I'm actually shocked that Letters from Iwo Jima hasn't been mentioned yet. Flags of our Fathers was a fine movie, but Letters definitely finishes in my top 5. High quality storytelling, and the acting was superb.

Is this because it's not patriotic from an American point of view? I know movies from the point of view of the losing side have an uphill climb, but hey - Gone With the Wind did alright, because it was a great movie.

I forgot about that one. Better than Flags.

Ag71

Battleground - underrated movie
The Best Years of Our Lives - Fantastic movie about return of vets post-war.

Great list

aTmAg said:

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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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aTmAg said:

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JABQ04 said:

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1) SPR
2) The Longest Day
3) A Bridge Too Far
4) Kelley's Heroes
5) Downfall

As far as TV series:
The Pacific has a slight edge over BoB. Both are terrific but the more I watch the Pacific the more I like it. And the German series Generation War.

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Your opinion on The Pacific vs BoB is blasphemy. I just figured you should know that.

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And your opinion of his opinion is bullcrap! Spoken as another who gives The Pacific the edge.

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Out of curiosity, did you think it was dissapointing the first watch, and then like it later? I thought it was boring as hell the first time around and never bothered to watch it again.

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I liked it the first time I watched it.

I understand why it is not everyone's cup of tea. It is disjointed due to the lack of interaction (with one relatively minor exception when Sledge declines to borrow a Bible from Leckie's library) among the primary characters. It also does not have a linear plot to follow in their individual stories as BoB did with their march into Germany.

And for myself, I always found the action in the Pacific theater to be more compelling as subject matter to read about. Not that Europe is uninteresting, far from it, but I always liked the island-hopping strategy, and the geographic dispersal of forces and engagements. My only real disappointment with this show was it really didn't have anything with the ships of the US Navy other than a few scenes, no combat between fleets or that kind of thing.

I bleed maroon said:

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I'm actually shocked that Letters from Iwo Jima hasn't been mentioned yet. Flags of our Fathers was a fine movie, but Letters definitely finishes in my top 5. High quality storytelling, and the acting was superb.

Is this because it's not patriotic from an American point of view? I know movies from the point of view of the losing side have an uphill climb, but hey - Gone With the Wind did alright, because it was a great movie.

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I included Letters From Iwo Jima in my list, although not top 5.

No mention of The Pianist? I thought it was well done and definitely a WWII flick

For me it's the thin red line, first 30 minutes of saving private Ryan, and then everything else

If we are counting ww1 then throw in legends of the fall.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Bruce Almighty said:

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HoustonAg2106 said:

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Saving Private Ryan
Thin Red Line
Dunkirk
Hurt Locker
Full Metal Jacket

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Last two movies don't fit the thread topic.

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Explain the joke I'm missing here. He even admitted to getting the thread topic wrong.

Does anyone remember Von Ryan's Express and Where Eagles Dare?

Some i havent seen mentioned yet

The eagle has landed
Dirty dozen
Breakthrough
Run silent run deep
The great escape
Stalingrad
Empire of the sun
Cross of iron


All very good

Really weird one that i liked - the keep

Eye of the needle was ok too

Aggies76 said:

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Does anyone remember Von Ryan's Express and Where Eagles Dare?

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Love where eagles dare

Couldnt really get into thin red line or flags of our fathers as much
Thought dunkirk had about 15 minutes of interesting scenes surrounded by a morass of nothing.

I bleed maroon said:

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I'm actually shocked that Letters from Iwo Jima hasn't been mentioned yet. Flags of our Fathers was a fine movie, but Letters definitely finishes in my top 5. High quality storytelling, and the acting was superb.

Is this because it's not patriotic from an American point of view? I know movies from the point of view of the losing side have an uphill climb, but hey - Gone With the Wind did alright, because it was a great movie.

