Good war movies & what you like about 'em
- Thread starter aspen1964
- Start date
- Status
Alternative movies
I also like watching war movies. There you see two fighting sides and sometimes you observe good characters from both sides, who are set to be examples of bravery, courage, strength, fidelity and patriotism/commitment. Movies like Troy, Saving private Ryan, Enemy at the gates, Stalingrad, The squad, Apocalypse today and etc.
The movies of Soviet/post Soviet countries are the best for setting examples of absolute heroes - They fought for Motherland, Soldier's Father, Teheran 43, The Young Guard, Hot summer of Afghanistan, A Muslim and etc.
But there are alternative films, far from commonly accepted stereotypes. Such as Young Wolves (with Marlon Brando), The Purgatory (about Chechen war in 1994-96), The Valley of the Wolves (Turkish movie about Iraq campaign 2003-present).
I'd like to review the latter one.
Usually we are accustomed to see American GIs as young and brave heroes who found themselves in a far-from-ideal-picture situation, such as Somalia or Iraq and then during the film itself we see the transformation process of young conscience and forming a raw, battle hardened soldier. However, as we see in practice, not all the soldiers are ideally courageous and humane (which is strange in war movie). The Turkish movie Kurtlar Vadisi - Irak (The valley of the wolves - Iraq) is such a movie. It portrays Americans in Iraq as invaders and worst among them - the private contractors. Of course these bad guys are led by ultimate Villain of post-Cameron movies - a character played by Billy Zane. His excellence in acting is remarkably completed with presence of another villain - Gary Busy, who plays a crazy doctor, who takes intestines from Abu Ghraib prisoners.
Of course, this is a pure product of art, which gives its own interpretation to things usually silenced on the West or not liked to talk about. This movie, as press reports has infuriated American officials, but found mass interest on so-called Muslim street. Of course the resonance of a film which depicts Abu Ghraib prison, civilian casualties caused by friendly fire or misinterpretation of common mosques to be an insurgent hideouts, or problems to be resolved among Muslims themselves regarding Islamic teachings interpretations, should be as great as it was. There are, however shortcomings in the film, such as US soldiers played by Turks as well as Arabs and Kurds, which some Turks can't stand and etc. But the doubtless successful points made are: not all Muslims are radical, Iraq itself is not something unified, US are not always right and the notion of bringing democracy to Middle East may certainly radicalize Americans to the extent Zarqawi was and of course decent special effects for a war movie. That is why I liked this film and did not feel sorry on spent time and money.
Further the screenshots from the movie provided.
I also like watching war movies. There you see two fighting sides and sometimes you observe good characters from both sides, who are set to be examples of bravery, courage, strength, fidelity and patriotism/commitment. Movies like Troy, Saving private Ryan, Enemy at the gates, Stalingrad, The squad, Apocalypse today and etc.
The movies of Soviet/post Soviet countries are the best for setting examples of absolute heroes - They fought for Motherland, Soldier's Father, Teheran 43, The Young Guard, Hot summer of Afghanistan, A Muslim and etc.
But there are alternative films, far from commonly accepted stereotypes. Such as Young Wolves (with Marlon Brando), The Purgatory (about Chechen war in 1994-96), The Valley of the Wolves (Turkish movie about Iraq campaign 2003-present).
I'd like to review the latter one.
Usually we are accustomed to see American GIs as young and brave heroes who found themselves in a far-from-ideal-picture situation, such as Somalia or Iraq and then during the film itself we see the transformation process of young conscience and forming a raw, battle hardened soldier. However, as we see in practice, not all the soldiers are ideally courageous and humane (which is strange in war movie). The Turkish movie Kurtlar Vadisi - Irak (The valley of the wolves - Iraq) is such a movie. It portrays Americans in Iraq as invaders and worst among them - the private contractors. Of course these bad guys are led by ultimate Villain of post-Cameron movies - a character played by Billy Zane. His excellence in acting is remarkably completed with presence of another villain - Gary Busy, who plays a crazy doctor, who takes intestines from Abu Ghraib prisoners.
