Red Devils Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 Hi folks. I'm shopping for DVDs for Christmas presents and I was wondering which War movies are Really good on DVD? Thanks for your picks! ------------------ I'm sorry, we haven't the facilities to take all of you prisoner. Was there anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson44dday Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 Of course Saving Private Ryan, Kellys Heros, Battle of The Bulge. those are the only ones i'v seen on dvd. They are pretty good too. ------------------ He who conquers the past, cammands the future, he who cammands the future, conquers the past. - Kane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 Here is my collection: Stalingrad Gallipoli A Bridge Too Far Kelly's Heroes Saving Private Ryan (the reason I even got a DVD palyer) Casablanca (in case I have a chick over) You might want to seach for the favorite (and worst) war movies threads. Then go to the Best Buy site and order what you want. They have a decent selection at decent prices. If you are looking for movies that take advantage of DVD technology, then SPR is a great choice. The Thin Red Line is also a good DVD movie, although some people don't like it. I would think the more recent releases would make better use of DVD quality picture and sound. The older films are still nice on DVD though, because the picture quality is going to be better than VHS and DVD is usually in wide screen or letterbox format. Platoon is good and I think it was just re-released. You can watch the regular movie or the two verions with voice-over narrations by Oliver Stone and Dale Dye. [This message has been edited by Pvt. Ryan (edited 12-02-2000).] [This message has been edited by Pvt. Ryan (edited 12-02-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russellmz Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 i own patton on dvd, not bad, lots of extras... gettyburg came out and i think that's a great movie... ------------------ "They had their chance- they have not lead!" - GW Bush "They had mechanical pencils- they have not...lead?" - Jon Stewart on The Daily Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther131 Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 Das Boat. Its a great movie and it has extras on the DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Clark Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 A Bridge Too Far is supposed to have an all star cast, but is also supposed to get a little loooong... I am reading the book, but have yet to see the movie. (I've also heard the DVD is sub-standard quality) Edit: so far the BOOK is exceptional! Bridge Over the River Kwai (sp?) currently has a "limited edition" 2 disk set out with TONS of extra features. I assume you're only looking for WWII stuff, but if not, don't leave GLADIATOR off your list. The Longest Day is a great overview movie, with a good cast. Das Boot.... get... Das.. Boot... now!!!! Directors cut is the ONLY way to go. Tora Tora Tora is out there, no idea what the DVD version is like though. The Manchurian Candidate and The Great Escape are the other two classics that immediately come to mind. Of course, Saving Private what-his-name. Oh, and as someone else suggested, DEFINATELY check out the Best Buy site for your movie purposes. (Do comparison shopping on Amazon and DVDexpress) Best Buy currently has free shipping till X-Mas. I got X-Men and Gladiator for a total of $30 recently. (They were at pre-order price though) ------------------ "The truth was that the Germans were losing faster than the Allies could win." - A Bridge Too Far [This message has been edited by Mr. Clark (edited 12-02-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 Oops. [This message has been edited by Pvt. Ryan (edited 12-02-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Steiner Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 Hi all Just got a Dvd player lately myself (and ability to watch on PC) have a growing collection of War Movies (swore I would not replace my numerous Videos but cant resist I have 'A Bridge Too Far' which whilst not the best digital transfer ever is still better than Video and the ability to select specific scenes is a boon. Also on Dvd in addition to those already alluded to by others are : Cross Of Iron Bridge At Remagen Dirty Dozen if you like non-WWII titles I can reccomend Waterloo (currently only R2) Gladiator Apocalypse Now Zulu Dawn The Alamo Spartacus Eagle Has Landed (quite poor standard though) Glory Last Valley The Warlord El Cid Lion Of The Desert there are also several WWII documentaries now available on Dvd among which the premier release has to be the complete series of 'The World At War' (a series of several discs) New stuff is being released all the time on the format Cheers ------------------ Sgt Steiner Belfast NI UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banshee Posted December 2, 2000 Share Posted December 2, 2000 For documentary DVD's I would highly recommend: WW2 in Color (not the same as the History Channel DVD's bearing almost the same name, both are good though) ------------------ Veni, vidi, panzerschrecki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tris Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 I'm not sure what's available for DVD, but here's a short list of excellent war films: Battleground Command Decision Stalingrad Twelve O'Clock High Falling more in the category of "Adventures" would be: The Guns of Navarone Where Eagles Dare Ice Station Zebra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Since you're all talking about videos. I have recently found out that videos only have a shelf life of about 15 - 20 years (much less if they are played frequently), so I think DVD is the only way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russellmz Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 i almost forgot Seven Samurai, the ultimate edition movie by criterion(they don't call it that but it is: u will never see better quality video of this classic, you don't have to change video cassettes cause of length, and the commentary by michael jeck is very good) make sure not to watch the trailer till after you see the movie as it gives the ending away http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/sevensamurai.html ------------------ "They had their chance- they have not lead!" - GW Bush "They had mechanical pencils- they have not...lead?" - Jon Stewart on The Daily Show [This message has been edited by russellmz (edited 12-02-2000).] [This message has been edited by russellmz (edited 12-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapshot Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Here are a few good ones. The Great Escape. Bridge Too Far Patton Twelve O'clock High The Longest Day Midway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsherfy Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Years ago PBS ran a series called "Piece of Cake." Its available on DVD now and is about a British figher Squadron from Sept 1939 to Sept 1940. I would have to say this may be my favorite WWII movie...its 6 hours and I find that I watch it about once a year. The characters are great and the flying sequences are quite good for a BBC series. If I could only keep one WWII movie/series, this would be it. A Midnight Clear would run second but its not on DVD yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. Sosaboski Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Bridge Too Far! Also (just watched it last night), check out the Patriot if you're in the mood to get really ticked off at some obnoxious and just plain evil Brits. Even though it's got love stories in it, etc, it's also a good depiction of Revolutionary War era combat (at least I think so). