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What is your favourite war movie? And the worst?

 
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What is your favourite war movie? And the worst? - 6/28/2003 12:37:47 AM   
Blunderbuss

 

Posts: 178
Joined: 6/22/2003
From: Consett, NE England
Status: offline 		My personal favourites include 'The Longest Day', 'Cross of Iron' and 'Zulu', but I think the best one is 'The Guns of Navarone'. It has a superb cast (some of whom actually served in WW2) on top form, a strong, tight storyline and a terrific musical score. It just doesn't seem to lag at all (there's no padding) during it's two and a half hour length. Sure, the vehicles are mostly wrong, but it's a great film.

Among the worst I've seen is 'Raid on Rommel' starring Richard Burton. It is utterly unconvincing and uses chunks of footage from another film ('Tobruk'). Among the laugh-out-loud highlights are Burton single-handedly defeating a small army of German tanks and infantry armed only with a flame-thrower, and the final attack on the enemy guns where dozens of British troops appear from nowhere (actually footage from 'Tobruk'). Fearful crap!
Post #: 1
- 6/28/2003 1:09:55 AM   
nelmsm1


Posts: 1041
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Texas
Status: offline 		I would list Gettysburg, Saving Private Ryan, and 12 O'Clock High among my personal favorites. Gettysburg drags in parts and would probably be even better if they would go back and add in the parts they cut to reduce the running time but I can't help but love watching the fight for Little Round Top and seeing the scope of Pickett's charge. Saving Private Ryan and 12 O'clock High I think are just great films. I would have to say the worst film that comes to mind would be Windtalkers. Film started out okay but I couldn't take it after they dressed the Navajo up as a Jap soldier, walked around the Jap lines and then took over the radio. I couldn't help but think if those two clowns could walk all the way around the Jap position and almost get to the radio before being spotted why in the heck didn't they just go around that position with a company or two. Just couldn't take the movie seriously after that even though they had a great story to tell.

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- 6/28/2003 1:46:34 AM   
Maliki


Posts: 2217
Joined: 12/25/2002
Status: offline 		Best well thats hard to say.

Worst:Battle of the Bulge.If you see this movie advertised to be shown on a station i would recommend it is best to run and hide in a corner while assuming a fetal posistion...until the worst is over.IE;until the movie itself is over.

Though that is just opinion;)

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- 6/28/2003 1:48:54 AM   
runes


Posts: 107
Joined: 1/15/2001
Status: offline 		worst- definately goes to windtalkers.

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- 6/28/2003 1:52:45 AM   
Maliki


Posts: 2217
Joined: 12/25/2002
Status: offline 		12 O'Clock high(or am i thinking of 3'o Clock high?) is a good movie as is the original Memphis Belle.The purple Heart also ranks as one of my favorites,as well as Guadacanal Diary,though that last one is a little dated and somewhat corny in parts.

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- 6/28/2003 2:08:27 AM   
Blunderbuss

 

Posts: 178
Joined: 6/22/2003
From: Consett, NE England
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Maliki
[B]Best well thats hard to say.

Worst:Battle of the Bulge.If you see this movie advertised to be shown on a station i would recommend it is best to run and hide in a corner while assuming a fetal posistion...until the worst is over.IE;until the movie itself is over.

Though that is just opinion;) [/B][/QUOTE]


:D I agree Maliki! I used to love 'Battle of the Bulge' when I was a kid. Now it just makes me cringe. Telly Savalas overacting horribly, indestructible (and irritating) Henry Fonda predicting every move the Germans will make and those tanks..... Oh, dear.

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Post #: 6
- 6/28/2003 2:55:28 AM   
runes


Posts: 107
Joined: 1/15/2001
Status: offline 		the Big Red One is up there. great movie.

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Post #: 7
- 6/28/2003 3:00:23 AM   
rbrunsman


Posts: 1837
Joined: 1/31/2002
From: Phoenix, AZ
Status: offline 		Best: The whole 10 hours of Band of Brothers.

Worst: Thin Red Line or Pearl Harbor (Ben Affleck). I hate it when they add a love story to a war movie.

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- 6/28/2003 3:15:14 AM   
Losqualo


Posts: 511
Joined: 5/23/2003
From: Stuttgart, Germany
Status: offline 		Best: A bridge too far, Band of brothers, Memphis Belle (in that order)

Worst: Thin red line, The battle of El-Alamein

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- 6/28/2003 3:19:08 AM   
Les_the_Sarge_9_1

 

Posts: 4392
Joined: 12/29/2000
Status: offline 		Best, heck no way of picking a "best" to many candidates for number 1.

