OT - Best WWII movie?

[Orm]

I am feel like watching a couple of WWII movies.

So I am thankful on any suggestions on what WWII movies you think I should watch.

And a couple of movie questions.
1) Which WWII movie do you think is best?

2) What WWII movies do you feel is truthful to the actual event(s)?

3) What WWII movies do you think falsify history to much?

[Extraneous]

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) (best)
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) (truthful)
Kelly's Heroes (1970) (false history)
Beach Red (1967) (realistic)

[Frederyck]

Ice-Cold in Alex (1958) - perhaps not the "best", but still a very compelling story
U-571 (2000)- perhaps not the most historically inaccurate piece of celluloid out there, but still very jarring

[michaelbaldur]

a bridge to far ... best movie

pearl harbour ...  worst 

[SirWhiskers]

Best: Schindler's List. Not an enjoyable movie, but very well done with an outstanding ending (the fade in to the gravesite).

Truthful: Bridge Too Far, for the most part. They took a few liberties, but it was very close to the book, and I've not read any serious criticism of Ryan's research.

False: Too many choices - Battle of the Bulge (We can stop tanks with flaming barrels of oil!), Operation Crossbow, Guns of Navarone, In Harms Way... Take your pick.

[peskpesk]

There is only one Number One for me "Das Boat".

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Orm

I am feel like watching a couple of WWII movies.

So I am thankful on any suggestions on what WWII movies you think I should watch.

And a couple of movie questions.
1) Which WWII movie do you think is best?

2) What WWII movies do you feel is truthful to the actual event(s)?

3) What WWII movies do you think falsify history to much?

1. A Bridge Too Far, second would be Saving Private Ryan, does Band of Brothers count? - it was a mini-series, but well worth watching if you have the time

2. A Bridge Too Far, Tora Tora Tora, The Longest Day, Band of Brothers. In Saving Private Ryan the first 25 minutes are gruesomely realistic and it is based on actual events but the story itself after Omaha Beach is fantasy. A very anguishing movie to watch the first time due to the constant anticipation of the unexpected. You've likely seen at least one of the subtitle-edited cuts from Downfall (admittedly NOT funny if you are fluent in German), but it also is a good watch as a complete movie.

3. The king grade B fantasies are Where Eagles Dare and The Dirty Dozen. Enjoyable movies to watch which still take liberty with the facts are Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Escape, and Das Boot.

The above are all likely to be ones you've seen. Here are five that are rare and may be impossible to get, but all were very good as they offered "alternative" treatments:

The 25th Hour 1967 starring Anthony Quinn, about a Rumanian farmer mistaken by the Nazis as the archetype Arian and what WWII does to his life.

The Bridge (Die Bruke) 1959 about some very young Hitler Youth given the task of denying the American Army access to a small bridge in a small town. A great "war is evil and ultimately senseless" movie.

A Midnight Clear 1992 starring Gary Sinise, set in 1944 France, an American Intelligence Squad locates a German Platoon wishing to surrender rather than die in Germany's final war offensive

Europa, Europa 1990 A boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.

Silent Night 2002 Set on Christmas Eve, 1944, finds a German Mother and her son seeking refuge in a cabin on the war front (IMDB claims it is "fact-based")

[michaelbaldur]

I have seen a movie. which tell the story of the Canadian / American special service unit

can anybody remember the name

[Nova538]

I believe that was the devils brigade, with william holden and a bunge of mid 60s era actors.

[warspite1]

Orm best movie:

Schindler's List

True to the events

Battle of Britain

Falsify events

U-571 is probably the most blatant culprit. Most films are probably guilty to a greater or lesser degree - usually with the purpose of making a story more dramatic or whatever. However U-571 is an abomination as the whole film is built on a falsehood and ignores the men who really died in recovering a machine before the US was even in the war.

Films to watch.

Not a full length film, but the BBC production Conspiracy is superb. Kenneth Branagh plays Heydrich and is excellent, but the whole cast is also brilliant. It tells the story of the Wannsee conference that thrashed out the details of the final solution.

Operation Daybreak, a film about the assassination of Heydrich. Made in the 70's, the music for the film is largely early electronic, but is far from out of place. The final scene takes a few liberties with the truth, but is a real tear-jerker.

[lomyrin]

And also "enemy at the gates' about Stalingrad

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Orm

I am feel like watching a couple of WWII movies.

So I am thankful on any suggestions on what WWII movies you think I should watch.

And a couple of movie questions.
1) Which WWII movie do you think is best?

2) What WWII movies do you feel is truthful to the actual event(s)?

3) What WWII movies do you think falsify history to much?

I love the 1976 Battle of Midway movie from Jack Smight. I like to think that it is faithfull to reality.

[terje439]

I actually enjoy Stalingrad (originally a German made TV series).
I came across (and bought) Battle of the River Platte...Not too good a movie (imo), so I would suggest stearing clear of that one.

Terje

[brian brian]

ORIGINAL: lomyrin

And also "enemy at the gates' about Stalingrad

this has an outstanding opening sequence that rivals Saving Private Ryan; really a great capsule of the horrors of Stalingrad and Russian tactics. After that my interest trails off steadily. A very good book too.


If you have a lot of time to invest I recommend Band of Brothers. I never finished watching a similar series, The Pacific, last year though hope to do that one day.


I really liked Letters from Iwo Jima, much better than the other movie from the American side. Can't recall seeing another movie from the Japanese point of view though I think the Japanese have made a fair amount of such movies.


Battle of the Bulge is, at the least, entertaining to watch, especially if you know your history and military equipment.

[Extraneous]

While were at it…

Casablanca (1942)

Passage to Marseille (1944)


And just to show you I don’t just watch only Old movies:


I prefer Das Boot (1981) (subtitled) to Das Boat (English language film).

Zvezda (The Star) (Russian language film) 2002: A true story about a small scout group with the radio call sign "The Star" (Zvezda). They were composed of scouts from different fronts and were given the assignment to find German tank concentrations. Two previous groups assigned the task were lost no one knowing where or how.

[michaelbaldur]

I really liked Letters from Iwo Jima, much better than the other movie from the American side. Can't recall seeing another movie from the Japanese point of view though I think the Japanese have made a fair amount of such movies.

the movie Yamato is also from the Japanese point of view

[ccsdc83]

Stalingrad:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108211/

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur

I really liked Letters from Iwo Jima, much better than the other movie from the American side. Can't recall seeing another movie from the Japanese point of view though I think the Japanese have made a fair amount of such movies.

the movie Yamato is also from the Japanese point of view

Tora, Tora, Tora was a joint production between US and Japanese filmmakers and has a lot of scenes from the Japanese perspective.

[rkr1958]

Band of Brothers

The Pacific

Schindler's List

Twelve O'Clock High w/Gregory Peck http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041996/

Judgment at Nuremberg w/Spencer Tracey and Burt Lancaster http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055031/

Letters from Iwo Jima

Flags of our Fathers

[Titan]

Im suprised Cross of Iron (1977) hasn't been mentioned, Thats my favourite.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074695/