# What Non-US battles could be turned into a Really Good Movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2008, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912 "2008-09-10T08:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/1 "2008-09-10T08:12:14Z")
Taking advantage of the fact my wife was away for work last night, I was able to watch _Zulu_, _A Bridge Too Far_, and _Legionnaire_ in The Comfy Chair with the lights off- and thoroughly enjoyable it was too! šŸ˜ƒ Anyway, it got me thinking about how most War Movies these days are about US military engagements, and how it would be great to see some major, Non-US military battles turned into a Big Budget, English Language, Epic War Movie like _Zulu_ or _Saving Private Ryan_. My contenders: - The [Fall of Tenochtitlan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Tenochtitlan); in fact, anything involving Spanish Conquistadores facing off against lots of Aztecs/Mayans/Incans would make a great movie, I reckon. - The [Battle of Imphal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Imphal) and the [Battle of Kohima](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kohima); the turning points of the almost unknown Burma Campaign in WWII. - Any of the major battles from The [Spanish Civil Wa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War)r- the classic ā€œAnti-War imageā€ of a soldier dropping his rifle as he has been shot comes from this war, yet Iā€™m not aware of any Big Budget, English Language films on any of the battles from the Spanish Civil War. - The [Battle of Vienna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna); where a European army defeated the Ottoman Turks and halted their advance into Europe in the 17th Century. One of Historyā€™s Great and Pivotal Battles, and yet sadly under-appreciated, IMHO. - The [Anglo-Zanzibar War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War) of 1896; it would be unique as being the only war movie ever made that was actually longer that the war it was about. šŸ˜ƒ - Any of the major battles from the [Falklands War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War); Iā€™m not aware of any films about the Falklands War although there was certainly a lot going on there at the time. So, what are your suggestions? The major criteria is they must not involve US forces, for the simple reason that there have been more than enough War Movies made about Americaā€™s involvement in WWII, the US Civil War, etc, and itā€™s time some other countries got a turn at having battles involving them given the Epic War Movie treatment. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/2 "2008-09-10T08:49:31Z")
I would love to see a movie about [Baron Ungern Von Sternberg,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungern_von_Sternberg) the crazed Russian mystic and warlord who attempted to take over Mongolia during the chaos following the Russian Revolution, and was eventually defeated by the Red Army but managed to hold his own for several months, which was fairly incredible. Daniel Day-Lewis would be phenomenal in the title role. Another good one - the [Winter War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War) between the USSR and Finland. Simo Hayha killed something like 500 enemy soldiers with an unscoped Mosin Nagant rifle, and the Finns were able to put up a hell of a fight. The [Rhodesian Bush War.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_bush_war) Modern-day cavalrymen riding horses in short-shorts with automatic rifles in the 1970s would be a hell of a unique sight. It was a desperate and ill-fated war, but would make a great film. Probably not PC-enough though. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/3 "2008-09-10T08:50:33Z")
Any of the Israel vs. some random neighbouring country conflicts would be a good setting for a Hollywood blockbuster. Good vs. Bad. Larger than life character that would allow actors to chew the scenery. Pretty desert landscapes. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/4 "2008-09-10T10:32:29Z")
You may enjoy [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054847/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054847/) I donā€™t remember whether it depicted a alot of battles or did so very spectacularly, but the original material is the most important Spanish saga (_el romance del Cid_); thereā€™s many amazing episodes in it which would be a whole _romance_ if written about a lesser man. And how often do you get a general so mighty that he won a battle after death? On a similar vein, Iā€™d like to see a movie about GuzmĆ”n el Bueno; he is one of my favorite characters from medieval Spain, dudeā€™s brass bollocks were large enough to make cannons out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/5 "2008-09-10T10:32:33Z")
Somebody really ought to make a movie about the Battle of Thermopylae. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/6 "2008-09-10T10:47:28Z")
Thereā€™s a movie coming out next month called _Passchendaele_ about a major Canadian battle in WW1. [Hereā€™s a link to the official movie site](http://www.passchendaelethemovie.com/) and [hereā€™s the obligatory Wiki article on the battle.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passchendaele) ---
**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:** [September 10, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/7 "2008-09-10T12:54:35Z")
Iā€™d love to see a movie about Verdun, but thatā€™s probably hard to portray in a film ā€“ too messy and drawn out. However, the attach on Fort Vaux would have had some great possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/8 "2008-09-10T13:20:38Z")
