Your Favourite War Movie

Windo von Paene · Post by **Windo von Paene** » Thu Jul 06, 2000 9:55 pm

A war movie which is more of an anti-war movie is "A Midnight Clear". Definately worth a rental.

FrankyVas · Post by **FrankyVas** » Thu Jul 06, 2000 10:17 pm

The devil's brigade

,
Das Boot,
Memphis Belle

,
All quiet in the western front,
The Seven Samurai (Small war, but war none the less)

ok, back to work.

Frank V.

Charles22 · Post by **Charles22** » Thu Jul 06, 2000 10:27 pm

I can't remember all the name's, but her's a few:

The Longest Day - This one just gets me sucked to the tv screen, everytime I see it's on, I think I'm only going to watch a minute or two and it tunrs into some 40 or more minutes. I like particularly that the Germans speak German, and that everything seems to be going on at once.

Das Boot - Saw this one at the theatres and it was amazing how much I felt I was part of that boat, and then it was almost heartbreaking for them to end up getting bombed in port.

The Big Red One

Saving Private Ryan

Cross of Iron (for what bits I saw of it) - "We are winning, we are winning. We are now counterattacking."

Battle of Britian - What a great shot that was of those ME109s when you first saw them coming straight at the camera to strafe the airfield.

The Desert Fox - The commanding officer you see portrayed in the movie (who salutes Rommel, whom I believe, the actor was the actual man), wrote a book I have on Rommel.

Patton

The Lighthorsemen - For emotional impact, this has to be very, very close to the top of my all-time greatest war movie. I actually saw this movie having no idea what it was about. I expected something like a B-movie performance, but boy was it good. There's a very sweet story, based on facts about one soldier. This was a movie that was so off the wall for me, that I had no idea who was going to win the climatic battle. I saw this at the theatres and the calvary charge was so dramatic and volumnous that I could understand why WWI leaders didn't want to abandon the calvary. Man I still get goose-pimples thinking about this scene. Great, great timing of surprises during this battle, in fact I was so wrapped up by it, that one scene actually had me shout, "Kill him" while I was seating. Man, that movie got me charged.

Tankhead · Post by **Tankhead** » Thu Jul 06, 2000 11:07 pm

Wild Bill with all the movies you posted, I new I forgot one

Is Paris Burning? - With an all-star cast.
Great movie about the Allied Resistance and the Paris Liberation of 1944 was done in 1996 but it is in black & white.

Tankhead

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warhead · Post by **warhead** » Thu Jul 06, 2000 11:46 pm

84 Charlie Mopic(1989)-A widely acclaimed drama about the horrors of Vietnam seen through the eyes of a cameraman assigned to a special front-line unit. Filled with an unknown cast, this is an unsettling film that sheds new light on the subject of the Vietnam war.Powerful and energetic.Music by Donovan. Hell in the Pacific(1969)-A marvelously photograhed psycho/macho allegory, about an American(Lee Marvin) and a Japanese soldier stranded together on a tiny island and the mini-war they fight all by themselves. Overly obvious anti-war statement done with style. Very intelligently humorous too. When Trumpets Fade(1998)-Private Manning is the only survivor of his platoon, which is caught in the battle of the Hurtgen Forest along the Belgian-German border in 1944. Manning is interested in nothing more than his own survival but his skills attract the attention of an officer"you're the only one who survived, thats something the rest of your platoon couldn't manage to do" who promptly promotes him to Sgt. (and soon lieutenant) and gives him his own platoon of raw recruits to whip into shape. Amongst the main-stream I like:Cross of Iron,Hamburger Hill,Stalingrad and Gettysburg.

Spunkgibbon · Post by **Spunkgibbon** » Thu Jul 06, 2000 11:59 pm

Originally posted by warhead:
84 Charlie Mopic

I was trying to remember the name of that film a couple of days ago. I could remember the Charlie Mopic bit but the number was eluding me.
A good film too.

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 12:10 am

Aha!

You did it. Not one mentioned that fantastic French Foreign Legion movie with the initimitable Gene Hackman...March or Die.

Now the scene where the Bedouins are charging, the legionnaires highly outnumbered and the Lt. stutters and whispers, "Sir, will you give the order to fire..sir, the fire order?" while Hackman gazes at the fast riding attackers...that is a moment.

I'm watching this one again tonight!

And who can forget Uncommon Valor...and our poor MIAs who were so poorly treated.

Hey Michael..."On the Beach" and "The Day After?" Kind of pessimistic viewing, eh?

Wild Bill

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In Arduis Fidelis
Wild Bill Wilder
Coordinator, Scenario Design
Matrix Games

Greg McCarty · Post by **Greg McCarty** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 12:38 am

I notice "Das Boot" is mentioned most often.
I quite agree. I first saw it with my wife
in the theatre using English subtitles. It
is the only war film my wife actually said
she was moved by. (surprised the heck out of me)
I think the subtitles compelled her to actually follow the dialogue instead of zone out. The drama is compelling for anyone that
pays attention. I was very impressed by "Saving Private Ryan" and I'm not easily
impressed. I read about "Stalingrad" when it
was first made in Germany. I'm desperate to see it. Can someone tell me if it can be rented (or purchased) on VHS in the U.S. And perhaps what video chain might carry it?