Worst, well I guess if we eliminate quasi military flicks that are only military thanks to guys with guns, I would say worst might be Pearl Harbour.
It should have either been a romance drama set in a war, or a war movie that had a few scenes outside of the combat zone.

Other candidates for worst might be hmmm having trouble remembering, after all I have tried to forget them.

Thin Red Line. It did to the book exactly what the film Dune did to the book.

I won't be to harsh about films pre 1970, as they often didn't have geniuses like Speilburg to work with, or advanced CGI to get around the fact that most of the gear no longer exists.

Patton is a great film, even if the tanks are just American armour painted the appropriate colour.

My critique is usually limited to films with crummy acting. Anyone critiquing films because the film producer couldn't provide 50 tanks of the correct model is a bit anal.

Today, my dvd library is rapidly expanding (and will continue until Matrix finishes my desired wargames hehe). Just picked up the Why We Fight series done with Frank Capra. The stuff has excellent footage (propaganda dialogue so think it would stop a dump truck though hehe).

Must have films would be easy to list Saving Private Ryan, Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, Midway, Patton. There are others, but these are "epics" of war movies.

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- 6/28/2003 3:45:42 AM   
runes


Posts: 107
Joined: 1/15/2001
Status: offline 		on the contrary, while pearl harbour may not have stood up as a great war flick, it was entertaining. i didn't feel the love story was all that thrust upon you.lots of guns, explosions and fun stuff. :)

the TRL wasnt horrible, i went in expecting another SPR, but it turned into more of a pseudo-pschyological war movie.


now. i think enemy at the gates was horrible. absolutely appauling.

it tried to do 3 things in one movie

1) be a war movie
2) be a neat pyschological thriller about a sniper
3) be a love story

instead of focusing on ONE of these elements it tried to do all of them, and ended up sucking.

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Post #: 11
- 6/28/2003 3:50:13 AM   
Blunderbuss

 

Posts: 178
Joined: 6/22/2003
From: Consett, NE England
Status: offline 		I haven't seen 'Thin Red Line', 'Windtalkers' or 'Pearl Harbour', so I can't comment on them. I thought 'Saving Private Ryan' was good in parts and had amazing effects, but for my money it's no classic. 'Band of Brothers' is far better.

Les, I disagree with your comment on people been anal because they are critical of a film for using the wrong vehicles. 'Battle of the Bulge' uses M24 light tanks instead of M4 Shermans and The alleged King Tigers are Patton Mediums. It's ridiculous, especially when you compare it to something like 'Cross of Iron' where the T-34s are actually........ T-34s! They could have made an effort to get things right for a film based on actual events.

There's a scene in 'A Bridge Too Far' where a single German tank manages to get across the bridge while under fire from PIATs, and it's a Leopard 1. ONE TANK! Surely, given the amount of money spent hiring 'big name' actors (some of whom are completely wooden, eg. Michael Caine, Ryan O'Neal), they could have hired one WW2 German Tank for a day's shooting?

Runes, have you read the novel 'War of the Rats'? 'Enemy at the Gates' was based on it, but Rats is far superior and a very worthwhile read.

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Post #: 12
- 6/28/2003 3:56:53 AM   
Losqualo


Posts: 511
Joined: 5/23/2003
From: Stuttgart, Germany
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blunderbuss
[B]...There's a scene in 'A Bridge Too Far' where a single German tank manages to get across the bridge while under fire from PIATs, and it's a Leopard 1. ONE TANK! Surely, given the amount of money spent hiring 'big name' actors (some of whom are completely wooden, eg. Michael Caine, Ryan O'Neal), they could have hired one WW2 German Tank for a day's shooting? [/B][/QUOTE]

Since the Leopards in "A bridge too far" should resemble Tiger I's, it would have been problematic. The only "public" Tiger I in running condition that I know of is in Bovington, but is only recently restored and is not even finished. "Saving privat Ryan" had the same problem, so they took a T-34 and built a look-alike Tiger I.
Besides that I think the Leo's in "A bridge too far look" pretty good, at least you can see that it *should* be a Tiger.

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- 6/28/2003 4:01:30 AM   
Losqualo


Posts: 511
Joined: 5/23/2003
From: Stuttgart, Germany
Status: offline 		OOOOPS, you better disregard my post. On second thought the Tiger looks more like a Pz IV. Sometimes it's better to think befor typing. Sorry :o .

