Capt Canuck Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 What is the ULTIMATE WW2 Movie? Is it The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan, Kelly's Heroes, A Bridge Too Far? Patton? Battle of the Bulge? Das Boot? Stalingrad? Desert Fox? Tobruk? What's your choice?(doesn't have to be from above) and why is it the best of all? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 The ones you have listed are all great and deserve to be mentioned. For me it must be SPR - the beach landing in the opening 20 mins really brings home the horror that those guys must have gone through more than any other war film that i have seen depicted so far. Special mention for ABTF - A great all-round film. Makes you feel for the guys left "stranded" at Arnhem and fighting against overwhelming odds. "XXX Corp...XXX Corp...Come in XXX Corp". ------------------ COMBAT MISSIONS - CM News, Supplies & Resources WWW.COMBATMISSIONS.CO.UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 The Finnish made "Winter War" was an excellent film. It had a lot in common with Stalingrad. ------------------ "Live by the sword, live a good LONG life!"-Minsc, BGII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther131 Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 I say Das Boot. It is incredible. Maximus: I'll have to check out Winter War. I just bought Stalingrad and fell alseep through it. (only becouse I put it on so late and it was christmas night; I was stuffed out of my mind with food) So far, and I havent seen that many war films, Das Boot is my favorite. SPR is, although seemingly very authentic and so very real, especially the first 30 minutes, dissapoints me. After the beach landing, Its just "The Allies" hollywood menatality. Especially at the end with Tom Hanks being our hero. A touching although fictional story though. Dont get me wrong, I still think its a classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyStrike Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Cross of Iron was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I/O Error Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Do you mean "Iron Cross," the one about German fighting on the Eastern Front? (Or is there ANOTHER great WWII movie out there I need to check out? If so, COOL!) Iron Cross = Reality of personal war SPR = Reality of what war does to ordinary men Kelly's Heroes = Good side of war. Funny, and both sides win. (heh heh, except the Nazis) Das Boot = Reality of what U-Boat life TRULY entailed... Anyway, all of them are great films and should be watched. Remember: War is not a natural act. It is something to be avoided if possible. Every generation forgets that. Our only hope is to continue to educate the coming generation and ourselves of the true costs of war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AbnAirCav Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron. This movie grabs you, from the opening credits with children singing and blending in documentary footage, on. Unfortunately, while I understand in Europe they have a widescreen DVD with better quality, in the U.S.A. the DVD is "full screen" (pan and scan) with poor quality. Second would be Saving Private Ryan. The D-Day landing is unforgettable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte99 Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 I think we can rule out "Battle of the Bulge." IMHO. Nobody mentioned "The Thin Red Line." Throw out maybe 20 minutes of curtains blowing in the wind and you've got about the most artistic WWII movie ever made. Of course, it's loosely based on one of the best World War II books ever written. I liked "Saving Private Ryan" quite a bit. That battle sequence at the end is the thing I keep coming back to -- absolutely stunning work! I don't think they needed to have Tom Hanks firing his .45 at an oncoming Tiger (or was it a PzIV? -- no doubt someone will clarify it), but what the hey? ------------------ "Arms are my ornaments, warfare my repose." - Don Quixote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I/O Error Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Every Vet I've talked to who saw The Thin Red Line said it was a big load of crap. The only ones I know who disagree with that statement are the ones who immediately turned away from military service and became "bums" or "hippies." The movie is a little TOO artsy. Men in combat do not have the luxury (nor should they) to think of such matters. Those who do wind up dead. P.S. The Battle of the Bulge was NOT a particularly good movie, I feel, if we're talking about the same one. (Who knows HOW many pulp WWII movies have been made. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Canuck Posted December 30, 2000 Author Share Posted December 30, 2000 I think there should be a remake of the Longest Day... And nothing with a Hollywood sub-plot with romance s***. I want to see a good war movie be made nowadays! I want to see D-Day, from the point of view of all the nationalities, not JUST American, or JUST German and so on. True, it would be more of a Documentary, but I think that that is what the world needs today. To have its eyes opened to the brutalities of war suffered by all who lived it. Not just Pvt Ryan or Capt. Miller(No offence to SPR, I personally love that movie myself) But what about Haupt. Schmidt, or Mme. Telouse, or Major Coxwell with the Brits. A pure Docu-Drama of WW2! The Movie itself would be divided up into four parts. Part 1(20Mins), we would have a half hour or so archival footage of the preparations that went into D-Day, the Leaders(Ike, Monty, Rommel)It would serve as a quick introduction to those who have no idea what D-Day is. Part 2(30 Mins),D-Day-1 We would focus on June 5th, the final preparations, the men who will be fighting tomorrow and their anxieties, a brief look at Southern England and how drastically it had been changed. Part 3(90 Mins) D-Day There would be focuses on every beach, not only the attackers, but the defenders too (Who would also be speaking German, not English) And pay attention to the french people and to the Marquis. Part 4(40 Mins) D-Day-to-VE Day and include events(briefly) Falaise Gap, Paris, opening of Antwerp, M-G, the Bulge, Fall of Berlin. I know that's a lot to fit into 40 mins, but it would be very brief, it would serve as a conclusion to the movie. This film would need the support of all the Gov't Countries involved, it would probably be filmed it hundreds of different locations across Europe and North America, have one of the largest budgets movie making history. This is certainly do-able in my mind. All we need is to win about 300 Million dollars(US) and present this idea to Stephen Spielberg! This movie would serve as a living tribute to all of those that served in one of the greatest battles ever fought on earth, no matter of what country, age, creed. Thanks for listening, I really needed to get that idea out! