Help me expand my war collection (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Adams]

I really enjoyed Harts War. Very good movie. I rented and now it is on my to buy list.

 

[Lew Crippen]

There have been a lot of great suggestions. The only classic that I think that has been missed is:

Grand Illusion

 

[Rain]

They Were Expendable
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Come and See (bad DVD though)
Dr. Strangelove
La Grande Illusion
From Here to Eternity
MASH
Paths of Glory
Patton
The Sorrow and the Pity (documentary)

 

[Jack Briggs]

Tough call. He has asked for help in "expanding [his] war collection," and that can only apply to the software. Hence, the thread belongs here just as much as it does in Movies.

 

[Danny_N]

Does anyone know if HBO ever released their series about the Tuskegee(sp?) Airmen? That was a terrific series.

It's available on DVD as far as I know. Don't know about the quality.
Some other recent made-for-tv war movies which are very highly recommended are:
The Lost Batallion - WWI SPR style, based on a true story
Uprising - the Jewish uprising in the Warschau ghetto, reviewed by Ron Epstein here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...light=uprising
Conspiracy - recreation of the Wannsee conference with Kenneth Branagh as Heydrich
Also very very higly recommended is Paul Verhoeven's Soldier Of Orange - available on a very nice DVD from Anchor Bay.

 

[Rob TT]

although its not out yet, I'm surprised nobody has said:

Band of Brothers

 

[PaulaJ]

How about the great silent war film THE BIG PARADE? It's one of my favorites.

Not available on DVD, alas, but you can get it on VHS.

May show up at some point on Turner Classic Movies, too.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I recently reviewed Lost Command, starring Anthony Quinn, and while it's got some problems, it has an interesting and prescient look at what war was going to be like from the late 1950s onward.

 

[Mike__D]

Re: Tuskegee airmen (or whatever the title is)

How about the great silent war film THE BIG PARADE?

I'm not really a fan of slient films, but thanks.
And thanks again to everyone else... my list is growing
Mike D

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Wasn't Anchor Bay or somone supposed to be releasing "The Dam Busters" on R1 DVD? That's a good one.

I may have missed it, but I don't think anyone has mentioned "Bataan" "Cross of Iron" or "Zulu" yet. "Bataan" seems to have lapsed from release, although copies are still around at some retailers and "Cross of Iron" and "Zulu" are somewhat underserved by their presentations on R1 DVD.

Various versions of Shakespeare's Henry V and Richard III are technically war films, too.

Regards,

 

[LeeL]

Take all of those movies in your list, shove them to the bottom, and put PATTON at the top of it. The single greatest war movie ever made, IMHO.

"Rommell, you magnificent bastard..."

 

[SimonI]

Another vote for Come and See though I don't agree that it's a bad DVD (assuming the poster referred to the Kino issue) - it may seem rough and ready but I recall that is how it looked in the cinema. Similarly the 4:3 aspect ratio which some take exception to. It has to be one of the very best war films made and one I would say everyone should watch!

Interestingly, the blurb on the back of the Kino cover for once describes the film perfectly:

When young Florya willingly joins a group of Partisans fighting the Nazis in Byelorussia, U.S.S.R., he little suspects that he is plunging through the looking glass. Separated from his comrades during a paratroop attack and struck deaf by German artillery, Florya - in the company of Glascha, a beguiling peasant girl - wanders a battle-scorched Russian purgatory of prehistoric forests and man-made slaughter. Florya's journey takes him and us through a gallery of exquisitely poetic imagery and brutal human atrocity.

Unlike traditional war films, Come And See never stoops to convenient heroic catharsis or genre movie narrative symmetry. Images of a beautiful girl's impromptu dance in the rain and an SS unit's spontaneous, self-congratulatory applause at their own butchery haunt with equal power. More than any other war film, Come And See unites the powerful truths and inescapable dilemmas that lurk behind both the raptures of youth and the horrors of war.

 

[Kevin M]

One that I think was unfairly maligned at the time of it's release was Enemy at the Gates, IMO it was a fine film.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

How about:
THREE KINGS
CATCH-22
Though not technically a war film, there are some great battle scenes in BARRY LYNDON
If you're looking for something different you may want to check out THE NINTH CONFIGURATION -- a surreal drama about a mental facility for military personnel in the Vietnam era.

 

[Brian E]

Another one I forgot to mention is The Story of GI Joe. I'm of the opinion that it's one of the best war films out there. You can read my review here . Keep in mind it was the first time I tried doing a review so it's a little rough.

 

[Brian E]

Also Where Eagles Dare... WHEN will Warner realise they have a goldmine on their hands when they release this classic movie?

They know we want it. Last I heard it was being restored.

 

[David Albrecht]

Mike, I've got five of those titles on your list,

Platoon
Thin Red Line
U-571
Saving Private Ryan
We were Soliders

all enjoyable indeed, yet my favorite war movie is...

When Trumpets Fade

I noticed nobody mentioned 'A Midnight Clear' yet, is this because of the Pan-and-Scan presentation, or because its not that great? Just curious, I've been holding off on buying it.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

My votes for the two greatest war films of all time:
Grand Illusion
Grave Of The Fireflies
Jeff

 

[Mike__D]

There's a lot of titles I never heard of listed here. This should keep me busy for a long time!
Was it just me or does We Were Soldiers leave you with a knot in your throat for almost the entire film? Something to be said about that...
Mike D.

 

[Michael Harris]

While not a war movie, the documentary series "The World at War" belongs in any war movie buff's collection. Now where is "Victory at Sea"?