A list has been floated, and this always makes a good post:
1. Apocalypse Now
2. Blackhawk Down
3. Hamburger Hill
4. Full Metal Jacket (if only for Private Pyle)
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. The Longest Day
7. A Bridge Too Far
8. The Bridges of Toko-Ri
9. Patton
10. Gettysburg
Mine would be:
1. Zulu
2. Band of Brothers (the entire series)
3. Patton
4. We Were Soldiers
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. Sands of Iwo Jima
7. Proof of Life (basically just the rescue scene at the end…)
8. Tora! Tora! Tora!
9. Bravo Two Zero (not as good as the book, but still…)
10. The Beast
YOUTUBE underpinnings below, but this is more of a personal opinion of war films, and everyone has their own favorites.
Great example of poor leadership in combat via LT Dyke in Band of Brothers and the assault on Foy.
More Victorian Crosses awarded than any other engagement.. for a damn good reason.
If there ever was a black and white description between how America fights, And how the Warsaw pact fights, it shows in the opening of THE BEAST, where USSR tank crews gas an Afghan village. US forces immediately implemented civil affairs projects, while the Russians simply sought to conquer territory.
FARC, anyone?
Way better than “Three Kings,” Plus a good demonstration of the “security round.”
I would add The Lighthorsemen,a great Aussie film. Battle of the Bulge is another.
OK, there are so many…
So in no particular order:
The Sand Pebbles
In Harm’s Way
The Dogs of War
Hamburger Hill
Patton
Apocalypse Now
The Boys in Company C
Heartbreak Ridge
Cross of Iron
The Green Berets
I’ll give a thumbs up to the Lighthorsemen. These are all good other than I have to draw an exception to Apocolypse now, I just never really “got it”
and inregards to Private Pyle, how about the Drill Instructor????
“I like you son….hell, I might even let you f@#k my sister”
and of course..
“your days of finger banging Mary Jane Rottencrotch ARE OVER!!!!”
Is everyone forgetting To Hell And Back? A couple other favorites, The Guns of Navarone, The Dirty Dozen, and The Great Escape.
1. Blackhawk Down
2. Band of Brothers
3. A Bridge Too Far
4. Gettysburg (JLC, yo)
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. The Longest Day
7. Full Metal Jacket
8. Heartbreak Ridge
9. Zulu
10.Patton
Fixed.
Runner ups: Fort Apache, The Green Berets (The latter permanently disqualified from makin gthe list for forgetting that the sun RISES in the East and SETS in the West.
I’d second The Lighthorsemen. Whilst we’re mentioning aussie war films, “The Odd Angry Shot” & “Kokoda” are well worth a look (google ‘em if you’re unaware of them!).
I’d rate “The Battle of Britain” & “Memphis Belle” highly. Plus for a less-than-serious one, you can’t get past the fun of “Where Eagles Dare”. That scene where Richard Burton plays out an elaborate triple-cross in the nazi officer’s dining room is priceless and well acted.
If we expanded the list to include action films I’d throw in “Heat” & “Ronin”. Not war films but hey, if you’re military and don’t get a kick out of them I’d be surprised…..
Not in order…
1. Blackhawk Down
2. Band of Brothers
3. A Bridge Too Far
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. Memphis Belle
6. The Longest Day
7. Breaker Morant
8. The Lighthorsemen
9. Zulu
10. Patton
Here are my top ten:
1. We Were Soldiers
2. Black Hawk Down
3. The Longest Day
4. Glory
5. Darby’s Rangers
6. Patton
7. Zulu
8. Bridge over the River Kwai
9. Apocalypse Now
10. Hamburger Hill
1. Band of Brothers
2. All Quiet on the Western Front (original version)
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. Battle of the Bulge
5. Battle of Midway
6. Zulu
7. She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
8. Gettysburg
9. Memphis Belle
10. Battle of Britain
I can’t believe nobody has put The Great Escape on their list yet!
“Glory” has to be on any list, somewhere. “Stalingrad” and “Das Boot” too.
Also, I have a cult-ish type affinity for “The Rough Riders”, both for Berenger’s portrayal of TR and for all the “gun porn” throughout the movie. The search for a Winchester 95 in .30/40 Krag continues…
Mule – Gunbroker.com has this one. The auction ends in a few hours, though…
Let’s not forget “Sgt. York”. Also, as a former JAG I have to put in a vote for “Judgment at Nuremburg”. There wasn’t a bad performance in that whole movie–that was the 1st time William Shatner was a captain.
Yeah the scene from “Proof of Life” was pretty good.
Some excellent movies not already mentioned are “The Enemy Below” (Robert Mitchum, Curt Jurgens), “Enemy at the Gates” (Jude Law, Ed Harris), “Sahara” (Humphrey Bogart), and “Fort Apache” (John Wayne, Henry Fonda).
Wow, some great films mentioned. I loved Patton and the Enemy Below. Speaking of the Shatner connection, the Enemy Below had the same script as the original Star Trek episode “Balance of Terror”.
A few for honorable mention:
the Big Red One
the Wild Geese
the Dam Busters
Run Silent, Run Deep
Reach for the Sky (hell of a true story-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049665/)
Being partial to Sailors myself……..no list is complete without “In Harm’s Way”.
