If you feel we have omitted a great War Movie from the 1980’s then mention it/them and
if we have enough additional titles we may have a follow-up poll for the decade.
Gotta be Breaker Morant. One of my all-time favorite films of any genre. Witty script, great acting, gripping courtroom drama, exciting battle scenes, beautiful cinematography, poetry and even a dash of tragic romance. Still a masterpiece.
Some favorite dialogue:
“They lack our altruism, sir.” “Quite.”
“Agitated, sir.”
“You couldn’t lie straight in bed.”
“Visiting?” “Visiting?” “Visiting?”
“Well, I did say he’s a minor poet.”
“They say a slice off a cut loaf’s never missed, sir.”
“Scapegoats of the Empire!”
“No, thanks. I’m a pagan too.”
And of course, one of the best lines in movie history:
“Shoot straight, you bastards! Don’t make a mess of it!”
A great many on that list,* Stripes, WarGames, Excalibur, The Right Stuff, An Officer and a Gentleman, Henry V, Good Morning Vietnam* etc. are not at all what I’d consider ‘war movies’.
At least one voter on at least one movie agrees with you:
Stripes 4 20.00%
WarGames 3 15.00%
Excalibur 1 5.00%
The Right Stuff 6 30.00%
An Officer and a Gentleman 0 0%
Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) 7 35.00%
Good Morning, Vietnam 5 25.00%
etc. are not at all what I'd consider 'war movies''
The only reason I didn’t vote for Das Boot was because I had to get both*** Breaker Morant*** and Gallipoli in my top five. But I see my vote wouldn’t have mattered much anyway.
Here’s close to the latest breakdown of the whole set:
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View Poll Results: Your favorite/best War Movies From the 1980s -- Vote for up to SEVEN
This poll will close on 06-30-2015 at 04:19 PM
Das Boot 26 60.47%
Full Metal Jacket 22 51.16%
Platoon 15 34.88%
Glory 14 32.56%
Breaker Morant 12 27.91%
Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) 11 25.58%
The Right Stuff 10 23.26%
Good Morning, Vietnam 10 23.26%
Stripes 9 20.93%
Empire of the Sun 9 20.93%
Gallipoli 8 18.60%
The Big Red One 6 13.95%
WarGames 6 13.95%
Ran 6 13.95%
Heartbreak Ridge 5 11.63%
Excalibur 4 9.30%
Red Dawn 4 9.30%
Top Gun 4 9.30%
The Beast (aka The Beast of War) 3 6.98%
Casualties of War 3 6.98%
Kagemusha 2 4.65%
A Soldier's Story 2 4.65%
The Lighthorsemen 2 4.65%
Grave of the Fireflies 2 4.65%
Born on the Fourth of July 2 4.65%
An Officer and a Gentleman 1 2.33%
Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence 1 2.33%
Come and See 1 2.33%
84C Mopic 1 2.33%
Farewell to the King 1 2.33%
Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder 0 0%
Oro, Plata, Mata 0 0%
The Burmese Harp (1985) 0 0%
Revolution 0 0%
Iron Eagle 0 0%
Hamburger Hill 0 0%
Bat*21 0 0%
Talvisota (the Winter War) 0 0%
OTHER (post and identify) 0 0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 43
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Yeah, I wondered for a moment if I could just vote for Das Boot seven times. It’s nice to see that the only competition it really has right now is Full Metal Jacket.
As I have said elsewhere, I don’t have a problem adding titles to the Overflow File if they are suggested. I trust the voters to decide if the movies need to be considered as Your favorite/best War Movies From whenever.
I’m still piecing together the Overflow File from the various threads where Other movies have been mentioned, with hopes of having that up for discussion at least within the next day or two.
Right now the list is at least 50 titles, so there will be plenty to discuss (and probably add to) before we get down to a voting thread/poll.
