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    JAL

    JAL

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    Movies for Veterans' Day . . .

    I've put these together in three groups:
    1. Films directly related to the miltary, their personnel and specific military operations.
    2. Epic movies covering entire wars, major campaigns or biographies.
    3. Films related to war, but more related to effects and consequences of war.

    I've deliberately omitted many of the "Oorah!" films of which there is no shortage, especially with John Wayne repeatedly winning WWII single-handedly (e.g. Sands of Iwo Jima). Countless of these films (with and without Wayne) were churned out during and just after WWII into the 1950's. Plenty of those are easily found using Google.

    Instead, I've included numerous excellent films aside from those in the main group listed first alongside the more meaningful ones many have probably seen before. I'm hoping you will explore some of them versus seeing things you already have. Notably missing is The Green Berets. IMHO it was completely over the top with clichéd hokum regarding the war and the role of Special Forces in a film made specifically to star Wayne winning yet another war single-handedly. Some of the other films have their share of it but that one in particular was too much. Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and We Were Soldiers are much, much better films. Also included films that dealt with the indelible effect of war on its participants. A couple of them focus on events that should never have occurred, but did. A notable film missing is "Coming Home" which starred the traitor, Hanoi Jane, who had the temerity and audacity to make a war movie. I should not need to say any more than that. Some on this list are better than others, but I don't believe any of them are "bad" movies. If you want to watch "The Big Red One", find the "reconstructed" one released in 2004 that restored it to its original 162 minute length. The 1980 theatrical release was butchered to 113 minutes for movie theaters. They make money on audience turnover and hate long films that limit the number of showings per day.

    If you have never seen "All Quiet on the Western Front" I strongly recommend it. Debated about including "A Farewell to Arms" but left it on the list for those who might have read the novel. It will seem a nearly incomprehensible mess to those who have not read the novel or do not know the novel's plot (which was presumptive when it was made). It's an epic novel that cannot be captured in a standard length feature film. Another excellent movie often overlooked is Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" (about a French incident during WWI). Another very good film is "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" as it highlights the radical change within Britain in between WWI and WWII with warfare's generally accepted rules of engagement. The two Australian films, Gallipoli and The Lighthorsemen give a uniquely Australian perspective of WWI with ANZAC forces in the Turkish theater. "9th Company" and "They Fought for their Country" give a uniquely Soviet and Russian perspective (they're both in Russian with English subtitles), while "K-19: The Widowmaker" portrays the nearly catastrophic Soviet effort to field its first nuclear powered submarine (events with the boat are somewhat conflated).

    I listed the country of origin as most of the movies not from English speaking countries are not in English and do not have an English dubbed version, they have subtitles. "Das Boot" is one of the exceptions. While most of the movies have a US or WWII Allied persepctive I've included others that give a different one. As always find out something about a movie before paying anything to watch it so that you're not surprised. These three lists span a very wide range of material.

    John

    There's a scroll bar at the bottom of the table to see all the columns . . .

