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The WORST war movie.


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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chupacabra:

It could be worse. They could re-release Apocalypse Now with Anne Heche as Colonel Kurtz.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

And Ellen Degeneress (sp?) replacing Martin Sheen.

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Cats aren't clean, they're covered with cat spit.

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"Apocolypse Now" was based on the classic novel "Heart of Darkness" featuring an Eglishman venturing deeper and deeper into the African Jungles down a river to find a fellow archeologist. The deeper he went the more removed from "civilization" he became and the the more chaotic and disturbing the journey. The jugle assumed a dark life of it own. "Apocolypse Now" was trying to show the insanity and futility of the war and did an excellent job doing this.

With regard to SPR, this movie was NOT a war documentary. It is a movie for ENTERTAINMENT with a compelling FICTICOUS story. It featured an American outfit that landed on an American beach and rescued an American paratrooper. It is NOT a movie about D-Day, showing the contributions of each of the combatants involved. If you want to watch a movie about D-Day, go rent the Longest Day.

My votes for the worst war movie is split between

"Green Berets"

"Battle of the Bulge"

"Midway"

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Obviously some stuff in SPR was "cliched", but I think it would be very difficult to make a WWII movie w/o adding some "cliche".

I'd personally rather have the character be a bit stereotypical, than have them not have ANY personality at all.

As for Apocolypse Now... that book "Heart of Darkness" sounds EXCELLENT, but I think SPR's opening beach landing sequence did a much better job of showing war as horror, than Apocolypse Now ever did.

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Can you all do me a favor and leave John Wayne movies out of this poll? It's sacreligious to call a Duke movie bad. I love the man, and almost voted for Flying Tigers until I realized that I couldn't say a word against the big guy!

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I have to say that several posters have confused "war movies" with movies that use war as a backdrop for another kind of story. Both Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket ARE NOT war movies. The former is simply placing Heart of Darkness in a contemporarys setting, and the latter is a commentary on war, but not a "war movie". BTW, the end of SPR is what you get for the Germans when you let the computer run the attack ; )

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Keith:

My votes for the worst war movie is split between

...

"Midway"<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

i actually really liked midway...

reasonably accurate, showing the background intel, setup of the coral sea, the decisions that won and lost the battle("i want that fourth carrier" "meanwhile, [japenese] planes are crashing into the sea for lack of fuel")...

ensign gay, the dive bombers coming in at almost exactly hollywood timing

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"They had their chance- they have not lead!" - GW Bush

"They had mechanical pencils- they have not...lead?" - Jon Stewart on The Daily Show

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dirkd1976:

I think its fine to re-release a movie with new footage IF IT'S GOOD, AND ACTUALLY ADDS TO THE MOVIE. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Which makes me wonder, if it's good and adds to the film, who made such a mess of editing that it was left out in the first place?

smile.gif

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Guest kking199

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mikeadams:

I have to pick Battle of the Bulge with Henry Fonda. It probably holds the record for being the most innacurate film I have ever seen: I got to the point where I was expecting the US and Germans to join forces to attack the Russians<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought that was how the movie ended?!?! LOL, well Battle of the Bulge is probably my number one worst war movie as well. Now I like The Big Red One. I am sure there are plenty of stinko's out there, they just have been purposefully lost, or are bad enough that even TCM won't show 'em!!!

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chupacabra:

Oh, do the Iron Eagle movies count as war movies? Because those are right up there.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is that the one where the F-16s are armed with a special version of air-ground rocket that by amazing coincidence doubles as an all-aspect heat seeking missile?

Edited due to typing with thumbs only.

[This message has been edited by Holdit (edited 10-16-2000).]

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I honestly now hate all war movies.

After the aweful "Patriot", "U571" and SPR I looked back at some of the British movies such as "Dambusters" and "633 Squadron". They are just as bad on the mindless jingoism front.

I remember seeing an italian war movie in the desert (someone help me out here with title) which depicted brave Italians fighting evil Allies. Its not just Americans who make absurdly slanted movies.

Think about it though, who makes movies? Nobody ever accused filmakers of being intelligent or having integrity, we shouldnt expect any better.

_dumbo

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Okay, one name goes automatically to the top of the list:

"Green Berets" The Duke tries to retell "The Alamo" as a Vietnam movie. Fails as a western and as a war movie. Truly, a John Wayne-sized failure.

"Battle of the Bulge" probably deserves a spot, too. When I first saw it as kid, it was one of the few WWII battles I knew (thanks to Avalon Hill) and nothing in the movie jibed with what I knew).

And how can we ever forget (no matter how hard we try)?: "Inchon"

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Two Rules to Live By:

1. Never Get Out of the Boat.

2. Charlie Doesn't Surf.

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I'm surprised that people show such hatred for The Green Berets. While it is decidedly slanted, it serves its purpose. The idea was to show that perhaps there is a viable reason for the U.S. to be in Vietnam. Have we become so jaded and cynical that we lose that entirely?

