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Re: Favorite War Films

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danj

In Reply to: Favorite War Films posted by mikenyc on March 17, 2002 at 08:40:03:

I can't improve on your list. I've seen them all and agree they are all fab.
IMHO, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is one of the finest films ever produced. I first saw it in the 70s after I had returned from SE Asia and it really got to me. I'd say that the scenes with Harold Russell and his fiance, especially when he admits his shame over losing his independence because of his prosthetic arms, are among the most touching and humanly real scenes I've ever seen in a Hollywood movie. Besides a great cast (Dana Andrews, Frederick March, Myrna Loy, Theresa Graves, Harold Russell) it had a great script and a brilliant director. It was one of the few "Best Picture" Oscars that was truly deserved.
I would like to add a few films to your list:
1. Paths of Glory - Stanley Kubrick, director
2. Platoon - Oliver Stone, director
3. Das Boot - Werner Fassbender, director
4. Full Metal Jacket - Stanley Kubrick, director
5. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930) - Lewis Milestone, director
6. Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola, director
7. Schindler's List - Steven Spielberg, director
8. M*A*S*H - Robert Altman, director
9. The Longest Day - Daryl F. Zanuck, and others, directors
10. Sophie's Choice - Alan J. Pakula, director
Some are about war and some about the effects of war. I stopped at ten but there are many more worthy contenders. To name just a few:
CASABLANCA
THE DAY AFTER
THE KILLING FIELDS
SHOAH
ON THE BEACH
TORA-TORA-TORA
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SALVADOR
HAMBURGER HILL
BAD COMPANY
THEY WERE EXPENDABLE
RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP
BATTLE CRY
THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA
GONE WITH THE WIND
That's enough.......

Follow Ups:

Re: Favorite War Films - mikenyc 15:20:15 03/17/02 (11)
Ditto on your choices of SALVADOR....it truly captures the craziness of a war with no battle lines.Paths of Glory...how one man makes a difference. M*A*S*H...the black comedy of War at it's best. CASABLANCA
...who can beat the cast and the performances here. THEY WERE EXPENDABLE...a straight forward history lesson. RUN SILENT,RUN DEEP
...again a wonderful cast with memorable performances. Das Boot...a great atmosphere of the terror of the submarine war.
- Not sure if this counts - JAD 06:38:56 03/18/02 (10)
  If I had to choose one movie about war it would have to be Ken Burns' The Civil War.
  Some other that I didn't see mentioned above (in no particular order):
  Patton
  Lawrence of Arabia
  Sand Pebbles
  The Great Escape
  Battleground
  Cross of Iron
  Bridge on the River Kwai
  Glory
  Foreign language films:
  Stalingrad
  Kanal (where is this on dvd?)
  - Re: Not sure if this counts - danj 20:30:48 03/18/02 (0)
    Yes on all your choices, especially PATTON and BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.
  - Re: Not sure if this counts - mikenyc 09:19:11 03/18/02 (3)
    I always loved Robert Aldrich's extremely taut war drama "Attack" with Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, and Buddy Ebsen, among other great acting peformances.
    You can't get any more manic than Jack Palance or cowardly and simpering than Eddie Albert in this one. I don't honestly know how Palance managed to do it for the whole films length! Truly amazing film performance.
    Robert Aldrich is the ultimate Man Film Director...with themes pitting everyone against each other. "Flight of the Phoenix", "The Longest Yard", "Emperor of the North Pole"...a "lost" classic as far as I'm concerned, "The Big Knife", "Kiss Me Deadly" and others.
    A very macho man film director, that was also ahead of his time with the films of female subjects in "The Killing of Sister George", "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" and "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane ?".
    - Palance in Attack-- - Des 23:25:57 03/18/02 (0)
      -- Heaven forbid--yes I recall that chilling performance--saw it as a kid and still remember vividly Jack P with I think his arm crushed under a Tank grimacing up and mouthing to Eddie Albert--" I'm gonna kill you Cooney"
      You're right Jack P was amazing in that--far better than his doodle play in Shane.
      Ah yes the Flix!
      Des
    - Re: Not sure if this counts - danj 20:34:15 03/18/02 (1)
      Aldrich - a fine director. Have always been a big fan of EMPEROR OF THE NORTH POLE, which was filmed almost in my backyard. Ernest Borgnine was r-e-a-l-l-y a bad guy in that one. Lee Marvin was great, too. FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX is very exciting.
      - Re: Not sure if this counts - mikenyc 13:08:09 03/19/02 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Not sure if this counts posted by danj on March 18, 2002 at 20:34:15:
        
        It's a very simple story...that's what I love about Aldrich.
        He deals in basic emotional situations of conflict...with such powerful performances from his actors. What a loss.
  - Re: Not sure if this counts - Victor Khomenko 07:06:44 03/18/02 (4)
    I can promise you that Kanal is never going to be on DVD... not on VHS even (practically speaking) - try finding it anywhere in the US... I have been loking for years. Do you have it?
    You have better luck finding Wajda's "Landscape After Battle" - also recommended.
    - Kanal - JAD 08:25:56 03/18/02 (3)
      I have a fuzzy second generation copy that I would give my left eye to replace with a dvd.
      Amazon claims to have two VHS copies in stock.
      Kanal
      - Got it, thanks! - Victor Khomenko 08:55:05 03/18/02 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Kanal posted by JAD on March 18, 2002 at 08:25:56:
        
        I sometimes neglect to look in the used area - I bought it now.
        With something like that the quality of the original is also suspect, so unless someone like Criterion did its job on it the DVD would look bad too. Many bad videos are bad not because of the tape - a good VHS tape can be quite good.
        
        Agreed - JAD 09:23:26 03/18/02 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Got it, thanks! posted by Victor Khomenko on March 18, 2002 at 08:55:05:
        
        I've seen plenty of crappy dvds, but I would really love to see a clean version of Kanal. My copy was of dubious origin to begin with, and after umpteen replays has not gotten any better.
        My hopes that his work would get more attention were raised a few years ago when Wajda received a lifetime Oscar, but that has not happened.
        
        Re: Agreed - Victor Khomenko 09:49:08 03/18/02 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Agreed posted by JAD on March 18, 2002 at 09:23:26:
        
        ***My hopes that his work would get more attention were raised a few years ago when Wajda received a lifetime Oscar, but that has not happened.
        What a joke. To dump it on the audience 98% of this went "Waj... Who?"
        I would never expect Wajda's films be popular in America, not without special effects, social agendas to attach the ribbons to, and without Hollywood bimbo's (althogh the Polish beauties would show them few things), but even I am a bit surprised at the obscurity.

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