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I liked the movie. But I have opted to not list an order because I've only watched most of these one time. I don't think it's fair to compare Letters from Iwo Jima which I've seen once to SPR that I've seen probably 10 times in parts (because it's on TV a lot).

cbr said:

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Some i havent seen mentioned yet

The eagle has landed
Dirty dozen
Breakthrough
Run silent run deep
The great escape
Stalingrad
Empire of the sun
Cross of iron


All very good

Really weird one that i liked - the keep

Eye of the needle was ok too

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This isn't based on the F. Paul Wilson novel is it? Vampire in it? Feel dumb asking this but it was set in WWII.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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aTmAg said:

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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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aTmAg said:

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JABQ04 said:

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1) SPR
2) The Longest Day
3) A Bridge Too Far
4) Kelley's Heroes
5) Downfall

As far as TV series:
The Pacific has a slight edge over BoB. Both are terrific but the more I watch the Pacific the more I like it. And the German series Generation War.

---

Your opinion on The Pacific vs BoB is blasphemy. I just figured you should know that.

---

And your opinion of his opinion is bullcrap! Spoken as another who gives The Pacific the edge.

---

Out of curiosity, did you think it was dissapointing the first watch, and then like it later? I thought it was boring as hell the first time around and never bothered to watch it again.

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I liked it the first time I watched it.

I understand why it is not everyone's cup of tea. It is disjointed due to the lack of interaction (with one relatively minor exception when Sledge declines to borrow a Bible from Leckie's library) among the primary characters. It also does not have a linear plot to follow in their individual stories as BoB did with their march into Germany.

And for myself, I always found the action in the Pacific theater to be more compelling as subject matter to read about. Not that Europe is uninteresting, far from it, but I always liked the island-hopping strategy, and the geographic dispersal of forces and engagements. My only real disappointment with this show was it really didn't have anything with the ships of the US Navy other than a few scenes, no combat between fleets or that kind of thing.

---

So one issue I had with it is that I do not think the battles seemed particularly accurate. Though I am not an expert, I do know John Basilone did not die that way, for example. Also his first battle (if I remember correctly) was too damn dark. It was like Game of Thrones. Unlike BoB the disjointed nature of the show meant there was not much camaraderie, which to me seems to be the real reason soldiers fight. When somebody died in BoB I was genuinely bummed or pissed off, because I got to know that guy. It made the stakes in the battles higher, and since it was based on reality, you never really knew who was going to live or die. In the Pacific when a guy died (other than Basilone) I was mostly thinking.. "oh okay.. so that guy died".

In hindsight, maybe this is another reason why I didn't like SPR that much. I didn't like any of the characters particularly other than Tom Hanks, the sniper dude, and maybe Matt Damon. So I didn't really care if they died.

I remember loving Force 10 from Navarone. Also an early Harrison Ford movie for those who are fans.

Tora Tora Tora holds a special place only because this was the first movie I ever saw....IN STEREO! It was such a big deal at our house when Stereo sound came out and my dad hooked up his speakers to the tv. We were blown away. Wouldn't even notice it now.

Hacksaw Ridge is horrific and almost a horror movie to me. Hated The Thin Red Line on original watch. Maybe I'll watch it again someday.

I thought Hacksaw Ridge was great. That story is damn inspiring. And it amazes me that they downplayed his heroism somewhat.

aTmAg said:

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I thought Hacksaw Ridge was great. That story is damn inspiring. And it amazes me that they downplayed his heroism somewhat.

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Yes, I didn't mean horrific in quality. That came out wrong. I meant horrific to think about that scene on the ridge. If that was remotely real then holy sh^t.

YouBet said:

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aTmAg said:

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I thought Hacksaw Ridge was great. That story is damn inspiring. And it amazes me that they downplayed his heroism somewhat.

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Yes, I didn't mean horrific in quality. That came out wrong. I meant horrific to think about that scene on the ridge. If that was remotely real then holy sh^t.

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Yeah.. in that aspect I agree.