Iā€™d like to see something dealing with the [Battle of Kapyong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kapyong), which took place during the Korean War. Perhaps it wouldnā€™t count for the purposes of this thread, since Americans were in the area. But it was primarily a British, Australian, and Canadian affair, and had that edge-of-your-seat action that appears in all the best war films. From the link above: > [@](#): > > The Chinese had managed to infiltrate the brigade position by the morning of 23 April. The Australians and Canadians were facing the whole of the Chinese 118th Division. Throughout 24 April the battle was unrelenting. It devolved, on both fronts, into hand-to-hand combat with bayonet charges. The Australians, facing encirclement, were ordered to make an orderly fall back to new defensive positions late in the day of 24 April. 2 PPCLI [Princess Patriciaā€™s Canadian Light Infantry] was completely surrounded. Captain Mills, in command of D Company, 2 PPCLI, was forced to call down artillery fire on his own positions on Hill 677 several times during the early morning hours of 25 April to avoid being overrun. It had to be resupplied by air drops during this desperate timeā€¦ Now that would make for an exciting movie! ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/9 "2008-09-10T13:25:53Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > ā€¦Anyway, it got me thinking about how most War Movies these days are about US military engagements, and how it would be great to see some major, Non-US military battles turned into a Big Budget, English Language, Epic War Movie like _ **Zulu** _ or _Saving Private Ryan_. (bolding mine) Just for clarification of what youā€™re after; _Zulu_ isnā€™t a US war film, is it? Itā€™s British Army vs. Zulus. Isnā€™t this what youā€™re after? But Saving Private Ryan _is_ a US affair. Just a little confused. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/10 "2008-09-10T13:44:24Z")
[Agincourt](http://www.rsc.org.uk/content/5925.aspx) - and you have the bonus that a chap called Shakespeare already wrote the [main speech.](http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/crispen.htm) šŸ™‚ ā€¦ From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he neā€™er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accursā€™d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispinā€™s day. Of course there would have to be a few minor ā€˜historical accuracyā€™ changes once Hollywood got their hands on itā€¦:eek: The year is 1415 and a small band of US troops who are freeing Europe from the Socialist menace face an overwhelming force of English troops determined to destroy democracy, bring in gun control and establish a National Health Service. Before the battle, President Bush (in a cameo performance) delivers a rousing speech\* (without using a teleprompter). Then the amazing cast, led by Tom Cruise (as a renegade Samurai), Sylvester Stallone (reprising his awesome Rambo role) and Matthew McConaughey (as the submarine captain who breaks the codes (Form up! Charge!) the English are using for battle commands). _From this day to the next election, But we in the sh_it shall be remembered We few, we fundamentalist few, we righteous Christians; For he to-day that shares his vote with me Shall be my patsy; be he neā€™er so vile, This day shall reward his corruption; And Democrats in blue States withuot a vote Shall think themselves disechilada ā€¦ disinclinedā€¦ disenfranchified, And hold their Socialism cheap while I speaks That voted for us upon (what day is it?). ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/11 "2008-09-10T14:07:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Somebody really ought to make a movie about the Battle of Thermopylae. > > Daniel If only to show those Athenian boy-lovers a thing or two. My nomination? Why, the [Siege of Fort Zeelandia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Zeelandia), what else? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/12 "2008-09-10T14:08:25Z")
Iā€™ve thought for awhile now that the [Defense of Sihang Warehouse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Sihang_Warehouse) might make an interesting tale. And itā€™s in a theatre of war thatā€™s been badly underexposed in the popular media, I think. Probably a number of battles in the Iran-Iraq war, too, for that matter. And at the risk of sounding ghoulish, there havenā€™t been a lot of depictions of chemical warfare in modern combat situations; itā€™s be interesting to see, if done with any kind of realism. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/13 "2008-09-10T14:15:36Z")
I thought the treatment of the Easter, 1916 Rising in \*Michael Collins \*was lacking. I prefered its depiction in the Young Indiana Jones series. There was a film made in the 1960ā€™s about called IIRC _An Tine Beo_ but I havenā€™t seen it so I canā€™t vouch for whether itā€™s any good. I think it might actually just I think there are ample good Irish and British actors available to make an epic film out of the events and possibly its immediate aftermath. I donā€™t know where the money would come from. I believe The Wind That Shakes The Barley was a moderate commercial success but a film like this would require a bigger budget etc. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/14 "2008-09-10T14:31:49Z")
