Most inaccurate war movies

[06 Maestro]

ORIGINAL: Sarge


I hardly think they changed the story line simply to cover-up what you perceive as an embarrassment ……[8|]

I seen four individuals get medicals in jump school alone, can’t image how you would think during such a operation a misstep would cause Delta and the Rangers embarrassments .

I know a Ranger who got a Medical after 9 years of service-repelling from a chopper. When you train hard things can and do go wrong-sometimes resulting in fatalities.

[JagdFlanker]

windtalkers was pretty unbearable to watch. cage looked like an idiot running around firing his thompson with 1 arm

a great movie often overlooked is Stalingrad - not amazing, but really good. the attack of sov T-34s trying to overrun the dug in german squad with 1 AT gun in the middle of the movie was really intense. even though they were using T-34/85s which didn't go into production until a year later, at least they were using T-34s

[IronDuke_slith]

U571 was the worst.

Ingenious American submariners steal Enigma, at one fell swoop writing British efforts (which included some fallen Sailors/real heroes if memory serves) right out of the war.

Someone should have been shot for that.

It was very difficult to get past the tanks in the Bulge movie, I agree with those posters citing that.

Ryan and Bridge too far always seemed the most authentic looking to me. Thin red line looked alright until all them philosophers walked on dressed as American military personnel. It got a bit surreal to me at that point.

Cross of Iron was very nicely done once you were past the stereotypes. Loved Das Boot. Downfall was a more modern classic, but superbly staged.

There is a Korean movie called Brothers if memory serves I have floating about on DVD with some energetic action scenes that deserves honourable mention in dispatches.

Although melodramatic, the longest day was also pretty sharp at times.

I'd also mention Where Eagles Dare simply because I never get tired of watching it.

Regards,
IronDuke

[SS Hauptsturmfuhrer]

ORIGINAL: Obsolete

Blackhawk Down is the most accurate war movie, even down to exact words said and gunbattle situations.

There were a lot of inaccurate problems I had with this "Hollywood" movie, but it would take threads full to get into them all.  I'll just point out one typical issue then right at the start..

The part where super-duper smart helicopter pilot is able to spot an RPG, and in lightning speed, jerks back the vehicle, and perfectly times the rpg to shoot right threw the open space in the heli, JUST LIKE THAT!

Ummmmmm...... O_o..  ?  Is that Rambo again?



This is Holywood's explanation as to why an American soldier fell off the heli and basically crippled himself.  The fact is, the heli in real-life was in no such situation, and the soldier simply stepped out to grab onto the rope and instead mis-stepped and fell.  There was no action during that time, just a simple standard procedure.  Not even a simple bullet had flown yet, and no one was even expecting one to yet at that point.

Yes, it was a simple accident, but definitely was embarrasing for the forces, so Holywood decided to TWIST the story once again to make it more heroic.

I refuse to get into any more issues on BlackHawkD... let's just say that movie was a let-down for me since I had did some study on the scenario long before HOLLYWOOD decided to bring this to the silver screen for a fast buck.

I can't remember that scene in the movie but I do remember it in the book. And yes the ranger did miss the rope for no reason other than having pre-battle jitters and moving too fast. Poop on whoever decided to add in the silly embellishment.

[Perturabo]

ORIGINAL: Sarge

I hardly think they changed the story line simply to cover-up what you perceive as an embarrassment ……[8|]

I seen four individuals get medicals in jump school alone, can’t image how you would think during such a operation a misstep would cause Delta and the Rangers embarrassments .

It would be an embarrassment by a Hollywood "logic". Stepping out from a helicopter and falling would be too "uncool" for Hollywood. Also, it wouldn't be dramatic enough for them.

ORIGINAL: IronDuke

There is a Korean movie called Brothers if memory serves I have floating about on DVD with some energetic action scenes that deserves honourable mention in dispatches.

Brotherhood of War. I don't know if it's accurate, but it overflows with Pure Awesomeness[:D].

BTW.
I would call Starship Troopers the most inaccurate war movie ever. KILL[:@]!!!!!!!!!!

[gunny]

I hate to diss the Duke but the Green Berets was pretty cheezy. The terrain was local. The extras during the night attack were caucasians in VC cooly hats and it goes on from there. Not sure of the earliest vietnam show that was good, although Go Tell the Spartans 10 years later was up to the task

[Obsolete]

If we are talking about the  worst war-movies ever made, I don't think we could possibly come to agreement.  But if we mean worst movies in the last decade or so, then maybe.

