In your opinion, what is the greatest war movie ever made?

DrawbarFlats

Have many favorites but top of my list is the directors cut of:




The book was outstanding as well.

zorba

So many. Das Boot, Guns of Navarone, Patton, Saving Private Ryan. Many others.

JKP

I think We Were Soldiers is underrated. 

zorba

Yep, another great one right there.

Another one was "U-571" which was the very last movie my late father, a WW II Navy Vet, watched in his life. He was glued to the screen!

Linefinder

Saving Pvt Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, We were Soldiers.

Mike

Spk

If you're into blood and guts with a comedic slant.

😂

1hogfan83

I think the first first part of Full Metal Jacket was a masterpiece.  Basically telling Ermy to go crazy, or be yourself I guess.  I never got to finish Hamburger Hill or Das Boot.  Patton was good and Private Ryan was good enough to bring back bad memories to old vets.  Platoon was another classic.  

Big Al1

For the most realism, I'd have to go with Pvt Ryan, followed by FMJ!! Hacksaw Ridge was awesome, and a true story!!
I always liked WWII movies that were made during the war, always depicted the enemy as vile and heartless. NAZIs were sinister and Japanese were all near sighted and buck toothed. One of my favorites was Sahara, with Humphry Bogart. All good propaganda!!

 

Linefinder

Hamburger Hill was good. I'd forgotten that one.

Mike

earlyagain

Sgt York
The Caine Mutiny
The Gallant Hours

GunNut

We Were Soldiers, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down, Patton, 1917, The Patriot.

Zee

Band of Brothers is another. 

ilove22s

which war?

i like the Big Red 1.,  SPR, All Quiet on the Western Front, Enemy at the Gates,... 

Jayhawker

Band of Brothers
The Pacific
Hambuger Hill
Midway
Letters from Iwo Jima
Fury

Tugar

Big Al1 said:

For the most realism, I'd have to go with Pvt Ryan, followed by FMJ!! Hacksaw Ridge was awesome, and a true story!!
I always liked WWII movies that were made during the war, always depicted the enemy as vile and heartless. NAZIs were sinister and Japanese were all near sighted and buck toothed. One of my favorites was Sahara, with Humphry Bogart. All good propaganda!!

 

You should try and find the remake with Jim Belushi. I don't normally like remakes but it was very well done.

Tugar

Big Red One, Glory (preachy in the middle but awesome hand to hand and the shelling of Fort Wagner, I was almost taking cover in the theater.)

I have a love/hate relationship with "Saving Ryan's Privates". Had I been in charge, I would have shot or at least wounded that Nazi in the beginning of the film. Special mission, no prisoners. Ain't nobody got time for that.

2Aman

Band of Brothers
The Pacific
The Patriot

Vic's Viewpoint

For me, "Fury" has to be right up there at the top, for realism.  "Das Boot" also.  IMO realism is everything. 

Gene L

An interesting thread.  I don't have an opinion on the "greatest" but I have my favorites.  They Were Expendable has been my favorite longest, Saving Private Ryan is my latest favorite. I've seen most of the ones mentioned, though. Didn't see Fury. One not mentioned but good is Iron Cross, I believe is the title.

I think it's noteworthy that the choices of us all are of WW 2 movies.  Maybe no great movies of Vietnam or the Gulf or Korea have been made?

Tugar

Cross of Iron, Gene. Great movie. Platoon for Vietnam. Though Bat21 and Flight of the Intruder  were awesome. For Korea, that's much harder but my pick, Field of Honor with Everett McGill. 

Big Al1

A few other good ones:
WWII: The Bridge on the river Kwai
Korea: Bridges at Toko Ri

Never knew there was a remake of Sahara!!

Antonio

My problem with "war movies" is the fact that many times the back story distorts or even sometimes overcomes the main plot, something Hollyweird loves to do in the search of another pop-corn chomping blockbuster.

