to help portray the desperate struggle And maybe throw in some of the betrayal of the Allies in the post war.(ex. "Other Loses"/ Division of Germany and Berlin), Showing how the soldiers end-up under the very control of the Political system they went to Russia to fight. Oh well It's just a thought. :p

[Jimi D]

Well I suppose this is as good a first post as any:

Picking "just one", I'd choose "We Were Soldiers" because I thought it was well balanced and intelligent, and it was refreshing to see an account of the Vietnam War where every American soldier is not portrayed as either a disaffected, dope-smoking black or southern-fried trailor trash. Otherwise, my list of faves includes:

Gettysburg - huge, tragic, and ultimately awe inspiring...
"General Picket! See to your division, sir!"
"General Lee. I have no division!"

Stalingrad - a German view on Paulus' bitter loss that is uncompromisingly brutal, ugly and cold...

Memphis Belle - I've always been facinated by the air war in general and the 8th in particular, and this movie is the best so far, imho...

A Bridge Too Far, Das Boot, Black Hawk Down, Zulu and Saving Private Ryan round out my list of faves... and of course, Band of Brothers is fantastic!

[Bernie]

Originally posted by Jimi D
Well I suppose this is as good a first post as any:

Picking "just one", I'd choose "We Were Soldiers" because I thought it was well balanced and intelligent, and it was refreshing to see an account of the Vietnam War where every American soldier is not portrayed as either a disaffected, dope-smoking black or southern-fried trailor trash. Otherwise, my list of faves includes:

A good list of favorites, and a great first post. Welcome to the forums Jimi!

[Vathailos]

Ironfist,

While not told from a military point of view, check out “The Pianist” if you get the chance. It’s a good film with a beautiful soundtrack, the acting I found impeccable. So many good ones have already been posted, hard to add another. Well, if you’re into incredible cinematography, check out ”The English Patient” since I’ve started throwing out titles that aren’t about war specifically, rather that revolve around it.

Oddly, didn’t like ”We Were Soldiers Once…” a whole bunch, because I thought the book was better (isn’t that often the case?). If I’m not mistaken though, I think General Hal Moore is living about 2 hours from me now.

And I’m the proud owner of the “Das Boot – Director’s Cut.

Good choice Jimi!

[TomBell]

The best was The Longest Day. The Young Lions was good.

[Ol_Dog]

Not to disagree with most of the above, but to mention 2 others -

The Dawn Patrol

Hamburger Hill

[kensey]

The thin red line

not really a war movie but an anti war movie but
so what so is Apocalypse Now

Can't understand why it didn't get a single oscar
in the year saving private ryan got lots of it.
Has by far the better camera (malick is terrific
as a regisseur) and touches much more than simple
patriotism and horrors of war, only downpoint is that the
off comentars are a bit frumpy.

[Major_Mess]

I don't know if this one has been mentioned .................. I know I've enjoyed it a couple of times.

Play Dirty..............with Michael Caine and ?????

Dear old Dad liked it too, said it was pretty close to how things were.


Major Mess

[Death Method]

Im gonna be cynical here for a second. BoB and Saving Private Ryan have both been mentioned numerous times. Straight up, neither of those movies represent 'realistic' combat in any sense. Remember where Tom Hanks in SPR says "That's an MG42!"...i don't know what the director (Spielberg) thinks an MG42 is...but that wasn't! Also...the scene where the germans enter the village they're trying to defend...they enter with no reconnaisance...would never happen.

BoB: The scene where Winters and his boys catch an SS troop of company size sleeping (mid-day) in an...wait for it...OPEN FIELD!! Man, i just find it so frustrating reading the history than watching Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg re-write it all, and make everyone think 'thats how it was'. Cynic off.

Now your going to be suprised by this but i would never rate a 'war 'movie' ' by its 'realism'...only by its artistic value. That being said, i would say Apocolyspe Now. That movie to this day still haunts me, Coppolla had something special there.

Interesting facts in watching making of:

-Martin Sheen really was drunk (for real) in the scene where he hits the mirror, he was also on anti-depressants of some sort (bad mix) he later had a heart attack on set.

-Coppolla wanted a Col. Kurtz that looked young and fit...and than brando shows up...
(Notice how all the shots hide Brando's frame quite a bit)...apparently a big furor errupted over this.

[John David]

Crap, Am I late on this one or what![8|]

I know were only supposed to pick one, so....

1)Patton[&o][&o] (Duh, you'd expect anything else with my Third Army Patch staring you in the face!)

1A)(hah, got around it.) Apocalypse Now!(Redux)[&o]

[Roo]

Not good enough to qualify for war mvie status, but best battle status for me goes to "The Battle of Pelenor Fields" from the Return of the King.

Fave war film?
Hmmm... generally I would vote for "The Pianist". Really gets to you as to why we fought in the first place. Also, love one of the last lines:
"Why the ****ing coat?"

The only film of this type that I have really not enjoyed is Pearl Harbour.

[abuck]

The Boys of Company C...powerful, thought provocative, and distrubing all at the same time. An all around stark look at the horrors of war. Rates even hight than full metal jacket in my opinion.

[parusski]

"Cross of Iron". Hands down. NO DISCUSSION.

'nough said.

[terje439]

Stalingrad - just a good movie that tells war as a hell and not a glorious path

[sacorsair]

One aviation movie I did not see on here was THE BLUE MAX a WWI movie with George Peppard.