inglorious bastards sucked
Two movies (not previously mentioned) which rate well on the realism scale are “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” (1944) and “Battleground” (1949) – coincidentally, both starring the same actor, Van Johnson. “Battleground”, although it depicts a fictional company of the 101st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge, is for the most part very accurate from a historical point of view. “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” was based on the memoirs of Ted Lawson, the Doolittle Raid pilot played by Johnson; Lawson worked closely with the production crew, which further helped its accuracy. (As a contrast, compare this film to “Destination Tokyo”, with Cary Grant, made in 1943, which also deals with the Doolittle Raid. Very entertaining and watchable, but 99% fictional and full of nonsense and inaccuracies. For example, the references to dates and events made in the film would only make sense if the Doolittle Raid had occurred in 1943 rather than 1942!)
@Young:
I also liked fat boy and little man, with Paul Newman.
“Fat Man and Little Boy”, actually.
“Sahara” (1943), with Humphrey Bogart, is another wartime classic. It was based on a Soviet film (The Thirteen) which was itself based on the film The Lost Patrol (originally made in Britain 1929, remade in the U.S. in 1934). “Sahara” was itself remade under the same title in 1995, and as “Last of the Comanches” in 1953. I haven’t seen any of the earlier or later versions, but I’ve watched the Bogart one a dozen times.
Non Military would be Schindler’s List. That one is one of my favorites of all time. As far as War (historically accurate), I’m going with The Longest Day.
GG
Any list of this kind is highly subjective, especially given the huge number of WWII films out there. Breaking the question down into subject categories simplifies the problem a bit, though it still means making difficult choices. Some examples of category nominations (using films not already mentioned)
Best submarine movie:
Best convoy / escort movie:
Best film about the responsibilities of command (in both cases, of a bomber group):
Best film about planning and executing an “impossible mission”:
Best film about the Resistance:
Most frightening Invasion-of-England film:
how bout Memphis Belle?
im not actully sure asked my dad and he said there was no remake
im not actully sure asked my dad and he said there was no remake
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036152/
Memphis Belle (1990)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100133/
im not actully sure asked my dad and he said there was no remake
@CWO:
im not actully sure asked my dad and he said there was no remake
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036152/Memphis Belle (1990)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100133/
Yes the 1944 version was a documentary and the 1990 version is the only movie (drama) that I know of.
how bout Memphis Belle?
Inglorious Basterds sucked, but you nominate this? Please tell me you are trolling.
My vote, obviously, went to Das Boot. As for the others in the poll - my next choice would probably be Tora! Tora! Tora!
But as mentioned by many, there are lots and lots of WW II movies. Someone compiled a list on IMDB with nearly 900 of them: http://www.imdb.com/list/RA6D_dhsP-Y/
how bout Memphis Belle?
Inglorious Basterds sucked, but you nominate this? Please tell me you are trolling.
Agree. Can not be taken seriously as a WW2 movie.
how bout Memphis Belle?
Inglorious Basterds sucked, but you nominate this? Please tell me you are trolling.
Agree. Can not be taken seriously as a WW2 movie.
It was more of a comedy and it failed at that!
its the 1990 one i belive
Yes… Likely… The easier, the better… All ingenious is simple.
From the poll choices I will go with a “Thin Red Line”, but that’s pretty subjective cause I haven’t seen all the choices and its been years since I saw “Das Boot”.
The first 90 minutes of “Thin Red Line” is pretty much the best war movie I’ve ever seen. However, after they finally storm and take the Japanese camp (possibly the best scene in the film) the movie begins to meander. I think some folks might be disappointed by the end that wouldn’t have been disappointed if the story had resolved itself a bit earlier. The novel was too big for one feature film–they should have attempted a mini-series.
Idk if anyone has mentioned “Bridge of River Kwai” but that is also a very interesting WW2 film. I also rate “Untergang”, especially the performance of Bruno Ganz.
The first 90 minutes of “Thin Red Line” is pretty much the best war movie I’ve ever seen. However, after they finally storm and take the Japanese camp (possibly the best scene in the film) the movie begins to meander.
Is this the 1964 or the 1998 version of the film? I’ve never seen the 1964 one, but I own the 1998 version (which came as part of a package of three movies I bought). I did my best to get through it, but after about 25 minutes (which felt more like two hours) I couldn’t take it anymore: I thought the film had no focus, no movement, no story, and no apparent idea of what it was trying to do. I later looked at the user reviews for it on the Internet Movie Database and saw that comments about this film are very polarized, with people regarding it either as a masterpiece or a cinematic disaster. Maybe it’s a bit of both, to have attracted so many divergent opinions. In my case I have to agree with the E.W. critic who called the film “too paralyzingly high-minded to connect with audiences.”
@CWO:
The first 90 minutes of “Thin Red Line” is pretty much the best war movie I’ve ever seen. However, after they finally storm and take the Japanese camp (possibly the best scene in the film) the movie begins to meander.
Is this the 1964 or the 1998 version of the film? I’ve never seen the 1964 one, but I own the 1998 version (which came as part of a package of three movies I bought). I did my best to get through it, but after about 25 minutes (which felt more like two hours) I couldn’t take it anymore: I thought the film had no focus, no movement, no story, and no apparent idea of what it was trying to do. I later looked at the user reviews for it on the Internet Movie Database and saw that comments about this film are very polarized, with people regarding it either as a masterpiece or a cinematic disaster. Maybe it’s a bit of both, to have attracted so many divergent opinions. In my case I have to agree with the E.W. critic who called the film “too paralyzingly high-minded to connect with audiences.”
I lived with about 4 other people back around 2000, and we watched the 98 one and Saving Private Ryan. I like both for different reasons, but feel SPR is the better movie, but my roommates (and one of our cinema major friends) thought TRL was superior in all ways. I told them that TRL was a very poetic and philosophical view of war, which is fine and has its place, but I really took in SPR’s guttural realism. I thought it was far more appropriate for war films that always seemed to be dramatized, and got many people to really see what war is like.
My favorite part in TRL is Woody Harrelson blowing his ass off with a grenade.
The world needs a remake of “sink the Bismarck” and a “Saving private Ryan” equivalent for the naval battles in the Pacific, anyways……
Is there a film on or off the list that can beat " Das Boot"?