I consider that actual war movies are few considering how much they stick to real historical facts. Maybe "Band of brothers" is one of the few as long as I can recall that actually falls into this category, along MAYBE with "Black Hawk down" and "The Pacific"

Others are really "war inspired", actually fiction with sound historic bases and great production. "All quiet in the Western front", "Das boot" and "FMJ" might be considered among the best ones.

Then come those with war topics as background to a personal story. Good ones are "Unbreakable" "Lawrence of Arabia", "Hitler" and "Che guerrilla".

The original "Midway", "Pearl Harbor" and "Battle of Britain" are also great despite some "artistic license" but I consider than those were sadly "tainted" by their romantic backstory.

Finally there are "fun" movies with excellent production but unfortunately mere fiction, like the latest "Pearl Harbor", "Fury", "Saving private Ryan" and others.

There are other great war movies I can't recall, specially foreign made ones or rather obscure; will have to look

tennmike

A Bridge Too Far was a good one.

Jayhawker

tennmike said:

A Bridge Too Far was a good one.

Agreed...but it was also a movie too long...like that Longest Day...
There's like 4 pee breaks involved in both of them

tennmike

Jayhawker said:

tennmike said:

A Bridge Too Far was a good one.

Agreed...but it was also a movie too long...like that Longest Day...
There's like 4 pee breaks involved in both of them

I have it on DVD for that exact reason. Hit the pause and go take care of bidness, make a sammich and a drink, etc. 

GunNut

Oh yeah, Platoon and Siege at Jadotville.

DrawbarFlats

Tugar said:

Cross of Iron, Gene. Great movie. Platoon for Vietnam. Though Bat21 and Flight of the Intruder  were awesome. For Korea, that's much harder but my pick, Field of Honor with Everett McGill. 

I have yet to watch Bat21 but the book was OUTSTANDING! 

There's been some really good mentions from all you folks. Gonna have to watch the titles you guys have listed, a few I have yet to see. Thanks!


Although it was never made into a movie (I wish it was) there was a book back in the 80's titled "The Five Fingers" by Gayle Rivers (a pseudonym). The book, if I remember correctly, is about a U.K and U.S. special operation team supposedly (emphasis added) recruited by the CIA to assassinate a Chinese general on Chinese soil during the Vietnam War. Whether the story is true or not it was quite popular with us guys at Ft. Bragg at the time. Very well written and shows how troops are sometimes used as expendable political cannon fodder for dark ops. Highly recommended to you military readers. 

Some_Mook

I did not see Lone Survivor on the list.  That movie really brought home the value of BUDS training.  Never quit the fight.

Another movie that I watch at least once a year is Zulu.  The movie script certainly took some liberties with the facts but I enjoy watching it.

Probably my favorite war movie with a comedic twist is Kelly's Heros.  Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland were funny as hell and it's one of my favorite Telly Savalas films

Spk

I've seen a lot of good war  movies and I there's a lot of good movies mentioned above but the one that sticks out in my head is The Siege of Firebase Gloria.

It's not a feel good movie and doesn't even pretend to be. Parts of it are hard to watch because truth can be difficult sometimes. It explores heroism among an ocean of idiocy and politics.

For those of you who are adventurous R. Lee Ermey fans or just really bored and want something else to watch, I'd recommend The Siege of Firebase Gloria.

Tugar

Then there is "Heartbreak ridge" which makes it into Antonio's fun category. Funny tidbit, It was an Army soldier made the telephone call for Arty support in Grenada, and when the Army company commander at some random base found out, he supposedly banned the movie from the post. Not sure if true but funny 

Gettysburg is another LONG one 4 something hours. Great movie but tons of politics. No one mentioned Patton either. 

Jayhawker

Spk said:

I've seen a lot of good war  movies and I there's a lot of good movies mentioned above but the one that sticks out in my head is The Siege of Firebase Gloria.

It's not a feel good movie and doesn't even pretend to be. Parts of it are hard to watch because truth can be difficult sometimes. It explores heroism among an ocean of idiocy and politics.

For those of you who are adventurous R. Lee Ermey fans or just really bored and want something else to watch, I'd recommend The Siege of Firebase Gloria.

It's not a bad movie...