> [@Gregor\_Samsa](#): > > Thereā€™s a movie coming out next month called _Passchendaele_ about a major Canadian battle in WW1. [Hereā€™s a link to the official movie site](http://www.passchendaelethemovie.com/) and [hereā€™s the obligatory Wiki article on the battle.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passchendaele) I stopped by to say just that. Iā€™m sure it will be rather depressing, but Iā€™ve been looking forward to seeing it since I heard it was in production years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/15 "2008-09-10T14:35:15Z")
The 1415 Battle of Agincourt was already shown in the Olivier and Branagh versions of Shakespeareā€™s _Henry V_, of course, but itā€™d be nice to see it done with a big budget nowadays. You could make a kickass movie of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, with the big wooden ships blasting away at each other and Nelsonā€™s heroic death at his very moment of triumph. A century later, the Battle of Tsushima, in which the Japanese fleet surprised and then virtually destroyed the Russian fleet in 1905, would make a great movie. Some exciting night fighting. The 1864 between the Confederate commerce raider CSS _Alabama_ and the Union sloop-of-war USS _Kearsarge_ took place in the waters off Cherbourg, France. Does that count? Some great dramatic potential there. The 1864-70 War of the Triple Alliance, in which Paraguay insanely took on Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay at one time, could make for an intense movie. Something like 90% of the adult male Paraguayan population died. Ouch. An Imperial Japanese Navy version of _Das Boot_ has potential. Or the last, futile, doomed mission of the battleship _Yamato_, in 1945. The reluctant British attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir in 1940, to keep it from falling into Hitlerā€™s hands, would make an amazing movie. The monumental 1941 British effort to sink the German battleship _Bismarck_ after she sank the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS _Hood_, is due for a big-budget treatment, Iā€™d say. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/16 "2008-09-10T14:42:02Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Any of the Israel vs. some random neighbouring country conflicts would be a good setting for a Hollywood blockbuster. Good vs. Bad. Which is which again? Iā€™m always forgetting. Almost any war movie that frames the story as ā€œGood vs Badā€ is hopelessly simplistic. Iā€™d like to forget about Shakespeare and then do an accurate picture about Agincourt. (On the other hand, watching several hundred English and Welsh archers with dysentery stand in place for several hours might not be as stirring as Shakespeareā€™s version. . . .) Speaking of Shakespeare, Iā€™d also like to see an accurate picture about Richard III, ending with the Battle of Bosworth Field. As far as I know, nobodyā€™s ever made a film about the Battle of Hastings. Not only is it a great story, but there are several hundred people already devoted to re-enacting that battle on an annual basis. I donā€™t think anybodyā€™s dealt cinematically with the Fourth Crusade, in which Christians from Western and Central Europe conquered the Christian city of Constantinople. Not a pretty story, but a spectacular one. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/17 "2008-09-10T21:12:56Z")
Teeny hijack ā€“ Well, it may not be the greatest war film of all time, but I did enjoy Enemy at the Gates, about the Battle of Stalingrad, by Jean-Jacque Annaud. As a bonus, itā€™s a WWII film about a non-US military engagement _and_ the film wasnā€™t made by Americans either (for the most part). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/18 "2008-09-10T21:16:05Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Which is which again? Iā€™m always forgetting. Almost any war movie that frames the story as ā€œGood vs Badā€ is hopelessly simplistic. Perhaps Tapioca meant ā€œGood vs Badā€ strategy and weapons šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/19 "2008-09-10T23:05:18Z")
> [@TheBoltEater](#): > > Teeny hijack ā€“ > > Well, it may not be the greatest war film of all time, but I did enjoy Enemy at the Gates, about the Battle of Stalingrad, by Jean-Jacque Annaud. > > As a bonus, itā€™s a WWII film about a non-US military engagement _and_ the film wasnā€™t made by Americans either (for the most part). I thought this was a huge disappointment. IMO There is potential in the the story of the Battle of Statlingrad to tell one of the greatest stories in the history of human warfare, but the definitive movie of it has yet to be made. Personally I think the story of [Pavlovā€™s House](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlov%27s_House)would make a great basis of a movie about the battle of Stalingrad. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912/20 "2008-09-10T23:08:16Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > - Any of the major battles from the [Falklands War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War); Iā€™m not aware of any films about the Falklands War although there was certainly a lot going on there at the time. There was a BBC drama about this called [Tumbledown](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098533/), but your right theres nothing on the big screen. Though with the current trend of making old BBC dramas into movies you never know. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-us-battles-could-be-turned-into-a-really-good-movie/462912.md?page=2)