# Recommend some war movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650 "2011-03-31T17:35:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/1 "2011-03-31T17:35:42Z")
Pretty much says it all in the title. Old or new, comedy or tragedy. I’m mostly interested in WWII movies, maybe Iraq, maybe WWI, not so much Viet Nam. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/2 "2011-03-31T17:40:43Z")
The Great Escape - WWII. based on a true story AND it has Steve McQueen on a motorcycle. What more could you want? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/3 "2011-03-31T17:41:15Z")
Do you want spirited adventure, classics, espionage, stuff that makes you think, what? **Hell in the Pacific** , with Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune is about as anti-war as you can get. I never tire of **In Harm’s Way** as a classic tale. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/4 "2011-03-31T17:42:47Z")
**Glory** Yeah it’s Civil War but it is Matthew Broderick at his award winning best and Denzel Washington at his black power best. Excellent movie. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/5 "2011-03-31T17:46:07Z")
**Bridge on the River Kwai** , of course. And **The Bridges atToko Ri** is another good one. Try **The Bedford Incident** for more of a cold war flair. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/6 "2011-03-31T17:47:47Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Do you want spirited adventure, classics, espionage, stuff that makes you think, what? Great question, because it’s a wide open field. I guess I want two things: Serious movies where men have to make tough choices and face death in a very real way. Letters from Iwo Jima, Windtalkers, Saving Private Ryan. Comedies where war is the background, but hijinks ensue. Father Goose, Operation Petticoat. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/7 "2011-03-31T17:50:22Z")
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo A Bell for Adano A Walk in the Sun Hard to find but a must-see: Fires on the Plain (Kon Ichikawa, 1959) ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/8 "2011-03-31T17:52:46Z")
Blackhawk Down is a great great movie. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/9 "2011-03-31T17:54:10Z")
The Battle of Algiers Mr. Roberts The Lighthorsemen Das Boot Enemy At The Gates ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/10 "2011-03-31T17:57:12Z")
**Gallipoli** , **Das Boat** , **The Longest Day** I dug the heck out of Iraq’s **The Hurt Locker**. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/11 "2011-03-31T18:00:55Z")
**The First Of The Few** (aka **Spitfire** ) **12 O’Clock High** **The Dam Busters** **One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing** **Catch 22** **Battle Of Britain** **Tora! Tora! Tora!** **1941** **Hope And Glory** **The Longest Day** **Stalag 17** **No Man’s Land** **Three Kings** ---
**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:** [March 31, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/12 "2011-03-31T18:01:31Z")
Zulu! Dawn Patrol Sands of Iwo Jima The Dirty Dozen ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/13 "2011-03-31T18:02:19Z")
**Full Metal Jacket** –the first part is possibly the funniest military-themed stuff ever committed to film. Goes downhill after they leave boot camp, though. **Band of Brothers** –not a movie, but a mini-series originally shown on HBO. Tracks a company of airborne guys from training all the way to Berlin. Outstanding series–really a must watch if you like WWII stuff. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/14 "2011-03-31T18:02:59Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Blackhawk Down is a great great movie. It looks like it. I’m not so much interested in airplane movies, though something like Memphis Belle would be awesome. Boat movies are always welcome. I loved Das Boot. I’m most interested in infantry shooting rifles and throwing grenades dying in the mud. (Or sand. The Hurt Locker comes to mind.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/15 "2011-03-31T18:03:49Z")
Restrepo ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/16 "2011-03-31T18:09:22Z")
\*\*Letters from Iwo Jima \*\*is, IMHO, one of the best war movies ever. It is one of Clint Eastwood’s best directed films, and far superior to his **Flags of our Fathers**. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/17 "2011-03-31T18:13:09Z")
> [@usar\_jag](#): > > \*\*Letters from Iwo Jima \*\*is, IMHO, one of the best war movies ever. It is one of Clint Eastwood’s best directed films, and far superior to his **Flags of our Fathers**. The former is why I started ths thread. Should I avoid the latter? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/18 "2011-03-31T18:16:39Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > The former is why I started ths thread. Should I avoid the latter? It really isn’t much of a war movie. It isn’t nearly as good as Letters. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/19 "2011-03-31T18:21:57Z")
Stalingrad (1993) A Bridge Too Far (1977) Tae Guk Gi (aka Brotherhood and The Brotherhood Of War) (2004) (about the Korean War) Das Boot (1981) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650/20 "2011-03-31T18:22:47Z")
Some fine recommendations here, so I’m quite surprised to see no one has mentioned [**The Big Red One**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080437/). One of the best WWII films ever! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-war-movies/576650.md?page=2)