WWII Films

[Patrick Murtha]

My two favorite World War II films were made during the war: John Ford's They Were Expendable (1945), with John Wayne and Robert Montgomery, and Lewis Milestone's A Walk in the Sun (1945), with Dana Andrews. One reason I like these is that they are contemporary, so that there is no self-conscious postwar myth-making, no "greatest generation" crap (and I'm choosing that noun carefully). They Were Expendable, though it contains exciting and authentic action sequences, is ultimately quite downbeat (as the title suggests), and the final images of men abandoned to their fate are both terrifying and poetic. A Walk in the Sun achieves its own poetry by digging into the minutiae of soldiers' experience; the film, based on a distinguished novel by Harry Brown, is beautifully realistic and non-triumphalist.

I haven't yet seen William Wellman's Story of G.I. Joe (1945), but I understand it is in the same class.

 

[Corto]

THE BIG RED ONE by Sam Fuller.
He also did The Steel Helmet and Fixed Bayonets!, which were ostensibly about Korea, but in reality infused with his own personal experiences as a WWII infantryman. (I honestly think these are the best WWII movies ever made. No sentimentality. No over-the-top heroics. They're all about survival).

I can also vouch for Play Dirty. Probably not a very accurate representation of the LRDG, but fun none the less.

I recently saw Army of Shadows by director Jean Pierre Melville about the French Resistance. Absolutely brilliant. A must see. The commentary in the special features section will also illuminate the nuances of the film. I also recently saw Is Paris Burning?- but it wasn't as good as Army of Shadows.

Those are the best of what I've seen recently.
Additionally, The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Day, The Battle of Britain, Band of Brothers, Cross of Iron and Das Boot are not to be missed. Von Ryan's Express was fun too.

 

[Sarge]

I would add.

Days of Glory (2006)
Stalingrad (1993)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
The Longest Day (1962)
Battleground (1949)

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I recently saw Army of Shadows by director Jean Pierre Melville about the French Resistance. Absolutely brilliant. A must see. The commentary in the special features section will also illuminate the nuances of the film.

Man, you are so right about this. Army of Shadows is the best film I discovered in 2007 and frankly one of the best films ever made, period. The Criterion DVD presentation with numerous special features is dazzling and most worthy of the film. I thought of mentioning it in my last post but decided to stick to combat films; however, everyone who has any feeling for cinema ought to see this movie. Resurfacing in the English-speaking world in a fully restored print in 2006, after languishing in obscurity for 37 years, it blew critics away across the spectrum, winning Best Foreign Film from the New York Society of Film Critics and special citations of appreciation from the Los Angeles Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics.

Even if you strictly ration your use of the word "masterpiece," Army of Shadows is one.

 

[WinoJunko]

Another WW2 movie that I really liked was Heart's War.

 

[DutchIndo]

Try the "War Lover" with Steve McQueen but don't watch it if you hate
B-17s ! I saw this flick as a kid and bought it on DVD. Good flying sequences and a decent plot. Its a typical Steve McQueen psycho flick. "Hell is for Heros" is another one Steve is in that one also.

 

[poetman]

Man, you are so right about this. Army of Shadows is the best film I discovered in 2007 and frankly one of the best films ever made, period. The Criterion DVD presentation with numerous special features is dazzling and most worthy of the film. I thought of mentioning it in my last post but decided to stick to combat films; however, everyone who has any feeling for cinema ought to see this movie. Resurfacing in the English-speaking world in a fully restored print in 2006, after languishing in obscurity for 37 years, it blew critics away across the spectrum, winning Best Foreign Film from the New York Society of Film Critics and special citations of appreciation from the Los Angeles Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics.

Even if you strictly ration your use of the word "masterpiece," Army of Shadows is one.

I have find some way to see this. I have the Criterion Collection "Le Samouri" by Melville, and it is wondeful! How does everyone get all these old films without buying them first?

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I have find some way to see this. I have the Criterion Collection "Le Samouri" by Melville, and it is wondeful! How does everyone get all these old films without buying them first?