    Military Theme Films
    TitleRelease YearDirectorCountryGenreSub-Genre
    Wings1927William A. WellmanUSADramaWar
    All Quiet on the Western Front1930Lewis MilestoneUSADramaWar
    Hell's Angels1930Howard HughesUSADramaWar
    A Farewell to Arms1932Frank BorzageUSADramaWar
    La Grande Illusion1937Jean RenoirFranceDramaWar
    Sergeant York1941Howard HawksUSADramaBiography
    The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp1943Michael PowellUKDramaWar
    30 Seconds Over Tokyo1944Mervyn LeRoyUSADramaWar
    The Best Years of Our Lives1946William WylerUSADramaWar
    Battleground1949William A. WellmanUSADramaWar
    Twelve O'Clock High1949Henry KingUSADramaWar
    Decision Before Dawn1951Anatole LitvakUSADramaWar
    Fear and Desire1953Stanley KubrickUSADramaWar
    From Here to Eternity1953Fred ZinnemannUSADramaWar
    Stalag 171953Billy WilderUSADramaWar
    The Caine Mutiny1954Edward DmytrykUSADramaWar
    Mister Roberts1955John FordUSADramaWar
    Paths of Glory1957Stanley KubrickUSADramaWar
    The Bridge on the River Kwai1957David LeanUKDramaWar
    The Enemy Below1957Dick PowellUSADramaWar
    Run Silent Run Deep1958Robert WiseUSADramaWar
    Sink the Bismarck!1960Lewis GilbertUKDramaWar
    The Guns of Navarone1961J. Lee ThompsonUKAdventureWar
    The Great Escape1963John SturgesUSADramaWar
    Fail Safe1964Sidney LumetUSADramaThriller
    In Harm's Way1965Otto PremingerUSADramaWar
    Major Dundee1965Sam PeckinpahUSAAdventureWar
    The Bedford Incident1965James B. HarrisUKDramaWar
    The Hill1965Sidney LumetUKDramaWar
    The Sand Pebbles1966Robert WiseUSADramaAdventure
    The Dirty Dozen1967Robert AldrichUSADramaWar
    Ice Station Zebra1968John SturgesUSADramaThriller
    Where Eagles Dare1968Brian G. HuttonUKActionWar
    Kelly's Heroes1970Brian G. HuttonUSAAdventureWar
    M*A*S*H1970Robert AltmanUSAComedyWar
    The Last Detail1973Hal AshbyUSADramaComedy
    They Fought for their Country1975Sergei BondarchukSoviet UnionDramaHistory
    The Eagle Has Landed1976John SturgesUKDramaWar
    Cross of Iron1977Sam PeckinpahUKDramaWar
    Force 10 from Navarone1978Guy HamiltonUKDramaWar
    The Boys in Company C1978Sidney J. FurieUSADramaWar
    The Deer Hunter1978Michael CiminoUSADramaWar
    19411979Steven SpielbergUSAComedyWar
    Apocalypse Now1979Francis Ford CoppolaUSADramaWar
    The Great Santini1979Lewis John CarlinoUSADrama
    Das Boot1981Wolfgang PetersenGermanyDramaWar
    An Officer and a Gentleman1982Taylor HackfordUSADramaRomance
    A Soldier’s Story1984Norman JewisonUSAMysteryCrime
    Platoon1986Oliver StoneUSADramaWar
    Top Gun1986Tony ScottUSADramaAction
    Full Metal Jacket1987Stanley KubrickUKDramaWar
    Gardens of Stone1987Francis Ford CoppolaUSADramaWar
    Good Morning, Vietnam1987Barry LevinsonUSADramaBiography
    Hamburger Hill1987John IrvinUSADramaHistory
    Born on the Fourth of July1989Oliver StoneUSADramaBiography
    Casualties of War1989Brian De PalmaUSADramaHistory
    The Siege of Firebase Gloria1989Brian Trenchard-SmithUSADramaWar
    The Hunt for Red October1990John McTiernanUSADramaThriller
    A Few Good Men1992Rob ReinerUSADramaLegal
    Heaven & Earth1993Oliver StoneFranceDramaBiography
    Stalingrad1993Joseph VilsmaierGermanyDramaWar
    Crimson Tide1995Tony ScottUSAThrillerDrama
    Courage Under Fire1996Edward ZwickUSADramaWar
    The English Patient1996Anthony MinghellaUSADramaRomance
    Saving Private Ryan1998Steven SpielbergUSADramaWar
    The Thin Red Line1998Terrence MalickUSADramaWar
    Three Kings1999David O. RussellUSADramaWar
    The Patriot2000Roland EmmerichUSADramaWar
    U-5712000Jonathan MostowUSADramaWar
    Behind Enemy Lines2001John MooreUSADramaWar
    Black Hawk Down2001Ridley ScottUSADramaHistory
    Enemy at the Gates2001Jean-Jacques AnnaudUSADramaHistory
    Pearl Harbor2001Michael BayUSADramaWar
    K-19: The Widowmaker2002Kathryn BigelowUSADramaHistory
    We Were Soldiers2002Randall WallaceUSADramaHistory
