The Movieforums Top 100 War Movies Countdown

I haven't seen either film.

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Went to see Kingdom of Heaven in the theaters when it came out and expected Gladiator level entertainment but was unimpressed. Watched the 3+ hours director's cut during the pandemic and to my surprise got the full historical epic experience. Usually it's the other way around with me and director's cuts. Extra credit goes to Edward Norton's acting from behind a mask the entire film. Knew it needed some points to get on the list so I placed it at #5.



The Train is well directed with dynamic action sequences, suspense, superb acting and a great story. People actually risked/lost their lives to save Art and cultural heritage. My #20.


SEEN 12/18
BALLOT 3/25

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Hm I could have sworn I had seen The Train but maybe not. I must dig through my files! Anyway it would have been a long time ago.

I saw Kingdom of Heaven way back when it first came out but didn't care for it. It seems like I should check out the director's cut if I ever do revisit it.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

I've seen Kingdom of Heaven couple of times, first in a theater, I believe.

For those, who don't know the historic events, I'd say that the whole this filmed epic is actually about the Great Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and first Sultan of both Egypt and Syria, presented in the movie in just a couple of superbly acted scenes that say it all. The actor Ghassan Massoud deserves loud applause. Inclusion of Jeremy Irons adds another pinch of class as usual.
All of the rest is a hugely budgeted production, somehow moved from start to the end, intending to exploit Orlando Bloom's stardom of those years. I didn't consider it for my list.

OK 70/100

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

I might check out The Train soon. Some of what I'm reading about it makes it looks rather appealing.

I originally watched The Train because Mark was a big fan

I've been wanting to see The Train for a long time but have yet to. I bought the Director's Cut DVD for Kingdom of Heaven because someone I trust said it was a great epic. I agree. It's pretty smashing entertainment all the way through.

Nothing from my list for today.

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

9. Enemy at the Gates (2001)
17. Tropic Thunder (2008)

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Frankenheimer is a name I'll periodically hear, but I've never seen any of his films (oh, wait. I did see Ronin). Embarrassingly, half the time when I hear the name, it'll take me a little bit to realize the person isn't talking about Frank Henenlotter (whose name I think is "Frankenlotter" half of the time. Which would be an odd name for the someone who directed Frankenhooker).
I wish what I just wrote was one long bit with wordplay of names, but that jumble of logic accurately reflects my brain.


I did not think much of Gladiator, so when Kingdom of Heaven came out to really negative reviews, I did not have any interest in it. I don't know if hearing that there's a much more well received director's cut changes my level of interest since... well, I didn't care for Gladiator.
I do still respect Scott's love for filming airborne particulates though.

Aside from The Train, The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds are must see's.

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Seconds is the one that keeps popping up on various lists that makes me think it's the one that I'm supposed to watch. I also keep thinking it's a Samuel Fuller movie - who is also another director that's mostly a blindspot for me (I think I'd see Seconds and Shock Corridor show up on similar lists, and that's somehow why I overly associate them together).

Like The Train, Seconds was a recent watch for me. You can check out my review here, but it's definitely worth a watch.

Seconds is a masterpiece. The Manchurian Candidate is also pretty great.

I'm also curious how many films from the group watch thread will cross over into this list. I would imagine more than the 2010s countdown.

Hints


80:





79:

79. The Painted Bird perhaps?

79. The Green Berets"?

You got it, I think.

Nah, I bet I'm the only MoFo who likes that movie.

Me trying to solve the clue because Keyser used a gif from one of my favourite series.

No votes. I've seen The Train once and liked it well enough - rewatching The Manchurian Candidate has made me want to (re)watch a bunch of Frankenheimer films, but I am yet to follow through. I've only seen the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven and was not too impressed, but I do own a copy of the director's cut and I will get to it one of these days - maybe this will be the inspiration I need.

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