I'm sure if anyone who was around during the siege of Troy, and then could watch the movie TROY... we'd be hearing non-stop how rediculous everything was.  You get the point...

But I think IronDuke's nomination of U571 as the worst war-movie ever made seems to be hard to beat.  That one got just about everything about every detail wrong (except who was axis and who was allies), but gets it just right when it comes to U-boat captain stereotypes.  I don't know what more there is to say about that abomination.  It wouldn't bother me so much if it was just another HOLLYWOOD film, but this one tried to pawn itself off as an AUTHENTIC story instead of a fictionalized event.  Sadly, there are people who are inexperienced enough to believe it.

[gunny]

Oh here's a good one. El Alemaine when the British M113's dropped their ramps and the Tommies ran out A'la perfect 1980 mechanized assault syle dressed in their pot helmets with enfields and knee socks.

[sapper_astro]

U571, Battle of the Bulge, Pearl Harbour...

Something that cracks me up to this day; Kelly's Heroes, that was basically a comedy film, actually tried harder to get things more accurate (especially in props/etc) than some of these "serious" warfilms. The Tigers were t34's underneath, but at least they gave it a shot by trying to make the cover look realistic. Pulled it off to a fair degree.

Blackhawk down wasn't too bad, until night fell and suddenly the super troopers emerged. That made me sit up and laugh my head off. Good old Eric Bana.

[sapper_astro]

ORIGINAL: gunny

Oh here's a good one. El Alemaine when the British M113's dropped their ramps and the Tommies ran out A'la perfect 1980 mechanized assault syle dressed in their pot helmets with enfields and knee socks.

Damn, that's a laugh. I will have to check that one out.

There was another movie, with John Belushi in it. He is in the Desert in his Grant/Lee tank, and he teams up with a Pommie, and Aussie and a few others. Haven't seen it for a while, but at least they got the tank right. I cannot remember the name for it now.

Along the same lines, this time a Michael Caine movie, again I cannot remember the name. He is a LRDG operative (Long Range Desert Group) and they set off south through the Western Desert. Again, my memory is hazy on it, but they did a good job with the props/equipment in this one.

Anyone remember the names for these two?

Wild Geese is not a bad film.

[Sarge]

ORIGINAL: Perturabo

It would be an embarrassment by a Hollywood "logic". Stepping out from a helicopter and falling would be too "uncool" for Hollywood. Also, it wouldn't be dramatic enough for them.

Thats a valid point there Perturabo…………[8D]

[Obsolete]

"U571, Battle of the Bulge, Pearl Harbour..."

I have yet to see Pearl Harbour, and from what I have heard from others, including the fact my girlfriend saw it and wants me to watch it with her (that's always terrible news!), is enough to keep me at bay.

I also have to admit that I never saw Battle of the Bulge in its entire form.  I did see the ending of this many years ago, and I only know this was the movie because I remember that part where American soldiers were tumbling gasoline barrels down a small hill, and an utterly stupid column of Tigers (oops, fake Tigers) decided to BUMP into these barrels regardless, despite they would simply blow up for some mystical reason and knock out every tank they touched.

Well, there you have it.  I suppose the Germans lost the war because they couldn't afford enough fuel to put in barrels so they could simply roll them into those T-34's that were coming.  That is, assuming the Russians would be just as stupid as to bump all their tanks into these gasoline barrels.

I do suppose now, this means I should now try to watch the whole movie just to compare it to U571, but I still find it hard to believe anything else could be worse.  But we shall see.  At least battle of the bulge was supposed to take place in the bulge?  For heaven's sake, U571 couldn't even get the name of the proper ocean right, or the year for that matter.

[Hanal]

Hogan's Heroes...I know, not a war movie, but it was the most insulting piece of WWII crap, whether for the big or small screen!

[Silverdog]

Never watched ‘Battle of the Bulge’ and after reading this thread I doubt I ever will! But I agree with all the other WW2 films in particular Das Boot, never get tired of watching that.

I can understand why WW2 is a popular time period, due to plenty of written/film documentation to help it, but that does not alwasy mean films are ture to history. It’s a shame that there are not more films dealing with other periods of history. I like the films Sergei Bondarchuk did on the Napoleonic era, might not be accurate, but the scale of the battle scene’s in War and Peace/Waterloo are quite something.

