Brilliant War movies

Heliograph

New member
The Guns of Navaronne ruined my life. I have drawn combat pay in two conflicts since seeing it.

Particularly good is the sequence when Anthony Quinn appears to turn coward.
 

Heliograph

New member
Guns%20Of%20Navarone.gif


Since limited time to edit is among the other "retentive" policies around here, I'm forced to do a second post to provide a graphic rather edit the graphic into my original post.

Control, control, we must control our posters! Who knows what posters might do if we didn't channel their efforts with our every last iota of energy.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Heliograph said:
Since limited time to edit is among the other "retentive" policies around here, I'm forced to do a second post to provide a graphic rather edit the graphic into my original post.

Control, control, we must control our posters! Who knows what posters might do if we didn't channel their efforts with our every last iota of energy.

if everyone had your self control, perhaps we would be able to extend the time available for editing.
 

Paden

Member
If I was going to pick a war movie that really stood out for me, I would be most tempted to choose Glory. There are so many aspects of that film that stand out: the struggle of the 54th to be viewed as a legitimate fighting unit, the clash of cultures, the courage of the men and their commander...a lot of outstanding material, well-acted and directed throughout. For me, it almost belongs amongst the "Most Inspirational" films being discussed elsewhere on these boards. A close second would be Saving Private Ryan. I had already been exposed to a great deal of WWII history, primarily through Stephen Ambrose's work, prior to seeing the movie, but the film really brought the conflict and the sacrifices of those involved to life, and increased my appreciation for our soldiers' service.

With regard to films that address the Vietnam Conflict, I've always thought well of Full Metal Jacket, even though it's a difficult movie for me to watch. My father, who served in Vietnam, indicated that Jacket captured the emotional "feel" of the war better than anything else he'd seen on film. I've also always had high regard for Hamburger Hill, which in my perception has never received the attention that it deserved. The performances in the movie are quite good, and it really presents a strong, visceral picture of a major infantry engagement in Vietnam. It's another one that isn't easy to sit through, but it will give you a greater respect for the courage of the soldiers involved.
 

indifan101

New member
Paden said:
If I was going to pick a war movie that really stood out for me, I would be most tempted to choose Glory. There are so many aspects of that film that stand out: the struggle of the 54th to be viewed as a legitimate fighting unit, the clash of cultures, the courage of the men and their commander...a lot of outstanding material, well-acted and directed throughout. For me, it almost belongs amongst the "Most Inspirational" films being discussed elsewhere on these boards. A close second would be Saving Private Ryan. I had already been exposed to a great deal of WWII history, primarily through Stephen Ambrose's work, prior to seeing the movie, but the film really brought the conflict and the sacrifices of those involved to life, and increased my appreciation for our soldiers' service.

With regard to films that address the Vietnam Conflict, I've always thought well of Full Metal Jacket, even though it's a difficult movie for me to watch. My father, who served in Vietnam, indicated that Jacket captured the emotional "feel" of the war better than anything else he'd seen on film. I've also always had high regard for Hamburger Hill, which in my perception has never received the attention that it deserved. The performances in the movie are quite good, and it really presents a strong, visceral picture of a major infantry engagement in Vietnam. It's another one that isn't easy to sit through, but it will give you a greater respect for the courage of the soldiers involved.

The dramatic music in Hamburger Hill sucked but the movie was awsome!
 

Stoo

Well-known member
"Force 10" was O.K. I saw it in the theatre. Harrison Ford and Barbara Bach.
One that I really enjoy watching again and again is "A Bridge Too Far".
(Saw that one in the theatre, too). Such a large production with many
interesting vignettes, plus I knew a man who fought at Nijmegen bridge
so I guess there's some personal connection there for me.

Watch that one and then follow it with "Bridge at Remagen". They go well
with each other, back-to-back, and not just for historical reasons.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I finally got a chance to see "The Great Raid" today and it's fantastic. Definitely see this movie if you get the chance because the movie is great and it's historically accurate too. It's one of the best war movies I've seen in a long time.
 

San Holo

Active member
If you want war, then check out the animated movie, based on the book Animal Farm. I liked it alot when I was a kid. It is totally nucking futs.
 

Brown Fedora

New member
roundshort said:
Saving Private Ryan was a fine movie, American Soliders have a soft spot for German soliders in history, they have never been effective against us. When the British hired them to fight in our first war, we well killed them. WWI was no excpetion, Hell, the US Marines were given the highest miltary honor byt he Franch for the way we got rid of the suckers. Then a few years later, we stomped on them again in Europe, Africa, hell you gotta love the people you can always beet on!. . .


"They have never been effective against us."

You've got to be kidding. Ever heard of the Lost Battalion? Huertgen? Kasserine Pass? What about the Germans in the Revwar who pretty much consistently kicked our butts?

Give me a break... our losses in WW1 alone were massive for an army that only served in the field about seven months, and they were all inflicted by Austro-Hungarian and German troops...

Yeesh.

-Fed-
 

Brown Fedora

New member
indifan101 said:
Amen to that.

In the 1980s, General Ngo Nguyen Giap of the North Vietnamese Army met the American general Westmoreland. Westmoreland and Giap had a discussion about the war, and the two began a (polite) debate about their waging of the war.

General Westmoreland commented that Giap's troops had consistently been beaten in the field by American soldiers. There were few outright decisive victories by the PAVN, and even then, those had generally been reversed by counter-offensives. "So basically," said Westmoreland, "regardless of the verdict of history, we won every battle..."

"Yes, you did," said Giap, "And we still won the war."

Anyway,

I never said that Americans didn't win WW2 or beat the Germans in their wars against them. I was responding to the idea that the Germans were "totally ineffective" against the Americans, which also presupposes (probably unintentionally) that the US won WW2 for the Allies singlehandedly (which is blatantly false).

Of course, the Germans won most of the significant battles of WW1, but ultimately lost the war.

As for records of wars won and lost, the US and German records are very interesting. Germany (or rather, what would become a united Germany beginning in the 1850s)won four major declared wars (the Second Schleiswig-Holstein War, the Austro-Prussian War, the German Civil War, and the Franco-Prussian War. One could also make an argument for the war against Russia in WW1, since the Germans considered it a separate conflict).

The Germans have lost two major declared wars (the First and Second World Wars).

The U.S. has won four major declared wars (The Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, the First World War, and the Second World War), drawn two declared wars and a single undeclared war (the Barbary Coast War and the War of 1812, along with Korea), and lost (at least) two major undeclared wars (the Seminole War and Vietnam).

It would take a while to calculate "police actions" (ie: minor conflicts), but I would guess that the two are about even in that category, with a slight edge to Germany which generally decisively defeated its colonial opponents (ie: the Wahehe War).

Anyway, pretty interesting from an historical perspective.

-Fed-
 

indifan101

New member
Here's my favorite war movies...

Saving Private Ryan
We Were Soldiers
Full Metal Jacket
Glory
The Patriot
Paths to Glory
Bridge Over the River Kiwai
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Sands of Iwo Jima
To Hell and Back
Black Hawk Down
The Great Escape
Windtalkers
Enemy At the Gates
Thin Red Line
Downfall
Band of Brothers
Pearl Harbor
The Green Berets
Apocalypse Now
Platoon
Hambuger Hill
MASH
Run Silent Run Deep
U-571
Hunt for Red October
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Downfall (incase you don't know) talks about the collapse of the Nazi Party and the death of Hitler. Very good movie!
 
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