Two ways: Netflix; and a wonderful library network here in Wisconsin. My local library in Appleton, which is part of a multi-county consortium, spends a fortune on DVDs -- classic, international, independent, documentary, and contemporary films. If the film I want is not here or available through the consortium, I get it through Netflix. For books I want that are hard to find, my library system will bend over backwards and get them through university libraries, other state systems, etc.

 

[carter]

Another good film for those interested in the Resistance, Dutch instead of French, is Soldier of Orange with a very young Rutger Hauer.

For submariners there are Run Silent, Run Deep and Tokyo Bay.

Command Decision with Clark Gable and a young Van Johnson is worth a look for the Air Forces.

 

[RIOT]

A couple more not mentioned on this thread.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) *****
The Thin Red Line (1998) ***
Tobruk (1967) *****
The Wild Geese (1978) ***
The Pianist (2002) ****
From Here to Eternity (1953) *****
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) *****
The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) *****
Schindler's List (1993) ****
Hell in the Pacific (1968) **
Back to Bataan (1945) *****


With my own ratings

 

[SamMarlowPI]

that pretty much sums 'em up lol wait you forgot one, Windtalkers lol just kidding.
i don't think i saw Enemy At The Gates on the list...or wrong, it was on the OP...duh
Anzio and The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum were pretty good...
Dirty Dozen, if that hasn't been mentioned...
Halls Of Montezuma costarring Jack Palance may be worth watching...
Run Silent, Run Deep too...
Ike: Countdown to D-Day with Tom Selleck was good...

 

[poetman]

I saw "Destination Tokyo" and was not that impressed. It was decent. I mean any vintage film can't be that bad given all my ulterior interests, but this one was okay.

I really want to see "Soldier of Orange" and "Army of Shadows," but I can't find them anywhere locally.

 

[Smithy]

The Wild Geese (1978) ***

Just a small thing Riot but The Wild Geese wasn't set in WWII but in the 1970s. Good film though.

 

[RIOT]

Just a small thing Riot but The Wild Geese wasn't set in WWII but in the 1970s. Good film though.

Smithy, thanks for pointing that out. Come to think of it, they were using Uzi's in this movie weren't they? I remember seeing it in the big screen back-to-back with Midnight Express with my dad. Need to add this to my Netflix queue and re-watch it.

 

[Dixon's Dame]

I think most of the movies I love have already been mentioned - The Dirty Dozen, Where Eagles Dare, Von Ryan's Express, A Walk in the Sun, The Great Escape.

I'm also really fond of Attack! with Jack Palance and Lee Marvin (among many others) and Battle Cry, with Van Heflin and Aldo Ray.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Another Dana Andrews fan, I see. My hat's off to you! He is the man.

 

[merkman]

Three more come to mind,
The Devils Brigade: William Holden along with a great cast.
Kelly's Heroes: semi-comedy war film with Clint Eastwood.I enjoy this film for it's realisim and good charactors.
30 seconds over Tokyo: For a war time film, it really grabs you with the in-airplane photography, Van Johnson stars.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

I'm also really fond of Attack! with Jack Palance and Lee Marvin (among many others) and Battle Cry, with Van Heflin and Aldo Ray.

was Attack! the film where Palance gets run over by a tank?

has Porkchop Hill been mentioned? oh yah, thats Korea...duh...
Never So Few? with Frankie Sinatra...it was ok...
Cloak and Dagger with Cooper was interesting...kind of an espionage deal...

oh oh i got another one!...U-571!! lol Pearl Harbor!! lollollol j/k

 

[Dixon's Dame]

Another Dana Andrews fan, I see. My hat's off to you! He is the man.

Yes indeed! I also enjoy "The Frogmen" -- not a favorite, but really cool diving footage and Richard Widmark playing almost too nice, for a change -- and "The Purple Heart," if for no other reason then to hear Dana Andrews' character's speech at the end.

was Attack! the film where Palance gets run over by a tank?

Yep, the very one.

 

[AmateisGal]

Another Dana Andrews fan, I see. My hat's off to you! He is the man.

fftopic:
I adore Dana Andrews.

Just ordered one of his WW2 flicks where he's in Italy - can't remember the name of it, though.