The best war movie ever made

[Dr Zaius]

Okay, what's the best war movie ever made? It's a difficult choice, but you have to choose just one. Which is it and why?

 

[Dave68124]

Saving Private Ryan.

Realism and the fewest historical flaws that I could see in terms of equipment, etc.

A close second is Blackhawk Down for the same reasons.

 

[aiabx]

Okay, what's the best war movie ever made? It's a difficult choice, but you have to choose just one. Which is it and why?

I'll vote for Lawrence of Arabia. For acting, writing, cinematography, it's really one of the all time great films of any genre.
Getting to see a Rolls-Royce AC in action is icing on the cake.

 

[Morbii]

Since there wasn't a specification on time period (personally, I generally always think of WW2 on this forum), I'm going to go with "Ran" by Akira Kurosawa. It's an adaptation of King Lear in samurai times, no less.

 

[aiabx]

Since there wasn't a specification on time period (personally, I generally always think of WW2 on this forum), I'm going to go with "Ran" by Akira Kurosawa. It's an adaptation of King Lear in samurai times, no less.

Good choice! In fact, excellent choice. I'm thinking about changing my vote now.

 

[Mini-Me]

Tough choice.

Options for me: Saving Private Ryan, Das Boot, Cross of Iron, Stalingrad, Tae Guk Gi.

I'd have to go with Das Boot.

 

[Ed Caswell]

Troy or Das Boot (5 Hr version); both Wolfgang Petersen films. The Iliad is considered by many to be the greatest anti-war story (epic poem) ever written and Achilles the greatest warrior of all time. Wolfgang Petersen did a great job with Troy (as he did with Das Boot). I'd probably go with Troy but only by 0.01%.

Ed

 

[M Faulkner]

Tough, Tough, Tough.......BHD is Great. I like ZULU as a contender.

 

[Dr Zaius]

So many great ones already mentioned. But if you had to choose just a single war movie as the best of all time, which would it be?

I can think of any number of war movies that are thoroughly entertaining classics but very inaccurate (Bridge on the River Kwai, Battle of the Bulge). Does that make them bad movies? Some deal more with the human side than actual historical events (Saving Private Ryan, Das Boot, Stalingrad, The Thin Red Line), while others tell the story of an actual battle (Gettysburg, A Bridge Too Far, Blackhawk Down). And a few are hypothetical and only loosely based on history (Ran, Enemy at the Gates)

So what is it exactly that makes for a good war film?

 

[aiabx]

So what is it exactly that makes for a good war film?

I think what makes a great war film is what makes a great film of any kind. Compelling, well-written characters, an interesting and believable story and a director who can make it all flow seamlessly together without breaking the illusion. Without all three, you don't get a great film. With all three, you might. And of course, people being what they are, none of us will agree that all 3 factors are present in the same films.

Things that I don't believe are required are historical accuracy, special effects or political messages. You can have them, but a great film will still be great without them, and they won't help a merely good one.

Interesting topic, Don.

 

[Dr Zaius]

Things that I don't believe are required are historical accuracy, special effects or political messages. You can have them, but a great film will still be great without them, and they won't help a merely good one.

But surely there is a difference between a film like Ran, which isn't based on a real event and isn't intended to be taken as history, and a film like The Patriot, which is based on real events but contains massive inaccuracies and imperfections?

 

[mfl]

All Queit on the Western Front (1930)-- for the time it was pretty much in a class by itself I would argue.

Mike

 

[Vinnie]

I'd add in A Matter of Life and Death. made in 1946 it was so close to the war as a a realitywithout demonising or beatifying the charecters.

 

[aiabx]

But surely there is a difference between a film like Ran, which isn't based on a real event and isn't intended to be taken as history, and a film like The Patriot, which is based on real events but contains massive inaccuracies and imperfections?

I would say accuracy was well down on the list of problems with The Patriot, but I see your point.
I had a couple things in mind when I excluded accuracy from the list of requirements. I was thinking of films like Ran, Apocalypse Now, or even Kelly's Heroes, which are something different from a typical war film, but in a war setting where strict adherence to history gets in the way of the story, or films like Patton or The Bridge, where a great movie is undermined by the fact that they just can't get authentic tanks. But I will agree that movies can be ruined by going way off the accuracy ranch. Pearl Harbor, U-571, The Patriot... yeah. A long list if you want to start digging there.

 

[ChrisM]

Tora Tora Tora! Always loved that one - the acting is pretty solid, Mifune is the perfect Yamamoto and i loved the special effects.

 

[FanaticTW]

I've always been partial to "12 O'Clock High" and "In Harm's Way"

Oh... And Red Dawn

 

[Kevin Kenneally]

Real War, or fictional war?

Now one book I would enjoy seeing made into a movie is: West of Honor, by Jerry Pournelle (any war-gamer would know who Dr. Jerry is).

 

[trevpr1]

Thin Red Line. (remake)

 

[trevpr1]

Real War, or fictional war?

Now one book I would enjoy seeing made into a movie is: West of Honor, by Jerry Pournelle (any war-gamer would know who Dr. Jerry is).

Why would a wargamer know Pournelle? I only know him as a co author with the quite excellent Larry Niven.

 

[Manilianus]

Thin Red Line. (remake)

Seconded, not only the best war movie (is it really a war movie, though?), but best movie ever, IMHO.