Great War Movies

[Guest TankerHC]

Might have missed it but.

 

All Quiet on the western front (The original, not the Ernest Borgnine movie)

 

The Beast (The other Tankers on here who havent seen it might get a kick out of hearing a "Russian" Tanker issuing real American Fire Commands. But it is a really good movie.

 

The Red Badge of Courage. (The 50's one not the John Boy Walton one)

[K191145]

And an M1917 rifle instead of an M1903.

 

I just read up a little on the M1917 Enfield, pretty much a .30-06 copy of the British Enfield issued to many of the troops then.

[K191145]

Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned "Galipoli".  It was a rather stark piece about WW1 with a young Mel Gibson.

Yep, that was a good movie.

[K191145]

My favorite mega-star war epic is A Bridge Too Far.  I must have a thing for battles we lose.  :shrug:

 

That had the coolest airborn drop scenes i've seen in a movie, all real footage.

 

Anybody mention "Enemy At The Gates" yet?

Edited August 10, 2013 by K191145

[tartanphantom]

Some that haven't been mentioned yet--

 

Stalag 17 (not a "fighting" war movie, but WWII nevertheless)

The Dambusters

Memphis Belle

Battleground

Von Ryan's Express

Big Red One

Empire of the Sun (again, not necessarily a fighting movie)

Charge of the Light  Brigade (both versions)

Glory

Operation Pacific

Rough Riders (highly recommended)

 

and although it has an anti-war sentiment similar to All Quiet on the Western Front, "Paths of Glory" is a great film.

 

for those of you into Napoleonic era I recommend the entire BBC-produced "Sharpe's Rifles" series.

[QuietDan]

Twelve O'Clock High . . .

[vontar]

Very old, black and white movie related to WW1.   The African Queen.  it may have been colorized or remade but I remember the black and white version. 

[K191145]

I hate commies and communism but I have to respect some of those average Ruskies in WW2 who battled tooth and nail with the nazi's in their own back front and side yard, that's why I liked Enemy At The Gates. I would like to see a good director make a movie about lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Russian female sniper who killed over 300 nazis including snipers.

[gun sane]

After 83 posts, I'm a little surprised that Sergeant York has not been cited as an outstanding war flick.  Gary Cooper won his first Oscar for his performance as the former hillbilly rabble rouser turned Christian and later Medal of Honor recipient.  I also encourage members to take a day and visit the York historical site in Pall Mall. 

[vontar]

After 83 posts, I'm a little surprised that Sergeant York has not been cited as an outstanding war flick.  Gary Cooper won his first Oscar for his performance as the former hillbilly rabble rouser turned Christian and later Medal of Honor recipient.  I also encourage members to take a day and visit the York historical site in Pall Mall. 

I know Sergeant York was back a page or 2.

[Spots]

You guys are gonna laugh at this....

Battle: Los Angeles. My reason why is because that got most of the shit about the Marines right. The right weapons, getting the boot drunk before deployment, they got the ranks right and how they referred to each other. I didn't hear one person called Sarge or anything retarded. They also got the uniforms and equipment right or at least much closer than almost anything else. And the best part? It shows a lot of CH-46 helicopters and I have a long history with Phrogs.

Act of Valor was good, especially the hot extract scene involving the SWCC team.

Black Hawk down. Lots of bullshit that takes away from the real story because its a movie but good entertainment. If I was the drying type I would tear up at the scene were the two Delta operator's die saving Micheal Durant, the crashed pilot.

We were Soliders and Saving Pvt Ryan are two of the most powerful Ive ever seen. I could never get in to the older stuff for some reason. I do have a soft spot for heartbreak ridge, Full Metal jacket and a few others.

Tapatalk ate my spelling.
Edited August 10, 2013 by Spots

[K191145]

You guys are gonna laugh at this....

Battle: Los Angeles. My reason why is because that got most of the #### about the Marines right. The right weapons, getting the boot drunk before deployment, they got the ranks right and how they referred to each other. I didn't hear one person called Sarge or anything retarded. They also got the uniforms and equipment right or at least much closer than almost anything else. And the best part? It shows a lot of CH-46 helicopters and I have a long history with Phrogs.

Act of Valor was good, especially the hot extract scene involving the SWCC team.

Black Hawk down. Lots of bull#### that takes away from the real story because its a movie but good entertainment. If I was the drying type I would tear up at the scene were the two Delta operator's die saving Micheal Durant, the crashed pilot.

We were Soliders and Saving Pvt Ryan are two of the most powerful Ive ever seen. I could never get in to the older stuff for some reason. I do have a soft spot for heartbreak ridge, Full Metal jacket and a few others.

Tapatalk ate my spelling.

