Best war movies

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

Oh lol, never liked the movie enough to remember it.

[Ilmarinen]

"The Devil's Brigade", a plot-for-plot remake of "The Dirty Dozen", but this time based on a true story.  Or was this the story that "Dirty Dozen" was based on?  Anyway, it was much better than I expected.  Not the best war movie ever, but certainly a good one, especially if there are both Canadians and Americans in the audience.  Only two unintentional cheesy moments: one is Richard Dawkin's Scottish accent (exactly the same as you-know-who from Austin Powers).  The other involves Cliff Robertson, but I say no more for fear of spoilers.

[J-Proof]

I can agree that everything about Joaquin Phoenix sucked--the way his character was written, the way he "acted" (I use the word since nothing else seems to come close to what he did, though I must put it in scare-quotes because he wasn't doing it in any proper sense).  Not to mention the fact that there were glaring inaccuracies in his death; he didn't die in the arena. He died in his bathtub, assassinated.  Having him killed in the Arena would be like writing a movie where Tricky Dick Nixon died while coaching a professional football game.

You want to talk military inaccuracies? How about having Roman soldiers riding around with stirrups? How about having a general on horseback with a gladius, swinging it like a spatha?  How about someone, in A.D. 180, seriously suggesting reviving the Republic? These are all ludicrously nonsensical ideas.  And don't even get me started about the idiocy of the soundtrack score with a woman warbling in ululating middle-eastern tones while she sings in GAELIC about a dead Roman...gah. GAH I tell you.

And I actually have to take issue with your complaints about gladiators; what you're saying probably holds true for legionaries, but gladiators fought very specifically for show. They'd have been trained to do weird things--and the different types to do different things. In fact, according to an article I was just reading yesterday (in the current issue of "Classical Journal"), there seem to have been umpires in the arena with them making sure they didn't make "illegal" moves for their gladiator "types". 

Okay, [/rant]...

Lol! Yeah I can agree with you on just about everything there. As for my callout on the inaccurate sword-handling, I think me and Sarcasm were specifically referring to the opening battle sequence. (At least that's what I was referring to). I've always been intrigued by Roman history and warfare, but it just never bothered me much with this movie. (Btw - this movie is a loose adaptation of "The Fall of Rome" in which the emperor dies in the arena as well).

Yeah - Maximus is armed with a gladius and not a spatha as he rides horseback (or maybe he has both - if you buy the movie reproduction sword, it's a spatha). And yeah they have stirrups on their horses (maybe for the actors' safety more than for show?) But all of these inaccuracies don't matter to me as much as how annoyingly raunchy Joaquin Phoenix was told to "act" in the movie. What a princess.... There's almost no way anyone could imagine that pitiful human being lasting /that/ long against Russell Crowe (even tho he's been stabbed already).

[rant]
Now - for REAL inaccuracies, check out Kingdom of Heaven. Both Scott movies are still at the top of my list as well-made war movies (of a quasi-to-non-historical fashion), but man - Kingdom had SO MANY *HISTORICAL* ERRORS, and its portrayal of the Knights Templar is attrocious..... absolutely ridiculous. You have Godfrey of Ibelin named the wrong way, his son being born the wrong way, and his death portrayed a fake way - even his name is wrong. King Baldwin wears a mask (how very Silence of the Lambs), Sybilla cheats on Guy of Lusignon, Guy of Lusignon is portrayed as being a Knights Templar, and the Knights Templar are portrayed as being murderers when in reality they were monks of the highest level of Catholic discipline. Saladin is shown taking the city in peace, when in reality he forced the nobles to buy their freedom and sold most of the peasants into slavery. And to top it off, the weaponry is hand-and-a-half when it should be single-handed, La Posta de Falcone was NOT a science of sword fighting at the time, the heraldry is completely theatrical, and Orlando Bloom is a pansy.
[/rant]

But still.... I love both movies =)
Disclaimer: I like the /director's cut/ for Kingdom, the theatrical release is dog poo on film.

[BEERxTaco]

Okay, I know Band of Brothers is a mini-series, but I like to think of it as a really long movie... it did an excellent job of what it was trying to do anyway. Haven't seen We Were Soldiers but it's on my list. Older war movies are lots different from modern ones, with regard to realism of course and dealing with emotional/moral/ethical content so they're really two different breeds to me. Of the older ones, I loved The Dirty Dozen and Battle of the Bulge.  Kelly's Heroes was entertaining, but not so much a war movie as a movie set during a war.  And I always think of The Guns of Navarone when Crow does his Gregory Peck impersonation: "You're in it now... up to your neck!" (opening credits of Marooned/Space Travellers)

I like the sub movies too... Das Boot was awesome, U-571, Crimson Tide, Ice Station Zebra...

[J-Proof]

"Band of Brothers" is excellent - very true to history and character. I loved the entire series.

