Which was the best ever war movie?
 

According to you which was the best movie?

1. Schindlers List
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. The Thin Red Line
4. The Pianist
5. Dunkirk
6. The Great Raid
7. Das Boot
8. Life is Beautiful
9. The English Patient
10. Defiance
11. Hacksaw Ridge
12. Allied
13. Letters from Iwo Jima
14. Inglorious Basterds

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

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Apocalypse Now, Dr. Strangelove, The Deer Hunter, Platoon, and Saving Private Ryan would be my top 5.

The first two, Apocalypse Now and Dr. Strangelove, are amongst the best movies of all time in any genre.

Most overrated = Thin Red Line

Most underrated = Fail Safe (a classic from the great Sidney Lumet)

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Nope. It’s better than SPR.

Strangelove is my favorite but there’s also Paths of Glory, a movie actually made simply to pass along a message.

From a recent viewings I’d add Bresson’s A Man Escaped and the more light hearted Stalag 17.





There’s David Lean’s films (Lawrence and River Kwai).

Army of Shadows - a great paranoid thriller set in the French Resistance
A Very Long Engagement - severely underrated
Zero Dark Thirty - dynamic filmmaking, engrossing and morally complex
Dunkirk - Nolan at his most showman like. Structural brilliance

Just added Twelve O’Clock High to my watch list.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Black Hawk Down was superb I thought, and isn't mentioned enough.

Hacksaw Ridge is not a good movie, just saying.

I didn't like it, and I'm glad I'm not alone in that thinking.

I honestly do not know how I feel in agreeing with you, but I have to admit this movie made me cringe at times and once i even laughed out loud in disbelieve at what I was seeing play out on screen.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

The English Patient, while my number 1 movie on my personal favorite list, is not a war movie IMO.



*EDIT*
cuz my typing is teh suxors.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

To Be or Not To Be!

More a spy comedy, no?

I appreciate Terrance Malick's talent, but I simply feel that Thin Red Line was pretentious, and uninteresting.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

How do we define war movie here? I'm tempted to say Grave of the fireflies but I'm not sure if it fits the requirements, specially since there is no direct military confrontation portrayed in the film.

Really liked, in no particular order:

All Quiet on The Western Front
Wings
The Great Parade
Schindler's List
Allied
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line
The Pianist
Das Boot
The Hurt Locker
American Sniper
Defiance
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Water Diviner
Come and See
Flowers of War
Downfall
Judgement at Nuremberg
Goodbye Children
Giovanni's Island
So Proudly We Hail

Disliked:
Hacksaw Ridge
Fury
Come and See

No mention of A Bridge Too Far? Was a pretty good film. And does Return of the King count as a "war movie"?

My all time favorite will always be Kelly's Heroes. What a cast...

I'd have to say Stallingrad, and Come and See.

Battle of Niretva was also pretty awesome with huge battle scenes and almost no story or character development.

Saving Private Ryan is probably the most overrated war movie of all time. What a tacky premise and ending, though the effects and battle scenes were well done.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

The answer to this question is Saving Private Ryan.

Zotis this is kind of awful.

Message me, i kinda want you to melt away but yeah please try to talk to me you idiot.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Zotis please message me you moron.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

@Zotis messaged me. He's not a moron!

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

I might still be a moron actually. The jury is still out.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

seems camo gettin drunk, again

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Wish I had some beer now.

hm... good question, War is such a massive concept and their have been so many War films. The best is likely Saving Private Ryan as it managed to capture the scope of the War with a sense of realism.

Funny how the lists are so WWII centric

1. Braveheart (1995)
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
3. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)
4. Platoon (1986)
5. That Hamilton Woman (1941)
6. Letters from Iwo Jima (2002)
7. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
8. Starship Troopers (1997)
9. Kingdom of Heaven (2005) (Directors Cut)
10. The Human Condition (1959-1961)
11. Master and Commander: Far Side of the World (2002)
12. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
13. Casablanca (1941)
14. Paisan (1946)
15. Downfall (2004)
16. Forbidden Games (1952)
17. Lone Survivor (2013)
18. The Story of GI Joe (1945)
19. Kanal (1956)
20. White Material (2009)

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

look like nice thread for garbaging.
i've been listing only world war movies for a while. things that i'd or ptw
https://letterboxd.com/semss46/list/...elated-movies/

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

How can you rate Starship Troopers over The Human Condition?

