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it depends what you want from them... if it's realism then nothing beats that first scene in Saving Private Ryan- i mean holy crap :S
the rest of the film is pretty good too- depressing, but engaging and kinda hopeful at times :)
Band of Brothers. Not really a film, but a 10-part mini series that aired on HBO. It's amazing.

"All Quite on the Western Front".
Such an old film, but the best at teaching us the horrors of war.
Off the top of my head, Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Paths of Glory and on a sublime level, Dr Strangelove I think are thr trinity of War Films.
Coppola's Apocolypse Now is probbaly the best war film about Vietnam because it captures the otherworldliness of war. I have never been in combat but I would think that it is inexplicable. You cant put what it would be like to fight in a war in words or images and I think his piece captured that fact immensely well.
Fuller's The Big Red One gets honorable mention.
As much as people love Saving Private Ryan and Platoon. I found them to be boing, cheap manipulative melodramas built with cardboard cutouts for characters and the same simplistic message we have seen done 10 thousand times before.
Platoon & Full Metal Jacket were two that "stayed with me!"
I like The Thin Red Line
Apocalypse Now.
Sgt. York is my most favorite movie of all time^_^
Saving Private Ryan.
A Bridge Too Far, 1977 Classic!!
The Longest Day
War and Peace
Apocalpse Now
Saving Private Ryan
I saw two that I liked. Platoon and Full Metal Jacket.
Depends on which war you are talking about. One of my favorites is a little known movie about WWI called "Paths of Glory" with Kirk Douglas. The film mainly deals with the trial of a soldier executed for cowardice, but the action at the beginning is some of the best ever filmed. Check it out.
Full Metal Jacket
Dr. Strangelove
Both are masterpieces made by Stanley Kubrick.
My 2 cents.
Full Metal Jacket is pretty close for Marine Corps Boot Camp.
HBO's "Generation Kill" is an outstanding series. It is so authentic to life in a Marine Corps unit that I would swear it was a documentary. The writers and directors do an outstanding job of capturing the Marine psyche. They also did an outstanding job of displaying the pace of combat over a long term.
Not actually a film about the war, but my fav is Kelly's Heroes. Took place during a war, anyway.
The kind that have a good shoot 'em up scene with some gruesome gore in it here and there!!!
FOREIGN:
1.DOWNFALL
2.DAS BOOT
3.STALINGRAD
DOMESTIC:
1.PATTON
2.U-571
3.DEFIANCE
4.GREY ZONE
5.SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
6.SCHINDLERS LIST
In my opinion the foreign films beat the domestic films, but domestic are pretty close
"Joyeux Noel" is a great one. It's about World War II where they all decided to just put the war aside to celebrate together for a few days.
" A Midnight Clear " (1992)
+5
There isn't just one
Kelly's Hero's
THe Bridge over the River Kwai
Two Women
All Quiet on the Western Front
Full Metal Jacket
The Guns of Navarrone
Apocalypse Now
Paths of Glory
The Great Escape. Or Passchendaele for a more modern one.
I have a lot of them, but Saving Pvt. Ryan and Full Metal Jacket rank up at the top.
Apocalypse Now!
Darby's Rangers is my favorite.
Catch 22.
Kelly's heroes.
Mash.
The Great escape.
The Dirty Dozen.
The Battle of Britain.
Das Boot, ( The Boat ).< The Best war film ever.
Stalingrad.
Hell is for heroes.
Patton.
Apocalypse Now.
The Dam Busters.
Master and commander - on the far side of the world.
Full Metal Jacket
Saving Private Ryan
To hell and back
Patton
Black Hawk Down
Apocalypses Now.+5
All-time best: Saving Private Ryan.
Also rans: Patton, The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, The Bridge On the River Kwai, A Rumor of War, Hamburger Hill, and Blackhawk Down ( which majorly pissed me off because the deaths were so unnecessary, but which was still a good movie ), and a few others.
Not worth the cost of renting them: Apocalypse Now, Platoon, et nauseum.
Saving Private Ryan...
Patton - hands down.
How about Sergeant York and All Quiet On The Western Front?
Civil War, by Ken Burns.
Hamburger Hill
The Deer Hunter
Platoon
Full Metal jacket.
In that order!
Platoon is my fav.
Two WWII movies that are basically serious, but also have some humor are "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" and "Stalag 17." On the more serious side there's "From Here to Eternity" and "PT 109."
Another good one is "Cross of Iron" starring James Coburn and James Mason. It's about the German army during WWII on the Russian front. Excellent.
The very best war film that is so authentic would be 'When Trumpets Fade'!
Pearl Harbor
Force 10 from Navarone
Bridge Over the River Kwai
Dirty Dozen is a classic!!!
Everyone seems to have covered most of the bases here, so I'll offer up a couple of less well known but excellent war films for consideration: Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" & one of the most beautifully filmed flicks of all time, "Breaker Morant".
Mel Gibson's - Patriot =)
saving private ryan and where eagles dare..
Guns of Navarone
Longest Day
Sands of Iwo Jima
Pork Chop Hill
Battleground.
Just to name a few..
By order:
Apocalypse Now.
Full Metal Jacket.
The Dear Hunter.
The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Platoon.
Stripes.
in which we serve-what price glory-the cold sea-lifeboat-the long the short and the tall-wild geese-tunes of glory-the hill...............
300 is an amazing war movie.
Reds. I haven't seen too many war films because I hate them. Lord of the Rings was the ultimate war film. I read those books about 20 times in my life and of course saw the movie too.
inglorious basterds :D
In All The President's Men(Hoffman-Redford), Bob Woodward said something on the phone to many women working in different offices.
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I love war movies, especially about Vietnam or WWII. Any suggestions on some good war movies that I can watch?
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Another good war film.Yes, the beach seen is very realistic.
by Schonberg on October 9th, 2008