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Mish mash => Open Forum => Topic started by: timsatx on June 06, 2011, 03:42:41 PM

Title: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: timsatx on June 06, 2011, 03:42:41 PM
Not to be a rip-off, but I didn't want to sully the other thread. What, in your opinion, are some of the best military movies ever?

I can probably name a few and remember more later:

1. Patton
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. The Patriot
4. Pearl Harbor (either one)
5. Longest Day
6. Midway
7. Das Boot (many more submarine movies, I may list them later)
8. The Bridge on the River Quai
9. The Great Escape
10. The Sand Pebbles
11. Glory
12. The Crossing
13. The Deer Hunter
14. Full Metal Jacket
15. Apocalypse Now
16. The Dirty Dozen
17. Blackhawk Down
18. Platoon
19. Master and Commander Far Side of the World
20. The Last of the Mohicans
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Bergmenized on June 06, 2011, 04:58:12 PM
Tora! Tora! Tora! was 10,000 times better than Pearl Harbor (which I could only stand to sit through for about 1/3 of the movie).

The rest of the list is excellent. I would add "The Thin Red Line", "The Battle of the Bulge", "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo", "12 O'Clock High".

Dan
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Ron Dawg on June 06, 2011, 05:41:51 PM
The Green Berets with John Wayne
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: just gone on June 06, 2011, 06:53:04 PM
The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum and Curt Jergens (aka Curd Jürgens)

It was so good they stole the story for Star Trek's Balance of Terror.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Bob on June 06, 2011, 06:53:40 PM
The Patriot, although a decent movie. It was really Braveheart in America!  :D
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: JetJock on June 06, 2011, 07:06:06 PM
Flags of our Fathers (Iwo Jima), Sands of Iwo Jima, Letters from Iwo Jima, Guadacanal, Gettysburg, Band of Brothers

I'd have to say the most realistic and honest was Saving Private Ryan.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Jeremy Mitchell on June 06, 2011, 07:26:20 PM
Not a movie but I posted about the documentary "Restrepo" a while back.  It was a very moving account of a platoon from the 173rd Airborne and their struggles during a year in Afghanistan.

My dad and I watch Band of Brothers every year and I always appreciate what those WWII vets did.  I always try to watch any old war movie I come across just to see what the struggles were back then and how I can relate to some of their issues even today.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Jeremy Mitchell on June 06, 2011, 07:28:13 PM
Flags of our Fathers (Iwo Jima), Sands of Iwo Jima, Letters from Iwo Jima, Guadacanal, Gettysburg, Band of Brothers

I'd have to say the most realistic and honest was Saving Private Ryan.

Wow, you are a little older and wiser than I thought.  You gotta be close to 90 or so, by now.  ;D
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Pokey on June 06, 2011, 08:01:31 PM
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
Saving Private Ryan
Enemy at the gates
Last of the Mohicans
Full Metal Jacket
Heartbreak Ridge
Platoon
Glory
The last Samurai
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Nosmo on June 06, 2011, 11:53:21 PM
Breaker Morant
Von Ryan's Express
The Dirty Dozen
The Lighthorsemen - Australian mounted light infantry.  Has the best mounted frontal "charge" I've ever seen.

Don't forget "Dr. Strangelove".  Great movie and it IS military oriented, sort of.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: YoDoc on June 07, 2011, 12:10:15 AM
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
Saving Private Ryan
Enemy at the gates
Last of the Mohicans
Full Metal Jacket
Heartbreak Ridge
Platoon
Glory
The last Samurai


+1 internetz, sir!
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: medicevans on June 07, 2011, 04:37:45 AM
Restrepo is a great documentary.  Very good.
Band of Brothers
Saving Private Ryan
Bridge Over the river Quai--Remember watching this one when I was fairly young on a Sunday afternoon.
The Great Escape
A Bridge too Far
Titanic
Full Metal Jacket
The Patriot
Sure, I'll even go with Braveheart, although not really a war movie
Only had time to get through part of Tora Tora Tora!, but what I saw was good.
The Longest Day--Possibly the first WWII movie I ever watched.  I sat all the way through it the first time and then watched most of it again! 
Andersonville--Proving Americans can be just as cruel to each other as the Germans can be to each other.
Gettysburg
Gods and Generals
Flags of our Fathers was a really good book, but I can't comment on the movie.


