TnT Top Ten: War Movies (Trees And Things)

filmklassik: NO WWII ADVENTURE MOVIES? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:50:45 EST

All right, here's my theory about why THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and WHERE EAGLES DARE -- two unbelievably exciting WWII adventure movies -- are, pardon the pun, MIA on all of these boards.

It's because they're fun movies.

And because they're perceived as

Jimmy: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 20:41:24 EST

When Trumpets Fade is one of the best war movies I've ever seen.

nmiguy: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:16:09 EST

I don't know if this qualifies as a "war movie" but I really enjoyed The Last Samurai. Compelling characters with deep flaws who overcome them because of circumstance, it is a very human story.

War is a very human endeavor, it shows the mo

nmiguy: Re: I don't have ten

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:11:05 EST

The Thin Red line is without question a work of art. It is sophisticated, it is glorious in its visionary epic moments or haikus as you call them. It was poetic and lyrical, it was well produced, perhaps overproduced. It was framed incred

DEMachina: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:14:03 EST

I tend to really like war movies from the perspective of the "other side," or at least not who we're used to seeing. So while I loved movies like Glory, Saving Private Ryan (especially in a theater with the volume cranked up; that was p

DEMachina: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:45:40 EST

I'm glad someone mentioned this. I had honestly forgotten about it, but this definitely deserves a place on someone's list. I was struck most by how trapped the UN peacekeepers were in their own bureaucracy despite their best of intentions. &nb

postillion: Re: I don't have ten

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:04:51 EST

If you liked Master and Commandor, you might like Das Boot. The harrowing days of being in a German submarine during WWII. The movie captures perfectly how unnerving it must be down there under all that water in such a cramped space while being

thefadd: Re: Iron Discipline

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:21:44 EST

Actually, it's only about 66. You need the quotation marks.

Lou: Iron Discipline

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:09:18 EST

Holy shit! Over 5000 websites? I wouldn't have made it past the "jumped the shark" site that described how to get free porn.

profwhat: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:25:05 EST

I guess we should be honored that you finally found us.

Admit The Woods: Re: I don't have ten

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:24:51 EST

The Thin Red Line is not only one of my favourite war movies, it's probably in my top ten list of all movies, period. Its overall absence in most of this thread saddens me. Not sure I can find the right words to defend it -- with Malick, you either

FPM: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:55:03 EST

I used to be a homeless rodeo clown but now I am a world class magician !

permazorch: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:59:01 EST

1. Idi i Smotri (Come and See)
2. Hotaru no Haka (The Grave of the Fireflies)
3. Dr. Strangelove
4. The Deer Hunter
5. Casablanca
6. Schindler's List (though

thefadd: Re: Missing the best war cartoon

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:24:45 EST

Full Metal Jacket is a rather frustrating movie for me...very well done all around but just couldn't bring it together to be among Kubrick's best.

thefadd: Re: Dirty Dozen

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:20:25 EST

Yeah, I don't know if I'd have thought of "Life Is Beautiful" as a war movie if others hadn't mentioned it.

pO157: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:27:52 EST

They also hire random 19-21 year old college students to work the borders.

Last time I crossed the border into Canada I had to go inside to the little shack for furt

MayorBob: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:32:20 EST

The Pianist was a great movie, nmiguy. But then, so are oh so many other movies. I snared ten out of my memory that I had seen which I felt deeply about for a variety of reasons. No need to really defend any of the pictures you or I selec

nmiguy: Re: I don't have ten

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:17:07 EST

Th eThin Red Line, I saw it in the theatre. It was an amazing film as far as cinematography and the lush colors and scope. But the movie was tediously slow with an all star cast that did snips and snaps and very tiny cameos.

John Trav

nmiguy: Re: Dirty Dozen

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:06:19 EST

The English Patient is slightly overwrought

Slightly overwrought? Geesh. I wonder what would qualify as VERY overwrought?

