# Best All-Time Military Movies -- Pre-Poll Data Gathering **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835 "2015-05-26T00:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/1 "2015-05-26T00:38:23Z")
I have no major quarrel with the movies listed at [http://screenrant.com/best-war-military-movies-list/](http://screenrant.com/best-war-military-movies-list/) which are: -Black Hawk Down -Apocalypse Now -Platoon -Full Metal Jacket -Saving Private Ryan …but before building a poll to test SDMB’s preferences, I’d like some other “war movies” to consider. Some I can think of offhand include: -Hell is For Heroes -Stalag 17 -To Hell and Back Please add to the list. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/2 "2015-05-26T00:54:19Z")
+1 for Stalag 17. Heh. I’d put Patton on the list. Same with The Dirty Dozen. Does Inglourious Basterds count as a war movie? ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/3 "2015-05-26T01:02:45Z")
Three Kings. Inglorious Bastards. Glory. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/4 "2015-05-26T01:04:19Z")
I really love _Memphis Bell._ ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/5 "2015-05-26T01:05:28Z")
Here’s one (of many) memory refreshers: > **[The 50 best war films of all time](https://www.timeout.com/film/best-war-movies-of-all-time)** > > Time to see that war face ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/6 "2015-05-26T01:07:16Z")
From the other side: Das Boot Letters from Iwo Jima ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/7 "2015-05-26T01:10:59Z")
The Great Escape ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/8 "2015-05-26T01:15:06Z")
The Right Stuff Dr. Strangelove ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/9 "2015-05-26T01:18:47Z")
Gallipoli The Execution of Private Slovik A Midnight Clear All Quiet on the Western Front ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/10 "2015-05-26T01:40:39Z")
The Caine Mutiny The Young Lions Enemy at the Gates ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/11 "2015-05-26T01:44:46Z")
Paths of Glory La Grande Illusion ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/12 "2015-05-26T01:51:12Z")
Schindler’s List Fail Safe On The Beach adding: A Bridge Too Far The Longest Day ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/13 "2015-05-26T01:57:09Z")
Tora! Tora! Tora! The Bridge on the River Kwai The Longest Day I think is the best of the lot, despite John Wayne’s acting. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/14 "2015-05-26T02:02:33Z")
Their website’s a mess on a tablet. Did they mention “We Were Soldiers,” “The Enemy Below,” or “The Cruel Sea”? Zulu Dawn? Otherwise, you all have picked the ones I was thinking of, especially The Boat and Strangelove. Edit, how about some of the giant Eisenstein movies, likd Alexander Nevsky or The Battleship Potempkin? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/15 "2015-05-26T02:11:27Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Their website’s a mess on a tablet. Did they mention “We Were Soldiers,” “The Enemy Below,” or “The Cruel Sea”? Zulu Dawn? > > Otherwise, you all have picked the ones I was thinking of, especially The Boat and Strangelove. > > Edit, how about some of the giant Eisenstein movies, likd Alexander Nevsky or The Battleship Potempkin? Good point about some of the older (even Silent Era) ones. It may come down to polls by decade or conflict or something that will put apples with apples. Other ideas as we progress with naming good movies about war and peace and such? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/16 "2015-05-26T02:18:50Z")
**Zulu From Here to Eternity** (It’s about war, even though most of the movie takes place during peacetime) **Gettysburg The General** (Buster Keaton – despite the comedy, it was based upon a real incident) ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/17 "2015-05-26T02:23:17Z")
Glory ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/18 "2015-05-26T02:24:47Z")
Pork Chop Hill Sink the Bismarck The Dirty Dozen The Great Escape Twelve O’Clock High Zulu Das Boot Glory ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/19 "2015-05-26T02:26:16Z")
A Few Good Men. Downfall (aka Der Untergang) ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835/20 "2015-05-26T02:27:24Z")
Talvisota (the Winter War), a great war movie from my mother’s home land of Finland. It shows the story of two farmers called up to fight, echoes of my grandfather who did the same. Lesson of the movie, don’t f%$k with the Finns! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-all-time-military-movies-pre-poll-data-gathering/720835.md?page=2)