# "Best" war movies (redux)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 7, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368 "2006-11-07T00:02:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/1 "2006-11-07T00:02:19Z")
OK, OK, I know we’ve done this lots of times before. Still, I think it deserves another go round but, with perhaps, an emphasis on the lesser known films, and/or the more unusual ones (so, Saving Private Ryan is great, yes, but not quite what I had in mind for this thread).
I should point out that while I’ve been laid up for a while (post surgery), I’ve wasted my time, in a most enjoyable way, watching (mostly war) movies (and, of course, crawling the pages of the SDMB).
So, . . .
[Beach Red](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0061389/) - if you’re willing to overlook a bizarre opening credit sequence, and opening song, this is one hell of a movie. A bit quirky and uncannily like A Thin Red Line. In its own way even better.
[Hell to Eternity](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0053901/) - I’ve seen this a million times. Why is never mentioned on anyone’s list of best war flics. And, it’s "based on a true story - that always gets me. David Jansen is amazing!
[Come and See](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/) - yes, come and see what war is like to those caught in it. To the civilians. A nightmare in Hell.
[Zulu](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0058777/) - simply the BEST war movie. Ever.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/2 "2006-11-07T01:24:34Z")
In no particular order:
_All Quiet on the Western Front
Paths of Glory
The Grand Illusion
They Were Expendable
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Verboten!
Cry “Havoc”
30 Seconds Over Tokyo
Twelve O’Clock High
The Story of GI Joe_
(Leaving out some of my favorite movies, like _The Best Years of Our Lives_ and _Germany Year Zero_, which are technically post-war movies.)
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### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/3 "2006-11-07T01:31:59Z")
10 more:
_Ashes and Diamonds
The Battle of Algiers
The General
The Memphis Belle_ (original Wyler documentary)\*
Men in War
Paisan
Three Kings
A Time to Love and a Time to Die
Underground
Vacas\*
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### Author:  [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/4 "2006-11-07T02:36:42Z")
Thining only of Viet Nam movies, there are the obvious:
_Platoon
Full Metal Jacket
The Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now_
Don’t overlook:
_Casualties of War
The Killing Fields
Hearts of Darkness - A Film Maker’s Apocalypse_
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/5 "2006-11-07T02:43:00Z")
Don’t forget:
_Lawrence of Arabia_
_A Bridge Too Far_
_Cross of Iron_
_Enemy At The Gates_
_Gallipoli_
_The Great Escape_
And an Honourable Mention to _Biggles_, which isn’t technically a war film, but still a lot of fun, with some great WWI flying sequences and the like…
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### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/6 "2006-11-07T02:45:04Z")
I do better with “Favorites” rather than “Best” because I’m not qualified to judge. I like many of the movies already mentioned (especially **Three Kings** ) but I would hope any long list would include
**[War Hunt](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0056675/)** (1961)
This is a quiet, haunting movie set during the Korean war. Roy Loomis (Robert Redford, in his big screen debut) is a green recruit who’s sent to the Front all clean and shiny, but he quickly learns that war does strange things to people when he meets Raymond Endore (John Saxon). Endore is a gloomy, creepy but very valuable oddball who sleeps during the day and goes out alone at night dressed in black and wearing blackface, finding and marking enemy positions and mines for his superiors. As a bonus he gets to kill (by knife) randomly whenever he wants. It’s hoped he’ll keep his killing to the other side, but most people give him a wide berth just in case because he just oozes danger. Loomis, so innocent, has a run-in with Endore when he tries to befriend Endore’s sidekick, an orphaned Korean kid nicknamed Charlie. Most of the men know that you don’t talk to Charlie (or Endore) but Loomis doesn’t get it and thinks that Endore is a bad influence on Charlie. Endore has found his place in the world, the time and place he was born for, not to mention his perfect companion, and has no intention of leaving. Little things like cease-fires and war endings have no meaning to him.
War Hunt is an almost abstract character study of two very different people. It was made on a VERY low budget in the hills outside of Los Angeles, but it feels real to me. The haunting music sets a mournful tone, and the only battle action is from Loomis’s point of view, such as his first bombardment experience, which turns him from a wary, frightened soldier into a catatonic zombie. Several other actors made their big screen debuts in the film, such as Tom Skerrit and Sydney Pollack. It also stars Charles Aidman (one of those actors whose name may not be familiar, but you’ve probably seen him tons of times) and Gavin MacLeod. Francis Ford Coppola has a bit part as a truck driver. All of the acting is supurb, but Redford and Saxon are standouts.
Since it’s basically an anti-war movie it was buried pretty quickly after its release. I’ll bet that if it had been shown in France it would have become a favorite among the budding auteurs. I first saw it on late late late night TV back in the 70’s. It was never even released on VHS, but someone did a good deed and recently released it on DVD. It’s worth seeking out, but it’s not going to be like most other war movies on these lists so be forewarned.
This got terrible reviews (grrrr) and died at the box office, but I also really like
**[The Great Raid](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0326905/)** (2005)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/7 "2006-11-07T02:55:53Z")
_The Light Horsemen_
_Wings_
_Stalag 17_
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### Author:  [@M.Meursault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Meursault)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/8 "2006-11-07T03:02:50Z")
_Stalingrad_ is fantastic. It’s nice to see war from the opposing side occasionally.
