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I wouldnt mind making a little dvd collection of war films...
I like the Pianist and 'we were soldiers'
What you all think...
I actually thought the movie version of Catch 22 was quite good as well - I don't think I'll ever forget Yossarian giving the bird from down in the nose to the thumbs up of the air traffic controller - classic.
i've never seen the war game, but i'll be keeping an eye out for it.
braveheart is my favorite movie, but too far removed from modern history to have the same effect.
That's not a war movie, that's political BS. Written, directed and filmed by people that know nothing about war.
For me, Saving Private Ryan and the Big Red One work. Hamburger Hill, Zulu and Full Metal Jacket, although FMJ only works for me because of the Basic Training scenes.
With all that said, I loathe war movies. Very few of them capture despair.
Yeah right, it was a commercial failure because the audience was not quite ready for it. I see it's still the case. :)
Enemy at the gate is my # 3
That's not a war movie, that's political BS. Written, directed and filmed by people that know nothing about war
Technically it's not a war movie. It's a story about the madness of a mad man, who has manipulated a deity like standing with his people, and the journey of his executioner. Not a nice scenario. The book reads better and is not set in Vietnam - Deeepest Africa I Think, its called Heart of Darkness but it has been ages since I read it.
Ice Cold In Alex, M*A*S*H*
Add that to Zulu and you have a wonderful evenings viewing
There is one bit in Zulu that captures the horror of that era of pre machine warfare..
Front rank, FIRE, second Rank FIRE, Third Rank FIRE.....Both stunning and terryfying at the same time.
oh and - "zulu's faaaasaaannnnd of em" ;)
The mini-series "Band of Brothers". It is a six CD collection
I think i know what that was, i think i remember watching it... I guess i might try and get that 6 CD thingy :)
Thanks!
Braveheart is a great film! ;)
Seven Samurai is a good watch. Not really a "war film" either, but it has some military elements.
Seven Samurai
Superb film. I ADORE Kurosawa [imdb.com] films . Yojimbo was another classic. His use of light and mood to capture millseconds in minutes is fantastic. There's a scene in one of his films that inspired the american beauty 'bag dance'. A wounded warrior - returning to health, is sitting in a room dappled with sunlight watching a maple leaf dance through the shadows in the wind. To mark his complete recovery he pins the leaf with a blade. Symbolic stuff.
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[imdb.com...]
Netflix has a fairly complete version available.
Full Metal JacketI supplied most light firearms, safe blank ammo, and some SFX for that film
Really?! WOW, you always seem to amaze me Mac :)
>Rambo
Hahaha, good one ms.
I liked Saving Private Ryan tho :)
Thanks! I will try to have this tape. It's old memories (on watching old films) but deserves it.
A lot better than Rambozo! :)
The Blue Max [imdb.com] - This movie always apealed to me. If for no other reason than it demystifies the "romantic - chivalric" image of the WWI fighter pilot.
Lawrence of Arabia - Am I blind, or did everyone forget to mention this? I remember when it got re-released as a director's cut in the early 90's, and I actually got to see it in the theatre on a massive screen in an old movie house. One of my top 3 movie house experiences of all time. The cinematography of that film defies the small screen.
The recent, though often overlooked Enemy at the Gates [imdb.com], a bizarre tale of two snipers dueling against each other in the battle of Stalingrad.
And again, am I blind, or did everyone miss Beau Geste? Either the 1939 version [imdb.com] with Gary Cooper, or the 1966 version [imdb.com] with Guy Stockwell, Leslie Nielsen, and Telly Savalas. For those of you short on movie history, this second version reminds us that Nielsen was a respected "serious" actor for many years, often playing the "heavy", before he went into schtick.
Also, that line we'll never forget. "If the Desert doesn't get you, the Arabas will. If the Arabs don't get you, then I will."
(I'd comment on the 1926 version of Beau, but I've never seen it.)
I mentionned Enemy at the gates on msg # 35 as ranking as my # 3 favorite war movie. I defenitly share some interest for this movie.
You described it as "a bizarre tale of two snipers dueling against each other in the battle of Stalingrad."
You mind going deeper from a <secured> scenario writer point of view?
Thanks for the rest of your list. It really looks good.
Above us the waves [imdb.com];
The Cruel Sea [imdb.com];
In Which We Serve [britmovie.co.uk].
All with a "cast of thousands" - (once) household names in the UK. Even those abroad may have heard of David Lean, Noel Coward and (Sir) John Mills; each one a legend in their own right.
Oh, and let's not forget Sink the Bismarck! [imdb.com]
Syzygy
I just found it bizarre from a human point of view. It presented the whole conflict of Stalingrad, which was Epic, in a microcosmic sort of way. The Russian Sniper in many ways represented the "ideals" of Stalinist Russia - Although he was no lover of what he did, he did it for the good of the nation, and his reluctance to train others was because he feared for the lives of those he was training. As he gets drawn more and more into the one-on-one fight with the German, he's doing it for both personal and greater altruistic reasons - he's sick of seeing good young Russian boys die.
The German sniper was of a more Aristocratic personality. He viewed what he did as being an elite soldier, and almost not even as a soldier, but as a nobleman excercising his right to the hunt. As he gets drawn more and more into the one-on-one fight against the Russian, there is no altruism in his pursuit whatever. In fact, he's going against the orders of his superiors. He's doing it as a personal and deadly chess game, where the goal, like any other game, is simply to win, to be the best. It infuriates him that some "Russian Peasant" might actually best him.
It fits very well with how we interpret the battle of Stalingrad as a whole. The well trained and equipped, professional, very much "elite" German forces in the end are defeated by the poorly trained and equipped, but impassioned and desperate Russians.
I don't know if "bizarre" is really the best way to describe the fil, so much as highly intelligent and deep, which makes it bizarre for a war movie.
When I saw it, I thought it got dead boring after basic training, but my dad said it was the most realistic Vietnam movie he'd ever seen (up to that time, haven't checked back to see if the title's been passed to a new film since then). At any rate, he'd certainly know better than I would.
As for realism, Platoon was an innovator and set the standard for subsequent Vietnam movies, including FMJ and SPR. Platoon was the first war movie that scared the hell out of me.
Best war film? Casablanca or Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.
Im sure ive seen it a few years ago but cant remember much...
What was the War film with the photographer, they get dropped in and have to keep the area. The photographer picks up the gun half way through but then decided to put the gun down and get more photos to show what it was like. It was good... :)
Im pretty bad for names!
RJ
