hi guys nice 2 see people still chipping in with the war films.come and see sounds good gunna try and get hold of that one thanks anthoney

12 O'clock high
30 seconds over Tokyo
Gettysburgh and Gods and Generals
Tora Tora Tora
A Bridge Too Far
The Longest Day
The Great Escape
Devil's Brigade (my uncle's regiment was assigned to the movie as extras)
The Battle of Britain
We were soldiers
The Bridge at Remagen
Midway (aside from the acting)
I have seen a bunch of old ones but can't remember the titles
I look for the occasional documentary. One of my favorites is "The Saga of Utah Man" which tells the story of B-24 raid at Ploesti.

I forgot to mention "They were expendable". Also "Combat(?) with Van Johnson (don't think that name is right), "Destination Tokyo", "Porkchop Hill", "The Halls of Montezuma", and "Saints and Soldiers."

Every once in a while local PBS will host a special about local stories. Most have been WWII and Korea. One series, "Saints at War" was about the experiences of LDS soldiers, including some German. The other was a focus on the home front and how the war impacted the local community. It was sort of a mini local version of Ken Burns' "The War". Of specific mention was Topaz, one of the internment camps for Americans of Japanese descent, and work farms for German POWs. I think a lot of programs like these are made all over the world and are generally unknown because they never get widespread release. Idon't know if they can be found on Youtube or similar video hosting sites.

9th company is an amazing film. See it now!

Martyn

hi people went 2 flix to watch valkery good film.whats your thoughts on it if you have watched it

War films, you can keep your Saving Pvt Ryan and Band of brothers .
The best all time classic is - Theirs is the Glory.

Matt

Hi Jimmy C.! Is the Stalker film you mentioned the one done somewhere in the former Soviet Union? I tracked it down -if it's the same one- after playing the STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl PC game. (that was one of my all time favorites!) I won't give you any spoilers, but the game had some loose, very loose similarities to the story. It's a film I would like to see re-done and modernized. I just started STALKER: Clear Sky.

Hi Wayne! I have always like military movies. In another section of this forum there was a thread about the most inaccurate war movies. I gleaned a bunch of titles from it that people both disliked and liked. It provided me with many an evening of entertainment. My favorite old timey action/adventure war movie was and always will be Kelly's Heroes. On I have seen time and again miscatagorized is one called Black Book. It's often represented as a gratuitous T&A film, and while there is a bit of that in it, it goes much deeper than that. The settings, vehicles, props, etc. are all first rate including the coal gas powered vehicles with the big burner thing in the back. The acting is first rate as well. It's basically about the Nazi occupation of Holland and a Jewish woman who, through some tragic incidents finds her working for the Underground becoming the mistress of the local SS head towards the end of the war. There is so much going on in this movie with sub-plots including betrayals, corruption, double dealings and the like it is a most amazing movie.

I also recently watched the restored version of All Quiet on the Western Front which was amazing. Also some stellar movies was The Lost Battalion and When Trumpets Fade. I also like Apocalypse Now! Redux. I don't care that much about historical accuracy although US tanks and T-34s dressed up to look like German tanks sometimes make me wince. I watch movies to be entertained, and if I'm entertained I am satisfied. If i want education or accuracy and facts, I watch documentaries. Incidentally, I enjoy those as well!

I don't know if you have a similar service in the UK, but here we have Netflix which is a monthly subscription service that is based on how many DVD movies you can have at one time. You create a list of the ones you want and as soon as you send one back they send the next one on your list. It's handy because they come with prepaid return envelopes so when I'm done I just put it in the mailbox. There is no limit to how many you get in a month. They have such a huge selection it makes it easy to find all kinds of obscure movies or films on any subject. I think I pay about $12.00 a month for 3 at a time and get about 25+ movies a month.

Hi Jim from the list of war films you've listed it seems we share the same tastes in war movies i've also got The Last Drop , Saints And Soldiers ,The Pianist , The Counterfeiters, Female Agents just to name a few of the more recent war films released

Hi Wayne saw Valkyrie at the pics last month and although it's gotten some dodgy reviews regarding the actors not imcorporating German accents other than that it was very well done and very accurate an excellant performance by the entire cast i thoroughly enjoyed it can't wait to get it on DVD

hi lyndon i would sit and watch valkery in german no problem but for most of the paying public a big fat no i think.

i agree wayne i would as well i was disappointed by the region2 release of Stalingrad for some reason they released it with an english dub instead of the original German with english subtitles now i'm gonna have to get the region1 version to see if it's the original german audio with english subtitles it me off when film companies intentionally ruin good films

What war films do I like? Lets see...
Dambusters
Ice Cold In Alex
A Bridge Too Far
First of the Few
D Day
Saving Private Ryan
Schindlers List (even though it doesn't deal with the war itself)
The Colditz Story
Dunkirk
The actual attack in Pearl Harbour but forget the rest
Von Ryans Express
The Gresat Escape
Battle of the Bulge
All Quiet on the Western Front

I could go on but there are so many.

I recently watched a German film called Downfall which was amazing. It was set during the last days of the war in Hitler's bunker. Segments from this film have made it onto YouTube as a sort of comedic Hitler Rant series in which Hitler rants about various current issues. If you have seen them, this is the film the screaming madman comes from. I wanted to watch it to see a German created film on the subject. They pulled no punches! The intensity of the acting is superb and I highly recommend this movie if you can find it! I rented it from Netflix.

