Best War Movies of All Time

[Michchamp]

The other thread started me thinking about this...

here are my Top 10, in no particular order, which are either fiction or historical fiction, no documentaries:

1.) Patton
2.) Apocalypse Now
3.) Platoon
4.) The Battle of Algiers
5.) Zulu
6.) The Great Escape
7.) The Bridge on the River Kwai
8.) Full Metal Jacket
9.) Lawrence of Arabia
10.) Breaker Morant

Honorable Mentions:
The Deer Hunter
Paths of Glory
Catch-22
M*A*S*H
The Dirty Dozen
The Hunt For Red October (not fiction, or historical, but it counts, I think)
The Last of the Mohicans (I couldn't stand the historical inaccuracies)
Gettysburg
The Thin Red Line (underrated movie because Private Ryan made a bigger box office splash)
Saving Private Ryan (great action scenes, but I couldn't stand the over-the-top canned emotional stuff from Spielberg)

 

[Mitchrapp]

1. The Great Escape.
2. Sergeant York.
3. Stalag 17.
4. The Bridge on The River Kwai.
5. The Red Badge of Courage.
6. Midway.
7. The Longest Day.
8. Braveheart.
9. Heartbreak Ridge.
10. 300.

Probably too many to list and I'm sure I forgot some but these are some of my favorites.

 

[Thumb]

For me:
1. Platoon
2. The Longest Day
3. Full Metal Jacket
4. The Big Red One
5. Gallipoli
6. The Thin Red Line
7. Codetalkers
8. Hamburger Hill
9. Casualties of War
10. Apocalypse Now

For me I enjoy movies that don't lean so much on the hero aspect, and tend to tell the story more from the aspect of how it actually was, rather then just the parts that are glorified. Platoon, FMJ, Casualties of War, Hamburger Hill....show as much about soldier that is disgraceful as honorable, where as films like Saving Pvt. Ryan tend to take the high road all the time. [In reality the squad in Saving Pvt. Ryan would have executed the German machine gunner, rather then tell him to turn himself in to an allied patrol, that takes away from it in my book]

Soem very good war films by John Wayne also, In Harms Way, The Fighting Seebees, Back to Bataan, They were Expendable, Sands of Iwo Jima, Flying Leathernecks, The Green Berets, and probably many more if you count his calvary movies.

 

[michiganalex]

Saving Private Ryan
Pearl Harbor
M*A*S*H
Full Metal Jacket
Schindlers list- know it isn't technically war but historical

 

[spockmaster]

i havent watched a ton i think, but heres mine in no real order:

M*A*S*H
Full Metal Jacket
Apocalypse Now
Platoon
Schindlers List (imma count it)


i think thats all ive even seen.

 

[Mitchrapp]

As many great movies I've seen I never saw Apocalypse Now. It just never seem to come on when I had the time.

 

[biggunsbob]

The other thread started me thinking about this...

here are my Top 10, in no particular order, which are either fiction or historical fiction, no documentaries:

1.) Patton
2.) Apocalypse Now
3.) Platoon
4.) The Battle of Algiers
5.) Zulu
6.) The Great Escape
7.) The Bridge on the River Kwai
8.) Full Metal Jacket
9.) Lawrence of Arabia
10.) Breaker Morant

Honorable Mentions:
The Deer Hunter
Paths of Glory
Catch-22
M*A*S*H
The Dirty Dozen
The Hunt For Red October (not fiction, or historical, but it counts, I think)
The Last of the Mohicans (I couldn't stand the historical inaccuracies)
Gettysburg
The Thin Red Line (underrated movie because Private Ryan made a bigger box office splash)
Saving Private Ryan (great action scenes, but I couldn't stand the over-the-top canned emotional stuff from Spielberg)

YES!!!!! A Breaker Morant sighting!!!!!! This list is as good as any... I may throw in Gallipoli somewhere on the list..

 

[biggunsbob]

For me:
1. Platoon
2. The Longest Day
3. Full Metal Jacket
4. The Big Red One
5. Gallipoli
6. The Thin Red Line
7. Codetalkers
8. Hamburger Hill
9. Casualties of War
10. Apocalypse Now

For me I enjoy movies that don't lean so much on the hero aspect, and tend to tell the story more from the aspect of how it actually was, rather then just the parts that are glorified. Platoon, FMJ, Casualties of War, Hamburger Hill....show as much about soldier that is disgraceful as honorable, where as films like Saving Pvt. Ryan tend to take the high road all the time. [In reality the squad in Saving Pvt. Ryan would have executed the German machine gunner, rather then tell him to turn himself in to an allied patrol, that takes away from it in my book]

Soem very good war films by John Wayne also, In Harms Way, The Fighting Seebees, Back to Bataan, They were Expendable, Sands of Iwo Jima, Flying Leathernecks, The Green Berets, and probably many more if you count his calvary movies.

another great list....

