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Really Good War Movies (CM Scenario Inspiration)


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8 hours ago, Erwin said:

In terms of war films am not sure I have seen any really good ones recently - ie memorable ones that I would watch again (and again).  My all-time favorites include Apocalypse Now, Lawrence of Arabia, Saving Pvt Ryan, Patton, Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day, Hunt For Red October...  Am sure there have been some newer good ones, but they simply don't come to mind immediately - so could not have been that compelling/memorable. 

What do you guys like/remember immediately?

2 out of 7 ain't bad.

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1 minute ago, Warts 'n' all said:

I know that Pearl Harbor went out with Paul Simonon for a time. Luckily for them that was before the garbacious movie was made. Give me "Tora! Tora! Tora!" any day.

Oooou yeah!  Forgot about Tora, Tora, Tora. 

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On 6/20/2021 at 9:51 AM, Probus said:

I found a really good quality dubbed version of "1944" on Amazon Prime.  That had a surprise double ending.  I wasn't expecting that.

https://www.amazon.com/1944-Marko-Leht/dp/B074HN1J8K

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Probus,

As far as I'm concerned, watching 1944 with English subtitles is the way to go, for you get to hear the actual languages used, facial movements match the words, and it's altogether more believable, even intimate. This has been my position on foreign language war movies ever since I got to experience the difference between good subtitles and dubbing, which often is awful in every important aspect (pitch, pace, pause, inflection, pronunciation and more) and frequently has only half a butt at best. Have seen Das Boot with subtitles and dubbed. Had to turn off the latter, for it was ridiculous and had nothing of the mood, feel and presence of the one I'd call real. English dubbed samurai movies should be outlawed as a form of torture, too!

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited by John Kettler
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Erwin,

When I saw it, Apocalypse Now. was like some sort of an acid trip (based on what I've read of such). It was bizarre, disconnected, surreal and even incomprehensible. That wasn't the director's fault, but studio execs who a) didn't think they could get people to watch so long a film and b) conflict with movie theater owners who disliked long films because they cut down on audience turnover per day. The result was the film was savaged to meet a much shorter run time. It was only years later that I finally got to see the director's cut. That one made perfect sense, was coherent, really told the story, in detail. I maintain that if you haven't seen the director's cut, you haven't seen Apocalypse Now.

Regards,

John Kettler

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I thought Apocalypse Now started at the helicopter attack and ended with "I love the smell of napalm in the morning..." 

Honestly, I had to watch it many times before I understood much of what was going on. 😬

Edited by Probus
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On 6/18/2021 at 9:26 PM, Warts 'n' all said:

It's certainly better than what Hollywood and Darling Dickie churned out in the 70's.

Sir, those *are* tanks!

I have lost count of the number of times I've felt just like the young officer in that scene, swimming hard against the groupthink and getting punished for it. Although I shaved off my ugly scraggly mustache about 2 weeks into college (before my housemates did it for me).

Oh hey look, it's online (for the moment, at least here in Asien)...

P.S. you can boat up the river in Pangasinan where most of Apocalypse Now was filmed. By which I mean, hire a crew of guys to paddle you upstream -- the river gorge is far far narrower than it looks in the film. And while there are no Playboy Bunnies, well, it's the Philippines, innit....

Edited by LongLeftFlank
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Lieutenant is the perfect counterpoint for Three Days in the Life of Kravtsov, For this guy didn't so much as go the front; the front came to him. This is something eminently doable in CM, perhaps as a series of micro scenarios. Troop count is very low, and there are some nice war toys to use, too. What I especially like about this movie, over and above the combat, is the look at a society woefully unprepared for war and how the system does and doesn't handle its stresses, both organizationally and individually. The classless society is most definitely not, and the characters are credible people, not ciphers. I think it's much better than most so-called war movies.
 

Regards,

John Kettler

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4 hours ago, John Kettler said:

watching 1944 with English subtitles is the way to go, for you get to hear the actual languages used, facial movements match the words, and it's altogether more believable, even intimate.

I would agree with you but the film quality was so much better in that version. My kids would definitely agree with you. 

I liked the dubbed version of Das Boot (I have several different versions). There are definitely a few cringe worthy dubbed moments, but Jurgen Prochnow dubs himself. That helps. 

Unrelated, Did you know the Viking dry comedy Norsemen was always filmed twice? Once in Norwegian and again in English?

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Die Brücke (1959), no subtitles. Heer training starts 42:00, teenage Volksgrenadiers come  unglued starting 1:05.  However, looks like they stuck Grant turrets on Sherman hulls, or sumfink.

The Young Lions, 1958, Marlon Brando. Action begins 1:07:45, not too bad for A-list Hollywood mainstream. Bloody awful Cherman accent by Brando though.

 

 

Edited by LongLeftFlank
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14 hours ago, John Kettler said:

Erwin,

When I saw it, Apocalypse Now. was like some sort of an acid trip (based on what I've read of such). 

Regards,

John Kettler

Speaking from experience.. I am a deadhead after all....  ya can't blame this on acid.  😛

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4 hours ago, LongLeftFlank said:

The Young Lions,

Die Brücke also unavailable.  :(  Wanted to see that for years.   But Young Lions was pretty good.

!944 on Amazon regrettably has English dub.  Otherwise good.  Hit home for me as my mother's family as well as my wife's come from the Baltics.  And yes, their male family members had to join to SS to fight the Soviets when they came back as the Wehrmacht only took German citizens.  

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On 6/11/2021 at 11:47 AM, Probus said:

Are there any good cold War army movies? Red Dawn doesn't count. And Hunt for Red October (one of my favorites) is Navy, of course. We need a good Red Storm Rising movie 

Fail safe 

Twilights last gleaming

By Dawns early light 

The Wild Geese is that period in Africa 

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1 hour ago, Billythegoat said:

ICE Station Zebra

Yes,terrific thriller for its time.   Not quite war.  What about Foxbat with Clint E?  

Oh... there was a good one with Richard Widmark as an overly aggressive captain hunting down a Soviet sun in the Arctic: The Bedford Incident.  

A few more:

https://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2016/03/10-must-watch-cold-war-films

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cold_War_films

https://screenrant.com/cold-war-movies-films-setting-ranked-imdb/

Again not a war film.  But "Death of Stalin" is brilliant.

Edited by Erwin
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