The Five Best War Movies Ever

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Originally posted by Doggie
..... Actually they did progress into the Ardennes later on in the series.
A couple of episodes were set near the Alps:crazy: just so they could put real life Olympic skier Pierre Jalbert (Caje) on skis......
Combat! is on right now. Wouldn't you know, I've seen it. Really! Just two weeks ago after more than thirty years. All those episodes and I get a repeat!

Found this section on a Combat! fan site: http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/dogfacetales/index.htm. ,consisting of stories based on Combat! by Mary Wright. Not bad as amature episodes, but the writing is a hoot. The first one almost made me choke with laughter.

All Italics are mine.

Sgt. Saunders held himself under rigid control, at full attention, his face devoid of expression, although he could not control the angry flush suffusing his face.
Kirby looked up, his eyes hard, cold, and accusing.
"I said saddle up!" He snapped, his voice cold and hard. "Five minutes."
Turning on his heel, he stepped back outside to wait, to try to control his emotions, to clear his mind for the mission.
To be fair, the later stories seem to get better, but her female idioms in the first one or two were really funny to me.
 

Marcks

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I've seen a few VHS sets at Blockbuster, but that's about it.

Are all the episodes on DVD in color? The series started out in black and white and switched to color around '63 or so. Even here next to Fort Bragg, it's a rare thing to see this series on TV. I haven't seen some of them since they originally ran on ABC.
Hmm, VHS. Gotta dig around, somebody must have put them on DVD even if not digitally remastered.

The Combat! series that I saw sofar are all in color, box says "Combat! in color" too and adding to that "A film by Steven Spielberg" :rolleyes:

Qulaity is not the best too, but it works.
 

seabee

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Sorry gentlemen but I think the best war movies were:

1- The Fighting SEABEES (1944)
2- The Fighting SEABEES (1944)
3- The Fighting SEABEES (1944)
4- The Fighting SEABEES (1944)
5- The Fighting SEABEES (1944)
 

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I read through a few of the post here and was surprised that
The Longest Day only made a couple of lists.

My top 5 would have to be:


:thumb: The Longest Day
Waterloo
Midway
A Bridge too far
Zulu

With honorable mentions to:

:banana: We were Solders
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Saving Private Ryan
and almost any John Wayne WW2 movie
 

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Originally posted by paul mullin
Yes I understand that, but don't you think hippies in 1944 is a bit much?
Na, since it´s a fun movie, not a historical movie. Take "1941" with dreamteam John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd for example :banana:


 

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They're everywhere

DVD's are a commie plot to put more money into the hands of Hollywierd weenies. You can't record them; ya gotta buy them.

Color episodes of Combat came late in the series. The first few episodes are set in London and Omaha Beach. Steven Spielberg was still a diaper filler back then.

I've been looking for The Bridge, having heard a lot of good things about it, but I can't find it anywhere.

Black Sheep Squadron is a treat for aviation enthusiasts, featuring a lot of real live Corsairs, T-6's, P-38's, and even a Grumman Duck. They are being flown a little too carefully, though, it's obvious they never exceed 200 knots.

As for nitpicking, the F-4U's are wearing the wrong color scheme, should be light blue over white, or non-spec dark blue, light blue, and white. The National insignias are the wrong size, and the white arrow on some of the wings was actually a ID code for planes assigned to Intrepid And Pappy Boyington spent most of his time in an F-4U-1 with the early "bird cage" canopy, not the clear blown style on the later -1a's -1d's and F4U-4's.

At least they take off and land in the same general type of plane, unlike Midway.
 

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Re: They're everywhere

Originally posted by Doggie
As for nitpicking, the F-4U's are wearing the wrong color scheme, should be light blue over white, or non-spec dark blue, light blue, and white. The National insignias are the wrong size, and the white arrow on some of the wings was actually a ID code for planes assigned to Intrepid And Pappy Boyington spent most of his time in an F-4U-1 with the early "bird cage" canopy, not the clear blown style on the later -1a's -1d's and F4U-4's.

At least they take off and land in the same general type of plane, unlike Midway.
Doggie made his homework :thumb:
 

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Marcks

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Originally posted by paul mullin
Sorry I don't even classify 1941 as a war movie, its strictly a comedy.
That´s what I mean, I woulnd´t classify Kelly's Heroes as a "war movie" too, it has too much comedy elements.
 
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AMC's vote

I guess its just a coincidence but the 2/4/04 programming on AMC included "The Young Lions", "The Enemy Below", "Zulu", "In Harm's Way" and "Stalag 17". And I'll say again "Zulu" is one of the most authentic war movies ever made......
 