And, if you feel like getting pissed off at people who hate America:
Fall From Grace.  I came out of my chair and wanted to kick some A$$ but couldn't as it was only a movie screen. 
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: snarf on June 07, 2011, 05:27:43 AM
Tears of the Sun, Bruce Willis
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Jim M. on June 07, 2011, 06:14:33 AM
My personal favorite- Battleground.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: tjpgi on June 07, 2011, 06:50:24 AM
Kellys Heroes .. a different slant on war
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: mr t on June 07, 2011, 07:07:40 AM
Stalag 17 in 1953 with William Holden.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Toxz Qwaste on June 07, 2011, 07:38:27 AM
star wars
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: ManWorkinghere on June 07, 2011, 07:55:44 AM
Stalag 17 in 1953 with William Holden.
+1 on the 'chess game' in this movie.

Tears of the Sun, Bruce Willis
-1 on the premise of rescuing a foreign doctor, +1 on the team's support to the refugees

"Enemy Mine" is an interesting sci-fi 'military' movie
-1 for Starship Troopers' movies
+1 for 'Soldier' starring Kurt Russell
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: JetJock on June 07, 2011, 08:17:12 AM
Wow, you are a little older and wiser than I thought.  You gotta be close to 90 or so, by now.  ;D

Older, maybe. Wiser, still up for discussion.

Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Boonedawg on June 07, 2011, 10:36:12 AM
RED DAWN
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: JetJock on June 07, 2011, 11:17:00 AM
RED DAWN

This is supposed to be the "best" list.  :P
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: jim_de_hunter on June 07, 2011, 04:48:03 PM
The Big Red One.   Lee Marvin at his best.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Boonedawg on June 07, 2011, 07:55:05 PM
I know more of a joke...
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 07, 2011, 08:40:59 PM
lots of good movies here...tora tora tora is great and i'll watch it everytime and if it's on 10 times in a row, then the channel will stay right there! "YOU WANT CONFIRMATION CAPTAIN? THERE'S YOUR CONFIRMATION!" :)

isn't gods and generals that epic civil war series that's supposed to be in three parts (with robert duvall as general lee)? if so, what's up with the sequels? are they still going to make them? very good movie.

i'll have to disagree with bridge over the river quai...i have read about a lot of pi55ed off veterans of that camp and how the movie was completely wrong...especially the part about the british commander who willing helps the japs. i haven't seen the movie, but as i said, i've read a lot of scathing comments from those who were there.

band of brothers is another i watch all of the time. i served in Aco 1/506 while in korea and am regimentally affiliated with them. i make it to ftcky once in awhile to visit the 4th brigade (506th).

full metal jacket was out the summer i was in boot camp and i swear to god that one of the DI's in my platoon was r. lee emery! he looked just like him, bald head and all! when we got to basic and saw his picture on the wall, we were crapping our pants! :)  later on during the second half of osut, he came around the barracks with his leather riding gear on and doing donuts in the gravel in the platoon area! seemed he was a little unbalanced...ended up getting DI of the cycle though.

Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: timsatx on June 07, 2011, 09:24:15 PM
Don't mistake movies as documentaries, they are for entertainment first, accuracy second or maybe even further down. This isn't about which is the most accurate. It was still a great movie.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: timsatx on June 07, 2011, 10:07:34 PM
A few more:

21. To Hell and Back
22. We Were Soldiers (once and young)
23. Behind Enemy Lines
24. U571
25. Casualties of War
26. Hamburger Hill
27. Fat Man and Little Boy
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 07, 2011, 10:38:53 PM
gotta disagree with number 25. a lame attempt to cash-in from platoon. to me, it was a liberals' (cheap) slam against the war without any deep thought behind it.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: tonedeaf on June 07, 2011, 11:19:58 PM
Kellys Heroes .. a different slant on war