I am curious that Lawrence of Arabia is not on anyone's list. I watched the film in its entirety last

nmiguy: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:58:19 EST

Mayorbob, I like a war movie that tries to be different. The Pianist was a war movie told from the perspective of a musician, not a soldier, which I found quite compelling. Watch enough war movies, and you can really get the feel of being a sol

profwhat: Game over, man!

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:37:10 EST

Aliens was Zulu with xenomorphs. Which means, of course, that it was fantastic. The parallels to Vietnam were pretty spiffy.

delete me: Missing the best war cartoon

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:18:24 EST

One of my favourites is Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies). It focuses on Japanese siblings who are caught up in WWII. No glory, just sadness. No blame, just sadness.

As far as a top

3fingerspointback: I don't have ten

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:12:52 EST

And these aren't even necessarily my top picks. I'm just creating an Unsorted List of a bunch of war movies I have something to say about.

Aliens. A very smart move by Cameron, combining war and horror and sci-fi. Possibly one

skeeter1: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:45:44 EST

"Thick concrete walls, heavy steel door, and if the electricity had gone out, they'd have been just as screwed as anyone else.
Wasn't that a subplot of Threads? Some idiots get stuck in a shelter and die a horrifying death? I haven't seen it, but so

Lou: Re: Dirty Dozen

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:09:39 EST
lob random criticisms at you in old timey style with little recourse.
and if you were really bad, they might use irony on you.

pO157: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:01:26 EST
Thick concrete walls, heavy steel door, and if the electricity had gone out, they'd have been just as screwed as anyone else.
Wasn't that a subplot of Threads? Some idiots get stuck in a shelter and die a horrifying death? I haven't see

pO157: Re: Dirty Dozen

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:00:30 EST
Dirty Dozen is the best war movie of all time. It's about war and all its components--the circumstances that bring individuals together, the fun off time pranks, the tedium of waiting around, the shocking duplicity, the camaraderie, the heroism and fin

zyxwvutsr: Re: My top ten

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:05:45 EST

Platoon - What the heck, this film was great
I'm a little surprised Platoon isn't on more lists here. I thought it captured the experience of getting fire ants down the back of one's shirt rather well. Cert

thefadd: Dirty Dozen

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:01:16 EST
Dirty Dozen is the best war movie of all time. It's about war and all its components--the circumstances that bring individuals together, the fun off time pranks, the tedium of waiting around

skeeter1: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:52:36 EST
"Did it result in light hearted hilarity like in the 1E16 of Happy Days where the Cunninghams build a fallout shelter and then decide to rank in order of priority who in the neighborhood who get a slot in the event of a war? "
Well, this was in t

keta: Greatest Cast Ever = Best War Movie Ever

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:51:12 EST
Eastwood, Rickles, Savalas, O'Connor, MacLeod. These actors went on to become American icons in the film industry, ridicule humour, crime solving, bigotry, and steering a cruise ship. And the biggest Canadian name in the cast, Sutherland, wonde

keta: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:26:08 EST
The last time I shaved my moustache off was many, many years ago. While doing the deed, I gave myself a Hitler brush 'stache just for the hell of it. I really, really wish I'd taken a photo or two...

tomc: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:52:27 EST
Okay, how many of us over the age of, say, 45, haven't done an impression of Adolf Hitler at least once?

gerrymander: Re: my top 10

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:42:13 EST
The Patriot is now a distant memory, but if I recall, wasn't it essentially a revenge drama, in which the war is a convenient backdrop for Mel Gibson's character to avenge his son's death?
It became that to some extent, but the build to that poin

Lou: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:58:20 EST
Like Mayorbob says, he's scary good. I have heard recordings of Hitler speaking and Ganz pretty much nails it. I saw this movie via Netflix and I think I should own it.

nmiguy: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:40:30 EST
I'd love to see this one. It looks great. Bruno Ganz looks amazing. On my short list.

MayorBob: I saw it.

