The "Actual" Greatest War Movie ever

Bernie · Post by **Bernie** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 1:22 am

While telling a friend of mine about this thread last night he picked a movie I hadn't thought of, and which no one yet has mentioned: "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

Les_the_Sarge_9_1 · Post by **Les_the_Sarge_9_1** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 5:22 am

Red Dawn what an abyssmal film as far as warmovie status goes.

Did like the part where the cuban shoots up front of pick up truck. Looked like he might even have been firing a real rifle and not a hollywood actor friendly rebored weapon with no kick.

Oh I miss my FN rifle some days.

M16 bounces off sandbag kill innocent blades of grass
AK 47 Tears **** out of sandbag, pisses off grunt that knows he will have to repair wall later.
FNC1A1 Canadian army vintage 1979 detroys sandbag entirely kils guy behind sandbag wounds too.

Sure the FN was heavy and only semi automatic. But in Canada we were taught at that time, aim the fucking weapon and kill the **** enemy. Screw this wounding ****. And shoot the two guys next to him dead while you are at it. Let OUR graves registration people deal with THEIR dead.

Oh well that was along time ago too. Now we have a pussy 5.56 M16 wanna be weapon. Which really doesn't matter. The Americans are basically doing a fine job wasting the world's bad guysby themselves.
I say we trade in our military for a more well equipped Mountie force to watch out for people sneaking into Canada.

I miss my rifle.

troopie · Post by **troopie** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 9:09 am

Recently, at a country shoot, I fired a friend's R-4. It handled better than the old R-1 (FN-FAL to everyone else in the world), was better designed and controllable on automatic. But I asked him, "Piet, what did you do when you had to bash a door in?"

troopie

JVRyk5 · Post by **JVRyk5** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 9:17 am

Das Boot. Also winning for BEST music category.

Of the point. Has anybody seen this fairly new russian film, Mountains. (At least presented in finland with that name.) It's about small team in lonly outpost in Chechnya. Recomended.

tracer · Post by **tracer** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 9:38 am

Originally posted by rbrunsman
Has no one seen "They were expendable?" I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned. I think it was about the Battle of the Bulge. One squad was left to keep back a whole company(?) of Germans. I thought it was very good for a B/W movie. Bob Newhart was in it to offer his unique brand of humor in an otherwise very tense situation. (Then again, I could be misremembering the name of the movie, it's been a while since I saw it.)

[Edit]
Sorry, it was called "Hell is for Heros" (1962). Like I said, it has been awhile since I saw it.

****! I forgot about that one. The best scene is where the squad is pinned down beside a road and Newhart (thinking he's in a rear area) drives past in a jeep, looks over and says "hi fellas", and a split second later the jeep gets hit, tossing him out. First time I saw that scene I busted a gut laughing.

tracer · Post by **tracer** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 9:43 am

Almost forgot....my favorite: When Trumpets Fade. I had scenes from that movie stuck in my head for days.

TheZel66 · Post by **TheZel66** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 8:50 pm

...was a very good movie that deserves to be mentioned. Haven't seen Cross of Iron.

Les_the_Sarge_9_1 · Post by **Les_the_Sarge_9_1** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 9:05 pm

It wasn't a lot of war movie but it was a **** good example of why to fight and why not to fight.

Sargeant York.

**** fine film. The fact it was based on a real person was nice too. Also seen Audie Murphy's film To Hell and Back (why can't my guys do that stuff in the game eh).

And my personal fav for Canadian vs US chuckles all in good fun is Devil's Brigade. Although the US losers half went on to be half of the war's best fighting unit (and I don't care a wit who thinks their unit was better), and every bit as good as the cream of Canadian units half.

screamer · Post by **screamer** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 10:17 pm

i dont really have ONE favorite but ill pick Das Boot closely followed by Full methal jacket, A bridge to far,patton and gallipollito mention a ww1 movie

from books that ive read its das boot and im westen nicht neus [dunno if i write it okay]

worst movie: Battle of the bulge is the first that i can think of

GROND · Post by **GROND** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 1:30 am

Came out in 72 (a very bad year for an epic war movie to be released). It was based on and accurate to the book "vingettes of waterloo". 2 Romanian army divisions were used as extras and there are scenes that I don't think will ever be matched or duplicated again.

The charge of the Union Brigade (british heavy cav) 3 regiments of cavalry overran a grand battery of Napoleon's artillery in an amazing feat. Unfortunately they kept charging all the way to the end of a 2 1/2 mile slope giving Napoleon time to personally situate the 5 lancer regiments that he used to crush them (40-65% casualities in the 3 regiments). The charge is done by alternating slow motion with real time and looks like a moving oil painting.

Marshall Ney's unsupported cavalry charge in mid afternoon. 5,000 (I kid you not) cavalry crest a hill and you see them start to swirl and break around a british square. The camera is on a helicopter which flies back and up exposing 2 more squares, the camera pans again revealing 3 more squares and the last pan has 13 british regiments in square surrounded by cavalry (note that there are no cuts it's all one shot). If that's not the best scene of armies in conflict please, please show me whats better

ZeroAntipop · Post by **ZeroAntipop** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 4:18 am

Oh, another one. 1933(?) version of All Quiet On The Western Front.