+1 This makes the best list based on the cast alone.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 07, 2011, 11:33:10 PM
military channel had a marathon showing of KH...loved it, though the commercials were driving me nuts!
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Two Skies on June 08, 2011, 12:08:13 AM
(snip)

isn't gods and generals that epic civil war series that's supposed to be in three parts (with robert duvall as general lee)? if so, what's up with the sequels? are they still going to make them? very good movie.
Gods and Generals (2003) is considered a prequel to Gettysburg (1993).  The Last Full Measure (part three) was never made as far as I know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Full_Measure_%28novel%29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Full_Measure_%28novel%29)

Too bad about Gods and Generals doing so poorly in the box office.  I enjoyed that movie, and would have loved to have seen a sequel.  These movies made very good efforts to bring home the sheer brutality in war, that men experienced in this conflict.

Gettysburg is a good watch too.

On another note, while not the best military movie ever made, I really enjoyed Stealth (even with the geography snafus).  I thought the carrier deck sequences, etc. were very well done, especially for some Hollywood planes that don't really exist.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 08, 2011, 01:00:48 AM
warfare from the civil war era to wwI was brutal and deadly. the advent of modern weapons (improved cannons, machine guns, mines, automatic rifles, etc) along with out-dated tactics and formations, made for gruesome carnage which arguably hasn't been seen since.

i don't want to make light of it, but it has always pi55ed me off when bleeding hearts cried that 58,000 deaths in ten years of viet nam was devastating; the same thing goes for the ten years we've been fighting in iraq and towelheadistan (where we've lost what- 5K?)...don't these morons know that SINGLE BATTLES in the civil war resulted in deaths that far exceed the total lost in VN and current operations? and having that many men killed in a day or two wasn't out of the norm, but was the norm!
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Jeremy Mitchell on June 08, 2011, 09:50:51 AM

i don't want to make light of it, but it has always pi55ed me off when bleeding hearts cried that 58,000 deaths in ten years of viet nam was devastating; the same thing goes for the ten years we've been fighting in iraq and towelheadistan (where we've lost what- 5K

You are low on your guess.  The last count that I saw was 6,038 total for OIF/OEF, and New Dawn.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 08, 2011, 10:40:22 AM
You are low on your guess.  The last count that I saw was 6,038 total for OIF/OEF, and New Dawn.

yeah, after 'the chosen one' got elected, i've noticed how the media have stopped counting. what a coincidence. now if we're still in those countries and a republican is elected in '12, how much anyone wanna bet those counts come back?

still, just over 6K fighting two wars over ten years in the circumstances is amazing. i remember the 'experts' were calling for close to 10K US dead for desert storm.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Rhino on June 08, 2011, 10:59:19 AM
I'm late jumping on this thread but my vote for all time best goes to Band of Brothers. I know it wasn't released on the big screen as a single movie but all 10 episodes taken as a whole was amazing.

Tora tora tora, Midway, Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot are some of my other favorites.

Also the most surprising great war movie for me was Letters from Iwo Jima. I didn't expect to like it but found it very moving. I thought it was better done then Flags of Our Fathers.
Title: Re: Best Military Movies Ever Made
Post by: Jeremy Mitchell on June 08, 2011, 11:11:33 AM
I'm late jumping on this thread but my vote for all time best goes to Band of Brothers. I know it wasn't released on the big screen as a single movie but all 10 episodes taken as a whole was amazing.

Entertaining and they did a great job of showing the conditions that those Soldiers fought and lived in all at the same time.  And if you didn't feel a lump in your throat at all during any of the episodes then you are just a cold hearted SOB.  My dad and I have a ritual of watching it when my parents come and visit over the Christmas holiday, and I will never turn down a chance to watch it.  It is a very humbling experience, especially since I get thanked for what I do and I just think to myself that I haven't endured anything compared to those men.