WWII movie thread in honor of Memorial Day
- Thread starter lucas80
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Not a movie but Band of Brothers remains my all time favorite.
Never liked "Kelly's Heroes" much. Bunch of retread semi-successful actors the studio threw into the movie to satisfy their contract requirements. And Sutherland is horrible, playing a '60s hippie transported back 25 years in time.
Matter of personal preference, of course. Your mileage may vary.
Hope this comes through, here is a list of films on TCM.
- Journey for Margaret
- The Shopworn Angel
- A Guy Named Joe
- Hell to Eternity
- The Steel Helmet
- Objective, Burma!
- The Hill
- The Dirty Dozen
- Where Eagles Dare
- Kelly's Heroes
- Men of the Fighting Lady
- The Horizontal Lieutenant
- Imitation General
- See Here, Private Hargrove
- What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
- Mister Roberts
- Ensign Pulver
- Pillow to Post
- The Password is Courage
- No Time for Sergeants
- Onionhead
- The Better 'Ole
- Carnival in Flanders
- The Dawn Patrol (1938)
- The Red Badge of Courage
- Sergeant York
- Friendly Persuasion
- The White Cliffs of Dover
- The Young Lions
- The Fighting Sullivans
- Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
- The Best Years Of Our Lives
- Pride of the Marines
- Above and Beyond
Stalag 17. BTW, I just learned that Leonard on Community is Sgt. Hoffman.
He is also in 5 or 6 Perry Mason episodes - fine actor. Nice to know he is still with us!
Here is a list of my favorite WW2 movies. Not in any particular order
Stalag 17
Bridge on the River Kwai
Saving Private Ryan
Das Boot
The Caine Mutiny
Patton
The Enemy Below
From Here to Eternity
Stalingrad
Enemy at the Gates
Das Boot
Where Eagles Dare
Sahara
Conspiracy
Downfall
Patton
Best war mini-series of all-time: Band of Brothers
I found out a few weeks ago that the old lady has never seen The Longest Day. This weekend is a perfect excuse to make her watch it with me. Might have to throw in Patton as well for good measure, even though we have both seen that countless times.
And not a WWII movie, or even an American war movie, but I might have to watch Breaker Morant this weekend too, just because it's awesome.
And not a WWII movie, or even an American war movie, but I might have to watch Breaker Morant this weekend too, just because it's awesome.
That's a fine list. A mix of what one would consider a standard war movie, a few classics, a couple of comedies. I've seen most of them, but not all. Just watched "Objective Burma" a month or two ago for the first time in many years, and was surprised at how good it is.
Stalag 17. BTW, I just learned that Leonard on Community is Sgt. Hoffman.
This x 1,000
Want to recommend Friendly Persuasion which is not really a war film though you will see how it fits in. Gary Cooper is the patriarch of an Indiana Quaker family during the Civil War. It is one of our favorite films and another classic William Wyler (Ben Hur, The Best Years of Our Lives) film.
Saving Private Ryan...and quite frankly it ends there fellas. For a bleeding heart Tom Hanks loves this country...and appreciates the traditions of the military and the sacrifice of the average citizen in war...too bad that worthless excuse of a president doesn't see it the same way...
I believe every High School Senior should watch the opening assault on Omaha Beach.
But honestly the rest of the movie is pretty mediocre aside from the ending battle at the bridge. If I were a Briton or Canadian though would have problems because the elite SS Panzer Division they claimed to be fighting was deployed in and around Caen.
Longest Day remains THE movie about Normandy.
Schlock...I've talked to vets that were there...from their accounts Hanks nailed it...throwing up in the transports...defecating on themselves...bodies being blown to pieces on the beaches...yes we owe these brave people our lives and liberty...and they are owed an apology for the destruction of a land they fought to save.
Right. Saving Private Ryan is a very accurate depiction of generalized small unit fighting that took place. Longest Day is the much more accurate historical portrayal of the battle itself.
As far as mini series goes-"The Pacific" was pretty good, in my opinion..
Fan of quite a few other movies already mentioned..Would like to add "Midway" to the impressive lists.
Fan of quite a few other movies already mentioned..Would like to add "Midway" to the impressive lists.
I am surprised no one mentioned the mini series "War and Remembrance"...I would rate it the clear cut #1 except for the romantic nonsense. It's portrayal of Auschwitz and the gassings were so real it made you feel a part of what was happening.
The Pacific was decent. If I'd never seen Band of Brothers I'd probably say good. It's just that Band of Brothers was so good there was no way The Pacific could follow it up.
As combat films go, Saving Private Ryan was probably the best ever made -veterans have said the only thing missing was the stench of death.
Two other very good combat films are Battleground and Pork Chop Hill.
I think Band of Brothers is a national treasure. I bet even the creators were surprised at how well it turned out.
Two other very good combat films are Battleground and Pork Chop Hill.
I think Band of Brothers is a national treasure. I bet even the creators were surprised at how well it turned out.
Does The Sound of Music count?
I would say definitely yes! Incidentally, the stage musical version played in Austria finally and for the very first time last year. No one wanted to produce it there because they felt that it cast the Austrian population in a poor light ... for simply rolling over during the 1938 Anschluss.
Others:
"The Good German"
"Casablanca"
"Sink the Bismark"
"The Bridge Over the River Kwai"
"The Book Thief"
"Sophie Scholl"
"Railway Man"
"The Ninth Day"
"Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"
"Das Leben der Anderen"
"Salon Kitty"
"Das Boot"
"The Night Porter"
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I agree about a lot of what LC says about how this movie came to be, and the actors. But, it's an interesting morality play in my mind. To break orders, kill, steal... In a time of war. Plus I love the SS tank commander, and his decision to violate his own morals and orders.
I read somewhere that the cast for "The Great Escape" was assembled much the same way for the same reasons. They had contracts that required the studio to put them in X number of movies, something like that. The result in that case, of course, was one of the best war movies of all time.
The Great Escape is fantastic. More trivia - the film had to show Americans being there to be marketable. In real life, they were moved to their own camp before the tunnels were completed. And legend has it that some actors were miffed at the way Steve McQueen would try to steal every scene he was in. The example I think of is where the officers are hinting they want McQueen to escape and gather info then allow himself to be recaptured. Next time you watch the move note how he is always fidgeting even during someone else's lines. McQueen also did many of his own motorcycle stunts.
I may have to read the book again. Author is Paul Brickhill. It's been 40 years or so.Just checked. It's non-fiction, so a great deal of the stuff that made the movie entertaining isn't in the book (because it never happened). But IIRC there's far more detail about life in the camp and about the logistics of the escape, including drawings.
OK, I'm ordering it. Not available in Kindle. Will report in a few weeks when I've read it again.
Just got done watching Patton, now I can't decide what to watch next.
I should probably finish Band of Brothers. I've seen most of them, but I do think the whole thing. I've read the book a few times, just never watched the whole mini series.
I should probably finish Band of Brothers. I've seen most of them, but I do think the whole thing. I've read the book a few times, just never watched the whole mini series.
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