Greatest War Movies

Tony R wrote: I am astonished to be the only person who has voted for The Deer Hunter!  Easily the best film here on any level.

From the list I voted Saving Private Ryan. It's hard to beat but I like everything on the list except Braveheart. I can't even make it through the whole thing.I also liked The Patriot, The Dirty Dozen, Behind Enemy Lines, The Longest Day and Tora Tora Tora.

Havn't seen a good amount of these (though I really want to see Platoon, All Quiet on the Western Front and Apocalypse Now)
Seen a good bunch though and I really loved Saving Private Ryan

Also maybe it was due to the fact I watched it on youtube in 10 minute segments...but I did not really enjoy Full Metal Jacket.

EatThatPhonebook wrote: I guess I decided to go with Apocalypse Now. Possibly the greatest war movie ever.

Difficult choice, but "Paths of Glory" is brilliant.

voted for braveheart, good movie (a bit too long though...)

although not quite a war movie, i vote for "Stalag 17" with William Holden

Other: "Die Brücke" ("The Bridge") by Bernhard Wicki (1959). It shows the madness of war best. During the last days of WW2 seven boys of the Hitler youth are being called in to defend a meaningless bridge. At first they are enthusiastic, but as one after the other dies their enthusiasm starts waning.
Here a link to the IMDB-entry.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052654/
Here is the final scene:



Edited by BaldFriede - October 04 2010 at 12:12

I voted "other". I'm suprised that Where Eagles Dare hasn't been mentioned even if it's a bit dated. I mean you get to see Clint Eastwood kill half the Wermacht. OK the helicopter is an anachronism but the whole movie is so far fetched with tons of plot oversights and technical errors that it's almost hilarious. especially when they push the Nazi staff car over the ravine and it blows up for no reason. Alistar Mclean wrote the book  in just under three weeks and he also wrote the screenplay  At the time when it was released it was critisized by war veterans for glorifying war.

Apocalypse Now is ot really a war movie in my opinion but an excellent film adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart Of Darkness which is set in the Belgian Congo in the late 1800s. If you have read the book yoyu will see that Francis Ford Coppalla did a good job updating and setting it during the Vietnam war. We read the book in CEGEP  and our English teacher even recommended for us to go and see it.

TheProgtologist wrote: Platoon,without question.I have never seen a movie more accurately portray what war is really like.   Honorable mentions go to Saving Private Ryan,Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima,Full Metal Jacket,The Thin Red Line,Black Hawk Down and The Hurt Locker.   Never could understand all the praise for Apocalypse Now.It's tedius to watch and is almost a cartoon-like portrayal of war.