    9th Company2005Fedor BondarchukRussiaDramaHistory
    Jarhead2005Sam MendesUSADramaWar
    The Great Raid2005John DahlUSADramaHistory
    Flags of Our Fathers2006Clint EastwoodUSADramaWar
    Letters from Iwo Jima2006Clint EastwoodUSADramaWar
    Rescue Dawn2006Werner HerzogUSADramaBiography
    Redacted2007Brian De PalmaUSADramaWar
    Stop-Loss2008Kimberly PeirceUSADramaWar
    The Hurt Locker2008Kathryn BigelowUSADramaWar
    Valkyrie2008Bryan SingerUSADramaHistory
    Inglourious Basterds2009Quentin TarantinoUSADramaWar
    Taking Chance2009Ross KatzUSADramaWar
    The Men Who Stare at Goats2009Grant HeslovUSAComedyWar
    Green Zone2010Paul GreengrassUSADramaWar
    Zero Dark Thirty2012Kathryn BigelowUSADramaHistory
    Lone Survivor2013Peter BergUSADramaBiography
    American Sniper2014Clint EastwoodUSADramaBiography
    Fury2014David AyerUSADramaWar
    Eye in the Sky2015Gavin HoodUKDramaWar
    13 Hours2016Michael BayUSADramaWar
    Anthropoid2016Sean EllisUKDramaHistory
    Hacksaw Ridge2016Mel GibsonUSADramaBiography
    Epic War Films
    TitleRelease YearDirectorCountryGenreSub-Genre
    The Longest Day1962Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Gerd Oswald, Daryl F. ZanuckUSADramaHistory
    Battle of the Bulge1965Ken AnnakinUSADramaHistory
    Battle of Britain1969Guy HamiltonUKDramaWar
    Patton1970Franklin J. SchaffnerUSADramaBiography
    Tora! Tora! Tora!1970Richard Fleischer, Kinji FukasakuUSADramaHistory
    Midway1976Jack SmightUSADramaHistory
    A Bridge Too Far1977Richard AttenboroughUSADramaHistory
    Gallipoli1981Peter WeirAustraliaDramaWar
    The Lighthorsemen1987Simon WincerAustraliaDramaWar
    Gettysburg1993Ronald F. MaxwellUSADramaHistory
    Gods and Generals2003Ronald F. MaxwellUSADramaHistory
    The Big Red One: The Reconstruction2004Samuel FullerUSADramaHistory
    War or Military Related
    TitleRelease YearDirectorCountryGenreSub-Genre
    Voyage of the Damned1976Stuart RosenbergUKDramaHistory
    Mrs. Miniver1942William WylerUSADramaWar
    Lifeboat1944Alfred HitchcockUSADramaWar
    Le Silence de la Mer1949Jean-Pierre MelvilleFranceDramaWar
    A Man Escaped1956Robert BressonFranceDramaWar
    Lawrence of Arabia1962David LeanUKDramaWar
    Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb1964Stanley KubrickUSAComedyWar
    Seven Days in May1964John FrankenheimerUSADramaThriller
    Ship of Fools1965Stanley KramerUSADramaWar
    The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming1966Norman JewisonUSAComedyWar
    Army of Shadows1969Jean-Pierre MelvilleFranceDramaWar
    The Secret of Santa Vittoria1969Stanley KramerUSADramaWar
    The Last Metro1980Francois TruffautFranceDramaWar
    Au Revoir Les Enfants1987Louis MalleFranceDramaWar
    Empire of the Sun1987Steven SpielbergUSADramaWar
    The Last Emperor1987Bernardo BertolucciUKDramaHistory
    Dances with Wolves1990Kevin CostnerUSAWesternDrama
    Europa Europa1990Agnieszka HollandGermanyDramaWar
    The Last of the Mohicans1992Michael MannUSADramaWar
    Swing Kids1993Thomas CarterUSADramaWar
    Twin Sisters2002Ben SombogaartNetherlandsDramaWar
    Downfall2004Oliver HirschbiegelGermanyDramaHistory
    Sophie Scholl: The Final Days2005Marc RothemundGermanyDramaBiography
    Black Book2006Paul VerhoevenNetherlandsDramaWar
    Katyn2007Andrzej WajdaPolandDramaHistory
    Rendition2007Gavin HoodUSAThrillerDrama
    The Kingdom2007Peter BergUSADramaWar
    The Baader Meinhoff Complex2008Uli EdelGermanyDramaHistory
    The Boy in the Striped Pajamas2008Mark HermanUKDramaWar
    In Darkness2011Agnieszka HollandPolandDramaWar
    In the Land of Blood and Honey2011Angelina JolieUSADramaWar
    War Horse2011Steven SpielbergUSADramaWar
    Diplomatie2014Volker SchlöndorffGermanyDramaHistory
    Labyrinth of Lies2014Giulio RicciarelliGermanyDramaHistory
    The Imitation Game2014Morten TyldumUKDramaBiography
    Son of Saul2015László NemesHungaryDramaWar
     
