The best war film

What is the best war film you have ever seen ?

For me it's Platoon.

Patton
and Saving Private Ryan was a damn good one too.

Originally Posted by lord o kelly

Saving Private Ryan was a damn good one too.

The battles are really spectacular but the history is a little "naive".

Band of Brothers is probably the best.

Gettysburg is great. (But like TB666 said.. GAG is not good).

Der Untergang.

However, Star Wars is above it, though I doubt that one counts

Tae Guk Gi, imho!

I'd have to say it's A Bridge on the River Kwai.

Alec Guiness in one of his best roles. One of the only war films I've watched twice (the other being Apocalypse Now).

Das Boot.
Der Untergang
Stalingrad
Platoon
Gettysburg(however avoid the horrible prequel Gods and Generals like the plague)

Das Boot
Der Untergang
Stalingrad
Katyn (the Polish Officer Corps massacre)
Master and Commander
Black Hawk Down

Gods and Generals drove me crazy with all the christian fundamentalists generals in it.

tora tora tora

I have to say Platoon.

Honourable mentions for Band Of Brothers which isn't a movie but is simply wonderful.

It shames me that I've never seen Tora Tora Tora though and can hardly remember the pre-vietnam war films. Should really watch the old classics again.

Patton or Valkyrie.

I like The Patriot too despite the inaccuracies.

Das Boot

Platoon.
I loved the battle of good vs. evil going on between the men during a war. I thought it was a really original idea.

Apocalypse Now
Der Untergang

A Bridge Too Far?

Originally Posted by Da Skinna

A Bridge Too Far?

Yes.

I'm amazed at the people suggesting something as clumsy as Saving Private Ryan as the best war film ever made. Seriously people. It was a string of cliches, some of the most predictable dialogue and unorginal characters you could imagine and a weak premise that Spielberg had Tom "Dough-face" Hanks repeat about ten times just in case the slowest moron in the theatre didn't get it the first few times. It had two good battle sequences in it but the rest of it was schmaltzy, by-the-numbers dreck.

Ditto for Gettysburg. It had a couple of great sequences (Little Round Top) and some brilliant colour and movement. But they were islands in hours and hours of guys in bad false whiskers making stirring speeches at each other while stirring violin music swelled in the background to remind us of how damn stirring everything everyone was saying really was. Then we'd be back to sequences of the world's most obese Confederates stumbling into battle - it wasn't so much "Pickett's Charge" as "Pickett's Waddle" and I think they got those good ol' boys to run by telling them there were free burgers at the top of the hill. Large chunks of that movie are pure comedy.

Proper war films:

Tora Tora Tora
Das Boot
Stalingrad
Come and See
and perhaps Gallipoli.

Originally Posted by ThiudareiksGunthigg

Ditto for Gettysburg. It had a couple of great sequences (Little Round Top) and some brilliant colour and movement. But they were islands in hours and hours of guys in bad false whiskers making stirring speeches at each other while stirring violin music swelled in the background to remind us of how damn stirring everything everyone was saying really was. Then we'd be back to sequences of the world's most obese Confederates stumbling into battle - it wasn't so much "Pickett's Charge" as "Pickett's Waddle" and I think they got those good ol' boys to run by telling them there were free burgers at the top of the hill. Large chunks of that movie are pure comedy.

Have you seen Gods and Generals ??
I saw that one before seeing Gettysburg and trust me, it makes Gettysburg seem like a superb movie.
It's a 3 hour film where 2h and 30minutes of it consists of people making speeches and praying.
Seriously, we have a mother saying farewell to her sons going off to war and it drags on for like 20 minutes.
Seriously, say goodbye, I'm proud of you, I love you and good luck and give them a hug.
That's it, no need to drag it on.
We have Joshua Chamberlain's wife trying to convince him not to go to war played by Mira Sorvino who's acting skills is totally wasted in this movie.
Again this takes over 20 minutes and Mira Sorvino isn't seen again.

And the movie is about Stonewall Jackson, a good general.
However none of that is in the film.
First battle he just sits on a horse and does nothing(great strategy).
Second battle is Fredricksburg, a battle which Stonewall fans usually mention as one of his best battles.
But the movie he is nowhere to be seen, yeah he drops out completely.
Third and last battle he gets shot by his own men before the battle even started.
And when he is not fighting, you will see him pray.
Remember one scene where he is about to go of to war and he asks for 10 minutes alone with his wife.
Does he take this chance to have sex with her one last time like any reasonable man would do ??
No, he takes out a bible and pray with her.
Going by the movie, Stonewall Jackson gets the image that he was the most incompetent general that war ever had and no wonder the south lost.


And despite having twice the budget that Gettysburg had it still comes off as a low budget movie featuring alot less extras and poor effects.
It makes you wonder where those 56 million went since they clearly didn't go into the battles or script.

Gettysburg, Battle of the Red Cliff, Der Untergang, and some old movie abt the Hussite war. Ziz Zizka or something

*You must spread some reputation before giving it to ThiudareiksGunthigg again*

I liked Gettysburg when I was 9, though.