The Top of the Bleeping Obstacle: MoFo Top 100 War Movies Prelims!

Kon Ichikawa's 野火 - Fires on the Plain (1959) is one of the most brutal and haunting war films ever made. Set in the Philippines in the closing days of WWII as the island is being liberated by U.S. forces, we follow one Japanese soldier, weak and dying from TB, who is left behind and ordered to commit suicide. He can't do it, and so wanders through the Hellscape of that war and its aftermath. It's practically a horror movie as the desperation and death are palpable. It doesn't have the kind of brand name recognition that other Japanese cinema from this period enjoys today, but it is a must-see. Mizoguchi, Kobayashi, Ozu, and of course Kurosawa all made the countdown, but no room for Kon Ichiwa? This is my favorite of his, but also check out The Burmese Harp (1956), another movie about the closing days of the war and some of its horrors though seen through a soldier who becomes a Buddhist monk. Both are part of The Criterion Collection.

Here's a recommendation for everyone. I'm keeping most of the war movies I'm watching secret for now, but I found a rare classic on YouTube I think the people should see: Trial on the Road, a Russian film originally released in 1971 and banned from Russia for over a decade.

This is a movie I have voted for on the MoFo 1950s list and the Top 100 Foreign Films. It made neither. I believe maybe only one other MoFo voted for it on their '50s ballot. But I'll try one last time to rally the troops here as a War Flick...




Here is the entire movie, a great print, subtitled and free on YouTube...



Fires on the Plain was also remade in 2015 by Shinya Tsukamoto.

One month left!

I'm so smart.

I thought that seemed quick but I decided to just press ahead without thinking of checking anything.

OneTwo month(s) left!

I guess I'll start preparing my ballot then.

I'm so smart.

I thought that seemed quick but I decided to just press ahead without thinking of checking anything.

On this subject, I've been keeping the possibility of another extension due to Oppenheimer's release in mind. We don't have to, but if anyone wants to potentially add Oppenheimer to their list, I wouldn't blame them. The biggest reason for the original extension was the longer films like Shoah and Dances With Wolves, as well as to finish the War and Peace series. I'm aware that 4.5 - 5 months feels a bit extreme, so we don't have to. I don't know about you, but I'm considering going to Oppenheimer on oppenhing day.

I guess I'll start preparing my ballot then.

How long would it extended it? I don't mind as I'm watching a war film just about every single night. And you know what I haven't even made a dent in them yet.

I only got one question: Starship Troopers counts, right?

Longest....deadline....ever..........

Nnnerp.

Not at all. The war deadline is 4.5 months long. There's been 9 countdowns that were longer.
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