# Best War Movie(s) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2000, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368 "2000-06-14T18:04:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/21 "2000-06-16T14:03:08Z")
Lawrence of Arabia - altho I won’t consider this a war movie Saving Pvt Ryan - because I heard that it was too real CATCH 22 - because life is like that. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/22 "2000-06-16T14:38:34Z")
Kimberly Joy, can you explain your attraction to “Deerhunters?” I really wanted to like it but my reaction when I saw it was just… “so?” Was I ruined by seeing more hard hitting vietnam war movies (like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket) first? Why did they spend the first 45 minutes of the movie on the %@!$ wedding when the guy who got crippled basically faded out of the second half?? (Yeah, I know, Oh the humanity…) help me like this movie, Kimbery joy! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/23 "2000-06-16T14:51:42Z")
Bridge on the River Kwai (have the soundtrack,even) The Big Red One The Longest Day (Dang near every male hollywood star!) My opinion on Vietnam war movies – They Suck. Braveheart is a good movie, just not too historically accurate. 🙂 Saving Private Ryan has a great opening, and then another movie tacked on. Midway I liked. ---
**Author:** ![ReservoirDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@ReservoirDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReservoirDog)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/24 "2000-06-16T16:24:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > **Three Kings** was the best movie of last year, and a good war movie. \*\* I agree. I can’t remember another recent film that was funnier, or sadder, or more thought-provoking, or more just plain fascinating visually. It’s a shame that it was not recognized by the Academy. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2000, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/25 "2000-06-16T18:59:17Z")
By war: Revolutionary War: _The Time of Their Lives_ No battle scenes, but a charming flick, and much of it DOES take place during the revolution. And there’s little real competition. Civil War: _Gettyburg_ WWI: _Paths of Glory_ and _Oh, What a Lovely War_ WWII: Hard to pick one. Maybe _Das Boot_ Korea: _M_A_S_H\* Vietnam: _Apocolypse Now_ It’s something of a mess, but so was the war. Gulf War: _Three Kings_ Probably number one on my list of war films. Crimean War: _Charge of the Light Brigade_ (Errol Flynn version). Historical bunk, but a fun film. Sepoy Mutiny: _Gunga Din_ More Errol Flynn Indian Wars: _Fort Apache_ John Wayne as a calvary Lieutenant whose sympathies are with the Indians. Henry Fonda as an utter bastard. Napoleonic Wars _Love and Death_ Zulu War: _Zulu_ ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/26 "2000-06-16T20:03:40Z")
**Wings** , if only for all the real WWI gear, aircraft, etc., used; couldn’t forget **Zulu** , with (among other things) _the_ classic portrayal of the British Army Colour-Sergeant by Nigel Green (“Mr. Witt, be quiet now, there’s a good gentleman.”); Many bonzer Aussie flicks, such as Gallipolli, Light Horsemen, and of course Breaker Morant; but there were a glut of _really good_ British war films, mostly in the 1950s, but some earlier: The Cruel Sea (1953): brilliant adaptation of Monserrat’s novel of life on a British corvette; In Which We Serve (1942): David Lean’s great wartime Royal Navy epic, with Noel Coward’s finest on-screen moment; The Wooden Horse (1950): true story of ingenious tunnel escape from German POW camp; The Colditz Story (1955): true story of escaping from the high-security castle POW camp; The Dam Busters (1954): true-ish story of RAF raids on the Ruhr dams; Cockleshell Heroes (1956): kayaking commandos mine German shipping (true story); Corvette K-225 (1943): a story of a small ship in the Royal Canadian Navy; Other faves: Lifeboat (1944): Hitchcock, a bra-less Tallulah Bankhead…what’s not to like?; Stalag 17 (1953): Billy Wilder directs Bill Holden and Otto Preminger in the role he was born to play. Some good bad war movies: Forty-Ninth Parallel (1941): One of the worst movies of WWII but hilarious for bad accents and scenery-chewing by Larry Olivier; a U-boat crew runs thousands of miles across Canada (hint: guys, turn left, and there’s the USA!) Captains of the Clouds (1942): Cagney and Alan Hale (pre-skipper) are bush pilots who join the RCAF; classic schmaltz! The best modern anti-war movies I’ve seen are **Oh, What a Lovely War** (1966), based on Joan Littlewood’s stage play, and starring every British actor. Ever. (Does anyone know if this is out on video or DVD yet??) and weird but wonderful, **How I Won the War** : Richard Lester directs John Lennon as Trooper Gripweed (thus kicking off the granny glasses look), Michael (pre-“Phantom”) Crawford, and almost every British character actor still around. “The British army has _always_ fought the wily Pathan! Stripped mother-naked under the broiling sun…” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/27 "2000-06-16T20:03:55Z")
Ah, well, if we’re going to break it down war by war: [ul][li] **French and Indian War** - _Last of the Mohicans_[/li][li] **Revolutionary War** - Still waiting for a great one. Maybe _The Patriot_ will be good. Why hasn’t there been even _one_ great movie about this war?[/li][li] **Texas War for Independence** - _The Alamo_[/li][li] **Civil War** - _Glory_[/li][li] **Indian Wars** - _Geronimo_. Caught this one on cable a few nights ago, and was surprised at how good it was.[/li][li] **Spanish American War** - Can’t think of any good ones.[/li][li] **WWI** - _Gallipoli_. Captures the waste and stupidity of that war.[/li][li] **WWII- European Theater** - _Saving Private Ryan_[/li][li] **WWII- Pacific Theater** - _Bridge on the River Kwai_[/li][li] **Korea** - _M_A_S_H\* (By default. There _should_ be more movies about this war. There’s a lot of dramatic material there, from the Pusan Perimeter, to the Inchon Landing, to The Frozen Chosin, to MacArthur vs. Truman. Nobody’s made a good drama yet, though.)[/li][li] **Viet Nam** - _Casualties of War_[/li][li] **Grenada** - What was that Clint Eastwood movie- _Heartbreak Ridge_?[/li][li] **The Cold War** - _The Hunt for Red October_[/li][li] **The Gulf War** - Haven’t seen any of these. Sounds like _Three Kings_ fits the bill, though.[/li][li] **Boer War** - _Breaker Morant_[/li] **Zulu War** - _Zulu_[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/28 "2000-06-16T21:51:31Z")