I may have mentioned this one elsewhere, but another good foreign (to the US) film is Black Book. It is about the Nazi occupation of Holland. The time frame is near the end of the war. In it a Jewish woman's family's escape attempt was betrayed. She becomes involved with the Resistance and becomes the mistress of the local SS chief. There are many ugly things beyond the usual war related activity that take place. The sense that the war is ending and what's the point of the fanaticism vs. we must obey out directives runs through the last days. Betrayal follows betrayal and the film drives home how difficult it was knowing whom to trust even among those whom were supposedly the most trustworthy. It is one hell of a tell and while the title makes it sounds like it may be overtly sexual, it really isn't. The isn't any gratuitous sex in it although some slight nudity and sexually oriented scenes are in it. They are a part of the story and help convey the impression of the film. I mention this only because this fil is often so wrongly put among the gratuitous T&A type of movie. The acting, the costumes, the vehicles, and all are top notch. There are even some coal gas powered vehicles in it! It is truly another outstanding WWII tale. I also got this from Netflix.

As far a series on WWII I don't think there has been much to rival the BBC's World at War despite its age. I just watched all 11 DVDs in the Collector's Series and even though they were first done in 1974 they stand the test of time very well. Again, I rented this series through my Netflix subscription.

EDIT ADDITION: I remembered another great film with a bit of a comedic, strange twist about a man's life that involved time in a WWII concentration camp. This film is called The Seven Beauties (possibly just Seven Beauties) The Seven Beauties are seven blessings the film's protagonist is born with that will allow him to get through life. Whether they are truly blessings or curses is relative to how you view his experiences. The concentration camp parts are somewhat strong and disturbing.

And Jimmy C- I am still curious about the Stalker film you mentioned in the first post. As I mentioned in the previous post I watched the Russian film of that name and am a big fan of the STALKER series of PC games.(I'm currently playing through a heavily modded Clear Sky again and Shadow of Chernobyl awaits with a new mod package to install for it for my 4th play through) The Film had a few similarities to the game, but ultimately I think the games raised my expectations and the film disappointed me badly. It kept looking like it was going somewhere and something was going to happen, but not much ever did. I was curious if someone was doing a remake. BTW: I have read a third installment of the STALKER series is due out this year. And if you want to bet I got the Stalker DVD through Netflix, you would win that wager!

Ice Cold in Alex,
Longest Day,
Das Boot (in German)
Platoon,
Hamburger Hill,
Full Metal Jacket,
Battle of Britian
We Dive at Dawn
Band of Brothers
Tora, Tora, Tora
Waterloo

In no particular order.

id have to say Warriors witch was a tv 2 parter Dear hunter awsome film 9th company and The Beast , Tour of Duty plus band of brothers, Bravo two zero, wild geas, platoon, we were soldiers, gods and generals, and all the classics

For something a bit different I am just over halfway watching a Japanese anime (animated) series called Zipang. For those unfamiliar with anime, it's a pretty broad genre ranging from kiddy cartoon to some very intense adult oriented (meaning mature, not porn although there is anime porn). Anyway, the story line here is a modern Japanese naval Vessel while preparing to take part in huge war games with the US and other NATO type allies encounters an atmospheric anomaly and finds itself back in 1942 before the Battle of Midway. While trying to sort things out they rescue a Japanese naval officer from a downed sea plane and bring him aboard. he is an intelligence officer and soon he is shown around the ship and awed at the technology. he is given access to the ship's library and learns what is to come. The series continues with the quandary the crew finds itself in between fearing to become involved lest they affect history yet torn because they know of the huge loss of life that both sides are set to suffer. I think there are 7 DVDs in this set with 4 episodes per disc. I am enjoying them immensely both because they are entertaining and I have seldom seen or heard the way the war is thought of and remembered by the Japanese other than in relation to Hiroshima/Nagasaki. The series is in English with English captioning for the sign and other printed Japanese characters. I am just learning there are several WWII related anime series out there and I'll post back about them as I find and watch them. Again, this series is called Zipang and i found and got it from Netflix.

As an aside, I sort of got into anime a few years ago. I know there tends to be a bit of eye-rolling because people can't imagine anything animated beyond cartoons like Speed Racer and things like Shrek. Believe me, there are anime series and full length movies that are more intense and intelligent than any of the usual Hollywood fare, especially in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres. If anybody is interested in any recommendations PM me and I'll share some of the ones i found really good.

Some good WW2 armour reference- They were not divided.

Ideal for sherman fans.

Matt

29th battalion about the aussies on the Kakoda trail extremley grim but well told.

the best films are:
longest day
bridge too far
band of brothers
saints and soldiers
days of glory
man of war
great escape
rescue dawn
saving private ryan

Hi everybody, My favorite, and nobody has listed it yet, is Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron" with James Coburn as German Cpl. Steiner on the Russian Front in the Summer of 43. It's a tough one to find but worth the effort! Tom

My favoroute warfilm ever has got to be black hawk down

with you one that one ivanhoe cross of iron is an top war film .think i first watched it when i was about 10 was quite raw to me then the bit when the russian boy is killed was the bit i always remember.and the german soldier that never washed

Incidentally, there is a sequel to Cross of Iron, set in Normandy, but with some of the same characters. The part of Steiner is taken by, wait for it - Richard Burton! The film is quite slapdash in production (e.g. DPM used as German camo), but is an interesting oddity from Burton's back catalogue.

yeah the film is called Breakthrough but apparently it's so dismal that IMDB.com say that it's for fans of war films only

an awesome film very visceral i recently finished reading the book Cross Of Iron and found it as enthralling as the film