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/9 "2006-11-07T03:10:06Z")
Apart from the very good ones already listed (esp _Lawrence_, _Zulu_, _Paths of Glory_ and _All Quiet)_:
_The Young Lions_ - Brando at his best and a surprisingly good turn from Dean Martin
_Das Boot_ - The submarine film to end them all
_Catch-22_ - unmissably good with an amzing cast
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### Author:  [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/10 "2006-11-07T03:18:40Z")
[A Walk in the Sun](http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=53181)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/11 "2006-11-07T03:46:32Z")
_Gettysburg
Glory
The Horse Soldiers_
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/12 "2006-11-07T04:34:59Z")
[QUOTE=phungi]
_Apocalypse Now_
[/QUOTE]
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: _Apocalypse Now_ is not a war film (despite being set in the midst of a war). Neither, strictly speaking, is _The Great Escape_, although both are great films in their own right.
I’ll throw in a vote for _Das Boot_, which shows the utter despair of the demoralized crew sent on a hopeless mission with the knowledge that they are on the losing side of an immoral war and just wanting to survive to make it back to dock.
The ultimate war movie, though, is _Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb_, which shows in stark fashion the utter absurdity of mutually destructive deterrence as a stratagem for preventing war between aggressive superpowers. “Mr. President, I’m not saying we wouldn’t get our hair mussed. But I do say, no more than ten to twenty million, tops! Depending on the breaks, of course.”
_Paths of Glory_ is a great film marred by casting Kirk Douglas improbably in the role of a French colonel.
I don’t even know what to say about _Come And See_; I’m not sure if it’s a war film, or some kind of existential horror film, or what. I couldn’t even sit through it the one time I went to see it in a theater–not because it’s bad, or even that it is disturbing in any explainable sense, but just…indescribably horrific. If there is a film that puts the viewer into the kind of unimaginable hell that combat must be, this would be it.
Stranger
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### Author:  [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/13 "2006-11-07T04:44:29Z")
I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far and noone has mentioned
**Patton** or
**The Longest Day**.
Also, I’ll throw another vote in for **Lawrence of Arabia**.
If we’re willing to go a little more afield and consider movies that are somewhat tangentially war-movies, how about:
**Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World** or
**The Man Who Would Be King**?
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### Author:  [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/14 "2006-11-07T04:46:27Z")
Also, the last episode of **Blackadder IV** , while perhaps not a movie per se is some of the most powerful war footage evar.
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### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/15 "2006-11-07T04:46:49Z")
No _The Longest Day_? Or _Tora Tora Tora_? For shame.
Anyway, I’ll suggest…_Downfall_. (Or _Der Untergang_) An account of Hitler’s final weeks, days, and hours, as authentic as was possible. Absolutely _chilling_ portrayals.
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### Author:  [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/16 "2006-11-07T05:08:01Z")
Some of the more visceral wartime pschology of war is represented in this trilogy.
chronologically:
[Kelly’s Heroes](http://imdb.com/title/tt0065938/)
[Hamburger Hill](http://imdb.com/title/tt0093137/)
[Heartbreak Ridge](http://imdb.com/title/tt0091187/)
…throw _Born on the Fourth of July_in somewhere in the middle for good measure.
Some grit and reality. What the soldiers are living.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/17 "2006-11-07T05:11:31Z")
Wow, what a great treasure trove of movie “finds”. Some of the older ones, and especially the foreign ones, sound quite outstanding. I am already preparing my list - thank God I have the equivalent of a “repertory cinema” in a nearby video rental place (and, no, it’s not a Blockbuster).
As an aside, **Equipoise** , I quite deliberately chose not to see _The Great Raid_. I have to admit that the reviews turned me right off. I mean they were just terrible. And, besides, I had read and thoroughly enjoyed the book and didn’t want to risk the chance of the movie somehow undoing the excellence of the book. Now, it certainly seems I was wrong. Add another one to my list.
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/18 "2006-11-07T05:19:32Z")
I’ll second Catch-22 and add
A Very Long Engagement yes, it is a war movie, in a different way.
Das Boot already mentioned but worth a second.
Hope and Glory - A young boy in London during the battle of Briton.
Gallipoli heartbreakingly good with a very young Mel Gibson and directed by the incomparable Peter Weir.
and for nuclear war I’ll add
Fail Safe
Dr. Strangelove
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/19 "2006-11-07T07:53:54Z")
Do not miss **Band of Brothers** , the HBO miniseries by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Maybe the best war movie ever. All 10 hours of it.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2006, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/20 "2006-11-07T08:14:52Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train]
I don’t even know what to say about _Come And See_; I’m not sure if it’s a war film, or some kind of existential horror film, or what. I couldn’t even sit through it the one time I went to see it in a theater–not because it’s bad, or even that it is disturbing in any explainable sense, but just…indescribably horrific. If there is a film that puts the viewer into the kind of unimaginable hell that combat must be, this would be it.
[/QUOTE]
I watched it, I loved it. The bit with shooting the picture was a bit surreal, the whole ending of the girl’s story was a bit horrific, but otherwise, I really liked it. I was going to come in and nominate it as “Best”.
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