Michael Dorosh

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Re: AMC's vote

Originally posted by Lance Williams
I guess its just a coincidence but the 2/4/04 programming on AMC included "The Young Lions", "The Enemy Below", "Zulu", "In Harm's Way" and "Stalag 17". And I'll say again "Zulu" is one of the most authentic war movies ever made......
Well, except for the parts where they call themselves teh South Wales Borderers (they weren't called that until well after the war), and the singing of Men of Harlech was pure fantasy.

The star and underwriter of the production was a Welchman....hmm.....think that may have influenced historical accuracy some?

The bald faced leads (Baker and Caine) looked nothing like their muttonchopped and mustachioed historical counterparts, and Nigel Greene was about a foot taller than the Colour Sergeant he portrayed in the film.

Zulu is unfortunately a bit dated in that there is no real aggressiveness in the close combat scenes. They look staged, because of course, they were.

But the overall look of the film is very good and a reasonable facsimile of the Rorke's Drift action.
 

Michael Dorosh

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Not having read the rest of the thread (I shall do so at home) the most realistic war movie is, of course, Pork Chop Hill which stays faithful to an actual battle well documented by the controversial SLA Marshall.

Check out the scene with a baby faced Robert Blake wounding himself with his own grenade - a few decades before Woody Harrelson blew his own ass off in Thin Red Line.

As drama though, Pork Chop Hill was a little stultifying at times. Real combat is like that, I suppose - so you need to draw a line between fiction and history. Pure history will rarely tantalize the way fiction can.
 
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Dorosh on the Welch (sic)

I hope it was just a typo but my Welsh heritage forces me to say we're Welshmen not Welchmen. I don't know the exact number of Williams' in the regiment at Rourkes Drift, but at least one Victoria Cross winner was so named......."Zulu" is not perfect, but how many historically based movies have truly accurate portrayals of individuals facial hair. My fondness of the movie is based on the accuracy of the dress, weapons and location.
 

Michael Dorosh

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Re: Dorosh on the Welch (sic)

Originally posted by Lance Williams
I hope it was just a typo but my Welsh heritage forces me to say we're Welshmen not Welchmen. I don't know the exact number of Williams' in the regiment at Rourkes Drift, but at least one Victoria Cross winner was so named......."Zulu" is not perfect, but how many historically based movies have truly accurate portrayals of individuals facial hair. My fondness of the movie is based on the accuracy of the dress, weapons and location.
You may be Welsh, but I'm sure your ancestors were Welch...perhaps I've been reading too much of Robert Graves, however.

I know you were being facetious, but STALINGRAD was a perfect example of a movie getting haircuts and facial hair 100 percent accurate. CROSS OF IRON is a perfect example of how not to do it. To answer your question - not many, but it is always nice to catch the occasional movie that does. I remember on the set of LEGENDS OF THE FALL, we WW I extras had our sideburns trimmed with straight razors to simulate the way troops in the trenches would have done it.

I only bring it up because you proclaimed ZULU to be quote "one of the most authentic war movies ever made." unquote I don't happen to agree it was anything of the kind.

It was still a good film, though. I wouldn't want to watch a truly "authentic" war movie, quite honestly.
 

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War Movies

Here's my two cents. I've seen a lot of movies in this genre. Most are sanitized fantasy (ahem, all you Duke fans.) War is a grim business. It should make you sick and scared. My favorites are;

When Trumpets Fade ( An HBO movie from 5 or 6 years ago.)

Saving Pvt. Ryan ( There is no background music, just the
zing of bullets. The camera shakes, like you're actually there
running with the soldiers. The depiction of the violence is un-
flinching and uncompromising.)

Midway ( Love that real war-footage.)

The Sand Pebbles ( I'm a Naval veteran, so, I empathize.)

Gettysburg ( Before this flick, I never saw a movie about
that era that gave me a feeling of what Civil War combat might-
ve really been like.)

Of course, nothing really beats The History Channel.

GhostSoldier.
 

Hinton6969

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Re: War Movies

Originally posted by GhostSoldier
Here's my two cents. I've seen a lot of movies in this genre. Most are sanitized fantasy (ahem, all you Duke fans.) War is a grim business. It should make you sick and scared. My favorites are;

When Trumpets Fade ( An HBO movie from 5 or 6 years ago.)

Saving Pvt. Ryan ( There is no background music, just the
zing of bullets. The camera shakes, like you're actually there
running with the soldiers. The depiction of the violence is un-
flinching and uncompromising.)

Midway ( Love that real war-footage.)

The Sand Pebbles ( I'm a Naval veteran, so, I empathize.)

Gettysburg ( Before this flick, I never saw a movie about
that era that gave me a feeling of what Civil War combat might-
ve really been like.)

Of course, nothing really beats The History Channel.

GhostSoldier.
Ghost,

Loev History Ch. too.

Ever watch "War Stories with Oliver North" on the Fox News Channel?
 
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