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The Best 25 War Movies


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Raidercollector

To me the cross of iron is one of the best german war flicks,Staring James coburn.

Great battle sceens, real russin T34's in the movie.

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market garden

Guys. Three movies I truly enjoyed were "The Duelist ", with Kieth Caridien(sp?)

about two French officers during the Napoleon's time. As I am a C.W. Historian "Ride with the devil" with Toby Mcgiuer Great movie about the gurrilia warfare here in Mo. and "The Bridges at toko ree" about the Korean war Great early heliocopter usage. Check these out. John

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My favorite ones are "La 317eme Section" and "L'Honneur d un Capitaine".

"Hoa Binh" by Raoul Coutard is also on my top ten list.

 

 

Thanks for the additional tips on films to search out Andrei and Valery.

 

Isn't "La 317eme Section" directed by the same person who went onto make "Dien Bien Phu"?

 

Another difficult to find gem...

 

 

Patrick.

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>>snip<<

 

One movie I really dislike is "Battle of the Bulge" ..... even thinknig of it now turns my stomach.

Really unbelievable how they even thought of producing this kind of junk and saying this is THE movie about The Bulge is very disrepectful to every single Veteran who fought in that battle.

The area looked nowhere close to the real Ardennes, that German drives his tank all around the area (he literally shows up EVERYWHERE), the defense of Amel is hilarious (like cowboys and indians .... Amel was taken in 10 minutes in reality), even the massacre of the prisoners and the way the Skorzeny commandos (MPs) behave is more something for an epsiode in "Allo Allo" then for a serious war movie.

 

My Dad was a Battle of the Bulge vet and didn't really care for it. His comments on the movie were "Where's the snow? No one is complaining about trenchfoot" and my favorite cooment of his "It was colder than a welldigger's rump there!"

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Many of the ones that I truely enjoy have been already mentioned but here are a few more:

-Hamburger Hill

-12 O'Cloclk High

-Rough Riders (another Ted Turner film)

-Western Front 1918

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Some good ones mentioned by all. However a few were NOT listed:

 

a. BLUE MAX

b. Battle of Britain ('69)

c. The Eagle has landed

d. The Killing Fields

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Marine Raiders (1944) with Robert Ryan and Pat O'Brien.

 

This is one of the few films where the actors are firing Reising SMG's. thumbsup.gif

 

At the moment it is on UK satelite TV about once or twice a week

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Most of my favorite movies have been listed and discussed in detail here. So here is another line of discussion. Since I gave my wife a TIVO for Christmas two years ago I've discovered a larger number of interesting, odd and obscure war movies I might otherwise not have found. This is because many are shown in the early hours of the morning or when I'm at work. That's not to say they are all great, most at best are average. Here are some of them:

 

The Americanization of Emily 1964 - Admiral's aid in London woos British war widow-driver, proclaims himself a coward but through turn of events ends up on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Has an anti-war, anti-establishment tone but tries to be a comedy. James Garner - Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison, Julie Andrews - Emily Barham.

 

The Four Hoursemen of the Apocalypse 1921 - Argentinian family split by daughters marrages to French and German men which end up facing each other on the battlefield in WWI. Rudolph Valentino

 

The Great Dictator 1940 - Charlie Chaplan, comedic parody of the Nazis, where Jewish barber. WWI vet, amnesia patient is mistaken for dictator Adenoid Hynkel.

 

A Foreign Affair 1948 - One of the better movies and very hard to find on DVD or VHS....Crass, black marketing American Captain harbors fugative SS officer's girl friend, falls in love with Iowa Congresswoman. Outstanding air footage of heavy destroyed Berlin. Marlene Dietrich - Erika Von Schluetow, John Lund - Captain John Pringle, Jean Arthur - Congresswoman Phoebe Frost

 

Buck Privates 1941 - Classic Abbott and Costello comedy stich on moblized soldiers just prior to the US entry into WWII.

 

Mrs. Miniver 1942 - The best of the lot and one of my all time favorate wartime propaganda movies. I had only seen bits and pieces prior to TIVOing it. Designed to enlighten the American's on the plight of the British. Mostly American actors playing British roles as a middle-class family experiencing life in the first months of World War II. Greer Garson-Kay Miniver, Walter Pidgeon-Clem Miniver.

 

To Be or Not to Be 1942 - Ham Polish actors take on the SS and track down a spy by posing as Hitler and his entourage in WWII occupied Poland, Jack Benny - Joseph Tura, Carole Lombard - Maria Tura

 

Kevin

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Here are some other's I've TIVOed in recent months:

 

I ran across a great and throughly enjoyable series of early WWII short movies staring William Tracy as the booksmart soldier with a photographic memory Sergeant (DoDo) Doubleday-

 

Tanks a Million (1941) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034264/

Hay Foot (1942) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033696/

About Face (1942) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034425/

Fall In (1942) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035857/

Yanks Ahoy (1943) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036548/

 

And these -

 

Germania anno zero (1948) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039417/

Desperate Journey (1942) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034646/

Flying Fortress (1942) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034741/

Battleground (1949) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041163/

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Great movies all! I just wanted to comment on a few listed here.