 

[biggunsbob]

You guys pretty much nailed them..

 

[biggunsbob]

Black hawk down was pretty good.. I liked the Dirty Dozen But I liked Jim Brown...We were soldiers was pretty good and Das Boot was freaking great.. I liked Downfall... I really like Three Kings.. Empire of the Sun... Makes me cry ever time.. Christian Bale is freaking great as a youngster.. forgot about a bunch of these... Master and Commander was good..

Here is a top 50 list....some good ones..


Here is a top 50 list....some good ones..
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-50-greatest-war-films-of-all-time

 

[byco42]

Favorites:
Best Years of our Lives
When We We Soldiers…and Young
Paths of Glory
Das Boot
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Sand Pebbles
The Train
Patton
Breaker Morant
The Right Stuff (cold war)

 

[Michchamp]

Black hawk down was pretty good.. I liked the Dirty Dozen But I liked Jim Brown...We were soldiers was pretty good and Das Boot was freaking great.. I liked Downfall... I really like Three Kings.. Empire of the Sun... Makes me cry ever time.. Christian Bale is freaking great as a youngster.. forgot about a bunch of these... Master and Commander was good..

...

yeah, there's a couple I would add. I'd put BlackHawk down as an honorable mention. Three Kings maybe as well.

Das Boot is one I need to see still, as well as a few of the ones Mitch mentioned. I've never seen Braveheart. not sure why... I never got around to it.

 

[Michchamp]

As many great movies I've seen I never saw Apocalypse Now. It just never seem to come on when I had the time.

I think that was the single best Vietnam War movie. it's more surreal, but I had a teacher in HS who served in Vietnam (and was badly wounded) who said it came closest to his memories of the war... the emotion of confusion especially.

then again I had an ex-girlfriend who's dad was also a vet, and he hated Apocalypse Now, and said it was BS.

There's also a documentary on the making of it (called Hearts of Darkness) that Coppola's wife shot at the time, which was surprisingly good. it's worth watching just for the scenes of Coppola trying to get Dennis Hopper to STFU (he's the same off camera as he is on camera), and Marlon Brando, in the middle of a long soliliquy saying "I just swallowed a bug. there's a bug in my throat."

 

[byco42]

Brando was off the rails in that movie. Making up dialogue and wasting days and days of scheduled shooting time absorbing his "character." It added to the portrayal-insanity of Kurtz.

 

[Michchamp]

Brando was off the rails in that movie. Making up dialogue and wasting days and days of scheduled shooting time absorbing his "character." It added to the portrayal-insanity of Kurtz.

Yeah! Until I saw the documentary I didn't realize how difficult he was to work with. He refused to learn any lines and insisted on ad libbing his entire scenes. Coppola had to shoot miles of film and then cut it into a coherent ending, rewriting other parts of the script in the process. Still given the brilliant result you could say there was a method in brando's madness.

Also Coppola had to deal with changing his acting lead in the movie after shooting began (I think Harvey keitel was dropped and he was replaced with Martin sheen. Then sheen suffered a heart attack and almost died, then a hurricane destroyed his set.

 

[byco42]

Sheen was smoking "numerous" packs of Marlboro reds in a morning's time. And drinking a lot. His body revolted.

 

[KAWDUP]

Some of these may not be technically war movies, but are pretty close.
In no particular order.

Kelly's Heroes
In Harms Way
Bridge on the River Kwai
Braveheart
The Patriot
Independence Day
Battle of the Bulge
South Pacific
Lords of Discipline
Taps

 

[KAWDUP]

Gee, . . . forgot 12 O'clock High, Red Dawn (the original), and The Blue Max.

War movies started flooding into my head after I posted. Way too many to even mention

 

[michiganalex]

Some of these may not be technically war movies, but are pretty close.
In no particular order.

Kelly's Heroes
In Harms Way
Bridge on the River Kwai
Braveheart
The Patriot
Independence Day
Battle of the Bulge
South Pacific
Lords of Discipline
Taps

Independence day was Scifi that doesnt count

 

[biggunsbob]

Some of these may not be technically war movies, but are pretty close.
In no particular order.

Kelly's Heroes
In Harms Way
Bridge on the River Kwai
Braveheart
The Patriot
Independence Day
Battle of the Bulge
South Pacific
Lords of Discipline
Taps

YUP<YUP< and yup... I love Kelly's Hero's, and BORK, and some of the others you listed..