The same goes for the Patriot...what was wrong there? If everyone's looking for ultra-realism, then enlist and go fight somewhere. The movies are for story-telling. The History Channel is for reality.

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"Nuts!"

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Guest dirkd1976

Croda,

I gotta say that I love Red Dawn!! I hope you werent making fun of that GREAT move!! frown.gif

Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey, and Powers Booth, what a cast!! The part where the Russian troops parachute into the schoolyard as all the students watch...very cool. When Patrick Swyaze has to kill his friend because he has a bug on him...wow, what drama!! Actually I haven't seen that movie in a long time....it would probably suck if I watched in now, but man I loved that movie as a kid!! Wolverines!!!

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Never mistake motion for action - Ernest Hemingway

[This message has been edited by dirkd1976 (edited 10-16-2000).]

[This message has been edited by dirkd1976 (edited 10-16-2000).]

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Thus typeth Croda:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I'm surprised that people show such hatred for The Green Berets. While it is decidedly slanted, it serves its purpose. The idea was to show that perhaps there is a viable reason for the U.S. to be in Vietnam. Have we become so jaded and cynical that we lose that entirely?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Assuming there was a viable reason to be there (which would have required the political will to actually win the war), that's no excuse for perpetrating an artless piece of crud like The Green Berets.

IMHO smile.gif

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Two Rules to Live By:

1. Never Get Out of the Boat.

2. Charlie Doesn't Surf.

[This message has been edited by General Panic (edited 10-16-2000).]

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dirkd1976:

I just read today that they are going to re-release Apocalypse Now with an additional 50 minutes of footage. Heres the link: http://www.darkhorizons.com/news.htm

You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the info on it. I knew this was going to happen. The Exorcist comes out with new footage and does well in the theaters, and now every director and studio out there is going to look back at all their past movies and say "How can I make more money off this." I think its fine to re-release a movie with new footage IF IT'S GOOD, AND ACTUALLY ADDS TO THE MOVIE. I have a feeling we are going to see a lot more of this crap in the near future. I like Apocalypse Now just how it is.....LEAVE IT ALONE!! Just my 2 cents.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

As a HUGE fan of the movie Apocalypse Now I must post this, some of these scenes can be seen in "Hearts of Darkeness" the documentary about the makeing of Apocalypse Now..

Quote from the above web page:

"Apocalypse Now: Extended: Fans of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam war classic "Apocalypse Now" can rejoice according

to the L.A. Times. Editor Walter Murch revealed he's currently working on an extended version of the movie for a limited

thetrical release next year - and when he says extended he means extended, approximately 50 minutes longer. The additions

include "an entire sequence in which Martin Sheen and company stumble onto a French family that has secluded itself on a

ruined plantation. They have dinner and discuss the painful politics of French involvement in Indochina and how it mirrors

the American experience 15 years later. There's even a romantic interlude for Sheen". Murch adds "There's more of Marlon

Brando, touching more directly on politics and the media, when he reads excerpts from Time magazine. Brando is now more

lucid and reasonable, and doesn't look as heavy...It alters your understanding of what happens in the last 15 minutes of the

film. There's also more of Robert Duvall's wacky Col. Kilgore, who's given a more dramatic entrance as well as a funnier and

more emphatic exit. Plus the Playboy bunny sequence has been expanded, with fuel being exchanged for a night with the

bunnies". Thanks to 'Dan'"

-tom w

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The thin read line is the worst ever. How the cult/hippie director managed to screw it up so badly is a mystery to me. He had the money, a good book to base it on, well-known actors, but no, he failed miserably. That was one of the looooongest three hours in my life.

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It gets better each time as long as it's never with the same woman.

Al Bundy

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dirkd, to date myself, I went and saw Red Dawn for my 12th birthday, IIRC. I too loved and relived it as a boy, but I'm afraid to watch it now...something about a 14 year old kid with an AK-47 trying to take down a gunship just doesn't sit right with me anymore.

As for the Green Berets, how do you differentiate between and artless piece of crap (Green Berets) and an artsy piece of crap (Thin Red Line)? Green Berets does little more than Tour of Duty did, and that was a rocking series. Peter-san. Where is my Peter-san? How can you not love that?

[This area used to contain a political defense of Green Berets, but was removed because no one wants to discuss the political environment of the late '60's and early '70's in the US] Suffice it to say that I love John Wayne movies and Green Berets doesn't bother me in the least, but feel free to despise it. There are 100+ other JW movies to love! Though Fighting Seabees was a little tough to swallow.

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"Nuts!"

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My vote for worst-ever war movie is "Memphis Belle." (Not the documentary, but the Hollywood feature of the same name released a couple years ago.) Harry Connick? Barf!

After I got over the thrill of seeing real B-17s flying in formation, I realized I had just wasted 15 bucks (including my wife's ticket).

How badly will they screw up history with the upcoming movie on Pearl Harbor? Let's hope for the best ...

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