Favorite WWII movies

["Doc" Devereux]

I really enjoyed Dark Blue World.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Favorites

Twelve O'Clock High (This movie used to be shown at USAF NCO Academies and officer schools as examples in leadership.)

The Best Years of Our Lives (For some reason this movie has always, even as a kid, struck a chord in me.)

Cross of Iron (From a different point of view: A German squad on the Russian front. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074695/plotsummary)

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Celia Crowson]

I would say my all time favourite would be 'Millions Like Us'

~Amanda~
Australia

 

[aswatland]

Twelve O'clock High
The Battle of Britain
The Great Escape

 

[Story]

Twelve O'Clock High trivia - the pilot for one of the B17s used in that movie (a USAF officer) eventually retired to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey where he and his wife started a wildlife rehabilitation hospital. 'Wounded Knee''s website seems to be dormant http://www.angelfire.com/nj/woundedknee/ but they would take care of all the orphaned critters no one else knew how to fix: young raptors mending wings, bondo-shell fixed turtles, etc. I found out about the place late one night, took a duckling that got orphaned by a speeding driver there. Neat place.

 

[moustache]

Without a doubt the best on all counts is a Soviet Film called COME and SEE.
It is the most brutal ,graphic, realistic depiction of WWII as seen by the Soviets. It will make you ill.
DAS BOOT is not bad nor WHEN TRUMPETS FADE.

I had this movie on DVD for awhile.It is brutal.I didn't like it so got rid of it.
I think "Downfall"is one of the best for realism not coming from Hollywood.

JD

 

[Prairie Shade]

How About- - -

The Hill - Sean Connery- Harry Andrews - Ossie Davis. A look from a different perspective.

 

[TailendCharlie]

Hi ya pal!

My three are the common Twelve O'clock High, Best Years of Our Lives and especially The Battle of San Pietro. I particularly like the bomber graveyard scene in Twelve O'clock, and the narrator dialogue in San Pietro. I thought all of these were very well done. I haven't been to a movie since the early eighties except Gone With the Wind at the then newly restored Detroit Fox. I spent most of the time gagaing the Fox. I haven't recovered from that experience yet.

Merrill,the next time you're in the Detroit area check out the Redford theatre
they show classic films every weekend,its complete with balcony and pipe organ performances.
Tailendcharlie
over and out

 

[MikeBravo]

Propaganda

What really bothers me regarding SPR is the story.
The impact of the first 25 minutes and the beachlanding is fantastic.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap The best ever done in that area!

But from then on it goes downhill, because the whole plot is not believeable.
I know of a Nieland (I believe they were called) family who lost sons during the war while one of them was a paratrooper somewhere in Normandy. But nobody was ever sent out on a dangerous mission to find him. He just turned up some days after d-day and was sent home, as a result of a plea from his field priest.

So when one of the soldiers in SPR (is it the guy "Reiben" from Brooklyn?) asks why 1 soldiers life is more valuable than 8, he actually kills the film right there.
Because private Ryan could not be more important than 8 men. To his family, yes. But in the big picture, NO.
Then the whole thing becomes Hollywood!!!

The propoganda value of rescuing one man in those circumstances (all his brothers being killed, even though one survived as a prisoner of the Japanese and commited suicide some years later) was worth much more to the war effort.

There was an incident earlier in the war where four brothers went to the bottom on the same ship, the Sullivans I believe was their name. there was so much flak over that the value of saving Ryan was very high

 

[MikeBravo]

Stalingrad

If you get the chance, see the German made movie Stalingrad

It is made from the German perspective but is no white-wash.

 

[anselmo1]

Here are my picks:

1. Across the Pacific----Humphrey Bogart

2. Tora Tora Tora-------Martin Balsam, Jason Robards

3. Night of the Generals-Peter O'Toole

 

[DOUGLAS]

You are correct Moustache, it is not an easy film to sit through. I thought "Downfall"was extremely well done. "Stalingrad" was well done also however I don't think they went far enough.

 

[Spitfire]

The propoganda value of rescuing one man in those circumstances (all his brothers being killed, even though one survived as a prisoner of the Japanese and commited suicide some years later) was worth much more to the war effort.

There was an incident earlier in the war where four brothers went to the bottom on the same ship, the Sullivans I believe was their name. there was so much flak over that the value of saving Ryan was very high

Rescuing one man would have been a great propaganda stunt, but the facts are, that there never was a Private Ryan.
The film builds on a the fact that a Niland family lost two sons in Normandy and one missing in Burma. The last one Frederick "Fritz" Niland was never rescued by any patrol. He - like many other paratroopers - was simply missdropped. When he finally turned up at his company, the chaplan (Father Francis L. Sampson) arranged that he should be sent home to safe duties in the states. A very noble thing to do, but there was not much "saving private Niland" in it. If you get my meaning.
So to me - at least - the whole filmplot builds on a lie. There was no patrol. There was no Private Ryan. US governement did NOT send out eight men to look for one....that's something that happened in Spielbergs head. It's Hollywood! Besides that: It's a fantastic, powerfull movie with a super productionvalue.
But based on a true story? Never!

 

[moustache]

Yes!!

If you get the chance, see the German made movie Stalingrad

It is made from the German perspective but is no white-wash.

I had forgotten about this film.And i own it!!Now thats a bad memory.Very well made film.

JD

 

[TailendCharlie]

Here's mine

1. Das Boot
2.King Rat
3.The Desert Fox

 

[Miss Neecerie]

While not strictly a WWII film....

I just watched and really liked Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent


http://imdb.com/title/tt0032484/

 

[photobyalan]

In no particular order:

Patton; as much for the score as the story.
The Battle of the Bulge; not the most historically accurate movie out there, but fun to watch. And the scene where the German tank crews sing Panzerlied is great.
In Harm's Way; not historical per se, but a good story and some major star power in the cast.

Others I enjoy include Where Eagles Dare, The Guns of Navarone, and The Longest Day.

 

[52Styleline]

1. The Fighting Lady
2. The Enemy Below
3. A Bridge too Far

 

[Mr. Rover]

I wish the same.But in todays fast paced and media driven society,even documentaries are in short supply.Books are not read in school anymore.I remember in school (late 70's) we very rarely had a movie in class.And then it was short educational clips.Now they show complete movies as fact!!!
That is scary. And just because it wins Academy Awards doesn't mean it is correct and true.But,same goes with books too i suppose.

The right teacher is needed.Thanks goodness there are some wonderful examples still around!

JD

The biggest problem with teaching history, though, is that it is always happening. History teachers have to fit 30 more years of events and people into the same amount of time as when you were in school. I must admit that my younger teachers tend to use more videos than the older ones, who may have been teaching at my school since the early 70's.