The Worst War Movie You've Ever Seen?

dighost · Post by **dighost** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 5:14 am

I know there are many terrible movies from the past, but some recent stinkbombs for me are:

Windtalkers-

John Woo and Christian Slater?... okay Slater wasn't as obnoxious in this one (ala Broken Arrow), but the gunnery sargents accent (Peter Stormare is from sweden) was so bad, and nevermind the totally 50's "clutch your chest" death scenes.

Thin Red Line-

Videography and scenery were magnificant, but all the lame "dream" cuts made me cringe. Your on an island, death is all around and you have time for inner reflection and day dreaming?

Something in Vietnam-

Okay I don't remember the actual title, but anything with Michael Dudikoff or Dolfe Lundgren is not going to win any medals....

MarkFroio · Post by **MarkFroio** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 10:08 am

The Thin Red Line has my vote because the book it was based on was fantastic. The movie could have been so much better if it would have followed the plot of the book. And John Travolta? Please.

dighost · Post by **dighost** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 11:20 am

lol.. forgot about Travolta in the red line.. ughh

MikeMark · Post by **MikeMark** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 12:48 pm

Windtalkers without a doubt. What I don't understand is why they had to butcher what was a good enough story on its own.

Pearl Harbor was also kind of lousy, looked too much like a Star Wars attack.

Nick Nolte's performance in the Thin Red Line made the movie worth it to me. I thought the scene where the one CO didn't want to send his men into a grinder, and Nolte insisted on it probablly hit home with many who were probablly in that very situation.

Following Private Ryan, these two fell real short, but HBO's Band of Brothers was very good I thought.

Bernard · Post by **Bernard** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 1:02 pm

In the recent, thin Red Line has my vote.
Not because of their Blabla (fast advace helps on this) but i can't understand all these combats where the japs surrender.
I read some about guadalcanal, and the last ting japs did was surrender.

Private Ryan is great for 1/2 hour, then becomes hollywood ... some kind of super heroes destroying Tiger by their own (no Tiger in Normandy the first days - most probably B1Bis and the Germans,very bad adn stupid running in front of machine gun because they can't go backdoor.

War movies of the '50s can be very bad and their french translations make it immossible to watch.
I don't know why, but in these times, about 50% of the GI's were supposed to have highpitched voices.

I think the worst for me is the battle of the bulge with Henry Fonda : no snow, M24 Chaffee fighting agaisnt M 48 Pattons and actually speeding in front of them to make the germans ... burn their fuel !!!!

merry christmas to all.

Les_the_Sarge_9_1 · Post by **Les_the_Sarge_9_1** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 7:27 pm

I didn't "hate" Windtalkers, the fact the munitions were in a lot of cases yet more of the "I have no idea what real munitions look like" style of film production.

I can't "hate" Pearl Harour, but then it wasn't a war movie, so how can it be a "worst" warmovie eh.

It was a romance set in WW2.
You get to watch some war like scenes while your woman gets to enjoy some romance scenes.

Then if you are married probably nothing happens when you go home (hey just assuming your woman is like most eh, certainly not like mine, I would not have time to go see the movie in the first place:D ).
A girlfriend might give you some when you get home (but hey you should pick a movie that is ALL romance for that eh).

My selection for worst film? Hmm you realise you are expecting us to actually re live something we might wish to forget eh:)

Hmmm not sure if it even deserves the title "warmovie", but while Rambo (the first one) said something useful, all Rambo III said was, "give me your money stupid" at the box office.
Glad I have never spent more than time to view that thing.

dighost · Post by **dighost** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 11:37 pm

lol... married here, which is why I try to avoid movies like Pearl Harbor.

Unfortunately all I get after movies like that is "why can't you deliver 3 tons of flowers to me like the guy in the movie did"...arghhh

Frank W. · Post by **Frank W.** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 1:00 am

Most people don´t seem to realise that "thin red line" is NO war movie in common sense. it´s much more....

.....

fantastic film

like "fight club" or "blade runner"

but i agree on "windtalkers" a shot in the wind
this one

Frank W. · Post by **Frank W.** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 1:07 am

we were soldiers:

average on all aspects

james rian:

as other´s said the scenes in
the beginning are good, it then leads to
a common US action movie..fast food
with other words

duell aka enemy at the gates

no warmovie. just a personal duell
between 2 soldiers. no winner for
me this one. boring lovestory included

p. harbour

haven´t seen this one, and won´t
see it after all i hear about this one

Culiacan Mexico · Post by **Culiacan Mexico** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 1:16 am

Originally posted by Frank W.
Most people don´t seem to realise that "thin red line" is NO war movie in common sense. it´s much more....fantastic film like "fight club" or "blade runner"

but i agree on "windtalkers" a shot in the wind
this one

Not a war movie... well it had nothing to do with either the USMC or WW2 so I guess you are correct.

