Posted on 06/25/2002 5:40:51 PM PDT by wimpycat
As a companion to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/705904/posts' The Worst War Movies Ever Made thread, I offer you the best war movies ever made, and I wanted to get mine in first. Here's my list, in no particular order.
1. Battleground (love James Whitmore in this!)
2. Full Metal Jacket (love the DI, R. Lee Ermey. "Hard core, man! F***ing Hard core!")
3. Glory (even though it's not quite historically accurate and it's about Yankees, it's a very moving film, IMHO. Great musical score, too.)
4. The Boys in Company C (same DI as in Full Metal Jacket. Made very soon after Vietnam, but it's still pretty good.)
5. Tora! Tora! Tora! (forget Pearl Harbor, the movie, this is the definitive Pearl Harbor movie)
6. Das Boot (definitely one of the all time great war films--great camera work, great sound effects, it makes you feel claustrophobic. Best viewed on DVD with SurroundSound system. Make sure you watch it in German, with the subtitles, not dubbed! Awesome!)
Best damn movie/series I ever saw.
The best parts of these were spliced together into the movie that was released... the full 12 hours is even better than the movie. If anybody knows WHERE one can buy the whole series on DVD, PLEASE let me know...
I wholeheartedly agree with you...
If you read the book, do you remember the part about the "fly report"? Just a short piece but so true. Once something gets started in a large organization there is no stopping it. Sort of like laws congress passes. They take on a life of their own.
Morant: "What would I do if I escaped, soldier?"
Guard (after a pause): "You'd be free, sir. You could go and see the world."
Morant (with a sad, faraway look in his eyes): "I've already seen it."
BTW, I used to work with a guy from Australia who knew quite a bit about Breaker Morant. The movie cast him in a very romantic light, when in fact he was "a very bad man."
"We have not missed you & I... that many-splendored thing!"
We all want to fall in love..because that experience makes us feel completely alive..where every sense is heightened, every emotion is magnified..our every day reality is shattered & we are flying into the heavens..It may only last a moment..an hour..an afternoon..But that doesn't diminish its value..because we are left with memories that we treasure for the rest of our lives..
I love watching people fall in love..It must have something to do with the excellent chemistry between the main characters..
Mark Elliott ( charming, sensitive American war correspondent who arrives in Hong Kong at the dawn of the Korean war..married- but not that connected with his wife..) 'found her beauty & grace irresistible'...[separated but not divorced]
Han Suyin (widowed & alone..seeks acceptance from the Asian culture she embraces..) was 'captivated by his tenderness & insight'..
There's an instant attraction that's impossible to deny.. ("Mark, there is an old Chinese proverb : Never wake a sleeping tiger..").. The two have a passionate affair..leading them to fall in love.
Their love story is so strong..so deep..so wonderfully expressed that highlights the difficulties of the troubled time of the Korean War, communism & race relations..(regarded - at that time - as an objective report of conditions in Asia)..Their story was an authentic portrayal of love blooming between two people who are 'not' destined to be together..
Holden is an inspired choice for the role..Not only does he have an imposing screen presence, but he brings the perfect mix of enlightenment, compassion & emotion to the part..
Opposite him Oscar Winner Jennifer Jones (for "The Song of Bernadette", 1943) perfect in her oriental look..radiantly beautiful..(specially that evening in a party wearing a refined blue dress--'cheongsam')..Jones floods her role with personal emotion (romance relies on ineffable mystery & destiny) giving her character a charismatic life of its own..As always, she delivers a heartfelt performance & turns her character into a woman who undergoes a spiritual & emotional awakening..
The scene (in the climax of the film) of the verdant hill where Suyin takes refuge (after reading in the newspaper that Mark has been killed) that she associates with Mark's spirit & their love & where she hardly tries to communicate her feelings & her wishes..was exquisitely touching specially when we heard Mark's voice whispering : "We have not missed you & I...We have not missed that many splendored thing."...Henry King (who has established himself as a masterful director of romances) spreads the romantic score by Alfred Newman (written by Sammy Fain & Paul Webster) in the air above the cosmopolitan harbor...
The film is colorful..with excellent cinematography, set design & gorgeous costumes..(the only embarrassing segment of it is the mainland China scenes when Suyin returns to visit because of a family crisis)..
Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, the film won three : Best Costume Design; Best Music & Best Score.
Quickie plot summary: Peter O'Toole gets corn-holed by Jose Ferrer and later Peter leads the Arabs against the Turks as revenge for the backdoor entry.
Bizarre historical footnote: Many historians subsequently cast doubts on Lawrence being buggered by a Turk captor as he stated in his book which makes Lawrence one of the few who possibly covered up the fact that he DIDN'T have a rear door violation.
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