Figmo · Post by **Figmo** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 4:30 am

Don't know if it's been mentioned but "Platoon Leader" - shows the futility of the Vietnam war when they fight to for the villiage and in the end the Vietcong just go around them and wipe out the Village. Great line from the movie - new LT "How is out there?" - salty GI "It''s great - they kill some of ours - we kill some of their's - next day same thing - It's Great".

Figmo

m10bob · Post by **m10bob** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 5:18 am

Right...So many great films to consider....Gettysburg..........A portrayal of the tragedy of a nation killing itself..An entire country believing each is doing it's patriotic duty,and believing GOD is on his side.Regardless of the outcome,all the victims were of the same people.Nothing was glorified in the film...Just the tragedy of the moment...God save us from fools......

Les_the_Sarge_9_1 · Post by **Les_the_Sarge_9_1** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 5:30 am

Never forget the night me and a friend were watching Patton on tv at his place.

Naturally I had seen it before. I was uttering the words a fraction of a second in advance. Actually sounded like an echo heheh.

His mother looks at me and comically says "you have seen this before haven't you" heheh.

Seen so many war movies with yet another batch of tired old M-46 Pershings or tired M-48's or tired M-60's. And the ever popular M-24 Chaffees cause the Americans have to be seen to have tanks that look smaller than German ones. Amazing what a coat of paint will supposedly due for accuracy heheh.

But I can forgive a film for not having money for then unavailable tanks in large numbers. But bad plots are never excusable.

Les_the_Sarge_9_1 · Post by **Les_the_Sarge_9_1** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 5:31 am

Oh wasn't say Patton had a bad plot by the way.

AbsntMndedProf · Post by **AbsntMndedProf** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 6:06 pm

"The Battle of Britain' if only for the fact that they rounded up so many actual WW II vintage aircraft. (Most, if not all, the German aircraft in the pic were rented from the Spanish airforce. The JU52 at the beginning of the film was originally Franco's staff plane.)

Eric Maietta

Belisarius · Post by **Belisarius** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 7:46 pm

Originally posted by AbsntMndedProf
"The Battle of Britain' if only for the fact that they rounded up so many actual WW II vintage aircraft. (Most, if not all, the German aircraft in the pic were rented from the Spanish airforce. The JU52 at the beginning of the film was originally Franco's staff plane.)

Eric Maietta

I'll second you on that for "best air-related war film" for allt he same reasons. It's just great to see all those planes. And the Polish squadrons are funny

Btw, for those of you who didn't know, it's easy to tell a "real" ME109 from a Spanish one - just look at the engine exhausts. A "real" 109 has its engine mounted upside down, so the exhausts are placed low on the nose canopy sides, just above and in front of the wings. A Spanish one has it's exhausts on the top, Spitfire-style.

AbsntMndedProf · Post by **AbsntMndedProf** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:04 am

My vote goes to 'Das Boot'; the gritty, unromantacized presentation of life aboard Germany's U-boats.

Eric Maietta

AbsntMndedProf · Post by **AbsntMndedProf** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:06 am

Oops! Wrong thread. Sorry about voting again. :rolleyes:

Eric M

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:43 am

I guess I'd say Das Boot. When I was little (late 70's-early '80's), I used to love 'Bridge at Remaghen (sp?)', and 'Sink the Bismarck'. I love the scene right after the Hood's demise when the officer turns to the admiral or whatever and says "The Hood's not there." How dashed unsporting of the hun, eh what?

I also like the Zulu movies because I always root against the British, unless they're in one of the Korean War movies, because killing communists is much better than opressing the poorly equipped natives. I actually like the Korean War movies. The poor guys went over there, fought for three years, and no-one remembers. Police action, my ***. I can only remember one title (Bridges at Toko-Ri), but that one I've only seen 5 minutes of (the part where the Duke and his buddy get it). The best part, aside from seeing a forgotten war, is that all those M-46's look much more convincing.

Red Dawn would have to be one of the worst war movies ever, but I also really hated that weird one from the early 70's(?), where the Americans are in a castle, and the Germans try to attack it disguised as the fire depatment, and the insane deserters are walking around with a tambourine singing spirituals, but they get hit by arty, and....what the hell were they thinking!? God, that was a bad movie. Also nominated: 'Escuadron 451'. Mexican movie from the 50's about the fighter pilots who served in the Pacific. While they were able to dig up some reasonable facsimilies of the Mexican P-47's, the use of stock European footage for the Japanese targets (German SPG's in snow) and strafing runs (B-17's giving some poor city hell while an FW-190 cuts across the shot) had me laughing out loud. Then again, I watch Telemundo, etc. a lot, and I have never seen any good Mexican movies.

I'd really love to see some of the minor nation's films. I have seen 'La Bataille des Rails' from France, but nothing else about any war. If only our crappy TV networks would show movies like they used to.
Seth

The "Actual" Greatest War Movie ever

We Were Soldiers

DeLaurentis/Rod Steiger Waterloo 1972