    actaeon277

    actaeon277

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    while "K-19: The Widowmaker" portrays the nearly catastrophic Soviet effort to field its first nuclear powered submarine (events with the boat are somewhat conflated).
    Click to expand...

    I watched an interview with a Russian submariner that complained the Americans exaggerated the problems the Russian/Soviet submarine service had.
    And I yelled at the screen, "YOU LOST 7 SUBS DUMBASS! How is that exaggerating?"
    I counted Russian/Soviets as the same.
     
    actaeon277

    actaeon277

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    I've seen quite a few of those movies.


    In my opinion, Red Tide sucked.
    Das Boot on the other hand, greatest submarine movie ever.
     
    K

    Kutnupe14

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    One glaring omission to an otherwise excellent list, Glory (1989), and this, IMO, should also be included: To Hell and Back -Audie Murphy story(1955),
     
    indiucky

    indiucky

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    Indiucky, Across the river from Kentuckiana
    Kutnupe14 said:
    One glaring omission to an otherwise excellent list, Glory (1989), and this, IMO, should also be included: To Hell and Back -Audie Murphy story(1955),
    Click to expand...

    Agree with Kut...Glory is excellent...The only problem with To Hell and Back is Audie Murphy looked too young and baby faced to be playing Audie Murphy...:)

    This one is good as well...

    [video=youtube;WbK4WTQFf9U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbK4WTQFf9U[/video]
     
    Sylvain

    Sylvain

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    I think I've seen at least 30+ movies from that list.:rockwoot:

    I'm surprised to see some French movies on that list like La grande illusion (about POWs in Germany during WW1) or The last metro, great movies. :yesway:

    There are many great must-see movies that could also be included on that like Schindler's list.
     
    HoughMade

    HoughMade

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    Sylvain said:
    ...There are many great must-see movies that could also be included on that like Schindler's list.
    Click to expand...

    For my money, this clip ends with one of the most clever lines from The Simpsons ever...and it's about Oskar Schindler

    [video=youtube;H2hXLawl-Zc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2hXLawl-Zc[/video]
     
    actaeon277

    actaeon277

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    Kutnupe14 said:
    One glaring omission to an otherwise excellent list, Glory (1989), and this, IMO, should also be included: To Hell and Back -Audie Murphy story(1955),
    Click to expand...

    indiucky said:
    Agree with Kut...Glory is excellent...The only problem with To Hell and Back is Audie Murphy looked too young and baby faced to be playing Audie Murphy...:)

    This one is good as well...
    Click to expand...

    Sylvain said:
    I think I've seen at least 30+ movies from that list.:rockwoot:

    I'm surprised to see some French movies on that list like La grande illusion (about POWs in Germany during WW1) or The last metro, great movies. :yesway:

    There are many great must-see movies that could also be included on that like Schindler's list.
    Click to expand...

    Those are good movies, except I don't know Sylvain's French movies.


    Sylvain said:
    That's not Down periscope? :):
    Click to expand...

    Funny movie.
    But not really a "war movie".
     
    Sylvain

    Sylvain

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    actaeon277 said:
    Those are good movies, except I don't know Sylvain's French movies.
    Click to expand...

    There are many other good French movies not on that list.Mainly about the life under the German occupation, the French Resistance , concentration camps, POW camps and things like that.
    They show a different side of the war that you don't see in most US movies which are mainly just about battles.
    I guess they are in the third categorie of movies as stated by the OP.



    Life is beautiful is another great foreign movie (Italy, 1997).It won a bunch of awards.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Is_Beautiful

    [video=youtube;pAYEQP8gx3w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAYEQP8gx3w[/video]
    watch
     
    K

    Kutnupe14

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    Sylvain said:
    There are many other good French movies not on that list.Mainly about the life under the German occupation, the French Resistance , concentration camps, POW camps and things like that.
    They show a different side of the war that you don't see in most US movies which are mainly just about battles.
    I guess they are in the third categorie of movies as stated by the OP.



    Life is beautiful is another great foreign movie (Italy, 1997).It won a bunch of awards.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Is_Beautiful

    [video=youtube;pAYEQP8gx3w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAYEQP8gx3w[/video]
    watch
    Click to expand...

    The Battle of Algiers is a great movie too.
     