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Post #: 14
- 6/28/2003 4:07:49 AM   
Blunderbuss

 

Posts: 178
Joined: 6/22/2003
From: Consett, NE England
Status: offline 		:) You've got me there. I didn't actually know that it was supposed to be a Tiger 1. I do like 'A Bridge Too Far' (I remember seeing it at the cinema when it was released). Couldn't they have used a Panzer Mark 4 instead?;)

Not sure I understand what you're saying about French tanks.....

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Post #: 15
- 6/28/2003 4:16:43 AM   
Losqualo


Posts: 511
Joined: 5/23/2003
From: Stuttgart, Germany
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blunderbuss
[B]:) You've got me there. I didn't actually know that it was supposed to be a Tiger 1. I do like 'A Bridge Too Far' (I remember seeing it at the cinema when it was released). Couldn't they have used a Panzer Mark 4 instead?;) [/B][/QUOTE]

Frankly I wanted to say that I'm not so sure anymore if it really was supposed to be a Tiger. I always thought that since it's from a SS Pz Corps. Seeing that it looks more like a Pz IV, maybe it was supposed to be a Pz IV? :confused:

I don't know if there's somewhere a running Pz IV, but I guess the chance would be much higher than that of a running Tiger.

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- 6/28/2003 4:27:00 AM   
Blunderbuss

 

Posts: 178
Joined: 6/22/2003
From: Consett, NE England
Status: offline 		I just remembered, they had Tiger 1s in 'Kelly's Heroes'. Well, that's what they were supposed to be anyway. If only Dickie Attenborough had seen that film before he made 'Bridge', it might have given him a few ideas.

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Post #: 17
- 6/28/2003 4:39:29 AM   
dwesolick


Posts: 593
Joined: 6/24/2002
From: Colorado
Status: offline 		Best war movies: Das Boot; Tora, Tora, Tora; Saving Private Ryan; The Caine Mutiny

Best war-related movies (my own category ;) ): Judgment at Nuremberg; Schindler's List; The Pianist

Worst war movies: Pearl Harbor....can't think of any worse. The "old" war movies were sometimes cheesy, but they didn't have the special effects that exist now. The makers of Pearl Harbor did. It is an awful war movie......and an awful movie.

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Post #: 18
- 6/28/2003 2:05:23 PM   
Randy

 

Posts: 1172
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From: Torrance, Calif. USA
Status: offline 		Don't forget for those who don't like The Battle of the Bulge, it has the Panzerlied song in it, which sounds pretty impressive. I've
liked most of the war movies I've seen. The one I have hated the most is Fire Ball Forward with Ben Gazarra. This was made after Patton, and as a result had scenes from Patton and many other war movies. In a word, it was "stupid."

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Post #: 19
- 6/28/2003 6:06:52 PM   
Raverdave


Posts: 6520
Joined: 2/8/2002
From: Melb. Australia
Status: offline 		Best

A Bridge Too Far
A Long Days Dying
Gallipolli
Band Of Brothers
Zulu
Catch-22
Tora Tora Tora
Battle Of Midway (I saw it in "Sensoround" anyone remember that?)

Worst

Pearl Harbour (with the effects in that movie you could make a good Battle of Britain re-make).
Battle of The Bulge
The Lost Battalion
The list could go on and on....................







:rolleyes:

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Post #: 20
- 6/30/2003 12:48:07 AM   
brucertx

 

Posts: 28
Joined: 8/28/2002
From: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Status: offline 		In this order:

Pattton
Bridge Too Far
Stalag 17(?)
Kelly's Heroes (for a little comic relief)

If I see any of these on my final "channel scan" before going to bed, I'm up until the wee hours!

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Post #: 21
- 6/30/2003 8:41:06 AM   
DP

 

Posts: 9
Joined: 7/25/2001
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Raverdave
[B]Best

A Bridge Too Far
A Long Days Dying
Gallipolli
Band Of Brothers
Zulu
Catch-22
Tora Tora Tora
Battle Of Midway (I saw it in "Sensoround" anyone remember that?)

Worst

Pearl Harbour (with the effects in that movie you could make a good Battle of Britain re-make).
Battle of The Bulge
The Lost Battalion
The list could go on and on....................







:rolleyes: [/B][/QUOTE]
Hey Raverdave:

I remember Midway in Sensoround. When they cranked up those B-25's, it felt like the theater was going to crumble! They must have had a dozen speakers on each side of the room, each about four feet high.

