Post by Erik Rupp on Jun 19, 2010 2:13:46 GMT -5
Let me preface this by saying that there are many great War movies that I have yet to watch.
But among the movies that I have seen I've got to say that these really stand out.
Saving Private Ryan - The beach landing is one of the most powerful sequences ever filmed. The rest of the movie is well above average for a WWII movie.
The Bridge on the River Kwai - For my money this one is better than David Lean's later masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia. This is a great movie with amazing depth in both the plot and the characterization. And Lean's direction is fantastic. The cast is amazing, too!
Stalag 17 - The stark black and white photography adds appropriately to the mood of this one. This is the inspiration for Hogan's Heroes, except that the comedy was kept to a minimum here. While being a very entertaining movie this is also a fairly serious story and has some pretty darned good drama and tension.
Letters from Iwo Jima - Another powerful film, this one by Clint Eastwood. A darned near flawless film, this one really gives a solid and accurate account of the Japanese soldiers who fought for their country during the Pacific War. There are some truly moving and even frighteningly shocking moments here.
Defiance - A true story, and a really good movie. This is a story that most people knew little or nothing about (Jews making camps in the forests to escape the Nazis). This is one compelling film.
Tora Tora Tora - A very accurate telling of the story leading up to and including the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is almost accurate enough to be shown in history classes. Hell, for the most part it is accurate enough and should be shown in history classes. It's also fairly good dramatically and has great battle scenes.
The Longest Day - The biggest cast! Where the movie comes up a little short on characterization (although making the absolute most of each character's screen time), it more than makes up for it in giving a very good, and fairly complete, picture of the events of D-Day. One of the best War movies for sure.
Patton - George C. Scott didn't win (and turn down) the Oscar for best actor for nothing! His performance in Patton is one of the greatest of all time. Karl Malden's performance as Omar Bradley is darned near as good! Just about everything in this movie is flawless. The script, direction, and acting in this one is all absolute top level.
I know that there are many more great War movies, but those are the ones that I've seen that jumped out at me the most.
But among the movies that I have seen I've got to say that these really stand out.
Saving Private Ryan - The beach landing is one of the most powerful sequences ever filmed. The rest of the movie is well above average for a WWII movie.
The Bridge on the River Kwai - For my money this one is better than David Lean's later masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia. This is a great movie with amazing depth in both the plot and the characterization. And Lean's direction is fantastic. The cast is amazing, too!
Stalag 17 - The stark black and white photography adds appropriately to the mood of this one. This is the inspiration for Hogan's Heroes, except that the comedy was kept to a minimum here. While being a very entertaining movie this is also a fairly serious story and has some pretty darned good drama and tension.
Letters from Iwo Jima - Another powerful film, this one by Clint Eastwood. A darned near flawless film, this one really gives a solid and accurate account of the Japanese soldiers who fought for their country during the Pacific War. There are some truly moving and even frighteningly shocking moments here.
Defiance - A true story, and a really good movie. This is a story that most people knew little or nothing about (Jews making camps in the forests to escape the Nazis). This is one compelling film.
Tora Tora Tora - A very accurate telling of the story leading up to and including the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is almost accurate enough to be shown in history classes. Hell, for the most part it is accurate enough and should be shown in history classes. It's also fairly good dramatically and has great battle scenes.
The Longest Day - The biggest cast! Where the movie comes up a little short on characterization (although making the absolute most of each character's screen time), it more than makes up for it in giving a very good, and fairly complete, picture of the events of D-Day. One of the best War movies for sure.
Patton - George C. Scott didn't win (and turn down) the Oscar for best actor for nothing! His performance in Patton is one of the greatest of all time. Karl Malden's performance as Omar Bradley is darned near as good! Just about everything in this movie is flawless. The script, direction, and acting in this one is all absolute top level.
I know that there are many more great War movies, but those are the ones that I've seen that jumped out at me the most.