 

Buck Privates 1941 - Classic Abbott and Costello comedy stich on moblized soldiers just prior to the US entry into WWII. Outstanding performance by the Andrew Sisters of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".

 

Mrs. Miniver 1942 - The best of the lot and one of my all time favorate wartime propaganda movies. I had only seen bits and pieces prior to TIVOing it. Designed to enlighten the American's on the plight of the British. Mostly American actors playing British roles as a middle-class family experiencing life in the first months of World War II. Greer Garson-Kay Miniver, Walter Pidgeon-Clem Miniver.

 

The film won six Oscars:

 

Academy Award for Best Picture - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Sidney Franklin, producer)

Academy Award for Best Actress - Greer Garson

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Teresa Wright

Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Joseph Ruttenberg

Academy Award for Directing - William Wyler

Academy Award for Writing, Screenplay - George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West, Arthur Wimperis

It was nominated for another six Oscars:

 

Academy Award for Best Actor - Walter Pidgeon

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Henry Travers

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Dame May Whitty

Best Effects, Special Effects - A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic), Warren Newcombe (photographic), Douglas Shearer (sound)

Best Film Editing - Harold F. Kress

Best Sound, Recording - Douglas Shearer

To Be or Not to Be 1942 - Ham Polish actors take on the SS and track down a spy by posing as Hitler and his entourage in WWII occupied Poland, Jack Benny - Joseph Tura, Carole Lombard - Maria Tura

 

Mel Brooks adaptation was also an excellent film!

 

 

Most of my favorite movies have been listed and discussed in detail here. So here is another line of discussion. Since I gave my wife a TIVO for Christmas two years ago I've discovered a larger number of interesting, odd and obscure war movies I might otherwise not have found. This is because many are shown in the early hours of the morning or when I'm at work. That's not to say they are all great, most at best are average. Here are some of them:

 

The Americanization of Emily 1964 - Admiral's aid in London woos British war widow-driver, proclaims himself a coward but through turn of events ends up on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Has an anti-war, anti-establishment tone but tries to be a comedy. James Garner - Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison, Julie Andrews - Emily Barham.

 

The Four Hoursemen of the Apocalypse 1921 - Argentinian family split by daughters marrages to French and German men which end up facing each other on the battlefield in WWI. Rudolph Valentino

 

The Great Dictator 1940 - Charlie Chaplan, comedic parody of the Nazis, where Jewish barber. WWI vet, amnesia patient is mistaken for dictator Adenoid Hynkel.

 

A Foreign Affair 1948 - One of the better movies and very hard to find on DVD or VHS....Crass, black marketing American Captain harbors fugative SS officer's girl friend, falls in love with Iowa Congresswoman. Outstanding air footage of heavy destroyed Berlin. Marlene Dietrich - Erika Von Schluetow, John Lund - Captain John Pringle, Jean Arthur - Congresswoman Phoebe Frost

 

Buck Privates 1941 - Classic Abbott and Costello comedy stich on moblized soldiers just prior to the US entry into WWII.

 

Mrs. Miniver 1942 - The best of the lot and one of my all time favorate wartime propaganda movies. I had only seen bits and pieces prior to TIVOing it. Designed to enlighten the American's on the plight of the British. Mostly American actors playing British roles as a middle-class family experiencing life in the first months of World War II. Greer Garson-Kay Miniver, Walter Pidgeon-Clem Miniver.

 

To Be or Not to Be 1942 - Ham Polish actors take on the SS and track down a spy by posing as Hitler and his entourage in WWII occupied Poland, Jack Benny - Joseph Tura, Carole Lombard - Maria Tura

 

Kevin

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To Be or Not to Be 1942 - Ham Polish actors take on the SS and track down a spy by posing as Hitler and his entourage in WWII occupied Poland, Jack Benny - Joseph Tura, Carole Lombard - Maria Tura

 

Mel Brooks adaptation was also an excellent film!

 

Thanks, Well I'll be I didn't even know the Mel Brooks version existed! Here is the IMDB listing, To Be or Not to Be (1983) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086450/

Kevin

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Another movie I really liked was "No Man's Land". This one was about the Bosnian war. Foreign, with subtitles, but still good.

 

RJ

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I realize that I am kind of getting into the discussion a little late and have enjoyed many of the comments. I would like to ramble here for a few myself.