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Apocalypse Now Redux - 6/30/2003 8:51:45 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
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From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		I bought this one tonight, and I'm enjoying the extra footage, especially in the "Kilgore" segment. This is on my list of best war movies, but I understand that many of you may have mixed feelings on it. As for the DVD itself, I wish the brilliant documentary "Hearts of Darkness", the story of this film's making, had been added as a special feature, but sadly it wasn't. We have many threads regarding best or favorite war movies, but I'll add this one to my top five, which includes usual suspects like SPR, Das Boot, A Bridge Too Far and Gettysburg. The only controversial choice may be Apocalypse, but Vietnam movies really deserve a genre of their own. As for the worst, I'll go with the consensus and rate the 1965 Battle of the Bulge as the worst of the worst, but I'll also rate 1976's Midway as a close second. In both of these cases, history was thrown to the wind and both of these big-budget productions were pure Hollywood pap.

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- 6/30/2003 9:24:57 AM   
pasternakski


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Status: offline 		I am astonished that no one has mentioned "Full Metal Jacket," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Paths of Glory," "Gallipoli," "Bridge Over the River Kwai," "Sink the Bismarck," "The Enemy Below," "From Here to Eternity," "Fail Safe," "Gunga Din," and ... and ... and ... and how could you forget "Dr. Strangelove?"

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Post #: 24
- 6/30/2003 10:12:04 AM   
Maliki


Posts: 2217
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Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by pasternakski
[B]I am astonished that no one has mentioned "Full Metal Jacket," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Paths of Glory," "Gallipoli," "Bridge Over the River Kwai," "Sink the Bismarck," "The Enemy Below," "From Here to Eternity," "Fail Safe," "Gunga Din," and ... and ... and ... and how could you forget "Dr. Strangelove?" [/B][/QUOTE]

You just did;)...and i am shocked no one has mentioned Hell is for heroes,oh i just did.

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Post #: 25
- 6/30/2003 11:50:49 AM   
Randy

 

Posts: 1172
Joined: 8/22/2000
From: Torrance, Calif. USA
Status: offline 		Does anyone remember an old WWII movie made in the late 50's w/ I think Tab Hunter, where he was an orphan and raised by a Japanese family? When the war started he went into the Marines because he could speak Japanese. Thanks

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Post #: 26
- 6/30/2003 12:17:02 PM   
stevemk1a


Posts: 855
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From: Penticton B.C.
Status: offline 		OK ... it's not a movie and the rest of the shows weren't near as good, but I liked the "Hills are for Heroes" episode of the old Combat TV series. I used to watch reruns of it every morning before work on the History channel ... mostly the episodes were forgettable, but that one really stood out.

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- 6/30/2003 1:56:14 PM   
Kanon Fodder

 

Posts: 196
Joined: 9/8/2001
From: Portland, Orrygun
Status: offline 		Well we ran this thread a while back, and I'll stick with my choice for worst ever alltime stinker war movie, bar none:

The Battle of the Bulge

Not sure that I have a favourite, but A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day, The Great Escape, Saving Private Ryan, Stalingrad, Zulu, Waterloo, Gallipoli, Band of Brothers are all at the top of the list (in no particular order)

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Post #: 28
- 6/30/2003 2:12:16 PM   
Ian Packham

 

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Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kanon Fodder
[B]Well we ran this thread a while back, and I'll stick with my choice for worst ever alltime stinker war movie, bar none:

The Battle of the Bulge
[/B][/QUOTE]

Then its about time for a remake. All good things come around twice. Get on the horn to Speilberg to stop making visiting Alien films (OMG Taken!) and tell the real story of the Bulge (without a soppy ending this time).

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Post #: 29
- 6/30/2003 6:34:18 PM   
Les_the_Sarge_9_1

 

Posts: 4392
Joined: 12/29/2000
Status: offline 		When starting a Best of thread, it is always of course best to eliminate all the cliche obvious choices hehe.

Should have began with "other than"....

The Longest Day
Saving Private Ryan
A Bridge Too Far
Midway
Patton
Tora Tora Tora

All films which I suspect most would be hard pressed to disagree are landmark films.
It would allow us to get on to picking other choices that have merit, but usually get slightly missed such as...

Sgt York first rate film.
To Hell and Back, excellent film about Audie Murphy.
Retreat Hell, good film in Korea.
Exodus, good film about birth of Israel.
Lawrence of Arabia, also one of my favourites.
Where Eagles Dare, great story.

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