Movie Forums Top 100 War Movies - Group Watch

Shoulder Arms was really interesting! Not one I'd heard of before. It might not be eligible for the countdown, but the length was one of its strengths - it didn't outstay it's welcome. My favourite part was the cheese - or possibly the tree. A nice slice of silent comedy.

You’re absolutely right. I forgot about the No short films included. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh well. It’s still my choice, so I’ll stick with it.

I'll watch it. Hopefully Keyser green lights it for the countdown.

If anyone can link me to an extended version I'll count it, but the longest cut I can find is 37 minutes. Otherwise it's a no-go.

Right here at MoFo's movie pages it says it's listed as Runtime 45 minutes.
https://www.movieforums.com/movies/5...lder-arms.html

I’ve seen that on Wikipedia as well, but the version that is available on criterion in only 38 mins long. I’ll have to look up what is missing and why, but as it stands, it doesn’t meet Keysers requirements.

It’s ok, although I’d prefer shorts being allowed, but that’s my preference and I may not even hold be the majority opinion.

There are a bunch of members who love shorts. I'm surprised there wasn't a big deal made of not including them.

Night and Fog would likely make my ballot if shorts are included.

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Especially this list which could possibly have a short in the top ten.

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If there's enough support for Night and Fog then I'll reconsider. But the problem herein is that I'll have to talk to the two people who already voted concerning whether or not they want to change their ballots.

Shoulder Arms would have been a lock on mine
The exclusion of Night and Fog is also disappointing

I’m not even a fan of shorts and have only voted for one in any countdown. Curious as to your thought process on not including though?

Night and Fog not being included just seems cruel.

It had been a general rule in several other countdowns I looked up. Also, I wanted to avoid any potential incluion or war-themes cartoon skits from the likes of Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Mickey Mouse, etc. I'll message the two voters concerning the rules and see if they want to alter their votes to include it.

Chaplin is funny as it is. Put him in the military and he's even funnier. Plus he looks like Hitler. As a rule I don't rate shorter films as high as full length, but I enjoyed this quite a bit. One of the better Chaplin films I've seen. Not much to say about this specific film because it is what it is. It was just good.

I can totally understand that part of it and I would say that's a good decision on your part.

An idea: I'm pretty sure that those WWII cartoons you mentioned were all under 15 minutes....so maybe say nothing shorter than 30 minutes? That way those cartoon shorts aren't included but films like Night and Fog and Shoulder Arms would be. What do you think?

That depends. Can anyone think of other essential war short films?

Define “essential”. Does it need to be essential? What film fills that requirement?
I’d say there are several short WW2 propaganda films such as Fords Docs and Huston as well as Humphrey Jennings docs during the same time that some might consider essential, although I’m sure not all would agree.

It would help if there was a higher demand of short films that people can confirm they would vote for.

I don't think there should be any restrictions on short films, to be honest. Feel free to vote for whatever you want to vote for. Something like this is just as valid of a war film as a feature length war film. Also, if someone wants to vote for war-themed cartoon skits, go ahead. After all, if they're huge stretches on whether they fit the criteria of a war film, they probably won't receive much votes and likely won't make the countdown. No big deal.