Of course, this is a pure product of art, which gives its own interpretation to things usually silenced on the West or not liked to talk about. This movie, as press reports has infuriated American officials, but found mass interest on so-called Muslim street. Of course the resonance of a film which depicts Abu Ghraib prison, civilian casualties caused by friendly fire or misinterpretation of common mosques to be an insurgent hideouts, or problems to be resolved among Muslims themselves regarding Islamic teachings interpretations, should be as great as it was. There are, however shortcomings in the film, such as US soldiers played by Turks as well as Arabs and Kurds, which some Turks can't stand and etc. But the doubtless successful points made are: not all Muslims are radical, Iraq itself is not something unified, US are not always right and the notion of bringing democracy to Middle East may certainly radicalize Americans to the extent Zarqawi was and of course decent special effects for a war movie. That is why I liked this film and did not feel sorry on spent time and money.
Further the screenshots from the movie provided.
Attachments
mainmech48
Member
"Zulu" is a good one. IIRC, there were more VCs awarded subsequent to that action than for any other single engagement. Pucker Factor must've been off the charts.
Also liked "The Beast", but then I grew up reading Kipling's stories and verse.
"Enemy at the Gates" had its moments.
"The Seige of Firebase Gloria" shows another view of the Tet Offensive, this one out in the Delta Tulies instead of Hue or Saigon. R. Lee Ermie gives a very realistic performance as the LRRP squad leader, even if the actual "battle" scenes tend to go Hollywood towards the end.
Ditto on "Go Tell the Spartans". Pity that the irony of the title was lost on a generation who never heard of Thermopolae.
Also liked "The Beast", but then I grew up reading Kipling's stories and verse.
"Enemy at the Gates" had its moments.
"The Seige of Firebase Gloria" shows another view of the Tet Offensive, this one out in the Delta Tulies instead of Hue or Saigon. R. Lee Ermie gives a very realistic performance as the LRRP squad leader, even if the actual "battle" scenes tend to go Hollywood towards the end.
Ditto on "Go Tell the Spartans". Pity that the irony of the title was lost on a generation who never heard of Thermopolae.
mordechaianiliewicz
Member
I liked A Bridge Too Far, and Saving Private Ryan the most. Thin Red Line had alot of potential, but squandered it.
MaterDei
Member
Band of Brothers is at the top of my list. Others I liked are:
- Gallipoli - This is more character development than battle, but very good.
- All Quiet on the Western Front - Classic
- Glory - Great cast, great civil war action
- Patton - George C. Scott was awesome in this one.
- Run Silent, Run Deep - My nod to the boys of the sea
- Braveheart - FREEDOM!
- Lord of the Rings
- The Battle of the Pelannor Fields is awesome
- Gallipoli - This is more character development than battle, but very good.
- All Quiet on the Western Front - Classic
- Glory - Great cast, great civil war action
- Patton - George C. Scott was awesome in this one.
- Run Silent, Run Deep - My nod to the boys of the sea
- Braveheart - FREEDOM!
- Lord of the Rings
- The Battle of the Pelannor Fields is awesomejagdpanzer347
Member
I've always liked Tora Tora Tora! Shows both sides of the story and has very good effects(especially for 1970).
-jagd
-jagd
rich52us
Member
For some reason I like the WW II movies the best. Saving Private Ryan, and the series Band of Brothers are amazingly good and probably very relistic. One I like that I don't think has been mentioned is "the Big Red 1". I thought Lee Marvin was very good. I also love the Duke and "Sands of Iwo Jima" as someone stated already, but I like the Duke's Cavalry movies better.
I watched "Enemy at the Gate" last weekend for the first time. Fast forwarded thru a large part. The arms were correct, and the filming was great especially in the first 30 minutes. Never could figure out what the connection was with the scene where the boy and his grandfather were ambushing a wolf, baited with a tethered horse, and what became of the wolf and the horse. The boy obviously had "deer fever" and whether he fired or his grandfather took the rifle and fired. But I'm not very bright.
DesertShooter
Member
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2006
- Messages
- 129
My favorites are the old classics, but some of the newer ones are okay.