Was never sure what to do with Forbidden Games. Most of it is funny and slapstick but then you have that horrific beginning and heart wrenching ending. Its like someone book ended a Buster Keaton film between two short War tragedies.

Talking about over the top actions.

This.

Personal favourite Das Boot, followed closely by Saving Private Ryan.

It's not a ranking list it's a recommendation list

My top three are the Human Condition from Kobayashi. I also love All Quiet on the Western Front, Saving Private Ryan, and My Way. According to IMDb, Kurosawa's Ran is also a war film, but I don't see it.

"War" is my second favourite genre, and I've voted for 143 on IMDb, if we include mini-series and TV shows, such as Our World War, and include those that are a little shaky, genre-wise.

My theory as to why there are some many WWII films is that it's a clear depiction of "good vs evil", and so much happened, it's easy to find a part of the war to depict in film. And, as to why there are so many good ones, it's because there are so many, and the law of averages dictate that there has to be so many quality outputs with so many made in the first place.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

There are so many... but only posting this because it's in my top ten list (which was only the top ten on my mind when I made the list - there's no way I can limit myself to "ten best" movies). :)

https://static.rogerebert.com/upload...I2TxNjhv2m.jpg

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Criminy I forgot Hope and Glory.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

No Man's Land, or The Lives of Others really made me rethink the idea of what the greatest war movie could be. With those out of the question, I found Schindler's List to be hypnotic and bizarrely re-watchable.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Ah, okay. Starship Troopers is a really fun movie.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Extremely tough question, although I will side with the perturbing, unnerving masterwork The Ascent, directed by Soviet female filmmaker Larisa Shepitko. It is a truly scarring and grim film, highlighting the dark realities of war in the most confrontational - yet seamlessly poetic - way. It makes Saving Private Ryan look like a Disney film, essentially. This film stayed with me for days, and it easily holds a position in my favourites.

The Human Condition Trilogy is the best!
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Another great war movies imo:
Schindler List
The Deer Hunter
Fullmetal Jacket
Apocalypse Now
Bullet in the Head
Platoon

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

The Ascent sounds awesome.


Overlord is another great WWII movie.

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Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Top three of the ones I’ve seen:

Schindler’s List

Saving Private Ryan

Black Hawk Down

Last night I watched U-571, it should be added to the liked list. Hacksaw Ridge was a real story of Desmond Thomas Doss who saved 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa. It was really well directed.

But it's based on the real story. I wonder why people are criticizing this movie.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

The Great Escape, it has an all star cast, i read that Steve McQueen did all his own stunts in this film as he was a keen motorcyclist, plus he also played the role of one of the German officers chasing him in the final bike scene.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

i would say three movies come top:
the great escape
apocalypse now
saving private ryan

Incorrect. Ek1n was Steve's double and was inducted into stuntmans Halloween of fame for his work in that. I doubt very much actors ever have enough insurance, especially to freestyle jump a barbed wire hence, I also doubt you read that because that's pretty well universally known and frequently hailed

You said it, it's BASED on the real story. I wonder how much of what was shown on the big screen was real.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

it's typical war melodrama with borderline exploitative

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Lol!!! 😆

I enjoyed Defiance, and the story wasn't something I'd known about beforehand so it was really fascinating.

I always think of Das Boot as a TV series, even though a film was made from the episodes. If it was a film I think it would be the best ever.

Great example. What a shame they didn't make any more.

Yes it is good vs evil and the influence it's had on popular culture is immense. Even if fascists aren't available they still crop up in other forms, like the Daleks with their superiority complex, gliding around like mini tanks and exterminating everything.

Dances with Wolves is an excellent war film, so is The Terminator.

I think Secret Army is the best WWII television series.

Aliens is also a great one.

Its a movie so definitely everything couldn't be shown in a ream manner. Some variations would be there. In a scene its shown where Andrew Garfield fights with Hugo Weaving for pointing gun towards Rachel Griffiths but that incident happened when Desmond Doss was a kid.

Funny you bring that up because quite a bit of Desmond Doss's story was excised from the film because it was too unbelievable. Okinawa was made out to be when the entire troop first experienced the enemy but they had been fighting touring before that and Doss had already received several commendations.

