# "Best" war movies (redux) **URL:** \ **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:** 2
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/21 "2006-11-07T13:48:44Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] 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. [/QUOTE] Minute for minute, probably the best program ever produced for television in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/22 "2006-11-07T13:56:45Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Dr. Strangelove [/QUOTE] I’ll second that one: it’s not normally thought of as a war movie, but as a blackl comedy, but it is (of course) about the war to end all wars – and one of the greatest comedy films ever made. And while we’re talking about comedy films about fictitious wars, can I add: **Duck Soup** ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/23 "2006-11-07T14:57:35Z")
Be sure to add Samuel Fuller’s [**The Big Red One**](http://imdb.com/title/tt0080437/) to your list of must-see war movies. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/24 "2006-11-07T15:12:57Z")
[Battleground](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041163/) [Midway](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074899/) [Run Silent, Run Deep](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052151/) [The Enemy Below](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050356/) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/25 "2006-11-07T15:24:18Z")
There is no way that _Midway_ deserves to be on any list that has the word “Best” in it! That movie is one of the most worthless pieces of dreck ever produced. I’d like to add _The Boys in Company C_ to the list. R. Lee Ermey plays, well, himself a good 9 years before his turn in _Full Metal Jacket_. Also: _Sands of Iwo Jima The Bridge Over the River Kwai Mr. Roberts A Bridge Too Far Is Paris Burning? The Dam Busters_ ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/26 "2006-11-07T15:54:27Z")
_Go Tell the Spartans_. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/27 "2006-11-07T15:55:33Z")
**MASH** And one I’m sure nobody will mention (or has even seen, for that matter): **A Midnight Clear** Also, **The Execution of Eddie Slovik** ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/28 "2006-11-07T16:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] **MASH** And one I’m sure nobody will mention (or has even seen, for that matter): **A Midnight Clear** I saw it, liked it, didn’t hear mush about it though. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/29 "2006-11-07T16:33:54Z")
Not a mention of … Empire of the Sun The Wooden Horse Blackhawk Down 633 Squadron ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/30 "2006-11-07T16:35:13Z")
Almost forgot “The Battle of Britain” ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/31 "2006-11-07T16:42:26Z")
[The Bedford Incident](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058962/) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/32 "2006-11-07T16:44:20Z")
**Sergeant York.** Not entirely a war movie, but certainly a fascinating portrait of a war hero. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/33 "2006-11-07T17:23:20Z")
32 posts and no mention of “From Here to Eternity???” How the mighty have fallen (or maybe there just isn’t all that much war in it). ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/34 "2006-11-07T18:29:09Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] 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.** [/QUOTE] That’s what I liked about _Private Ryan_, although the OP disqualified it. All the “America the free” and “Remember Pearl Harbor” was gone from the movie. It was the first movie I remember where the basic message in the battle scenes was “try not to occupy the same space as a bullet” ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/35 "2006-11-07T18:32:41Z")
Is it not cool to mention **Saving Private Ryan**? For the D-Day scene if nothing else, but I find that 2/3 of the movie is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/36 "2006-11-07T18:51:26Z")
Depending on how elastic our definition of “war” films is, throw in John Frankenheimer’s **The Train** (Burt Lancaster as a very determined French Resistance saboteur of the train lines, delaying a train full of French fine art on its way east), and **Spartacus** (which is technically about a slave uprising, but has plenty of gladiatorial combat and field battles). ---
**Author:** ![Grey\_area](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grey\_area](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey_area)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/37 "2006-11-07T18:54:19Z")
Though already mentioned, “Black Hawk Down” is unrivaled for its visceral and accurate (as far as I can tell) portrayal of modern urban combat. When I first watched it theaters I had a ball in my throat throughout the whole movie. I also enjoyed because it lacks the heavy handed political message found in most war movies, though this is arguable. “Master and Commander” (also already mentioned) is a completely different sort of war movie, though I guess some might hestitate to even call it a war movie. I remember some reviewer calling it a “grown-up adventure film” and I think that’s a fairly accurate description. Has all the thrills, fun, and humor of an adventure film but coupled with sophistication, historical accuracy, and attention to detail. Great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/38 "2006-11-07T20:05:01Z")
I wholeheartedly agree with the nominations of _Das Boot_, _Band of Brothers_, _Der Untergang_, _Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World_, _Patton_, _Lawrence of Arabia_, _The Big Red One_, and _The Longest Day_. I’d add in the following: [ul] [li]_The Devil’s Brigade_[/li][li]_The Guns of Navarone_[/li][li]_Henry V_ (Kenneth Branagh’s version)[/li][li]_Kingdom of Heaven_ (yeah, yeah, I know it flopped, but I loved it anyway)[/li][li]_The Duellists_ (okay, not _exactly_ a war movie, but close[/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/39 "2006-11-07T23:16:49Z")
[QUOTE=NicePete] I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far and noone has mentioned **Patton** or **The Longest Day**. \ [/QUOTE] I’m not much of a war movie buff (possibly because I’m a girl and a pacifist), but I’ll heartily second “Patton.” It’s simply an amazing movie. ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368/40 "2006-11-07T23:28:32Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] _The Light Horsemen_ _Wings_ _Stalag 17_ [/QUOTE] Wow! I’ve never seen _The Light Horsemen_ mentioned before. I was starting to think I’m the only one to have seen that move. Loved it! It’s a good film overall, but it has to have the most but-kicking charge ever filmed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-war-movies-redux/379368.md?page=3)