What is amazing to me, that in real life when they were carrying him away on the stretcher, he saw another injured soldier. He told them to stop, rolled off the stretcher dressed the guy's wounds, and then told them to carry the guy with the stretcher. They said they would come back for him, but something happened and they didn't. So he crawled his way back to the edge of the ridge where they saw him and lowered him down.

YouBet said:

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cbr said:

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Some i havent seen mentioned yet

The eagle has landed
Dirty dozen
Breakthrough
Run silent run deep
The great escape
Stalingrad
Empire of the sun
Cross of iron


All very good

Really weird one that i liked - the keep

Eye of the needle was ok too

---

This isn't based on the F. Paul Wilson novel is it? Vampire in it? Feel dumb asking this but it was set in WWII.

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Possibly. Jurgen prochnow is a good guy german officer and they hold up in an old castle and **** gets weird. Not a vampire but definitely supernatural

cbr said:

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YouBet said:

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cbr said:

---

Some i havent seen mentioned yet

The eagle has landed
Dirty dozen
Breakthrough
Run silent run deep
The great escape
Stalingrad
Empire of the sun
Cross of iron


All very good

Really weird one that i liked - the keep

Eye of the needle was ok too

---

This isn't based on the F. Paul Wilson novel is it? Vampire in it? Feel dumb asking this but it was set in WWII.

---

Possibly. Jurgen prochnow is a good guy german officer and they hold up in an old castle and **** gets weird. Not a vampire but definitely supernatural

---

Has to be based on it. And it's not a traditional vampire in the book.

Not my top 5 or anything, but for the sake of mentioning a pretty good lesser known WWII movie , "A Midnight Clear" was good. A bit different type of WWII movie. 1992 - Gary Sinise, Ethan Hawke, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon

The thin red line was dull AF.

No love for empire of the sun?

aTmAg said:

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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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aTmAg said:

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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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aTmAg said:

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JABQ04 said:

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1) SPR
2) The Longest Day
3) A Bridge Too Far
4) Kelley's Heroes
5) Downfall

As far as TV series:
The Pacific has a slight edge over BoB. Both are terrific but the more I watch the Pacific the more I like it. And the German series Generation War.

---

Your opinion on The Pacific vs BoB is blasphemy. I just figured you should know that.

---

And your opinion of his opinion is bullcrap! Spoken as another who gives The Pacific the edge.

---

Out of curiosity, did you think it was dissapointing the first watch, and then like it later? I thought it was boring as hell the first time around and never bothered to watch it again.

---

I liked it the first time I watched it.

I understand why it is not everyone's cup of tea. It is disjointed due to the lack of interaction (with one relatively minor exception when Sledge declines to borrow a Bible from Leckie's library) among the primary characters. It also does not have a linear plot to follow in their individual stories as BoB did with their march into Germany.

And for myself, I always found the action in the Pacific theater to be more compelling as subject matter to read about. Not that Europe is uninteresting, far from it, but I always liked the island-hopping strategy, and the geographic dispersal of forces and engagements. My only real disappointment with this show was it really didn't have anything with the ships of the US Navy other than a few scenes, no combat between fleets or that kind of thing.

---

So one issue I had with it is that I do not think the battles seemed particularly accurate. Though I am not an expert, I do know John Basilone did not die that way, for example. Also his first battle (if I remember correctly) was too damn dark. It was like Game of Thrones. Unlike BoB the disjointed nature of the show meant there was not much camaraderie, which to me seems to be the real reason soldiers fight. When somebody died in BoB I was genuinely bummed or pissed off, because I got to know that guy. It made the stakes in the battles higher, and since it was based on reality, you never really knew who was going to live or die. In the Pacific when a guy died (other than Basilone) I was mostly thinking.. "oh okay.. so that guy died".

In hindsight, maybe this is another reason why I didn't like SPR that much. I didn't like any of the characters particularly other than Tom Hanks, the sniper dude, and maybe Matt Damon. So I didn't really care if they died.

