Best War Films?

[octafish]

Bugger. I forgot 84C MoPic. A great little film about the Vietnam conflict.

 

[Pandalisk]

Patton. "You magnificent bastard, I read your book!"

Could you explain what that means? "I read your book"? I've never learnt the saying, does he mean like he's read the man like a book and knows his every move?

 

[HK_01]

Here's one I just remembered: All Quiet on the Western Front. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[madcap2112]

Patton. "You magnificent bastard, I read your book!"

Could you explain what that means? "I read your book"? I've never learnt the saying, does he mean like he's read the man like a book and knows his every move?

The guy Patton was yelling at was Erwin Rommel; he wrote a book called "Infantry Attacks," it was about his experience in World War I and details military tactics.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Depends on the war being portrayed.

WWII- Saving Private Ryan, easily, though Das Boot wasn't bad either

Vietnam- Tossup between Platoon and Apocalypse Now

Modern day (1980 onward)- Blackhawk Down


Also the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Generation: Kill are some of the best dramas on warfare and conflict.

 

[Varun Garuda Maharaj]

i believe this answers your question

 

[Asehujiko]

Enemy at the Gates was pretty good. Sure, it felt like one guy was making all the difference, but really, you don't get 500 kills and not make a dent in the enemy.

Unless the enemy makes 700 kills back, shrugs off an artillery barrage before being brought down by a HE 14.5mm bullet/shell to the face. For a week [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_Hayha].

Back on topic, The Longest Day, excluding a few goofs like a group of soldiers taking cover during the battle of Pointe Du Hoc behind the Pointe Du Hoc Memorial.

 

[superbatranger]

I'd have to go with Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket. It's been a while since I've seen a good war movie. I might check out some of the other movies I've seen mentioned here.

 

[hermes]

No one has said Grave of the Fireflies yet?
That film is amazingly touching and sad, and like all Ghibli films, visually stunning.
It doesn't help that it's based on an almost autobiographical book by a WWII survivor.

Spoiler: Even the poster is bleak

I was going to menction that movie too... Truly amazing.
Also, it is a good way to prove wrong to anyone that says animation is just for kids.

 

[Counter_Southpaw]

I liked "The Hurt Locker" a lot.

Pretty scary movie actually. Made me respect what those guys do.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I liked "A Bridge Too Far" a lot.

 

[Smagmuck_]

Full Metal Jacket.
Boot Camp? Absolutly hilarious.
'Nam? Action packed.
And it gives me endless lines to qoute. :3

 

[Cody211282]

A Bridge To Far, Tora Troa Tora, We Were Soldiers, Black hawk Down, The Great Escape, and The Longest Day are the first to come to mind.

 

[Sargey]

Saving Private Ryan is my favourite war film, but I also like The Longest Day, Schindlers List and The Thin Red Line.

Not a film, but the Band Of Brothers series (not the Pacific series though) is incredibly good.

 

[Korten12]

I really enjoyed the patriot.

 

[Jekken6]

Enemy at the gates is pretty poor to be honest. Have you seen Apocalypse now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter or The Thin Red Line?

Then there are classics such as Catch-22!

I recently read Catch 22 and watched the movie. The movie was okay, but not that good. Felt like they just chose random parts of the book and put it together without really considering the structure of the thing. I would think that Catch 22 would've benefitted from a miniseries, imo

 

[Tajomaru]

Cross of Iron, Apoclaypse now, The deer hunter. And Aliens. Man, did those pulse rifles kick ass. Too bad Sven Hassel's works don't get a decent film, that would be so god-forsakingly EPIC!

 

[Enemy Of The State]

Not quite a film, but Band of Brothers is amazing, anyone seen it?

Film-wise, Black Hawk Down was good too.

 

[Premonition]

For me it's a classic war movie, only it's the colorized version. Namely: The Longest Day. Great movie.

 

[agentironman]

Band of Brothers was not

I recently watched Letters From Iwo Jima which was great. Is there any more great war/military films? I've seen Black Hawk down and Saving Private Ryan. What about Enemy at the gates?

If I had to pick my favourite three...

- "Downfall"
- "Saving Private Ryan"
- "The Thin Red Line"

"Band of Brothers" is an incredible series, easily better than "Saving Private Ryan" (both were directed by Steven Spielberg). It's one of the best TV shows ever produced (regardless of genre) and it covers some thought-provoking ground.

Just wanted to point out that Band of Brothers was not directed by Spielberg, he was a producer for 2 episodes, the directors were:

Kevin Phipps (5 episodes, 2001)
Don Dossett (2 episodes, 2001)
Alan Tomkins (2 episodes, 2001)

Desmond Crowe (unknown episodes)
Jonathan McKinstry (unknown episodes)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185906/fullcredits#cast] IMDB