By the end of the war he lost a lung, several ribs and use of his left arm and yet he still lived to be 87 years old.

Hmmm, in no order >>

The Great Escape
Platoon
Ice Station Zebra
Big Red One
Where Eagles Dare
Fury
The Pianist
Glory
Saving Private Ryan
Thin Red Line
Tora! Tora! Tora!

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Battle Of Britain

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The Cruel Sea

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Das Boot

Those are probably my top three, though if we're calling Starship Troopers a war film rather than just being a magnificent fun ride, then that would probably be in there.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Saving Private ryan without a doubt

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Another favorite of mine is Red Angel. It tells the story of a Japanese WWII nurse who is raped by a soldier and then must carry out field work on the Chinese front.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1HPX88EFRL.jpg

You win. Human Condition is my favourite trilogy ever.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

i think, Bridge on the river kuai deserves a special.mention

Thanks for mentioning this movie! I wasn't aware of it. Would definitely give it a watch.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Where’s Battle of the bulge or Enemy at the Gates? Those are two good ones.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

If you think Enemy at the Gates is good then check out Come and See.

Its set in Belarus, WWII.

I'll have to check that one out, looks interesting. Valkyrie was another good one.

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Is Downfall available in English? I tried downloading i but couldn't find it anywhere.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

I hate all war movies

The only war movie that I liked is Fury, so the answer is Fury ;)

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

My favourites:
The Black Sheep of Whitehall
Cottage to Let
The Goose Steps Out
Hope and Glory
In Which We Serve
The Square Peg

Apocalypse now has got to be my favourite I saw Rogue one last night in a lot of ways that counts as a war film but not in the traditional sense. But it's undeniably very well-made and possibly my favourite Star Wars film alongside Empire strikes back. I guess you are supposed to call it a Star Wars story now but who cares.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Apocalypse Now

So many great war movies to chose from. I would mention 5, any of which any one could claim top spot:

Full Metal Jacket






https://youtu.be/x9f6JaaX7Wg

Blackhawk Down





https://youtu.be/7Qf_dT4oIbs

The Deer Hunter




https://youtu.be/1nA9tV9q-mY

Saving Private Ryan




https://youtu.be/RYID71hYHzg

Platoon




https://youtu.be/KztP7SKe0uk

I read this too in his autobiography, he was into cars and bikes, just like me, I also saw an old interview of him describing his stunts during this film. Top film too!

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

1) Come and See
2) Paths of Glory
3) The Bridge on the River Kwai
4) To Be or Not to Be
5) The Battle of Algiers
6) Apocalypse Now
7) Full Metal Jacket
8) Lawrence of Arabia
9) Night and Fog
10) The Ascent

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

I'm surprised only one mentioned The Battle Of Algiers, as I think it's the best war movie I've ever seen probably, though Schindlier's List is a worthy contender for the best too.

I still haven't seen Come and See yet, as I cannot find any English subtitled version of the movie!

I'm surprised there aren't any lists / countdowns / hofs for this genre..
(Except a ww2 hof..)

The Battle of Algiers is really great. Initially, I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters in it. But then I looked up some critical essays and realized that Pontecorvo intentionally sacrificed character development in service of showing the events of the film on a much larger scale as he not only showed the years which the event took up, but how widespread the resistance effort and the efforts of the French troops to stop them got. It feels like such a grand and expansive portrayal of the events and it's now in my top 30 favorite films of all time.

Schindler's List makes for a fine film as long as you're willing to get down with Spielberg's sentimentality (which I usually have to do when I watch his films). Still one of the better best picture winners though in my opinion.

As for Come and See, I looked on Amazon, and I found a physical copy of it online.

https://www.amazon.com/Come-Smotri-K...gateway&sr=8-2

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Yeah I just didn't feel like buying Come and See, until I know if I liked it enough to buy first. Rather rent it to see it first if that's an option anywhere.

As for Schindler's List, I thought that sentimentality was earned in that one, and played naturally into the story world, compared to some Spielberg movies where it may be more forced otherwise.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

That's understandable. I usually like to rent movies first as well. Sadly, Come and See is kind of an inaccessible film. Hopefully, it gets a Criterion release in the future.