[MarkAndrew]

02. Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut) - The theatrical version is heinous - absolutely terrible, and Ridley knew it. He was utterly amazed that the studio wouldn't let him present his actual piece. So he unwillingly cut out just about every decent piece of character development and released to theaters an empty shell of what could have been fantastic. Thank goodness he released the four-disc set, complete with exposition and intermission, and an entire hour of missing footage. David Thewlis' greatest role, and Orlando Bloom's one redeeming character.

yeah i was shocked my dad was so for this movie.  He is a very big history buff, and so when he showed me the DVD (he doesnt go to movies but gets a lot of dvds) i was shocked at the difference. 

03. Gladiator - Almost any movie that portrays ancient Rome is instantly loved - it's a Hollywood rule. All historical inaccuracies aside, it's an enjoyable man-movie with all the right stuffs. It has a damn-near perfect blend of artistry, character, and story.

Hated this movie for two reasons, one this movie is what brought us the shitty "lets put a crap load of cuts into the action sequence in the hopes the audience doesnt realize no one knows what they are doing" style of editing.  And second because the overall movie glorifys death and murder over ethics.  The first point we can argue, second is my opnion and not up for debate

I LOVED Gladiator.  Sure, it's rife with inaccuracies.  But was incredible seeing it in theaters.  Russell Crowe, for a moment, stood tall with the kind of charisma I hadn't seen on the screen since Hollywood's Silver Age.

I loved the cgi Rome, seeing Rome as a huge, living city instead of a mass of ruins overrun with Italians*.

I loved the soundtrack, though I'm biased there since I'm a huge Dead Can Dance fan.

Gladiator is epic in all the right ways.


*Joking, my Italian friends, joking.

[J-Proof]

I still want to see that, even with Orlando "I'm a massive queen" Bloom trying to be butch.  To be fair, I hate him less for his being gay than for his being a ponce and having the acting talent of Ben Affleck.*

*he who patented the famous "convey emotion via gaping mouth open" scene.**
**cf. Chasing Amy

Yeah - Kingdom is easily one of Bloom's most standable performances (aside from Black Hawk where he is removed from the movie in a mere fifteen minutes). In Troy, his pansiness is probably harshest, since he openly portrays a coward. His performance in Kingdom is definitely okay, and the other performers really make the movie special. David Thewlis' lines are the best:
"I go to pray...for the strength to endure what is to come."
"All death is certain, I shall tell your father what I've seen you become."
"One may stare into the light, until one becomes the light. I've done it many times."
"Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves."

[ScottotD]

And second because the overall movie glorifys death and murder over ethics.  The first point we can argue, second is my opnion and not up for debate

THEY'RE GLADIATORS!

[Rufus T]

Black Hawk Down
Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
Saving Private Ryan
Thin Red Line
Patton
Platoon
Last of the Mohicans
Gettysburg (my personal favorite. the rest are in no particular order)

[BEERxTaco]

If you get a chance to see the recent mini-series that ran on the History Channel called The Revolution, it is very enjoyable... although they re-use an awful lot of footage from one segment to the next. It's more of a "docu-drama" I guess. Informatively entertaining, mostly an homage to George Washington, and may contain factual errors... but I still liked it. Brings back a lot of history I learned in school and forgot about. They ran it all day over Labor Day I think... it's about 14 hours long.

[BEERxTaco]

Don't forget Full Metal Jacket ! The source of so many of my favorite wav files, lol...

[J-Proof]

Black Hawk Down
Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
Saving Private Ryan
Thin Red Line
Patton
Platoon
Last of the Mohicans
Gettysburg (my personal favorite. the rest are in no particular order)

Gettysburg is definitely a special movie, because it is so accurate to character, as well as true to actual Civil War study. Regardless of the reels-worth of recycled footage, this movie holds a dear place within my manly bosom. The music is pretty sweet also. (Poor Buster Kilrain.... he was my favorite)

Have you read the series by the Shaara duo? "The Killer Angels" is the book that Gettysburg is based off of, and is easily the best book in the Civil War Series. "Gone for Soldiers" is great also - it's about all those generals/officers before the Civil War started, when they were sharing tours of duty together in the Mexican-American War.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

you know what,  a great military movie (though not a war movie)  a few good men.  I LOVE that movie.

[J-Proof]

you know what,  a great military movie (though not a war movie)  a few good men.  I LOVE that movie.

I had the honor of portraying Colonel Nathan Jessop in the theatrical version. Very awesome (though I suck compared to good ol' Jackie)

Another good movie based in the time of war, but not necessarily a war movie, is "Gone with the Wind." Great movie ala Old Hollywood

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

Gone with the Wind." Great movie ala Old Hollywood

Good pic.

I could listen to nathan jessops speech all freaken day. 

I wonder how riffable a few good men is.  Really its a solid movie but i still think it could be riff, maybe even riffed better for its solidness.