Best War Movies of All Time

[Thumb]

highest I've never seen is 2. then 4, 9 - 11, and a couple more in the teens.

I never saw Letters from Iwo Jima or Flags of Our Fathers, but I read the book in the latter case. I'll try to see them; Eastwood has usually made good movies. though... while I remember the book being ok, it did get a little too into slobbering over "the Greatest Generation" which gets annoying.

delete: sorry for dragging politics into it

9 is pretty good, it had an all-star cast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)

The list of names in the cast alone that usually headlined movies on their own is staggering, let alone they all came together to share credits and relatively small parts to tell a historically accurate story is what makes it amazing.

 

[michiganalex]

glad no one put Pearl Harbor on their list.

(no, I never saw it. But i did see Team America)

i liked pearl harbor and did put it on my list

 

[Mitchrapp]

9 is pretty good, it had an all-star cast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)

The list of names in the cast alone that usually headlined movies on their own is staggering, let alone they all came together to share credits and relatively small parts to tell a historically accurate story is what makes it amazing.

Excellent movie.

Not a huge John Wayne but another, not sure if would be considered a war movie, but The Alamo. That was a good flick I enjoyed.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Speaking of Alamo, I first watched when I was in 9th grade and a had to do a book report on the Alamo. As usual I procrastinated so I did the next best thing, I rented the movie. Lol. I didn't do so well..

 

[jdeb]

Band of Brothers is my favorite. I guess it's not considered a movie but rather a series. I have it on VHS and watch it a couple times a year.

Platoon is pretty good. It was the closet to Marine Corp Bootcamp that I have ever seen in a movie.

Hamburger Hill was pretty freaky and probably was pretty close to the terror and carnage that us soldiers experience.

When I went to see Saving Private Ryan at the show, there were a few older men that walked out. I often wonder if it was regrettably realistic or just corny for them.

 

[Michchamp]

...

Platoon is pretty good. It was the closet to Marine Corp Bootcamp that I have ever seen in a movie.

...

I'm guessing this means you've never seen Full Metal Jacket...

 

[michiganalex]

the first 5 minutes of Saving Private Ryan were the bloodiest of any movie i've seen

 

[michiganalex]

painted in black great theme for Full metal Jacket

 

[Thumb]

painted in black great theme for Full metal Jacket

I'm assuming you mean 'Paint It Black', by the Rolling Stones.

 

[Thumb]

I'm guessing this means you've never seen Full Metal Jacket...

I'm guessing he means Full Metal Jacket when he says Platoon.

 

[Michchamp]

I'm guessing he means Full Metal Jacket when he says Platoon.

only he can solve this mystery.

 

[byco42]

I'm guessing he means Full Metal Jacket when he says Platoon.

And Marine Corps when he said Marine Corp.

 

[turok]

I liked amongst many others posted in this thread, Red Dawn (original) The Final Countdown, and Ice Station Zebra, a cold war era movie that the whacked out germaphobe eccentric Howard Hughes was alleged to have watched repeatedly prior to his death in '76.

Dunno if this counts as an actual "war" movie, but Firefox with Eastwood who commandeers a USSR stealth fighter jet and successfully pilots it to the US. The scenes where he gets into a dogfight with a Russian pilot who tries to shoot him down with another prototype of the jet before he escapes to free-world airspace was pretty good.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I liked amongst many others posted in this thread, Red Dawn (original) The Final Countdown, and Ice Station Zebra, a cold war era movie that the whacked out germaphobe eccentric Howard Hughes was alleged to have watched repeatedly prior to his death in '76.

Dunno if this counts as an actual "war" movie, but Firefox with Eastwood who commandeers a USSR stealth fighter jet and successfully pilots it to the US. The scenes where he gets into a dogfight with a Russian pilot who tries to shoot him down with another prototype of the jet before he escapes to free-world airspace was pretty good.

Firefox was awesome. I might add in War Games. It's closest enough to war to add it here..

 

[Michchamp]

eh... I think War Movies can't be sci-fi or thrillers really. they have to involve some sort of conventional or unconventional warfare... not simulated warfare. I'd consider that more of a thriller.

War Games was still a great movie. We just watched it a couple months ago, and laughed at how easy it was to be a genius computer hacker back in the early 80's... all you needed was a modem and voila... hot high school babe Ally Sheedy was hanging in your bedroom.

 

[michiganalex]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12tce-THLUE

 

[michiganalex]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYxEIyNA_mk

 

[jdeb]

I'm guessing this means you've never seen Full Metal Jacket...

My bad. Your correct sir.

 

[zyxt9]

While not a "movie", the Honorable Mention should include Band of Brothers. Wasn't as big a fan of The Pacific, so I won't suggest that should be in the HM...but BoB was so far above and beyond in every aspect that it needs some recognition IMHO.

 

[zyxt9]

A movie I did not see on the list is Defiance. For the vast majority of the world, the Jews never fought back against Hitler, or died as individuals whenever they stood up to the Nazis.

In the shul/synagogue/temple, my wife and I had made friends with some of the elders. One in particular was always so extremely kind and pleasant. Well the first time I saw Defiance was at shul and afterwards we learned that she was actually one of the children who was in the woods with those guys, and always credited them for saving her life and a few other family members.