 

When Saving Private Ryan was in the theaters I saw it 4 times, I took my dad to see it once, he was in the 101st in ww2. He didn't jump in on d-day but entered France later, was wounded in Bastogn New Years day in 45. He said "parts of the movie" were the most realistic scenes he had ever seen in a movie and many scenes were a little un-realistic.The scene where Hanks was standing in the door of the church at night looking out at the massive artillary barrage was the most realistic scene in the movie. He was wounded in the back by artillary scraptnal but it didn't get to any organs so he re-joined his company a few weeks later and pushed through Germany, the movie didn't upset him any. As far as an athority on the subject he was well qualified. 

[Reservoir Dog]

Very old, black and white movie related to WW1.   The African Queen.  it may have been colorized or remade but I remember the black and white version. 

 

Great movie!  However, The African Queen has always been a color movie.  What you probably saw was a B&W "TV print."  At that time, it was common to release B&W prints of color movies to be shown on television (since color TV was not around yet), or you saw a colorized version of a TV print.

 

Some of my favorite war movies:

The Great Escape

Guns of Navarone

Where Eagles Dare

Bridge on the River Kwai

Paths of Glory

Breaker Morant

Edited August 10, 2013 by Reservoir Dog

[gun sane]

He said "parts of the movie" were the most realistic scenes he had ever seen in a movie and many scenes were a little un-realistic.

 

Armchair experts have been all over this movie.....http://www.oocities.org/savingprivateryan0/cemetary.html

 

P.S.  Thanks to your dad for his service!

Edited August 10, 2013 by gun sane

[vontar]

Spots, I also enjoyed the the Battle: Los Angeles. 

I watched it in the theater and when I brought the Blue Ray, I would not request it until I got my stereo system for my TV.  I wanted the best sound I could have.  Since not a great setup but far better then what I used to have.

[Guest TankerHC]

When Saving Private Ryan was in the theaters I saw it 4 times, I took my dad to see it once, he was in the 101st in ww2. He didn't jump in on d-day but entered France later, was wounded in Bastogn New Years day in 45. He said "parts of the movie" were the most realistic scenes he had ever seen in a movie and many scenes were a little un-realistic.The scene where Hanks was standing in the door of the church at night looking out at the massive artillary barrage was the most realistic scene in the movie. He was wounded in the back by artillary scraptnal but it didn't get to any organs so he re-joined his company a few weeks later and pushed through Germany, the movie didn't upset him any. As far as an athority on the subject he was well qualified. 

 

When Platoon came out, I was stationed in Schwabach, Germany in a Border Cav unit. Nearly every NCO in the rank of SSG and above, the Squadron XO and CO all had served in VN, my 1SG (Jackson) was in the Americal Division, platoon sergeant SFC Soto, was in 11th ACR and had fought in VN and Cambodia. Before any civilian got to see the movie, it was released for one day, I think the day before regular release to all AAFES theatres, the only people who could go see it, and during duty hours, were VN Veterans. Hyped as the "First movie to show how it really was". All those guys were excited to see a movie that told their story. When they all went to see it, SFC Soto came back and we asked him about it, he and everyone else wearing their VN combat patch were very Pi___d off. Soto said straight out. "Biggest bunch of BS I have ever seen, it was nothing like that, made us all look like a bunch of druggie dirtbags"...and other unprintable words. 1SG Jackson called the Troop formation at 1 oclock after lunch, and advised us not to pay one dollar to see that bunch of BS. But to keep in mind, if we did, that its all fiction.

 

Someday they will give the VN Vets the Normandy (Saving Private Ryan) treatment. better sooner than later.

 

Also, I know several D-Day Vets still living (Trying to find people who knew my grandfather while he served) and have discussed it with those who saw the movie. On the opening 20 minutes, they all seem to agree on one thing, a very good approximation, but it was 10 times worse than that, but civilians couldn't even stomach to see a 100% accurate protrayal, so what they did in the movie was good.

Edited August 10, 2013 by TankerHC

[Guest TankerHC]

You guys are gonna laugh at this....

Battle: Los Angeles. My reason why is because that got most of the #### about the Marines right. The right weapons, getting the boot drunk before deployment, they got the ranks right and how they referred to each other. I didn't hear one person called Sarge or anything retarded. They also got the uniforms and equipment right or at least much closer than almost anything else. And the best part? It shows a lot of CH-46 helicopters and I have a long history with Phrogs.

Act of Valor was good, especially the hot extract scene involving the SWCC team.

Black Hawk down. Lots of bull#### that takes away from the real story because its a movie but good entertainment. If I was the drying type I would tear up at the scene were the two Delta operator's die saving Micheal Durant, the crashed pilot.

