Top five war movies - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Jeff Lebowski · 08-30-2006, 01:56 AM

OK, things are too serious lately here on CG. Here is my attempt at a diversion. Name your top five war movies of all time. Here is my list (in order):

1) Saving Private Ryan

The gold standard.

2) Platoon

I was blown away by this movie when I first saw it. Great story, script, casting, etc. A very moving and thought-provoking film.

3) Thin Red Line

Some folks didn't like this, but I thought it was great. The part where they took the hill on Guadalcanal was classic.

4) Band of Brothers

Yeah, I know. It's not a movie, it's a series. But it was so well-done that I had to put it on the list. My only complaint was that it had some fairly boring filler material in places. Could have been shortened by a couple of hours. But exceptionally well-done overall.

5) The Deer Hunter

An oldie but goodie.

MikeWaters · 08-30-2006, 02:09 AM

Didn't like sappy Spielberg fake story Private Ryan. Honest don't remember much from Platoon, so it couldn't have been that good (at least IMO). Thin Red Line, not enough meat there. Too symbolic.

Band of Brothers was excellent.

Deer Hunter bored me to death.

Too famous movies you didn't list were Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.

I liked Three Kings a lot.

Lawrence of Arabia is one of my all-time favorites.

tooblue · 08-30-2006, 02:13 AM

Apocalypse Now

A Bridge Too far

The Longest Day

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Big Red One

The Green Berets

Patton

All Quiet on the Western Front

Midway

Glory

UteStar · 08-30-2006, 02:49 AM

Band of Brothers was fabulous. Three Kings was terrific because it was so different from the typical war movie that was out there.

Can I also get a shout out for 'Pearl Harbor?' Truly, this could have been an amazing flick instead they spent 70% of the movie talking about some freakin' stupid and boring love triangle. Seriously, how dumb were they to do that? Like I said, the special effects were terrific, there was a great story to tell but Bruckheimer and crew thought that the crowd wanted a love triangle story? Holy crap, talk about a miscalculation of epic proportions. Oh well.

non sequitur · 08-30-2006, 02:54 AM

Here are three that ought to be on somebody's list:

Casablanca
The Great Escape
Kelly's Heroes

il Padrino Ute · 08-30-2006, 03:02 AM

All Quiet On The Western Front
Gallipoli
Patton
Tora! Tora! Tora!
The Enemy Below
The Caine Mutiny
A Bridge Too Far
Bride On The River Kwai
Stalag 17
The Great Escape
Red Badge of Courage
Glory
We Were Soldiers

MikeWaters · 08-30-2006, 03:09 AM

Best war book:

"The THings They Carried" by Tim OBrien

Jeff Lebowski · 08-30-2006, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Didn't like sappy Spielberg fake story Private Ryan. Honest don't remember much from Platoon, so it couldn't have been that good (at least IMO). Thin Red Line, not enough meat there. Too symbolic.

Gasp...choke....wheeze.... Well, so much for promoting brotherly love on CG.

Fake? There actually was a case in WWII where four (three?) brothers were killed in different theaters of war at about the same time. It was in fact discovered by a worker in the war dept. and they immediately sent out an order to retrieve the remaining son. The difference was that they knew exactly where the guy was and a chaplain found him immediately and broke the news. I recall reading about the case in one of Stephen Ambrose's books (Ambrose was a consultant on SPR by the way).

The first 25 minutes of the movie (Omaha Beach) were very realistic and true to historical facts. That battle scene alone made the movie. The rest of the movie was just a bonus feature.

I can see how some may find the ending sappy. Not me. I am just a sentimental guy, I suppose.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Band of Brothers was excellent.

Yes, produced by the same folks, and done in exactly the same style (same cinematography, production crew, etc.) as Saving Private Ryan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Too famous movies you didn't list were Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.

Yes, indeed. Those would have been in my top ten.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I liked Three Kings a lot.

That puzzles me. I thought it was just so-so. And you thought SPR was "fake"? Hmmmm.....

Jeff Lebowski · 08-30-2006, 03:12 AM

Stop cheating folks. You can only list FIVE movies. Must be ranked by number.

Archaea · 08-30-2006, 03:19 AM

I'm not certain how to rank them but I like many of the movies named.

Saving Private Ryan is one of my top five movies period.

Apocalypse Now, though a great movie, is NOT a war movie. It's Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in a war setting. I love this movie and wrote my senior paper about its relationship to Heart of Darkness. It should be disqualified as a war movie.

