Great WWII Movies.

Jan, 05 2002 | Justice

[Justice]

My wife and I just finished "Band of Brothers" and "Guns of Navarone". Two WWII movies which we both enjoyed very much. Please post any recommendations that any of you have for more movies of the same ilk. Many thanks!

[facedown]

bump

[Thane_Banquo]

Murph played himself in that movie. Actually, the book was much, much better than the movie. One of the best books I've ever read. The movie didn't have time to show his achievements the way they really were. It downplayed what he actually did.

Some of my friends call me Murph because I'm such a fan.

[guitfiddlist]

How about the Battle of Britain?

In a related point, as we speak, there is a WWII In Color documentary on the P-47 Jug - as involved in the air war over Germany.

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

that was horrific. and probably very common. the stats on aircrew lost over Europe are staggering.

[Revolting cat!]

Let's face it,l we're good at producing all star spectacles like WWF and The Longest Day with Paul Anka and any Big Star the producers could bribe to do a walk on, as well as kitschy tearjerkers like the godawful Schindler's List. If you're looking for art or a thinking man's film, seek out European productions of the 50s and 60s. Fortunately, there is a new one, that people tell me, is a masterpiece, The Pianist. Thank goodness, the Poles and the Polish Jews in it speak English, while the Germans speak German, so there isn't much reading too do in the theater, hard work to be sure! Just as it should be for the dumbed down American audience.

[Hazzardgate]

[fso301]

Cross of Iron

Das Boot

[Richard Kimball]

I liked the first half of "Full Metal Jacket".

[guitfiddlist]

How about "Midway"? Not to be confused with "The Final Countdown", which I guess that would have to go down in the category of "Alternative History".

[Archangelsk]

And for the quirky, "Kelly's Heroes". Not one of the best, but it had some of the best lines.

As for the best, it's a toss up between "Patton" and "The Longest Day". ("Saving Private Ryan" was effective as far as being visceral, but in the end it was a rescue movie. "Patton" and "The Longest Day" had the scope and grandeur that "Ryan" didn't have).

[Snowyman]

Well Elliot Gould looked pretty goofy with that cigar.:)

The Lighthorsemen

(1989) It's Australian, based on true events in Palistine during WW1.

The Cruel Sea

In black and white , about a english corvtte on convoy duty.

[Charles Henrickson]

William Holden was in several excellent WWII movies:

The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Counterfeit Traitor
Stalag 17

[okie01]

The Bridge on the River Kwai.

And while we're on the subject of prison camps, there is also Stalag 17. And Clavell's autobiographical King Rat.

[VMI70]

Purple Heart with Dana Andrews

[Mears]

THe Enemy Below---Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgens,a real winner!

[Cloud William]

I saw "SPR" at the theater, and it was the only time in my relatively long life that I left a theater sobbing uncontrollably.

My wife was sobbing by the end of the Normandy landings portion, when the camera focuses in on one of the other Ryan brothers, laying dead on the sand. Just about the entire audience had bloodshot eyes at the end.

I've never seen "The Longest Day." It's on my list, but I can't believe it compares to SPR.

"The Longest Day" is a superior movie in many ways, IMO. SPR adds a lot of realism to the beach landing carnage, but "The Longest Day" tells the story of the Allied action further inland as well - notably the British Paratroops capturing key bridges (covered in detail in Stephen Ambrose's book Pegasus Bridge). The cast of "The Longest Day" can't be beat, either.

Another favorite, representing the Pacific theater: They Were Expendable.

[schu]

Great movie. All-star cast, Robert Redford, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, all with kind of smaller parts.

I would add – The Battle of the Bulge.

The classics are:

Patton, Saving Private Ryan, Memphis Belle, A Bridge Too Far

[VMI70]

I didn't find Hart's War to be anything remotely like The Great Escape. Hart's War was a bunch of PC crap-just my opinion