The Best War Movies Ever Made

Freepers who know their war flicks | June 25, 2002 | wimpycat

[WhiskeyPapa]

"Air Force" (1943) is a great story about a B-17 and crew at the start of the war.

"Patton" has got to make every list.

"The Longest Day"

"Saving Private Ryan"; I still can't watch that one all the way through.

"12 O'clock High"

"The Victors"

"The Horse Soldiers"

"The Devil's Brigade"

This is just scratching the surface.

Walt

[WhiskeyPapa]

Those Zulus and Welsh soldiers singing!

Men of harlech, stand ye steady,
It can not be ever said ye,
For the battle were not ready,
Welchmen will not yield!"

Great stuff!

Walt

[WhiskeyPapa]

All very rough paraphrases (except one).

"There's -no- moisture in it. Nothing to hold a man in his grave."

Walt

[mc5cents]

Flight of the Intruder was destroyed on film. Hollywood ruined it IMO. Definately my favorite war novel however.

I will ditto those feelings for Catch 22.

Now on the other hand Mr. Roberts was pretty good in relation to the book. James Cagney's portrayal of the Captain was just wonderful and Jack Lemmon as Ensign Pulver was classic. My only complaint was the part about the sick call. The book has one of the sailors with the clap and the Doc just can't imagine why he would want to get rid of his "badge of honor". Very funny stuff but was left out of the movie because of when it was made I suppose. 9 times out of 10 though the book is always better because you can get inside of the characters. Mr. Roberts was no exception in that regard.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Patton and Cross of Iron

I don't remember C of I even being in the theaters. Great flick though. Probably one of the best war movies ever.

"The Eagle has Landed" was a good movie. Robert Duvall, Maicael Caine and Donald Sutherland. Great stuff.

Walt

[BruceS]

Shenandoah...it moved me as a young Southern kid. (I don't remember if I've seen it or not--is it the John Wayne flick where he takes boy from the military academy over his knee and spanks him? If it is, that's a good one)

No, that was The Horse Soldiers, with Wayne and William Holden. Shenandoah starred Jimmy Stewart as a Virginia farmer with 5 or 6 sons who wanted no part of the Civil War. By the end of the movie, he has lost two sons (almost three) and a daughter-in-law. Very good movie, although I wouldn't call it a war movie - it is a movie set in a war. A couple of good lines from the move include when some Confederate purchasing agents tell Stewart that they can confiscate his horses if they want to, his youngest son asks "What does confiscate mean?" Stewart replies "Steal" There is another scene where someone is trying to convince Stewart that he owes his sons to Virginia's cause, Stewart replies "I don't remember Virginia coming around with a spare teat."

Shenandoah is worth renting, although it is on some of the movie channels on a fairly regular basis.

[Cincinatus]

Lots of good choices here (and some very strange ones, as well!). However, there are a number of excellent, low-budget war movies that no one has brought up:

Hell is for Heroes - directed by Don Siegal (he of Dirty Harry fame), starring Steve McQueen and a cast of thousands. Shot in glorious black-and-white.

The 300 Spartans -- great costume drama about the defense of the pass at Thermopylae by the Greeks against the Persians in 480 BC. The defense of the West began here.

Fort Apache -- the greatest of the John Ford "cavalry" trilogy, with great performances from Henry Fonda, The Duke, and Ward Bond.

The Enemy Below -- Curt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum play cat-and-mouse in a U-boat and Destroyer in the South Atlantic. THE definitive WW II submarine movie, infintiely superior to Das Boot.

They Died With Their Boots On -- Errol Flynn in THE defnitive film portrayal of George Armstrong Custer.

Paths of Glory -- The best WW I film, bar none.

The Caine Mutiny -- The best courts-martial film ever, bar none. Humphrey Bogart's best role, infinitely better than that in Casablanca.

And of course, many of the other above, already mentioned -- Zulu, Patton, The Great Escape, and most especially, The Longest Day.

[A Cyrenian]

Kelly's Heroes
Where Eagles Dare
Dirty Dozen

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET

.."WE WERE SOLDIERS" =

..MEL GIBSON-RANDALL WALLACE's...

.."BRAVEHEART"..in 'Nam..

...about our Heroism...

...in Battle and at Home...

...in -Time of War-.

...A Tale for our Times...???

...DVD/Video out August 20, 2002...

...Preorder on.. www.Amazon.com ..

...Signed:..ALOHA RONNIE / Vet-Battle of IA DRANG-1965 / ...See.. www.LzXray.com ..

NEVER FORGET

[WhiskeyPapa]

There is another scene where someone is trying to convince Stewart that he owes his sons to Virginia's cause, Stewart replies "I don't remember Virginia coming around with a spare teat."

Yeah, then there was the line when Stewart says:

"Mister, your train takes people where they don't want to go."

That's a great line.

Walt

[wimpycat]

Somebody else mentioned Paths of Glory, and it is the best WWI movie I've ever seen, too.

Thanks for bringing up The Enemy Below. It's a little far fetched, IMHO, but probably the second best submarine film made, after Das Boot, which is far superior in special effects, script, sound, realism and acting, although I hate to compare the acting style of the 50's to the acting styles of the 80's. Besides, Curt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum--hubba! hubba!

I'm ashamed to say I've still never seen The Caine Mutiny. I know it's good and one day I'll get around to watching it.

[DM1]

That was a bit campy but I did enjoy the film regardless of that subplot.
Hal Holbrook played his part well and Robert Mitchums little cameo was amusing.
Overall i did like the picture but again that is only my opinion :)

[Cincinatus]

I'm ashamed to say I've still never seen The Caine Mutiny.

Run, don't walk, to your neighborhood video store then. You won't regret it.

We'll just agree to disagree on the sub movie thing. I probably should have included Run Silent, Run Deep on that list as well.

[wordsofearnest]

Nobody has mentioned "Merrill's Marauders". A good anti-war movie was "Johnny got his gun".

[VOA]

"Up From The Beach"
starring Cliff Robertson and Red Buttons as a couple of US soldiers charged with
chaperoning a band of French civilians and some German prisoners to a safe area
in the days following the Normandy landings.

It's a not a real "war" movie, but had lots of subtle charm, including a
plot of secrets about the Nazi officer that's among the group.

Too bad this film appears to not be available on tape or DVD (according to www.imdb.com).

[VOA]

The Big Red One
The Dirty Dozen (yeah, I like Lee Marvin!)

Hell In The Pacific
Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune
Good drama!

[91B]

Well I was just going to add "300 Spartans" but you beat me too it. I don't care all that much for the scenes in Sparta, but once they get to Thermopylae it is a truly excellent film.

[VOA]

How about The Chairman of The Board?

None But The Brave
starring and directed by one Frank Sinatra

Not the best war film ever, but a good one about two small bands of adversaries
trying to figure out how to survive, even stumbling into occassional peace that just can't last.

[wardaddy]

Thanks for the thread WC....you ought to check out those you've missed. Kurosawa is an acquired taste if you dislike subtitles. I agree that the Brando part of AN at the end was dumb....vague really...the metaphor attempt fell sort of flat. I don't like the spirit of AN but the Vietnam war set to rock and roll and Duvall's performance are the worth watching aspects.

Regards!