# What is the war movie (historical) you'd like to see made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 15, 2021, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152 "2021-05-15T11:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/141 "2021-05-21T19:16:42Z")
And those are minor and pedantic, and in some cases simply opinion. Compared to many other series- The Tudors, the Vikings, etc- the series isa marvel of historical accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/142 "2021-05-21T19:27:07Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I like the idea of movies about Kursk and Nelson’s battles but one that I think would benefit from a big-budget modern take is [“Operation Chariot”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid) about the raid on St. Nazaire during WW2. _The Gift Horse_ is one that is recognisably based on CHARIOT. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/143 "2021-05-21T21:13:43Z")
The destruction of the heavy water plant in Norway by Allied commandoes and Norwegian Resistance fighters would also make for a great film: > **[Norwegian heavy water sabotage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Finland > Iceland ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/144 "2021-05-21T21:14:25Z")
Already done, I think [The Heroes of Telemark - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroes_of_Telemark) ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/145 "2021-05-22T03:06:12Z")
Not really a war movie, per se, but I’d love to see a movie about [Moe Berg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2021, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/146 "2021-05-22T03:19:17Z")
Rather than just the Plains of Abraham, I’d enjoy seeing a movie about the previous four years of Montcalm. He was a very able general. I’d even enjoy a good movie about the Seven Years War - which essentially led to the rise of England (and its role in Canada and India) after most of the European powers (Austria, Prussia, Russia, France, Sweden, various pre-German states, etc) fought to a prolonged and costly stalemate. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/147 "2021-05-22T06:20:48Z")
Has there ever been a movie specifically about the WWI aerial arms race? They went pretty quickly from unarmed reconnaissance planes to figuring out where to mount the machine guns to synchronizing the guns to the propellers, capturing shot-down planes to examine their technology, and even the Dutch airplane manufacturer selling planes to both sides. I think there’s a story in that! ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/148 "2021-05-22T19:29:06Z")
Jan van Leiden and the [Münster Rebellion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnster_rebellion). Insurrection, a siege, compulsory polygamy, torture and executions, the bodies of the ringleaders put on display in cages (which are still there, hanging from the church steeple, 485 years later) … What more could you ask for? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/149 "2021-05-23T04:14:48Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Pavlov’s House. This is the first one I thought of. I’m not sure how apropos it would be to have a movie where Russians are the good guys but I suppose the basic story could be updated to some modern location. In any case, all the elements of a war epic are present in what happened historically. Done right it would be an amazing war film. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/150 "2021-05-23T04:38:28Z")
I would love to see a movie about the return of the bodies of soldiers to the US after WW2. The logistics and mental toll of the people doing the work would make a good story. Also a story about the camera work done for all of the clips we see of aircraft in WW2. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/151 "2021-05-23T05:26:02Z")
> [@dummygladhands71](#): > > Also a story about the camera work done for all of the clips we see of aircraft in WW2. The Netflix miniseries/documentary [Five Came Back](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Came_Back_(TV_series)) goes into this somewhat, as one of the directors covered (William Wyler) oversaw shooting and editing of footage obtained from operational aircraft, sometimes even going out on missions. I don’t recall which of the three segments gives his story the most attention. It might even be interspersed throughout all three. Anyway, something to look into. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/152 "2021-05-23T13:06:41Z")
Personally, I’m tired of sanitized war movies that turn real heroes into fake Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/153 "2021-05-23T17:04:23Z")
> **[Emu War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > > The Emu War, also known as the Great Emu War, was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia over the later part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus said to be running amok and destroying crops in the Campion district within the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. The unsuccessful attempts to curb the population of emus, a large flightless bird indigenous to Australia, employed Royal Australian ... Strictly speaking not a war film but still an interesting topic probably best handled with a light touch. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/154 "2021-05-24T12:00:17Z")
The war between the state of Ohio and the territory of Michigan over “the Toledo strip”. > **[Toledo War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was a boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo Strip. Control of the mouth of the Maumee River and the inland shipping opportunities it represented, and the good farmland to the west were seen by both parties as valuable economic assets. > Poor geographical understanding of the... ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/155 "2021-05-24T12:38:18Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > The war between the state of Ohio and the territory of Michigan over “the Toledo strip” Looks like Michigan won. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/156 "2021-05-24T15:35:48Z")
> [@dummygladhands71](#): > > I would love to see a movie about the return of the bodies of soldiers to the US after WW2. The logistics and mental toll of the people doing the work would make a good story. I think that would be an interesting thing, but I’d think it would be better treated as more of a multi-part documentary, rather than as a dramatic series. I just have a feeling that a dramatic treatment of it would necessarily center on the macabre or mental health aspects of it. In practice, it was a phenomenally huge logistical undertaking that was impressive in its own right, from the exhaustive search in Germany and Europe for MIA airmen, to the search for casualties across the Pacific, to the efforts involved to disinter about 60% of the dead and ship them home, while simultaneously concentrating the remaining ones into permanent cemeteries. Fascinating stuff, but I’m not so sure it’s dramatic in the way that would make for a good feature film. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/157 "2021-05-26T14:49:34Z")
I’ve also wondered why they haven’t given the English Civil War the cable-series/miniseries treatment yet. There’s more than enough intrigue/political drama there, as well as lots of opportunities for gritty and bloody battle scenes. Same thing for the Wars of the Roses. I wonder about some of those medieval battles like Crecy, Poitiers or Agincourt. Poitiers in particular would be very interesting, considering that the English actually _captured the King of France_ during the battle. Finally, I think that adapting [Bernard Cornwell’s “Warlord Chronicles”](https://www.goodreads.com/series/250571-the-warlord-chronicles) would be fantastic. In a nutshell, it’s the story of Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred, etc… set in the backdrop of native Britons/Romano-Britons fighting the invading Saxons in the 5th or 6th century. Lots of fighting, lots of romance, lots of mystic stuff, and lots of political/palace intrigue. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/158 "2021-05-26T15:01:57Z")
There was a feature film (bordering on a short miniseries) covering the English Civil War at least in part: > **[Cromwell (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwell_(film))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Cromwell is a 1970 British historical drama film written and directed by Ken Hughes. It is based on the life of Oliver Cromwell, who rose to lead the Parliamentary forces during the later parts of the English Civil War and, as Lord Protector, ruled Great Britain and Ireland in the 1650s. It features an ensemble cast, led by Richard Harris as Cromwell and Alec Guinness as King Charles I, with Robert Morley as Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchest... ---
**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:** [May 26, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/159 "2021-05-26T15:05:54Z")
Well, it would be nice if they made a **good** movie about the English Civil War. **Cromwell** isn’t it. My AP Euro students picked that one to pieces. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152/160 "2021-05-26T15:10:50Z")
If it was by virtue (or rather vice) of historical inaccuracies, I fear they will often have cause for disappointment. If it was for the dated cinematography and script, well… I personally didn’t mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-war-movie-historical-youd-like-to-see-made/942152.md?page=9)