[SS Hauptsturmfuhrer]

I saw a couple of nice ultra old naval movies I think were 'Sink the Bismark' and 'Battle of the River Plate'.  I've read books about those stories and am quite fond of the naval chess game those people played.  I wish the Kriegsmarine had had more big ships to go out and whoop some allied ships with.  I guess the war started too early.  The movies are good though much less brutal than reality as the British are quite fond of pounding German ships into burning wrecks and turning the hapless crews into chunky soup.  Maybe the allies were unhappy that the Germans couldn't provide more big ship action so they got over-exited given a chance.  Poor Bismark kept rolling ones over and over.... unlucky torp hit on the propellor, unlucky reaquisition by allies, and a very unlucky opening hit on the Bismark's rangefinder.  The Italians should have let Germans crew their Roma class BBs then we'd have seen a more even battle for the Mediterranean.

Now I pray to the gods that someone doesn't come along and tell me these movies are crap. [:(] [:)]

[Plodder]

There was another movie, with John Belushi in it. He is in the Desert in his Grant/Lee tank, and he teams up with a Pommie, and Aussie and a few others. Haven't seen it for a while, but at least they got the tank right. I cannot remember the name for it now.

I think you're getting two movies mixed up [:)] John belushi was a tank commander in 1941 and the movie you're thinking of is Sahara with Humphrey Bogart which was fairly average.

[E]

ORIGINAL: The Plodder

There was another movie, with John Belushi in it. He is in the Desert in his Grant/Lee tank, and he teams up with a Pommie, and Aussie and a few others. Haven't seen it for a while, but at least they got the tank right. I cannot remember the name for it now.

I think you're getting two movies mixed up [:)] John belushi was a tank commander in 1941

Then his tank was shaped like a P-40.

The real problem with this thread is it makes me want to re-watch all these movies! (well, except for Pearl Harbor & U571)

[Plodder]

Then his tank was shaped like a P-40.

Oh,yeah [:D]It was Dan Ackroyd wasn't it?

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: SS Hauptsturmfuhrer

ORIGINAL: Obsolete

Blackhawk Down is the most accurate war movie, even down to exact words said and gunbattle situations.

There were a lot of inaccurate problems I had with this "Hollywood" movie, but it would take threads full to get into them all.  I'll just point out one typical issue then right at the start..

The part where super-duper smart helicopter pilot is able to spot an RPG, and in lightning speed, jerks back the vehicle, and perfectly times the rpg to shoot right threw the open space in the heli, JUST LIKE THAT!

Ummmmmm...... O_o..  ?  Is that Rambo again?



This is Holywood's explanation as to why an American soldier fell off the heli and basically crippled himself.  The fact is, the heli in real-life was in no such situation, and the soldier simply stepped out to grab onto the rope and instead mis-stepped and fell.  There was no action during that time, just a simple standard procedure.  Not even a simple bullet had flown yet, and no one was even expecting one to yet at that point.

Yes, it was a simple accident, but definitely was embarrasing for the forces, so Holywood decided to TWIST the story once again to make it more heroic.

I refuse to get into any more issues on BlackHawkD... let's just say that movie was a let-down for me since I had did some study on the scenario long before HOLLYWOOD decided to bring this to the silver screen for a fast buck.

I can't remember that scene in the movie but I do remember it in the book. And yes the ranger did miss the rope for no reason other than having pre-battle jitters and moving too fast. Poop on whoever decided to add in the silly embellishment.

I think you are being very unfair here. Alright, it's only one snippet you picked out, but I think it's the worst one you could've choosen for showing innacuracy.

For a start, it isn't critical to the story, ergo doesn't have an impact and shouldn't really be covered under the thread. Secondly, the film was a film. It was NOT a documentary. If it was a documentary, I would allow you to site this as an innacuracy which equalled spoiling the film.

And I'm with Sarge...hardly an embarrassment. I suspect it was purely done for visceral content, and being as it was a film and not a documentary, then it's allowed.

[Sarge]

ORIGINAL: IronDuke

U571 was the worst.

Ingenious American submariners steal Enigma, at one fell swoop writing British efforts (which included some fallen Sailors/real heroes if memory serves) right out of the war.

Indeed , another sick hollyweird look at history ..........