    JAL

    JAL

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    Sylvain said:
    I think I've seen at least 30+ movies from that list.:rockwoot:

    I'm surprised to see some French movies on that list like La grande illusion (about POWs in Germany during WW1) or The last metro, great movies. :yesway:

    There are many great must-see movies that could also be included on that like Schindler's list.
    Click to expand...

    I don't know why Schindler's List (1993) was left off. It should have been in the third group. Along the same vein is the The Pianist (2002). Another French film I forgot to include in the third grouping is Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement (2004) about a woman who searches for her fiancé who went missing during WWI. Renoir's The Rules of the Game (1939) is about complacency regarding the rise of Nazi Germany among the wealthy French upper-classes. It is a companion to his La Grande Illusion (1937). They are considered among the best films ever made. I was pleasantly surprised to find Jean Renoir was son of the famous Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. I didn't inlcude "Rules" as its relationship to WWI and WWII was very indirect unless someone were familiar with the film and French society of the era.

    Two notable films made in Europe during the middle of WWII . . .
    A film that doesn't touch on war or military itself, but is significant as it was made during the occupation is Marcel Carné's "The Children of Paradise". That this 3:10 epic length film (in two parts) ever got made in occupied France from 1943-1945 is nothing short of miraculous.
    For the Anglo's among us, "Paradise" in French is an idiom for the second balcony of a theater where all the common riffraff sat (from French: rif et raf). In France, they were not shy about expressing themselves regarding the play, its actors and what they thought of them. To the actors, they were the Gods to whom they played for approval.
    Click to expand...
    In Germany during the middle of WWII, it's nothing short of a miracle Josef von Báky (Hungarian) was able to make Münchhausen (1943). The movie celebrated UFA's 25th anniversary of film making and was shot using Agfa's new Agfacolor film. Set in 18th Century Europe, it's completely devoid of any political symbolism or themes, which is astounding given the extreme control the Nazi Propaganda Ministry (Joseph Goebbels) exerted over all art forms. Terry Gilliam made his own version of Munchausen (1988, spelled with one "h"), and it's good, but IMHO the 1943 produced by UFA is the definitive one. (Two others: a 1911 French silent by Méliès, and the 1961 Czech one by Karel Zemen.)

    Regarding French Cinema . . .
    About 5% of my (very large) film library is French (about 20% of it is non-English from other than the US, UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand). Martin Scorcese's Hugo (2011) celebrates the silents made by Georges Méliès' prior to WWI, most of which are lost now (not by war). A student of general cinema must study Francois Truffaut, both his criticisms and his films (Day for Night, aka La Nuit américaine, 1973 is one of my favorites). A student of Comedy cannot ignore Jacques Tati (his "Holiday" and "Oncle" are my two favorites). Likewise, one cannot study Film-noir and ignore films by Clouzot, Bresson, or Truffaut, and especially Jules Dassin, Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Melville. Hollywood didn't have a lock on Film-noir, which has its roots in German Impressionist Cinema during the inter-bellum Weimar Republic. The French carried the sub-genre from the 1950's into the 1960's and 1970's. Anyone who has seen William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977) should see the original, Clouzot's Wages of Fear (1953). Among the more contemporary films, Luc Besson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet have been most impressive, along with the rise of French animations with The Triplets of Belleville, Persepolis, A Cat in Paris, April and the Extraordinary World, Long Way North, Phantom Boy, and The Red Turtle. Anyone into Steam Punk would love the production design in "Extraordinary World". Finally, anyone who likes animated Science Fiction should see Fantastic Planet (1977). Those into silents that have seen the original Fritz Lang Metropolis (1927) and its Bauhaus production design would also like Marcel L'Herbier's 1924 L'Inumaine with its Art Deco production design.

    As that paragraph drifts off of the thread I should, perhaps, put together some recommendations regarding non-Anglo films. There's a wealth of excellent and compelling movies. They require a willingness to watch subtitles (with rare exception, English dubbing does very poorly). These are films you'll never see in a theater unless you live very near an Art House that specializes in them. Mainstream theater audiences in the US won't tolerate subtitles. Today I've been watching Werner Herzog's The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974; auf Deutsch: Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle; lit. Each for Himself and God Against All), a German period film set in the early 19th Century telling the well-known story (among Germans) about the foundling, Kaspar Hauser. Werner Herzog, along with Fritz Lang, Francois Truffaut, Luis Buñuel, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Akira Kurosawa are among the greatest of non-Anglo film makers that immediately come to mind.

    John
     
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