I cannot believe that no one has said anything about “Patton”! I absolutely loved that movie. I even heard that when General Pattons daughter first saw the movie, with George C Scott adressing the troops infront of the large American flag, She thought for a moment it was actually her father. She said that the movie did a picture perfect depiction of him. ---
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/29 "2000-06-16T21:58:29Z")
To give two foreign-language classics their due: Both by Eisenstein: The Battleship Potemkin Aleksandr Nevsky (Which, interestingly enough, is shown playing on a screen at the re-education camp in “Red Dawn”). Joseph ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/30 "2000-06-16T22:00:44Z")
Good save **kinoons**. Can’t believe I forgot about _Patton_. I would put it at number 2 behind _Saving Private Ryan_. Brings up an interesting point, though. Hey, \*_kiffa_, why wouldn’t you consider _Lawrence of Arabia_ a war movie? Seems to me it falls into the same category as _Patton_- a war movie which is long on character study and short on actual battle scenes. ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/31 "2000-06-17T04:30:13Z")
I think that Lawrence of Arabia is one of the best movies which looked not only at a very unique character it also dealt with power. While Jack Hawkins as Allenby was pretty good and Jose Ferrer as the Turkish officer raping the local men was outstanding, no one could possibly beat Claude Raines role as the true politico who knew in ins and outs of how to effectively use power, diplomacy and authority. The complete opposite was brilliantly shown when the Arab tribes men sat around or on the table in Damascus trying to run city govt services - not the skills that one learns romping in the desert. Yes, I guess you could say that war is about power; but it is only one manifestation of it. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/32 "2000-06-17T06:16:58Z")
“Patton” or Saving Ryans Privates, um, tough call. I would personally have to choose “Patton”. “Saving Private Ryan” was an excellent movie, but the insite into the personality of General George S. Patton is worth more than the entertainment value of “Saving Private Ryan”. Also, there is a lot of historical value to the movie “Patton”. All things considered if you laid a copy of each in front of me, and told me I could watch one, I’d watch “Patton” something I completely missed before, I also love “Last of the Mohicans”. Not only is the movie excellent, it has one of the most wonderful soundtracks I’ve ever heard. I highly recommend picking it up. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/33 "2000-06-17T16:07:18Z")
Since noone has mentioned it, I’ll cast a vote for the 1945 movie **A Walk in the Sun**. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but as I recall, a platoon has to go blow up or capture a bridge someplace in Italy. Not a lot of action, but some of the BEST dialog (Richard Conte is great in this film). This was the movie that made me sit up and take notice of something different in filmdom when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/34 "2000-06-17T18:00:27Z")
Sheeeeesh. To jump on the “No One’s Mentioned THIS” bandwagon, I nominate Jean Renoir’s **Grand Illusion** (1937). Not only the best war movies, but one of the best MOVIES, period. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/35 "2000-06-17T23:22:38Z")
In no particular order: The Great Escape Das Boot The Caine Mutiny The Cruel Sea All Quiet on the Western Front ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/36 "2000-06-18T08:00:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Braveheart is a good movie, just not too historically accurate. 🙂 > \*\* Oh, I think that Braveheart is historically accurate, all right. In the tradition of “1941” and “One Million Years B.C.”, that is. I’ll grudgingly admit that it’s more historically accurate than those two. But not by much. However, it is a really good movie. If you count it as a war movie (tenuous, but hey, we’re all entitled to an opinion) then it’s one of my favorites. Others include: Midway Tora Tora Tora Hunt for Red October The Caine Mutiny (How can you not love the trial scene where Humphrey Bogart loses it: (rattling steel ball bearings in hand) “I proved…with geometric logic…that a duplicate key to the icebox DID exist!” Great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/37 "2000-06-18T08:31:00Z")
**Lawrence of Arabia** - My favorite movie, war or other. Amazing script, acting, photography, directing, everything. Named my current company “Akaba” from that movie. “Akabas over there, Ali. It’s only a matter of going.” **Patton** - Another great character study. “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” **Saving Private Ryan** - Those last two I consider more character studies than war movies. This has got to be the best war movie made. Really brings home the whole randomness of war. **Zulu** - Dramatic stuff here. **Dr. Strangelove** is also one of my favorites, but I can’t classify that as a war movie. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/38 "2000-06-18T09:03:38Z")
The one with Kirk Douglas in it as a French WWI officer in the trenches was one of the best and one of Douglas’s best too. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/39 "2000-06-19T04:13:00Z")
Battleground. No huge stars, no overripe performances, no did-he-really-say-that? dialogue, and no Technicolor. Just the best friggin’ war movie ever made. casdave: You’re thinking Paths of Glory. Admittedly a great one, but it’s got three of the four flaws listed above. ---
**Author:** ![HomeSlice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9d8465/32.png) [@HomeSlice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomeSlice)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368/40 "2000-06-19T04:35:53Z")
Zulu The Longest Day Hunt for the Red October Stripes 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movie-s/22368.md?page=3)