Every movie I've listed is a movie I really enjoyed and recommend. I see several here I haven't seen but will be adding to my Netflix queue.
Same here. I've seen a lot of foreign war films which are really good. Even if you have to read for the whole thing.
Dont see here any mention of Pacific series ? I liked it but not quite as much as Band of Brothers ! Dunno why
Howdy! I have really liked war movies about submarines and u-boats. A couple of TV series I liked were Combat! and Rat Patrol. Movies about WWII are my favorites. Always, Gene
While I liked the Pacific series, I was kind of let down by it. I think it's because Band of Brothers was so excellent that I had high expectation for Pacific. My main complaint about The Pacific was that it felt disjointed. It was hard to get into the flow of events. I ended up reading both books that series was based on.
The great ones are: Das Boot. Epic submarine movie, possibly the best ever made. Watch it with the original German audio with english subs, and get the Director's cut. K-19. Russian nuclear submarine movie. One of Harrison Ford's better performances. Patton. One of the most colorful American generals of WWII. His military genius stopped Rommel in Africa, and helped the U.S. win the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of Britain. The inexperienced pilots of Britain and the world against the unstoppable Luftwaffe. The miracle battle that Britain should have lost. Heartbreak Ridge. A lighthearted movie in the vein of Stripes and Full Metal Jacket. Stars Clint Eastwood. Full Metal Jacket. "The" Vietnam war movie. Saving Private Ryan. Epic. Band of Brothers. Epic. El Cid. Stars Sophia Lauren and Charleston Heston. Epic movie about the defense of Spain against the Moors. El Cid is Spain's George Washington. Fall of The Roman Empire. Another Epic movie. Later poorly remade as "Gladiator." Run Silent, Run Deep. Stars Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. Swamp Fox was a Disney T.V. series that tried to capitalize on the popular Davy Crockett series. It was about General "The Swamp Fox" Marion and his exploits during the Revolutionary war. Never released on DVD except for a few episodes. I've got a lot of hate for Disney keeping this one in the vault. For WWII era, It's hard to beat Das Boot. For Swords and Bows era, El Cid would have to top my list. I'm surprised that the Hurt Locker didn't make anyone's list... I liked it, but I didn't think that the main guy in the movie was realistically played. Most people I've talked to in the military feel the same way.
Lots of great ones already mentioned. I'd add Lawrence of Arabia and Munich. Lawrence is nation building and war, Munich is a war on terrorism.
My son and I decided to take in a movie yesterday and ended up seeing Lone Survivor. I can summarize the movie in one word...WOW!!! Even knowing the story (though I've not read the book yet), this movie kept me riveted to the screen. Starting with a montage of BUD/S training videos that alone is quite impressive (this appears to be actual training vids, not actors), it doesn't take long before we see the main fight this movie is about. Though it feels like non-stop action, there's very little in the movie that I felt was gratuitous action. There are obviously places where the filmmakers had to take educated guesses at what happened and sure, they made it exciting, but the overall feel of the effort is very realistic. The strength these men had..the dedication, the honor, the willingness to sacrifice for their country and their fellow Seals... The ending is rather powerful and I don't mind admitting my eyes were welling up a bit. I can't recommend this movie enough.
'Paths of Glory' (1957) is a great anti-war film, often overlooked. It is probably my favorite Kubrick film. Kirk Douglass was great in it. Check it out if you've never seen it.
I would second Ryan B's recommendation of Tae Guk Gi. Excellent movie. Also I would like to add one that hasn't been mentioned- "Voces Inocenctes (Innocent Voices)." Its a Mexican made movie about the Salvadorian civil war during the 80s and the children that are forced to fight in it. My mom was crying through out all the movie. Saddest movie I've ever seen and highly reccomended.
There was an independent film I rented at Red Box about 2 years ago and it was titled The Red Barron. An excellent movie about him during WWI.
I really want to see that movie. I read the book while I was deployed. I read it cover to cover in about two days in between shifts.
Max Manus. It's a story about a Norwegian guy who fought the Soviets in Finland and then joined the resistance when the Nazis invaded Norway.
"Letters From Iwo Jima" I found rather profound. Not too many Hollywood movies depict the viewpoint from the common soldier in the Japanese military. Excellent book as well.