I get what you're saying on Schindler's List. One of my friends who really likes that film argued that Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan (another one of his favorites) earn their sentimentality by subjecting their audience to such a visceral wringer of emotionally draining experiences that the sentimentality feels like a catharsis. I suppose my reaction to Schindler's List though was more "That was a well-made film" rather than any feeling of being put through the wringer. Part of this may be due to the fact that I'm pretty much desensitized to movie violence by now or that Night and Fog toughened me up for all other Holocaust films. Maybe watching it again may change my mind though. Who knows.

It never sits right with me that people refer to this as a war movie, go figure.


Same as Der Bunker or Schindler's List, there should really be a separation from war movies and movies taking place during wartime

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

I typically lump all types of war films (combat, non-combat, and documentaries) under the general umbrella of war, but if I were to divide my opinion up into a few categories, my list would look something like this:

Combat:
1) The Battle of Algiers
2) Apocalypse Now
3) Full Metal Jacket
4) Lawrence of Arabia
5) The Thin Red Line

Non-Combat:
1) Come and See
2) Paths of Glory (less than a third of it takes place in the trenches, so I'm going to leave it in this category)
3) The Bridge on the River Kwai
4) To Be or Not to Be
5) The Ascent (again, not much of it involves combat)

War Documentaries:
1) Night and Fog
2) The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
3) Shoah
4) Waltz with Bashir
5) Lessons of Darkness

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Since I said The Battle of Algiers was the best, does that belong in Combat, or non-Combat, since it's primarily terrorism acts?

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

I looked up the definition of combat to check its meaning and it said "Fighting between armed forces" so combat I guess.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Well in The Battle of Algiers, a lot of the action is attacking civilians are attacking the police but by murdering them by surprise, so not sure if that counted as a combat war movie or not.

I see what you mean. It would make more sense to put it in a fourth category on terrorist attacks. I can't think of any other great/really good terrorist films involving wars I'd add to that category though.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

The Devil's Brigade.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

'Come and See' is easily the best war movie ever made.

I'm tempted to agree, but I think The Cranes Are Flying could definitely contend for the spot.

War films as a genre aren't defined that way. You're thinking of War/Action but it's a double standard if you don't treat War/Drama, or War movies spliced with any other genre, the same way.

Come and See is not a movie merely set during wartime, it is about the war. It is about the German early advance into Belarus massacring civilians. You have to remember that 80% of the people who died in WW2 were civilians.

My point exactly. It was genocide/murder.. not war. Especially in Belarus, one of the country which suffered the most in WW2 under the SS murderers.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

What is a genocide if not an act of war perpetrated by one group of people against another?

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

It still has the Nazi's fighting the resistance, two groups of armed combatants.

@Iroquois I guess genocide isn't necessarily an act of war, as war is defined by combat between two groups of armed combatants. So if one group isn't armed it's not technically warfare. But, @FromBeyond, you completely missed the point. I mean it sounds like you haven't even seen the movie. There is combat between these two groups of armed combatants:

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plus

https://www.clevelandfilm.org/files/...aomeandsee.jpg

equals

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Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

Grave of fireflies... Did anyone mention that?

Most of the movies are already mentioned... Of the recent ones, I quite liked Der Hauptmann. It won't be greatness, but it does narrate an important event during WWII.

I haven’t watched very many but I’d say probably Saving Private Ryan. In my opinion, it has one of the best and most horrific beginnings of any film I’ve seen.

I totally agree with you. Of all the war films I've seen the one that stays in my head and made the biggest impact is Saving Private Ryan. Of course people like to turn their noses up at it, as it's a Spielberg film.

Spielberg is usually very popular and well-respected, why would people turn their noses?

I saw it when I was five years old. I haven't rewatched it in the 15 years since, but I used to have nightmares about the Omaha Beach scene and that scene haunts me even today.
It doesn't make any more sense to me than it likely does to you, but it's simply because he's popular that some like to crap on him. It's like how some anime fans like to crap on Akira and Spirited Away simply because they're two of the most popular, Spirited Away winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It doesn't stop there, either. Don't ask me why, but there's just a certain sect of people who like to crap on everything and everyone that's popular.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

I think my top-2 would be Cross of Iron and Saving Private Ryan.

Re: Which was the best ever war movie?
 

im gonna go with, Apocalypse now