A bridge too far
Air Force
Attack
Band of brothers (mini-series)
Beach Red
Bataan
Battle of the bulge
Back to Bataan
Big Red 1
Black Hawk Down
Beachhead
Battleground
The Dirty Dozen
The Devil's Brigade
The enemy below
The eagle has landed
Fail-safe
The frogmen
Full metal jacket
Fighter squadron
Flying leathernecks
Fixed bayonets
Guadalcanal diary
Gung Ho
Go for broke
The great escape
G.I. Joe
Harts war
Hamburger hill
Heartbreak Ridge
The hunters
Halls of Montezuma
Hell is for heroes
In harm's way
In love and war
The longest day
Lawrence of Arabia
The man who never was
The mountain road
Midway
The naked and the dead
Objective Burma
Patton
Platoon
Play dirty
Pork Chop Hill
Run silent, run deep
Saints and soldiers
The Sand Pebbles
Sahara (Original)
Sahara (re-make)
Saving Private Ryan
Sands of Iwo Jima
Stalag 17
Twelve o'clock high
Tora Tora Tora
They were expendable
Torpedo run
To hell and back
Up periscope
Von Ryan's express
The war lover
Where eagles dare
A walk in the sun
Windtalkers
We were soldiers
Wake island
The wild geese
A bridge too far
Air Force
Attack
Band of brothers (mini-series)
Beach Red
Bataan
Battle of the bulge
Back to Bataan
Big Red 1
Black Hawk Down
Beachhead
Battleground
The Dirty Dozen
The Devil's Brigade
The enemy below
The eagle has landed
Fail-safe
The frogmen
Full metal jacket
Fighter squadron
Flying leathernecks
Fixed bayonets
Guadalcanal diary
Gung Ho
Go for broke
The great escape
G.I. Joe
Harts war
Hamburger hill
Heartbreak Ridge
The hunters
Halls of Montezuma
Hell is for heroes
In harm's way
In love and war
The longest day
Lawrence of Arabia
The man who never was
The mountain road
Midway
The naked and the dead
Objective Burma
Patton
Platoon
Play dirty
Pork Chop Hill
Run silent, run deep
Saints and soldiers
The Sand Pebbles
Sahara (Original)
Sahara (re-make)
Saving Private Ryan
Sands of Iwo Jima
Stalag 17
Twelve o'clock high
Tora Tora Tora
They were expendable
Torpedo run
To hell and back
Up periscope
Von Ryan's express
The war lover
Where eagles dare
A walk in the sun
Windtalkers
We were soldiers
Wake island
The wild geese
I seen it on late night cable once, good movie, and a perfect example on how a being a lone tank seperated from a collumn can really stink.
I liked Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.
I really like to see more WW1 flicks. Was that new movie about WW1 pilots "Flyboys" any good. Looked like fluff (remember The movie "Pearl Harbor"
), but the effects must have been awesome. Jarhead was interesting and thankfully was made because if not the only movie representing the 1st Gulf War would have been "3 Kings"
Braveheart was good...but it was missing a bridge.
I got to hear a few interviews (O&A) about the making of Full Metal Jacket on the radio. Over 2 years to make. Lee Ermy was actually an advisor for the movie, but they liked him so much they gave him the part as the drill instructor. He got into an auto accident right before shooting and he did most of those scenes with 3 broken ribs. The scene in the Barracks where Joker gets slapped took several days to film to get the angle just right. When it came to film Pyles scene, the actor ask to be slapped for real to get it over with. The guy who played Pyle was a profession body builder that let himself go to play the part. He also played Thor in the 80's movie "Adventures in Baysitting" (Same face, totally different body, weird)
They actually filmed some of the Tet offensive scene in England and when it got cold they had heaters under the actors blowing hot air so you would not see their breath.
Critter183
member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2004
- Messages
- 185
Maybe the majority, but there was enough at X-Ray that it should have gotten mention.
armoredman
Member
The Beast is outstanding. I was told the opening scene of the t-62s firing up that village was done with live ammo, as all the filming is in Israel with actual captured Russian equipment.
Very cool movie.
"RPG kaboom tank!"
Very cool movie.