Windtalkers was a John Woo film, and it looked like one.

Bernard · Post by **Bernard** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 2:04 am

Originally posted by Frank W.
we were soldiers:

duell aka enemy at the gates

The book was greta though.
War of the rats.
nice

Stefdragon · Post by **Stefdragon** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 2:58 am

I just finished watching "We Were Soldiers". I like Mel's other stuff, but this movie had every war movie cliche in the book.

It was dreadful.

My favorite scene in "The Thin Red Line" was the one in which the guy is supposed to be next to go up a hill where everyone is getting picked off in vivid piercing succession, and he gets off because he had a stomach ache!

A really good SLEEPER though is the Yugo "No Man's Land".

I also liked the German "Stalingrad". Some great scenes!
Check them out!

wulfir · Post by **wulfir** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 6:53 am

U-571 (or whatever the number was)..

Sink it.

Fallschirmjager · Post by **Fallschirmjager** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 8:18 am

A really good SLEEPER though is the Yugo "No Man's Land".

Ive told those on the forum over and over to go see that.....its great.

Stefdragon · Post by **Stefdragon** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 9:55 pm

Originally posted by MikeMark
...but HBO's Band of Brothers was very good I thought.

I loved that series.

What was the war movie from the 1960's, in which Frankie and his possé crash land their military plane on a Jap held Pacific Island, and end up befriending the enemy for mutual survival?

Give me a break!

I did like "The Chairman of the Board" however in other war flicks
like "Von Ryan's Express" and the Pearl Harbor epic "From Here to Eternity". I think he won an Oscar for that, after begging for the role when his singing career was temporarily on the skids.

This gives me hope that someday maybe even I could become
"Matrix Forum Chat Room Field Marshal!"

rockymtndoc · Post by **rockymtndoc** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 10:07 pm

Anything with Dolph Lundgren.

Anything with Rambo anywhere, but especially Rambo in Afghanistan - before anybody knew where it was.

The old Chuck Norris destroys Viet Nam series. "Gentlemen, you cannot be a US soldier unless you have long hair, the wrong uniform, and know karate, kung fu and yee-haw."

Ultimate Stinker: The Big Red One

Stefdragon · Post by **Stefdragon** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 10:17 pm

Originally posted by rockymtndoc
Ultimate Stinker: The Big Red One

What was so terrible about that movie?

The Sarge Lee Marvin was pretty good in that, and is a former
U.S. Marine WW II veteran I believe.

Frank W. · Post by **Frank W.** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 1:12 am

Originally posted by rockymtndoc
Anything with Dolph Lundgren.

Anything with Rambo anywhere, but especially Rambo in Afghanistan - before anybody knew where it was.

The old Chuck Norris destroys Viet Nam series. "Gentlemen, you cannot be a US soldier unless you have long hair, the wrong uniform, and know karate, kung fu and yee-haw."

Ultimate Stinker: The Big Red One

delta force and invasion USA were cool movies with chuck norris.

and 1 or 2 of his vietnam stuff, too.

no reality, but cool action and some funny
speeches from chuck.

Les_the_Sarge_9_1 · Post by **Les_the_Sarge_9_1** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 1:53 am

I think the first Rambo film did a nice job of saying what it did.
The only tragedy was the other two had to drag it into the mud by virtue of guilt by association.

Returning US vets went through hell thanks to most of American society. America hated that war and hated its vets.
I think Rambo was a good attempt at saying something for the vets.
The two sequels though were only about making money. You can spit on them at will.

Chuck's films were not war movies, therefore slagging them is pointless, we are discussing war movies correct.

Rememer, Vietnam was "not a war" (sorry just had to say it:) ).

The Big Red One was ok, it was better than most for the time it was made in. I have seen a great deal worse.

Dolph is just Chuck with not so much martial savvy and bigger arms.
They make "action movies" guys.

nelmsm1 · Post by **nelmsm1** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 2:35 am

I have to cast my vote for "Windtalkers". Could have been a good story but it I almost laughed out loud when they dress the codetalker in the Japanese uniform and escorts Cage around the Jap position and walks him in there like he was a prisoner. If those two clowns could walk around the Jap position and make it all the way to the rear of the line why didn't they just do it with a platoon or two and take the **** thing.

The Worst War Movie You've Ever Seen?

The Worst War Movie You've Ever Seen?

Mel Gibson

Sinatra

The Big Red One?