Originally posted by Von Rom:
Some of my favourites include:

1) The Great Escape - with Steve McQueen - a true classic

2) Hamburger Hill - very intense combat

3) Das Boot - need I say more? Very realistic U-boat action

4) Stalingrad - most realistic movie of the War in the East that I have ever seen.

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 1:08 am

Critic's Choice Video. They have a free search service too and delivery is prompt. Prices are good.

I can't find their snail-mail address but they are online.

WB

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In Arduis Fidelis
Wild Bill Wilder
Coordinator, Scenario Design
Matrix Games

Kerg · Post by **Kerg** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 1:14 am

No one has mentioned "Winter War" the finnish film about the Russian invasion of Finland in WW2. I thought it was pretty good and liked the actual use of the real Russian tanks (T28's?)

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 1:17 am

For heaven's sake, not one mention of the great war movie, "Sink The Bismarck!", with Kenneth More, Dana Winter (who cares about watching Germans?) and an all-star character actor cast. Based on the Forrester novel of the same name, there are marvelous action shots of the old "Stringbags" taking off RN carrier decks.

Kenneth More turns in one of his truly fine performances in this 1949 movie. Sure, the anti-Nazi angle is beat to death - at first I thought the movie was actually made and released during the war - all the same it is entertaining, informative, historically accurate for the most part and blissfully economical of the viewer's time.

Sink The Bismarck! No, no ... the SHIP, not the doughnut!!

Bing

Beer N'Brats · Post by **Beer N'Brats** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 2:46 am

Sink the Bismark! I forgot about that one!

How about:

Breaker Morant
Go Tell the Spartans
The Green Berets

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Games are more fun with a belly full of Beer N'Brats!

Elvis · Post by **Elvis** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 3:11 am

Since this is a "tank"-oriented game, I'm suprised that no one has come up with two of the best "tank"-oriented movies of all time:

1943's "Sahara" (Humphrey Bogart, Lloyd Bridges(!!), lots of desert, and an M3 Grant)

and

1988's "The Beast" (Jason Patric, one of the Baldwins, lots of desert, and a T-55)

Both are underrated, well acted, reasonably accurate, and give a good impression of what its like inside a tank during combat.

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alea iacta est
sooperduk@hotmail.com

Spunkgibbon · Post by **Spunkgibbon** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 3:17 am

Does anyone know the name of the film about the crew of a crashed US bomber in the middle of the desert who were all killed and they disappear when their bodies are found? At the end there's only one of them left and his body is under the wrecked plane with no chance of being found.

I can't remember who's in it (I seem to remember Steve McQueen but I could be wrong about that) and I've only seen it once when I was a kid but I remember it being really good.

PS. Yeah, 'The Beast' is good. The only film about Afghanistan (except Rambo III and one of the Timothy Dalton nearly-Bond movies) I've seen.

[This message has been edited by Spunkgibbon (edited 07-06-2000).]

Hauptmann6 · Post by **Hauptmann6** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 3:26 am

Gotta go with

"Talvisota" (Winter War)(found a copy!!!)
Gettysburg
Hamburger Hill
Full Metal Jacket(the first half)
the Sharpe series
Glory

That is what I can think of off the top of my head...

Haupt

Elvis · Post by **Elvis** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 3:34 am

The only movie that I can think of that has both US bombers and Steve McQueen in it is "The War Lover."

Speaking of Steve McQueen, how about:

The Sand Pebbles
Hell is For Heroes

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alea iacta est
sooperduk@hotmail.com

troopie · Post by **troopie** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 4:16 am

Pork Chop Hill,
Days of Glory (Best english language movie made about Russian partisans.
The Longest Day
A Bridge too far.
Air America (a comedy, but one of the few about CIA flyers in Laos)
The Wild Geese (technical consultant Maj "Mad Mike" Hoare, British-South African mercenary.)
Dressing Station It will horrify you.
Never So Few
The Battle of Algiers
Cross of Iron
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Blue Max.

troopie

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Pamwe Chete

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 5:30 am

Don't you get the feeling that the video rental stores are going to be busy this weekend? You have all mentioned some terrific movies. There are several that I had forgotten about; and many more that I have not seen yet.

More favourites:

1) Pork Chop Hill - Gregory Peck in Korea

2) Spartacus - a true classic

3) The Enemy Below - with Robert Mitchum as the Capt of a destroyer stalking Kurt Jergens as the U-boat commander. Very well done.

4) Gettysburg - great film

5) Letters Home From Vietnam

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A King Tiger can give you a definite edge...

[This message has been edited by Von Rom (edited 07-06-2000).]

McGib · Post by **McGib** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 5:56 am

I'm so surprised that only one mention of "The Devils Brigade"
True story of a "comando" unit made up of American and Canadian troops in the Italian theater.

Also Galipoli.

Supervisor · Post by **Supervisor** » Fri Jul 07, 2000 9:01 am

1. The Great Escape
2. The Bridge
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Cross of Iron
5. Battle of Britain
6. The Blue Max
7. Das Boot
8. Stalingrad
9. Night of the Generals
10. Midway-Long version

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SPWAW Beta Team