Many of the movies on the original list are good cinematic products, and should be on the list of the "best." Movies like "Das Boot" and "Schindler's List" are classics that I believe our grandchildren will be thanking the movie gods for them having been made, just as I think that any of us who has seen the 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front" appreciate its contribution. There are a couple more that I would highly recommend: "Zulu" is fantastic, as is the flipside- "Zulu Dawn." "Zulu Dawn" really gives the viewer a good look at the British army during the Zulu war and chronicles the greatest military defeat ever suffered by the British. Another movie I would highly recommend is "ANZACS, the War Down Under" featuring Paul Hogan in his pre- Corcadile Dundee life. The movie follows a company of ANZAC soldiers from Galipoli to the end of the war. You get some amazingly accurate views of uniforms, both British and Turk and German, get a real feel for trench warfare and even get to see a rhomboid tank in action! Go rent it if you haven't seen it. It is impressive.

 

While they are not movies but rather mini-series, the "Horatio Hornblower" series and the "best ever" portrayal of a military unit "Band of Brothers" need to be considered for their contributions. When I was teaching military leadership, I used BoB scenes frequently, just as I required "The Caine Mutiny" to be discussed. If I had seen "Caine Mutiny" earlier in my life, I would have never been able to watch Fred McMurry in the same was as I did when he was raising "MyThree Sons." I also used "Blackhawk Down" in my classes as there is probably no movie more realistic and modern available for what a new 2nd Lieutenant is going to encounter in the field.

 

One final movie that I have to include in the "best" category- "The Best Years of Our Lives." This is probably the best summation of the effects of war on a population. There is no combat, unless you consider having to live with your past as a struggle.

 

Allan

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Funny ones are the three French "7ième Compagnie" movies with Michel Galabru.

It's about some French soldiers getting behind German lines in 1940.

Especially the scene(s) in which the French officer tries to blow up the bridge are rather comical.

 

The three movies:

Ou est passée la 7ième compagnie

On a retrouvé la 7ième compagnie

La 7ième compagnie au clair de lune.

 

7imeCo.jpg

 

Erwin

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Guest Chow Hound

After reading this thread, I am hoping someone can help me figure out the title of a war movie. It is driving me crazy.

 

The movie is black and white. I do not know any of the actors.

 

The setting is the ETO in late WWII, mostly likely the winter of 1944-1945.

 

Here is the plot as best I recall. An Army intelligence officer meets up with either a USO troop or an Army band. The band unit is lost. They all end up being captured behind German lines. This causes the intell officer to have to masquerade as one of the trombone players in the band. Now the Germans really want to find this intell officer so they begin to interrogate the members of the band. The intell officer is singled out and told to play something on his trombone, he proceeds to play some extremely patriotic tune (i.e. The Star Spangled Banner). This of course really upsets the Germans. After that the band either escapes or is rescued.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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MERRIL's MARAUDERS starring Jeff Chandler is another great flick

 

BACK To BATAAN has M1917 helmets in every scene!

 

The SAND PEBBLES with Steve McQueen was excellent!

 

TORA TORA TORA !!!

 

MIDWAY

 

FLYING LEATHERNECKS

 

THE BIG RED ONE with LEE MARVIN

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I haven't seen anyone mention Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 film classic "The Battle of Algiers", in retrospect perhaps the most prescient "war" film ever made.

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VN era: Hamburger Hill.

I know a former Medical Officer who flew with the 1st Cav together with troops of the 101st and treated the returning wounded coming from "Hamburger Hill".

True horror story.

 

Erwin

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My late father, a career infantry officer, who saw extensive combat in the Pacific as a platoon leader in the 17th Inf. Regt., often spoke of two films that he thought were authentic: "A Walk in the Sun," and "Merrill's Marauders." (Dad knew a brother dogface who had been with the Marauders--twenty years later, the guy still had foot fungus.)

 

For myself, I enjoy most of the films previously mentioned, and would also include any of writer/producer/director Sam Fuller's films. These include the forementioned "Merrill's Marauders," also "The Steel Helmet," "Fix Bayonets," "Verboten," and of course his autobiographical masterpiece, "The Big Red One." His experiences in combat in the 16th Inf. Regt., from Operation Torch to the liberation of the death camps, underlined all his films, even the westerns and crime thrillers. Few, if any, directors in Hollywood had the combat background of old Sam.

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  • 1 month later...

Several others have mentioned the movie Battle of the Bulge. I honestly thought that it was one of the WORST movies I've ever seen, war or any other type. It was inconsistent, with some of the tank scenes looking like they took place in a desert. When was the last time there was a desert in the middle of the Ardennes? This movie is an abomination, and when I saw it for sale as a "War Classic," I practically vomited.

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