---

Guess what, they were in a jungle, it was dark then. The setting for the war was completely alien to our military, and the antithesis of the European Theatre. They did a great job of making you feel the terror they must have felt in that situation.

YouBet said:

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cbr said:

---

YouBet said:

---

cbr said:

---

Some i havent seen mentioned yet

The eagle has landed
Dirty dozen
Breakthrough
Run silent run deep
The great escape
Stalingrad
Empire of the sun
Cross of iron


All very good

Really weird one that i liked - the keep

Eye of the needle was ok too

---

This isn't based on the F. Paul Wilson novel is it? Vampire in it? Feel dumb asking this but it was set in WWII.

---

Possibly. Jurgen prochnow is a good guy german officer and they hold up in an old castle and **** gets weird. Not a vampire but definitely supernatural

---

Has to be based on it. And it's not a traditional vampire in the book.

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I read the hell out of the book when I was in high school, The Keep. Didn't love the movie, but the cast was great - Prochnow and Scott Glenn (Red October and The Right Stuff, among others).

Yes, pretty good - listed it a few posts up

We've Never Been Licked

aTmAg said:

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I think Private Ryan is vastly overrated. The D-Day scene was incredible. The rest of the movie was blah.

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I can't believe this post has 24 likes. Come on now.

Old Tom Morris said:

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Not my top 5 or anything, but for the sake of mentioning a pretty good lesser known WWII movie , "A Midnight Clear" was good. A bit different type of WWII movie. 1992 - Gary Sinise, Ethan Hawke, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon

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Great movie. It would be in my top 5. Along with Empire of the Sun, The Enemy Below, Patton, and Father Goose.

New research has Basilone being killed by small arms fire and not a mortar as initially thought. So the death in the show is probably accurate. I think you said yourself that you've seen it once. You really need to watch it again. Read the companion book "The Pacific" by Hugh Ambrose as well.

I thought the bonds between the Marines was great. More
focused on a squad to fire team size element as opposed to a whole Company like BoB. I liked how the whole mood of the series shifted as the war progressed. At the start the characters were blissfully unaware of what lay ahead, but by Okinawa they treated the enemy like eradicating vermin. Their humanity against their enemy was gone. He wasn't human. Sledges scene were he gets yelled at for firing his pistol is great. Him returning home to register for classes was great too. The evolution of weapons and equipment was good to see too. Landing on Guadalcanal with Springfield '03s and water jacketed .30s, and OD green uniforms to M1 Garlands and Carbines to camo utilities. A lot darker of a series than BoB.

Good summation.

Quote:

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A lot darker of a series than BoB

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As it should have been, given how brutal the fighting in the Pacific was. Not that there was not brutality in Europe, but everything I've read shows the Japanese to be far more brutal than the typical Wehrmacht soldier. One scene in particular comes to mind - the Marines find a dead Marine with his **** cut off and shoved into his mouth.

That and the one guy cutting the teeth out of a Japanese soldier who is still alive. Not saying the fighting in Europe was a picnic by any means, but surrendering was an option for the most part in Europe with the expectation of being reasonably cared for. No quarter in the Pacific.

aTmAg said:

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I think Private Ryan is vastly overrated. The D-Day scene was incredible. The rest of the movie was blah.

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Your opinion on SPR is blasphemy. Just thought you should know that.

I never finished BoB Pacific. Need to do that.

Another one not mentioned so far that is truly excellent and moving is Life is Beautiful. The Italian theatre is underrepresented in WWII movies IMO.

For those who haven't seen it, Stalag 17 is a must watch. Makes me appreciate Hogan's Heroes all the more,

Life is Beautiful is absolutely excellent. It's in the same vein as Schindler's List as far as being a WWII movie without really being a war movie which is probably why it hasn't been mentioned, but everyone should see this one.