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:34:55 EST
And Ganz was scary good as Adolph Hitler. The bit with Madam Goebbels killing her children sent a shiver up and down my spine.

pO157: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:17:00 EST
Well, except for the cold war stuff. I did have one friend who's family built a hardened bomb shelter in their basement. They were quite wealthy. The rest of us just took our chances.
Did it result in light hearted hilarity li

Lou: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:16:34 EST
I have a list to follow...but I just wanted to see if anyone has seen the move The Downfall. One of the best movies I have seen in a while (granted, I don't see a lot of movies)

nmiguy: My top ten

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:55:57 EST
There are some war movies that are so powerful as to bring me to tears.

The Pianist - This film surprised me. I expected to hate it, and it blew me away. I honestly broke out in tears when he played the piano

profwhat: Re: my top 10

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:51:04 EST
Alexander Nevsky was great. I saw it when I was five year old, and I still remember the image of the German soldier dropping a screaming baby into the fire. (I really hope that was a special effect; this being a Soviet film, I guess you can't b

skeeter1: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:27:43 EST
Secondus, I have no idea what you're doing, but knock it the fuck off!
Back on topic, I'm not really into war movies, but Dr. Strangelove has been my favorite for

gerrymander: my top 10

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:10:29 EST
do you find it problematic to have a list of "favorite films" about real life conflicts where thousands, if not millions were killed, maimed, or injured?
Not really, no. Having a list of favorite war movies is no more problematic than having a li

alec: For different reasons and in no particular order

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:02:28 EST
Eroica
Landscape After Battle
My Name is Ivan
Come and See
Dr. Strangelove
Bridge over River Kwai
All Quiet on the Western Front
Flanders
La jetée
Life is Beautiful

shane: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:13:05 EST
No Man's Land is a great movie - if you watch it it will stay with you for a very long time... highly recommended. Here's a quote from a review at imdb: "The story was set in

tomc: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:55:37 EST
I definitely agree with you on TLD vs. SPR.
When SPR fans are confronted with the fact that the movie was just really bad, they always point to the realism of the landing sequence. Hey, whatever. I'll put the TLD aerial scene of the Messersc

Degee: My quick picks

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:03:51 EST
All Quiet on the Western Front: This movie most clearly shows the insidious effect that the theatre of war has on otherwise mostly decent people.
Bridge over River Kwai was a close second for the showing the the pervasive meaninglessness of war i

MayorBob: Re: Underappreciated war movies (and wars)

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:34:31 EST
The Patriot was a bunch of jingoistic, Brit hating tripe. There are only few movies I'm aware of that use the Revolutionary War as a backdrop. One was "Revolution" starring Al Pacino, which was not that good. "1776" was the film treatment

MayorBob: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:25:08 EST
My Top Ten (in no particular order):

Patton -- The definitive character study of the warrior as tragic hero. The opening monologue was grade A brilliant.

Glory -- Something both inspiring and ineffa

tomc: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:19:02 EST
Ok, my top 10, but not in order:
Das Boot
Patton
Dr. Strangelove
Black Hawk Down
Catch-22
Life is Beautiful
Apocalypse Now
Tora Tora Tora
Paths of Glory
Letters from Iwo Jima
What I look for in war movies is some i

port1080: Vietnam

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:24:17 EST
For whatever reason, my top list of war movies is more or less dominated by Vietnam. I suppose it's largely because I don't really care for jingoistic war movies, and Vietnam was a relatively difficult war to make a jingoistic movie about (John Wayne's

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:18:32 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:18:18 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:17:59 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:17:45 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:17:33 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:16:40 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:16:23 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:16:09 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:15:56 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:15:42 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:15:27 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:15:12 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:14:59 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:14:42 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:14:26 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:13:57 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:13:41 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:13:26 EST
Hotness

Secondus: Re: TnT Top Ten: War Movies

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:12:56 EST
Hotness

profwhat: Underappreciated war movies (and wars)

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:36:13 EST
The Manchurian Candidate should count as a Korean War movie, I think, even though it is mostly set in the United States post-war. Maybe you'd rather call it a Cold War movie; no matter. It was a great movie, and watching it today is a gr