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezmartini Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Capt Canuck: Part 3(90 Mins) D-Day There would be focuses on every beach, not only the attackers, but the defenders too (Who would also be speaking German, not English) And pay attention to the french people and to the Marquis. Part 4(40 Mins) D-Day-to-VE Day and include events(briefly) Falaise Gap, Paris, opening of Antwerp, M-G, the Bulge, Fall of Berlin. I know that's a lot to fit into 40 mins, but it would be very brief, it would serve as a conclusion to the movie.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> 90 minutes on D-Day, but only 40 for the rest of the war? Think of all the big battles of not only Europe, but the Pacific. I think D-Day shouldn't be portrayed as the most ONLY important operation, because other men around the world worked just as hard to help the Allies. Just switch around those two times and everything will be OK. ------------------ "You see, while I've been gone you loony chumchucks have thrown Peng in a ditch, ran Frenchie out of town and reduced Seanachai to a four-sentence-max-posting wretch. To compound this, you have managed to create an entire fantasy world for me to occupy that consists almost but not entirely of a Polar Bear's rectum. And, AND, you moved the Cesspool to Australia. You should be ashamed of yourselves." - Elijah Meeks RUN LIKE HELL - CM/Cross Country motto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crepitis Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 I can recomend the Russian movie "Come And See",about Partisans fighting the Germans on their murderous withdrawal through Belorussia and the Ukraine.It took me weeks to get over it!It is the best over all war movie I have seen,although SPR has better action scenes.I would really like to see "The Winter War",lots of people on this forum have raved about it in previous posts,but I cant seem to find it in the U.K. I may end up ordering it on-line from The States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radar Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 Hey doesn't anybody remember Sahara with Bogart? That is a classic. Yes it is a bit Hollywood, but hey, so what? The Guns of Naverone is another classic. The display of the 'inferior' (there is obvious long odds to victory) allied forces holding together and turning the tide despite the upperhand held by the Axis forces is what makes them great. I think the Cross of Iron is another good movie, as is the Dirty Dozen. ------------------ Run in circles, scream and shout...Brown side in, green side out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Bates Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 The inescapable truth is that most war films are bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Clark Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 "Where Eagles Dare" is a pretty good special operation WWII adventure. Entertaining. "Saving Private Ryan" is my personal favorite, although I have yet to see ABTF or Das Boot. I honestly think that "A Band Of Brothers" (the HBO Hanks/Spielberg Mini-series) will turn into something pretty special. In 10 episodes we will get everything from D-Day to Market Garden to the Bulge to Hitlers Eagles Nest. Based on a GREAT Ambrose book, with Ambrose helping along the way, I really think it has a shot to be something great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jock Abroad Posted December 30, 2000 Share Posted December 30, 2000 "Full Metal Jacket" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrew Hedges Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 The answer to the question "x is to other war movies as CM is to other war games" is the empty set. No war movie is that good. I'd vote for Cross of Iron as the best war movie -- lots of action, lots of tension, different kinds of fighting, real T-34s, and no distracting subplots. Das Boot is also very good. I don't think there could be a movie about all of d-day -- it's too big. That's what you need miniseries for. Movies are better at focusing on a small group of men, as in Das Boot or SPR. Although I'd love to see someone make "Der Panzer." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Clark Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 I just went out and purchased SPR (dvd) and Das Boot (directors cut dvd) using X-Mas cash. Hopefully Das Boot is as good as everyone says, as I have never watched it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T34Rules Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 I would have to vote for: The Winter War and Stalingrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stic.man Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 i liked the hbo movie "When Trumpets Fade" i liked spr too, i dont really like old war movies because the acting is so horrible, but i did like the one where the US and Canadians/Brits team up, and climb a cliff or something. i also liked firebase and platoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchy Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 Run Silent, Run Deep (Burt Lancaster) The Enemy Below (Robert Mitchum) Battleground (James Whitmore) Hell is for Heroes (Steve McQueen) to name a few good ones... ------------------ Webmaster http://www.trailblazersww2.org http://www.vmfa251.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jock Abroad Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 "Paths of Glory" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte99 Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jock Abroad: "Full Metal Jacket"<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Great movie. But not a World War II movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte99 Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by I/O Error: Every Vet I've talked to who saw The Thin Red Line said it was a big load of crap. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Fortunately, we don't rely on veterans to decide which movies are worth seeing. I agree that there was a certain amount of crap in "Thin Red Line" but I remember one sequence, the Marines advancing up through the elephant grass during an artillery barrage, that was sheer genius. There was another scene, maybe one or two seconds, of soldiers under fire being cowed by snakes rising up out of the tall grass. Absolutely brilliant! A number of other scenes that were real gems. I think it's still a movie I would buy, rather than rent, if I ever get around to getting a DVD player... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte99 Posted December 31, 2000 Share Posted December 31, 2000 Anybody remember "Castle Keep?" An oddball 1969 movie with Burt Lancaster and Patrick O'Neal. Featured a floating Volkswagen and more rounds fired from a .50 caliber machinegun than any other movie ever made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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