We were Soliders and Saving Pvt Ryan are two of the most powerful Ive ever seen. I could never get in to the older stuff for some reason. I do have a soft spot for heartbreak ridge, Full Metal jacket and a few others.

Tapatalk ate my spelling.

 

Then you absolutely cannot leave out one of the 50 worst movies of all time. Starship Troopers and ST2. Nothing like Heinleins book.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Then you absolutely cannot leave out one of the 50 worst movies of all time. Starship Troopers and ST2. Nothing like Heinleins book.

 

Yep, Starship Troopers 90210 and the sequels are not exactly works of art, nothing like the novel, but they are good for a chuckle here'n'there. I like the propaganda shots in the movies for one thing. Ferinstance the recruitment ad with a smiling trooper showing little jimmy how to handle the mini-nuke launcher was pretty kewl.

[Garufa]

Starship Troopers is an outstanding movie!  It's one of those cinematic masterpieces that causes the channel surfing to stop.  The goofy, over-the-top bravado and cheesy lines make it a classic.  :lol:

 

Plus Denise Richards is was hot. 

[gun sane]

In The Big Red One, Lee Marvin turns in a terrific performance as a sergeant who is fighting his second world war.  It's another Samuel Fuller movie, the same guy who made Steel Helmet and Fixed Bayonets.  Mark Hamil plays a Luke Skywalker character again, this time in a military uniform and First Infantry Division patch.

[Oh Shoot]

Very old, black and white movie related to WW1.   The African Queen.  it may have been colorized or remade but I remember the black and white version. 

 

It was originally filmed in Technicolor. Perhaps you are color blind? :)

 

 

- OS

[DaveS]

Red Badge of Courage

Alvin York

Sands of Iwo Jima

Green Berets

Horse Soldiers

Gettysburg

 

Dave

[Guest TankerHC]

If you liked the movie, read the book..... I like all war movies, I remember the only movies my dad and I ever went to was Toro-Toro-Toro, Patton, Midway

 

Used to go to a flea market in Pearl, MS, last year I was walking through and saw an older guy with a VFW ball cap on, 1st Cav Crest, bunch of miniature ribbons and CSM brass and stopped and said hello to the CSM. Him and his wife have a little booth at the Flea Market in the old bowling alley in Pearl. Started talking and this guy was one of Hal Moore's FO's at La Drang. Said he was a PFC so didnt get to do much but follow Moore around and do what he wanted. Said that after La Drang, they never had another operation that big, said they would sometimes fly out on one helicopter, sometimes 3 or 4, sometimes 10, but they would get their orders and were rarely together after that, said they had them flying all over the place. I asked him if he had seen We were soldiers, or read the book. Told me Plumley had called him to see if he wanted to fly to California for the premier and he told Plumley that "Why would I want to see that? I was there.", so he didnt go. Said he had not heard from Plumley in a while and he had called him a lot up to about a year earlier, Plumley died a couple of months later and someone had me go and tell him, he was in the hospital very sick so I told his wife and dont know if she told him or not.

[atlas3025]

Gettysburg

 

Dave

 

http://www.hark.com/clips/xyszblvlsz-see-you-in-hell-johnny-reb

 

See ya in hell Billy Yank. 

See ya in hell Johnny Reb.

 

That always tears me up a bit.

[Guest TankerHC]

http://www.hark.com/clips/xyszblvlsz-see-you-in-hell-johnny-reb

 

See ya in hell Billy Yank. 

See ya in hell Johnny Reb.

 

That always tears me up a bit.

 

Ted Turner ruined Gettysburg and Gods and Generals. Turner backed out of financing The Last Full Measure because both of the other movies flopped. And it was his fault. A couple of Turners requirements when filming was that 1. As little blood and gore as possible (Guess what, the real Battle of Gettysburg had a lot of blood spilled), (NOTE: This isnt directed at you Atlas, just generalizing), and 2. Turner had to be in the movie somehow. Shaara didnt want the movie made unless it was realistic, but the only person who would fully fund it was Turner, so he fell to the restrictions. Stephen Lang's acting saved both of those movies from being complete disasters. Civil War Scholars all agree (Or most), Martin Sheens acting was completely off the mark, all anyone needs to do is read Lee's writings to know he would have never spoken like Sheen did in the movie and Sheen took a lot of heat for that. Then there was the lousy costuming. Mannequin beards. Look at real photo's of Lee and Longstreet, their beards do not look like they were done at Julius Hair salon in Hollyweird. There is only one movie that gives factual and just treatment to the U.S. Civil War, and thats Ken Burn's documentary series "The Civil War". Shaara and Tuners movies are so full of inaccuracies they shouldn't have even bothered.

Edited August 13, 2013 by TankerHC