“Old Rock of Ages, we’ve got ourselves another war. A gut bustin’, mother-lovin’ Navy war.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJa2TkelK3o&feature=related
Nobody’s suggested an outstanding film – The Great Raid…
ok, we captured the essential Eastern Front (Cross of Iron), Western Front(BoB), US Civil War (Gburg and Glory), the Brit Colonial exper (Zulu/Zulu Dawn), reality of asym (BH Down, Breaker Morant), Industrial Age Naval Combat (Das Boot, Enemy Below).
LHM, All Quiet and SGT York for WW I falls short. Need Gallipoli and that French silent flick done mid-war w actual Poilu’s on med hold. Most of that film’s actors returned to the front in time for Verdun. Couldn’t find title. Others are “A Very Long Engagement” and Verdun, Vision of History.
Can’t forget the opening battle scene of Gladiator or the naval engagement in Ben Hur.
Enemy at the Gates, Aliens, Hot Shots, Hot Shots Part Deux, Forest Gump (All the types of rain and the rest), the Hunt for the Red October, U-571, and The Wind and the Lion. Some of those movies are my favorite. I just wanted to throw some names out just in case you guys forgot about these movies.
RavenRock6: Another great WW1 movie is Paths of Glory, with Kirk Douglas. Another great “JAG movie”!
Geez, I’d forgotten about Glory – fantastic flick!
1. Fort Apache
2. In Harms Way
3. Zulu
4. Patton
5. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
6. Band of Brother’s
7. D Day
8. Gallopi
9. Rio Grande
10. Breaker Morant
“Mule – Gunbroker.com has this one. The auction ends in a few hours, though…”
Dear Lord…I’ve resisted registering at gunbroker.com for quite awhile, but it sure feels like that just came to an end.
I’m actually looking for a ’95 carbine in .30/40. I did a search and about 20 carbines came up.
My wife will shortly be sending a thank-you note for that whooshing sound my wallet is about to make…
I’m shocked. All the Jarheads and Flyboys on this site and no votes for “Command Decision” with Clark Gable or “12 o’clock High” with Gregory Peck or the “Sands of Iwo Jima”?
This also came to me and I haven’t seen it here, A Bridge To Far.
Bridges at Toko ri
I forgot and I am surprised that nobody else mentioned Lawrence of Arabia.
In no particular Order:
-Cross of Iron
-Letters from Iwo Jima
-Apocalypse Now
-Full Metal Jacket
-All Quiet on the Western Front (original)
-Zulu
-Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
-Bridge Over the River Kwai
-Das Boot
-Patton
Honorable Mention: Sands of Iwo Jima, Lawrence of Arabia, Downfall, Saving Private Ryan, Stalingrad, Paths of Glory, The Bridge, Glory, Black Hawk Down, Night of the Generals, The Longest Day, The Fighting Seabees, We Were Soldiers, Stalag 17
okay here we go. And in no particular order.
-Saving private Ryan
-Blackhawk down
-We were soldiers
-Sands of Iwo Jima
-Hamburger Hill
-Full metal jacket
-Guns of Navarone
-Band of Brothers
-Patton
-A bridge too far
honorable mentions to:Windtalkers,Tears of the sun,Wild Geese,Uncommon Valor,Dogs of War,Bravo Two-Zero,The Great Raid,The boys in Company C,Platoon,
Charge of the Light Brigade
They Died with their Boots On
The Blue Max
Dawn Patrol
El Cid
The Warlord
Ivenhoe
Brave Heart
The Vikings
Ran
none posted yet, but all classic war movies
Some of my favs are,
“The Beast” (about the Soviet tank lost in Afghanistan.
12 O’Clock High
Battle of Britain
The Wild Geese
Das Boot
The wind and the lion
Strategic Air Command
“Gods & Generals”
Stephen Lang as Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson:
• When addressing his new recruits – “The Lincoln Administration required us to raise three regiments . . . tell him we have done so! Dismissed!”
• Before his fateful victory – “Well, General Rodes, it appears the Virginia Military Institute will be heard from today. Deploy your brigade!”
Gallipoli
Breaker Morant 2nd
The Lighthorseman 3rd
Paths to Glory
The Great Santini
Town without Pity
Catch-22
Band of Brothers – the absolute best
Twelve O’clock High
We Were Soldiers
The Deer Hunter
Stipes
Blackhawk Down
Empire of the Sun
Saving Private Ryan
Platoon anyone?Has everyone forgot about this great vietnam movie with Willem Dafoe?
Saving Private Ryan is an amazing war movie done to perfection, and is definitly my favorite war movie.
Hasn’t anyone ever seen The Thin Red Line? It is one of the most beautiful and realistic war films ever made. Besides Apocalypse Now Redux, nothing really even compares to it.
I have to agree, The Thin Red Line is one of the greatest out there.
what about
stalingrad
days of glory
intamite enimies
generation kill
das boat
platoon
miricle at st. anna
downfall
shindalers list
saints and soldiers
THIN RED LINE!!!!!
nad last but not least a bridge to far