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tris Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Actually Patriot plays it fast and loose with history all the way through. It's okay but not a great film. Great films were never the "norm," of course, but they're harder to find now than before. (There are reasons for that but I won't get into it.) I forgot one recent film that is great by any standard, though I don't know if it's a war film, per se. Put Schindler's List up on my post somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermopylae Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 I dunno the patriot was a bit...well...dramaticized in their combat? If i remember the firts battle of the revolution lasted a few hours of the two sides exchanging vollies until the brits swept round our rear. Most battles followed the pattern (w/ or w/o the brits in our rear) The movie kinda looks like braveheart with some pre-emptive shelling and a volley or two. Also it seems that the muskets are infinetly more accurate when wielded by single men galloping full tilt than when in battle line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrewolf Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Kelly's Heroes - definitely must buy, the most fun out the lot I think Longest Day and Bridge Too Far - felt like watching documentary and John Wayne kinda ruin Longest Day for me Patton - Excellent The Dirty Dozen - so so Guns of Navarone - ok Force 10 from Navarone - nice special effects at the end Saving Private Ryan - 1st watched it in cinema was okay, watched the DVD and crank up the sound, a bliss Thin Red Line - first movie I ever walked out of the cinema Bridge on River Kwai - same feeling like Dirty Dozen, felt left out at the end but a good movie though [This message has been edited by Sabrewolf (edited 12-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Being a big Mel Gibson fan I felt the Patriot was about an hour and a half too long. They should have ended it right after Mel had his first little violent fit. Leaving in the really cool canon ball scenes of course, which were right up there with the exploding head scene in Glory! To add to the list: When Trumpets Fade The Long Riders(Western but great gun fights) Lonesome Dove(Incredible Book, Incredible Movie, also a western.) Side Note: I spent last weekend in WWII movie heaven. Watched When Trumpets Fade, a Bridge Too Far, Great Escape, and a colorized version of The Longest Day Which believe it or not Looked really GOOD! I never once thought hey they colorized this. Seems like it was colored with a different technique than some of the other efforts i have seen. Hey anybody remember The Inglorious Bastards? Mord [This message has been edited by Mord (edited 12-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AbnAirCav Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 From the DVD war movies I have, I guess my top five would be: <ul>[*]Cross of Iron - Unfortunately, while I understand in Europe they have a widescreen DVD, in the U.S.A. it's "full screen" [*]Saving Private Ryan [*]Das Boot [*]A Bridge Too Far [*]Kelly's Heroes While I like Patton, the tank battles with modern tanks just spoil it too much, for me, for it to crack my top five. If The Sand Pebbles was available on DVD, it would make my top five ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Holman, come down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tris Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 A few more entries come to mind. While these are war films they are somewhat offbeat with their treatments for one reason or another. The Train From Here to Eternity Hell's Angels The Bridges at Toko-Ri The Bridge on the River Kwai Stalag 17 The Caine Mutiny Castle Keep Go Tell the Spartans The last two films star Burt Lancaster (as do John Frankenheimer's intriguing The Train, ably supported by Paul Scofield and Jeanne Moreau, and Fred Zinnemann's equally passionate if more jaded From Here to Eternity with Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra) and might seem almost bizarre today in their presentations given Hollywood's standards over the years. If you have not viewed Hell's Angels you owe it to yourself--early Howard Hughes fare with a kink. <g> The other titles are classics in their own rights. Must haves, all. P.S. I'm thinking about throwing in The Young Lions, but I don't know. [This message has been edited by Tris (edited 12-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 I only have Das Boot right now on DVD. I hope to get Kellys Heroes and A Bridge too Far soon (my favorite). Mr. clark, the book is great and the movie is very well done. edit: I also liked "A Piece of Cake". Very well done except for the ahistorical use of Spitfires based in France. Still, a great series, will have to look for it. Also, really enjoyed the Sharpe's Rifle series (Napoleonics-Spain). ------------------ "If it bleeds..we can kill it." [This message has been edited by Airborne (edited 12-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajorEazy Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 Anybody ever seen 'Come and see'? A Belorussian movie thats very scary. BTW, any of you Aussies remember a series called 'Anzacs' I loved it when I was a kid, its set during WW1 and seemed pretty good at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AbnAirCav Posted December 3, 2000 Share Posted December 3, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Airborne: I hope to get ... A Bridge too Far soon (my favorite). Mr. clark, the book is great and the movie is very well done.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I agree, especially for paratroopers or fans of the Airborne, which does make me biased. While I am not sure about some of the vehicles, they did make attempts to locate the real thing. According to the booklet that comes with the DVD, they "found only a handful, which they borrowed from museums, veteran's organizations and private collections. One tank was actually pulled from its pins atop a war memorial and with some tinkering made to run again! But in order to fill out the arsenal, fiberglass replicas had to be built to stand next to the existing tanks, jeeps, transporters, anti-tank guns and half-tracks." They say the Horsa gliders were one of the bigger problems, in that "There were none in existence - not even in illustration!" But they "created 12 gliders at a cost of $35,000 each from the few references and photos he could dredge up." I also liked the way they worked in the fact that Gen. Gavin was commanding the 82d with two broken vertebrae from the jump ... --Keith 1/17th Cav, 82d Abn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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