Must see war films?

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Discussion

E24man

6,731 posts

180 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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Not sure if I hadn't watched it before or just forgotten it in the mists of time but I sat down with a bottle of wine last night and watched 'The Big Red One'. It still is an amazingly good film that has stood the test of time in no small part I suspect because both Director Samuel Fuller and lead actor Lee Marvin had been in and were decorated for their actions during WWII when it is predominantly set.

Unlike a lot of narrowly focused war movies that concentrate on a specific incident or time-frame the film follows Lee Marvin's character from the last days of WW1 through to the very end of WWII; this gives a much larger scope to explore the change in the characters and their attitudes and experiences of a long and wearing war.

Lee Marvin is of course immensely watchable.

FourWheelDrift

88,563 posts

285 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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One you perhaps haven't heard of. The King's Choice, a Norwegian film telling the story of the German Invasion of Norway. - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4353996/

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNtu-bCGi18

Scene with the German Heavy Cruiser Blücher leading a naval fleet up the Oslofjord at night with all lights off to start the invasion by attacking Oslo. The only defence is the Oscarsborg Fortress armed with German 11" naval guns built by Krups in 1893 and an underwater torpedo battery that the Germans didn't know about. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ79i11JSnU put the subtitles on.

They actually fired the original Oscarsborgs guns for that scene.

Europa1

10,923 posts

189 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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Another shout for Das Boot here.

Excellent movie/series.

markiii

3,631 posts

195 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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Where Eagles Dare

P5BNij

15,875 posts

107 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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The Hill, 1965 with Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Hendry and many more familiar British faces, grim viewing but well worth a punt. An early attempt for Connery trying to get away from his Bond role.


Gary29

4,164 posts

100 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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Apart from all the ones already mentioned, I'd add Jarhead to the list

BryanC

1,107 posts

239 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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The Victors
The Big Red One

And two less mainstream ones for me

Went the Day Well
A Canterbury Tale - the 1944 version of course.

Chimune

3,183 posts

224 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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P5BNij said:
The Hill, 1965 with Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Hendry and many more familiar British faces, grim viewing but well worth a punt. An early attempt for Connery trying to get away from his Bond role.
Ha! Saw the thread title and clicked on it to suggest this film.

The hill is one of my fave films ever.

rambo19

2,747 posts

138 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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The siege of firebase gloria.

TEKNOPUG

18,974 posts

206 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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Attack!

Still waiting for someone to make Battle of Kohima.

HARTLEYHARE1

588 posts

130 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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Partial to

Black hawk down
Kelly’s heroes
Valkyrie
Where eagles dare
Private Ryan
Heroes of telemark

SCEtoAUX

4,119 posts

82 months

Monday 3rd September 2018
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It's hated by many but I still reckon that U-571 is an absolutely brilliant war film.

Great cast, lots of top-notch action, some tense moments and some very memorable scenes. This short one springs to mind:

Lt. Hirsch: Mr. Tyler.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Yeah.

Lt. Hirsch: If you can't take out that destroyer, the danger is not that some of us may die. It's that some of us may live. These men have seen and heard things that must not be revealed to the enemy - our secrets, such as our radar capabilities, and our understanding of German encryption. If we fall into German hands alive, we will be tortured without mercy. Either you succeed in sinking that ship, or you see to it that none of us survive to be captured.

bristolracer

5,546 posts

150 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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Land of Mine

Story of German pows clearing mines from Danish beaches after ww2
Most of these pows were 16 or 17 years old, children who had been conscripted in the dying months of the war.
Its moving, brutal, thought provoking and the cinematography is superb.

It's on prime if you have it

Man-At-Arms

5,907 posts

180 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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Operation Crossbow
Where Eagles Dare
The Hurt Locker
The Wall
Saving Private Ryan
Lord of War
Dunkirk
Empire of the Sun
Platoon

james-witton

1,363 posts

108 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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Many, many great films me there. Top 5 for me:

Battle of Britain
The Cruel Sea
The Longest Day
Zulu
The Smurfs... oh sorry I meant Fury. Easy to get them mixed up.

Bright Halo

2,977 posts

236 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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Das Boot
Letters from Iwo Jima
Fury
Big red one
Bridge over Rhiemagen
Inglorious
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
Unbroken (Excellent)
Bridge on the river Kwai (well for the first 20 times you watch it!)
Saving Private Ryan (Not the porn version, “Shaving Ryan’s Privates”)
Full metal jacket

P5BNij

15,875 posts

107 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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Battle Of The Bulge
The Colditz Story
Dunkirk - already mentioned of course, made up of some great set pieces, for me the subplot around John Mills little platoon could easily have been made into another film by itself, in a similar vein to Ice Cold In Alex.



Sa Calobra

37,189 posts

212 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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A bridge too Far is the best.

The fight scenes are fantastic and especially so considering when the film was made.

The first one where they send the tanks down the front from 56.25 onwards: the sounds of the artillery firing, she'll ejection and reloading:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1rks41

RJG46

980 posts

69 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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Kelly's Heroes.


Halb

53,012 posts

184 months

Tuesday 4th September 2018
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been some good ones on recently; IN Which We serve, the cruel sea etc.