What are your Top 5 War films?

[CF74]

Gallipoli is an honorable mention...

 

[haleyrules]

No love for The Deer Hunter, ey?

Yes..The Deer Hunter is one of my all time favourites. Helll yes!!

 

[haleyrules]

do star wars and lord of the rings count?

Mmmmmmm....NO! No wormy sushi for you!

 

[lukin2006]

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. American Sniper
3. The Green Berets
4. Tora Tora Tora
5. Band Of Brothers (more a mini series)
6. Passchendaele (Canadian WW1 movie, honorable mention)

 

[darthseinfeld]

An underrated film that deserves a mention is Letters from Iwo Jima.

Absolutely. I was debating between that, Gettysburg and Braveheart for #5

 

[darthseinfeld]

As a Marine, Full Metal Jacket is my favorite. The closest depiction of Marine Corp boot camp ever by any movie. I was at Parris Island boot camp in 75 and on fire watch. We were 1st phase so on the 3rd deck. It was about 2am and one of the recruits went out on the ledge and started screaming I want to die, I want to die!. I woke up the Drill Instructor who came out with his smokey hat and boxers and a t-shirt and started yelling at the guy, ******* jump, just ******* jump!

Full Metal Jacket seemed so cartoonish before I joined, only to find out that the film is startingly accurate not only in its portrayal of bootcamp, but of the Marine Corps in general

 

[darthseinfeld]

The Deer Hunter
Apacolypse Now
The Thin Red Line
Full Metal Jacket
Tigerland

Tigerland is so ridiculously underrated

 

[darthseinfeld]

One that will creep up in the coming years is Beast of No Nations.

Ive only seen it once so it hasn't resonated as much as the films I have listed. But it is utterly amazing. And definitely not for the faint of heart

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

I always thought that if you took the first half of Full Metal Jacket and the last half of Platoon and put them together you'd have had the perfect movie on the Vietnam war.

The first half of FMJ was one of the best representations of USMC boot camp ive seen, all except that last bit. Live ammo was never allowed in the Squadbay and your rifles were kept under lock and key while you slept.

 

[darthseinfeld]

I always thought that if you took the first half of Full Metal Jacket and the last half of Platoon and put them together you'd have had the perfect movie on the Vietnam war.

I was underwhelmed by the last half of Full Metal Jacket until I did a tour in Fallujah. Looking at it from that perspective Kubrick did a good job of portraying the macabre spectical of a large scale urban offensive.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Some very good mentions on here some of which are favorites of mine. I really like the boys in company C just because of R Lee Ermey but don't think its up there with the greats.

Platoon.
Zulu...........with Michael Caine. Not to be confused with Zulu Dawn.
Full Metal Jacket.......altho I think after the boot camp scenes it loses a bit of steam.
The sands of Iwo Jima.

 

[waldoputty]

Mmmmmmm....NO! No wormy sushi for you!

tough crowd

run silent run deep
midway
where eagles dare
kelly's heros
guns of navarone

 

[Dallas_Cowboys50]

Im partial to Civil War stuff so Glory, Gettysburg and Gods & Generals gotta be in my top 5......WW2 Movies I prefer the ones from a non-American viewpoint, like Downfall, Letters From Iwo Jima, Come And See, "Europa, Europa", hopefully the upcoming Dunkirk movie will be good. Theres not much stuff out there for the Revolutionary War, but The Patriot is good and TV series "Turn: Washington's Spies" I love, sad to see it ending.......Another dark horse for me is Kingdom of Heaven, Im an Atheist but I love seeing and learning about stuff involving the Crusades......honestly I'll watch just about anything historical/War/period drama......



oh and also, its a very, very long WW2 "mini" series, but I absolutely loved "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance"

 

[Trouty]

Tigerland is so ridiculously underrated

Hard to believe it's a Joel Schumacher film, too. Although, he did start off making small films.

 

[Dallas_Cowboys50]

As a Texan who frequently lives and/or travels to other states, I HATE Full Metal Jacket cause the first thing every clown says is the "Steers and...." bit, like theyre the first to think of it besides R. Lee Ermey.......gets so old.....

 

[Trouty]

I was underwhelmed by the last half of Full Metal Jacket until I did a tour in Fallujah. Looking at it from that perspective Kubrick did a good job of portraying the macabre spectical of a large scale urban offensive.

You were there in 04, right? I may have told you, but in case I didn't -- every time we drew a new Bradley (because those ****s blew up 8 of ours that we deployed with [out of 16 -- just crazy], to one extent or another -- they would be deemed a "catastrophic loss" even with a mere crack in the hull) it was from 3rd ID -- the same Bradleys that supported you guys.

The 11M's (drivers) would scribble **** in the drivers hatch, and always it would say "**** Fallujah" lol

You guys kicked *** there, man. Much respect, Marine.

 

[Tabascocat]

My favorites have been mentioned: FMJ, Platoon, SPR and etc. But, I want to mention another one.....Enemy at the Gates. An excellent sniper war story.

 

[yimyammer]

No movie is better than Band of Brothers or to a slightly lesser extent The Pacific.
As movies go I will stay on my outside the box approach and go with Schindler's List, Judgement at Nuremberg, and Lincoln.

agreed, my immediate reaction is

1. Band of Brothers
2. Band of Brothers
3. Band of Brothers
4. Band of Brothers
5. Band of Brothers

but I'll play along so...

1. Band of Brothers
2. Schindlers List
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. The Pianist
5. Inglorious Basterds

Honorable mentions, Platoon, Enemy at the Gates, The Paciific

There are MANY great foreign WW2 films too, so here's a list for foreign movies:

1. Army of Shadows
2. Flame and Citron
3. La Vita è Bella (Life Is Beautiful)
4. Generation War
5. Black Book

Honorable mentions: Das Boot, Europa Europa, Max Manus, Sophie Scholl, Come and See

 

[Tabascocat]

I was kind of hoping that this thread stayed on topic with strictly war movies, not side stories during war time. With that said, does Stripes count as a war flick? Will be in my top 5 if so...

 

[Dallas_Cowboys50]

agreed, my immediate reaction is

1. Band of Brothers
2. Band of Brothers
3. Band of Brothers
4. Band of Brothers
5. Band of Brothers

but I'll play along so...

1. Band of Brothers
2. Schindlers List
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. The Pianist
5. Inglorious Basterds

Honorable mentions, Platoon, Enemy at the Gates, The Paciific

There are MANY great foreign WW2 films too, so here's a list for foreign movies:

1. Army of Shadows
2. Flame and Citron
3. La Vita è Bella (Life Is Beautiful)
4. Generation War
5. Black Book

Honorable mentions: Das Boot, Europa Europa, Max Manus, Sophie Scholl, Come and See

I cant believe I forgot Das Boot!.......but I did mention Europa Europa and Come and See, classics.......Ive also seen Generation War and Black Book from you list, definitely greats as well!



Schindler's List and The Pianist belong in a separate "Holocaust Movie" Genre to me....but both are of course very good...harrowing obviously, but good....