In no particular order:
-
darryl-tahirali — 11 years ago(February 25, 2015 08:40 PM)
Top 5 WWII movies - dreaddy2-982-911416
Tough choices here, and I'll take "top 5" as my top five and not an attempt to be "objective" or "authoritative."
Even then, though, it's tough to determine my favorites. The big-ticket ones such as
The Longest Day
,
The Great Escape
, and especially
The Bridge on the River Kwai
(one of my desert island picks) are great but are really taken as given. Then there are the cheeky ones such as
Kelly's Heroes
and
The Americanization of Emily
. Or ones such as
Casablanca
or
Lifeboat
that are set during the war but are not standard war films.
So I'll go with ones whose themes or atmosphere still resonate with me. In reverse order.
5.
The Big Red One
(1980). Not really one of my top favorites, but director Samuel Fuller, who was a World War Two combat veteran, got to put into a big-budget picture the vision and attitude that informed his two modest classics from the Korean war,
Fixed Bayonets!
and especially
The Steel Helmet
.
4.
Sink the Bismarck!
(1960). Taut naval action interspersed with Kenneth More and Dana Wynter directing the action from London. No-nonsense, but the understated approach still works well.
3.
Sahara
(1943). A modest Thermopylae story that still retains force for its plainspoken approach, and for a surprisingly bold attitude toward race. Plus Bogey's speech is pretty good still.
2.
The Best Years of Our Lives
(1946). Probably the first World War Two film to deal with the impact of the war on those returning from war and those waiting for them to return. Still fresh.
1.
Mister Roberts
(1955). One of the best studies of the tedium and monotony that informs much of war, and one that demonstrates that the fighting isn't always on the front line. Unforgettable.
"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." - Noam Chomsky -
OldAussie — 11 years ago(February 25, 2015 11:06 PM)
By Sub-genre:
Asia - Bridge on the River Kwai / King Rat
North Africa - Play Dirty / Ice Cold In Alex
Historical - A Bridge Too Far / Patton
Western Europe - The Victors / Attack
Pacific - The Thin Red Line [1998] / In Harm's Way
Naval - The Cruel Sea /The Caine Mutiny
Russian Front - Enemy At the Gates / Cross of Iron
Spy/Occupation - Casablanca / 5 Fingers
"Oh God, but I do love being king!" -
rudeboy_murray — 11 years ago(March 09, 2015 09:46 PM)
I notice that somewhere in the middle of the list a poster includes All quiet on the Western Front and Platoon among their picks. Huh?!
My favourites, chronologically
Went the Day Well? (1943)
A Canterbury Tale (1944)
Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Au revoir les enfants (1987)
The thin Red Line (1998)
Others, any of which could make my list if I made it tomorrow:
Casablanca (1942)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Hope and Glory (1987)
A Midnight Clear (1992)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) -
pconley22 — 9 years ago(July 14, 2016 09:54 AM)
Stalag 17
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Longest Day
Ken Burns' The War
Does The Best Years of Our Lives count as a WWII movie? Also, nice to see I'm not the only one who dug Malick's Thin Red Line. I seem to remember that movie being decidedly unpopular when it came out. I always thought it was fantastic with some amazing cinematography. -
ghostinthepoop — 9 years ago(September 05, 2016 11:42 AM)
Probably something like this
saving private ryan
letters from iwo jima
come and see
patton
das boot
hm
grave of the fireflies
bridge on the river kwai
big red one
downfall
thin red line
inglorious basterds
49th parallel -
joefreitag — 9 years ago(December 06, 2016 11:37 AM)
Come and See is an excellent movie - terrific choice. Have you tried The Cranes are Flying?
My top 5:
Saving Private Ryan
Das Boot
Band of Brothers (yeah, I'm cheating)
Conspiracy
Schindler's List
Honorable mention:
Sophie Scholl
A Bridge Too Far
The Longest Day
Empire of the Sun
The Best Years of our Lives -
ghostinthepoop — 9 years ago(December 06, 2016 07:52 PM)
I have not seen The Cranes are Flying, its been on my watch list for a while. I have Ivans Childhood from the library and plan on watching that, then watching The Cranes are Flying. Come and See is so Haunting, I love it! Its nice to see someone else who also loves it
-
TheHestinator — 9 years ago(January 01, 2017 09:21 PM)
My personal favorite World War II movies at the moment are:
- The Guns of Navarone
- The Great Escape
- Kelly's Heroes
- Saints and Soldiers (even though I'm an atheist)
- Farewell to the King
Honorable Mentions: - The Big Red One (as of right now, I prefer the original, theatrical cut)
- Saving Private Ryan
- FDR: American Badass!
- Schindler's List
- Hacksaw Ridge
- The Longest Day
- Castle Keep
- A Midnight Clear
- Hell Is for Heroes
- Casablanca (been thinking of giving this one a big boost higher up in my personal rankings, though)
- The Eagle Has Landed
- Slaughterhouse-Five
-
myjubjub — 9 years ago(March 12, 2017 06:13 AM)
In particular order:
lemme think
1.
Shoah
(the most historically important film ever made, second is The Act of Killing, inspired by Shoah)
2.
Come and See
(incredibly bleak Belarusian partisan film)
3.
Downfall
(Bruno Ganz as Hitler, can you ask for more?)
4.
The Big Red One
(Mark Hamill, Lee Marvin, Robert Carradine, directed by WWII, Big Red One veteran superdirector Sam Fuller - can you ask for more?)
5.
The Bridge on the River Kwai
(David Lean, Alec Guinness, William Holden, can you ask for more?)
Inglorious Bastards - wrong. Unless you are talking about the original, but still wrong, just not as much. I am not sure if you are unintentionally correcting the illiterate Tarantino's misspelling or intentionally giving the name of the original, superior film.