"RPG kaboom tank!"
CraigJS
Member
Seige of Firebase Gloria! R. Lee Ermy is great in this movie as the tough Gunnery sargent, a role he played so well in real life! I work with a guy that had R. Lee as a D.I., he said the guy scared the s**t out of him..
Watch it, you'll see what I mean.
Be safe.
Watch it, you'll see what I mean.
Be safe.
I recently saw...'Fixed Bayonets'...a Korean War film done on a modest budget, but it has some really memorable scenes + some very good acting..i.e..the first scene is short in duration but I like the way the General is portrayed at Division Headquarters...and his Colonels all genuinely LOOK battle-weary..and the film makes you feel the intense cold of that first Korean War winter...brrrrr!.............recommended.
I agree with some others that Private Ryan never played much with me...saw it in the theater and haven't bothered to watch since..it has positives about it..but the idea is ridiculous, and I absolutely hate that awful camera-jarring filming that is now prevelant in movies...sea-sickness with popcorn..hold the camera still you idiot!!!!!...it also has a cheap 16mm look to that so-called special effect...another Spielberg bad idea!
db_tanker
Member
Das Boot
you cannot get more realistic in submarine movies.
Stalingrad
about the same only on the ground warfare aspect
Ambush
good Finnish movie based on the Continuation war...believe it was already mentioned.
One that is on my netflix queue is Tae Guk Gi that has come highly suggested watching...we shall see.
D
you cannot get more realistic in submarine movies.
Stalingrad
about the same only on the ground warfare aspect
Ambush
good Finnish movie based on the Continuation war...believe it was already mentioned.
One that is on my netflix queue is Tae Guk Gi that has come highly suggested watching...we shall see.
D
SolaScriptura139
Member
1. Sergeant York
2. Band of Brothers
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. To Hell and Back
2. Band of Brothers
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. To Hell and Back
seldomseen
Member
How about Memphis Belle. I don't know if it was based on a true story or not, but it gave a perspective on the battle in the skies over Europe. Daylight bombing raids over Germany were brutal on our bomber crews, before we had long range fighter escorts. It's a good movie and worth seeing.
Breaker Morant. Based on an actual incident, the setting is the Boer War in South Africa in the late 1800s. It lays out the issues of colonial insurrection, field interpretation of senior command's instructions, and guerilla warfare. The movie is a series of flashbacks during a court martial and the acting is superb.
BobTheTomato
Member
Red Dawn
Bazooka Joe71
Member
I honestly haven't seen too many bad war movies...
My favorites are(in no order):
Saving Private Ryan
We Were Soldiers
Platoon
Hamburger Hill
Full Metal Jacket
Enemy at the Gate
Band of Brothers
Didn't Like:
Behind Enemy Lines
The ones I like are the ones I own, so I'm sure I'm leaving some out on both sides but its what I could think of.
Edit: OHHH, three more good ones I left out: Harts War, Heartbreak Ridge, and Windtalkers.
My favorites are(in no order):
Saving Private Ryan
We Were Soldiers
Platoon
Hamburger Hill
Full Metal Jacket
Enemy at the Gate
Band of Brothers
Didn't Like:
Behind Enemy Lines
The ones I like are the ones I own, so I'm sure I'm leaving some out on both sides but its what I could think of.
Edit: OHHH, three more good ones I left out: Harts War, Heartbreak Ridge, and Windtalkers.
I thought Courage under Fire only had a short battle scene, and the rest was a court room drama. I haven't seen it in a while, I got to look it up.
Wow I totally forgot about that movie. It was pretty good.
Also in the same vein is Master and Commander. The ship battles were pretty intense. With all these suggestions, I might have to go to Blockbuster tonight.
Red Dawn??? Think about how many stars were in that flick. The best line from that movie was "No one puts Baby in the corner."
Wow I totally forgot about that movie. It was pretty good.
Also in the same vein is Master and Commander. The ship battles were pretty intense. With all these suggestions, I might have to go to Blockbuster tonight.
Red Dawn??? Think about how many stars were in that flick. The best line from that movie was "No one puts Baby in the corner."
- Status