Tora Tora Tora is a classic WWII movie and should be considered in top five.

All Quiet on the Western Front is a must.

We Were Soldiers is now discredited Mel Gibson's best work and moving for me.

In a way Ben Hur was a war movie as was Gladiator, but both don't count.

Contemporary, "Black Hawk Down" was an eye-opener, a movie I enjoyed. So those are my five, even though I have many others. But I do not wish to cheat.

08-30-2006, 01:56 AM	#1
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	Top five war movies OK, things are too serious lately here on CG. Here is my attempt at a diversion. Name your top five war movies of all time. Here is my list (in order): 1) Saving Private Ryan The gold standard. 2) Platoon I was blown away by this movie when I first saw it. Great story, script, casting, etc. A very moving and thought-provoking film. 3) Thin Red Line Some folks didn't like this, but I thought it was great. The part where they took the hill on Guadalcanal was classic. 4) Band of Brothers Yeah, I know. It's not a movie, it's a series. But it was so well-done that I had to put it on the list. My only complaint was that it had some fairly boring filler material in places. Could have been shortened by a couple of hours. But exceptionally well-done overall. 5) The Deer Hunter An oldie but goodie. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

08-30-2006, 02:54 AM	#5
non sequitur Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,964	Here are three that ought to be on somebody's list: Casablanca The Great Escape Kelly's Heroes __________________ ...You've been under attack for days, there's a soldier down, he's wounded, gangrene's setting in, 'Who's used all the penicillin?' 'Oh, Mark Paxson sir, he's got knob rot off of some tart.'" - Gareth Keenan

08-30-2006, 03:02 AM	#6
il Padrino Ute Board Pinhead Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the basement of my house, Murray, Utah. Posts: 15,941	All Quiet On The Western Front Gallipoli Patton Tora! Tora! Tora! The Enemy Below The Caine Mutiny A Bridge Too Far Bride On The River Kwai Stalag 17 The Great Escape Red Badge of Courage Glory We Were Soldiers __________________ "The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it." - Chuck Shriver "This is now the joke that stupid people laugh at." - Christopher Hitchens on IQ jokes about GWB.

08-30-2006, 03:12 AM	#9
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	Stop cheating folks. You can only list FIVE movies. Must be ranked by number. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

08-30-2006, 03:19 AM	#10
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	I'm not certain how to rank them but I like many of the movies named. Saving Private Ryan is one of my top five movies period. Apocalypse Now, though a great movie, is NOT a war movie. It's Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in a war setting. I love this movie and wrote my senior paper about its relationship to Heart of Darkness. It should be disqualified as a war movie. Tora Tora Tora is a classic WWII movie and should be considered in top five. All Quiet on the Western Front is a must. We Were Soldiers is now discredited Mel Gibson's best work and moving for me. In a way Ben Hur was a war movie as was Gladiator, but both don't count. Contemporary, "Black Hawk Down" was an eye-opener, a movie I enjoyed. So those are my five, even though I have many others. But I do not wish to cheat. __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα

08-30-2006, 02:09 AM	#2
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Didn't like sappy Spielberg fake story Private Ryan. Honest don't remember much from Platoon, so it couldn't have been that good (at least IMO). Thin Red Line, not enough meat there. Too symbolic. Band of Brothers was excellent. Deer Hunter bored me to death. Too famous movies you didn't list were Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket. I liked Three Kings a lot. Lawrence of Arabia is one of my all-time favorites.

08-30-2006, 02:13 AM	#3
tooblue Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,016	Apocalypse Now A Bridge Too far The Longest Day The Bridge on the River Kwai Big Red One The Green Berets Patton All Quiet on the Western Front Midway Glory

08-30-2006, 02:49 AM	#4
UteStar Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,817	Band of Brothers was fabulous. Three Kings was terrific because it was so different from the typical war movie that was out there. Can I also get a shout out for 'Pearl Harbor?' Truly, this could have been an amazing flick instead they spent 70% of the movie talking about some freakin' stupid and boring love triangle. Seriously, how dumb were they to do that? Like I said, the special effects were terrific, there was a great story to tell but Bruckheimer and crew thought that the crowd wanted a love triangle story? Holy crap, talk about a miscalculation of epic proportions. Oh well.

08-30-2006, 03:09 AM	#7
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Best war book: "The THings They Carried" by Tim OBrien