The Best Years of Our Lives wins hands down.
DOWNFALL, The German film about Hitler's last days has been called one of the best war films of all time (it was nominated for best foreign film this year). Has ayone seen it?
thief, It would seem to me that a new film can't be properly classified as the "best war film ever" until 1) people has had a chance to view it, and 2) compared to all the war films we have thus far seen.
I was just going by what the reviews I've read said.
I guess it will be playing in Boston next week, so I'll try and get down to see it.
Teresa Wright just passed away. I think she's the last remaining actor in The Best Years of Our Lives.
Balkan Report:
1) No Man's Land - Bosnian, Oscar for best foreign movie (I think 2003).
2) Lepa Sela Lepo Gore - Serbian ("Nice villages are burning nicely")
3) Underground - Serbian, WW2
"The Pianist"
The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman who, in the 1930s, was known as the most accomplished piano player in all of Poland, if not Europe. At the outbreak of the Second World War, however, Szpilman becomes subject to the anti-Jewish laws imposed by the conquering Germans. By the start of the 1940s, Szpilman has seen his world go from piano concert halls to the Jewish Ghetto of Warsaw and then must suffer the tragedy of his family deported to a death camp, while Szpilman is conscripted into a forced German Labor Compound. At last deciding to escape, Szpilman goes into hiding as a Jewish refugee where he is witness to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw City Revolt in 1945.
Author unknown (copy & paste)
I have to mention "Das Boot" is also called "The Boat."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987) (TV)
Directed by
Bill Couturié
Writing credits
Bill Couturié
Richard Dewhurst
Genre: Documentary / War (more)
Author: Barry Goodsmith from West Orange, NJ
What's there to say about a documentary which combines letters from soldiers in the Vietnam War with news clips and music of the day?
I saw "Dear America" as a senior in high school, back in 1987, yet I remember it as well as movies I saw last year. Celebrities--including Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Robert DeNiro, and Michael J. Fox--read actual letters from actual soldiers fighting the war with such passion, it seemed the letters were read by their writers. But somehow, the focus stayed on the grunts who wrote the letters.
The most moving and memorable was the final letter, read by Ellen Burstyn, written by a mother to the son she lost to the war. The actual letter was placed at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
It's been nearly 17 years since I've last seen "Dear America." I use the video now, a lifetime later, to teach *my* high school students about the Vietnam War.
PG13: real war footage, mild language, and brief nudity.
Lightwizard wrote:"Band of Brothers" isn't a film. Now if there was a topic on the TV forum of best war series.
Ok, ok...so it "technically" wasn't a movie, but I agree with conman, it tops my list for sure. And another I'll throw in the mix is "We Were Soldiers"
Das Boot was very good and to toss in one more that is rarely mentioned as a "war" movie, how about "The Last of the Mohicans" made in 1992 with Daniel Day Lewis. It was set during the French and Indian War.
Lady J, Did you know that Last of the Mohicans was filmed at Chimney Rock Park in NC? That's one beautiful park. My brother took me there when I attended his son's wedding.
The scenery was incredible!! And no, I didn't know the location of the filming before you told me! I am definitely putting it on my list of places to see now. Is Chimney Rock a National Park, do you know? My SO and I have a plan to visit all of the National Parks in the US over the course of our lives. Heck, even if Chimney Rock isn't National, I'm still gonna go. It is one gorgeous place on film and I'm sure even more so in person.
Thank you c.i.!
I thnk Chemney Rock Park is a state park, but don't let that hinder your visit. The views are awesome, and bring your camera.
It is. I checked. But we're still going! Side trips are soemtimes the best trips of all.
Thank you, c.i.
No particular ranking...
12 o'clock high
Platoon
Saving Pvt. Ryan
The Great Escape
Full Metal Jacket
Apocolypse Now
the Dirty Dozen
Guns of Navarone
Good Morning Vietnam
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Patton
Schindlers List
Enemy at the Gates
These are some of my favorites...
I'm not even going to read this thread because I'm almost certain all of these will have been mentioned. (If not, shame on you!)
Platoon; Glory; Full Metal Jacket ... and if it qualifies, Biloxi Blues.
does band of brothers count? if it doesn then band of brothers. if not, either the thin red line, or Gettysburg.
I've been trying to remember the title of a particular war movie I saw about a decade ago. It hasn't been mentioned in this thread, because seeing the title would have jostled my memory.
Here's what I remember about it...
It took place in a wooded area. The kind of woods with minimal undergrowth, where you can see the layout of the land quite well through the trees. I don't recall the season. Maybe late fall?
There is a confrontation between two groups of soldiers, Americans and Germans, I believe, and there is a truce of some kind made between the two sides and, slowly, they start becoming friends. But there is (as always) one nut in the group, an American, and he does something that destroys the entire process.
What was the name of that film? If I remember correctly, the cover of the movie had a picture of the woods on it.
I came back looking for an answer.
Is the movie american made?
We had a good war movie called "The bridge of Remagen"
Towards the end of WWII, young boys (teenagers) were drafted and in this
particular movie, a whole group of young teenage soldiers
were guarding the bridge. When the Americans tried
to cross the bridge they were met by heavy fire from these
kids. Not knowing who they were, the Americans set up
a tent and strategically cornered the kids. When they
came from behind towards the ditch the kids were lying
in, they recognized the young faces who looked utterly
frightened and fearful. "Kids go home" was the message
from the Americans.
Great, great movie!
That sounds interesting, CJ. I'll have to check it out.
I wasn't familiar with the story until I read this.
Yes gustav, except I made a mistake. The movie I described
with the young boys is called "The Bridge" (Die Bruecke)
and the "Bridge of Remagen" (Die Bruecke von Remagen)
is another brilliant war movie you actually can buy at Amazon.com
Here their review
Quote:Fine casting, rugged characters, and authentic military detail make The Bridge at Remagen one of the best World War II action films of the 1960s. Based on actual incidents during the final Allied advance on Germany in March 1945, the story focuses on the U.S. Army's exhausted 27th Armored Infantry, assigned to seize the bridge at Remagen, on the Rhine River, to prevent 50,000 German troops from retreating to safety. Lieutenant Hartman (George Segal) leads the mission, while a Nazi major (Robert Vaughan) defies orders by attempting to hold the bridge instead of blowing it up. With strong emphasis on war's harsher realities, the film features compelling characters who illustrate the camaraderie of survivors and the heroism of mavericks in the thick of battle. Segal and Ben Gazzara effectively convey a hard-won friendship, and the film's dynamic action (filmed in Czechoslovakia and Italy) never overwhelms the story's emotional impact. Highly recommended.
