Favourite War Film

[Ruy Horta]

The general has retired, but since I've just stumbled on this post I took some time to check the YouTube link an watch the trailer for "Island in the Sky".

Well you can't really judge a movie on a trailer alone, but if the footage between 01:50 and 02:23 is indicative, I'm glad for John Wayne's memory that we haven't remembered / seen this performance!



It is a shame that the TV companies don't air more classics, although DVD does redress the balance (somewhat).

Ah, still don't have a PAL DVD (R2) version of "The Hill" nor the original wide screen version of "Hell in the Pacific".

[Ruy Horta]

PS ... Slightly off topic ...

Ok, I'll admit that I have a soft spot for PC games.

After almost a decade of mainly (combat) flight sims I have switched to playing mainly first person war shooters and real time strategy.

Specifically I've been playing Call of Duty Black Ops and Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Medal of Honor (in Afghanistan). On he other side it has been Warhammer 40k Dawn of War 2, Company of Heroes series and Total War Empire/Napoleon.

Sorry for the long intro, but a week ago I finished the single player campaign of Black Ops and back to topic I have to say that a game experience like this brings movies and games pretty close together. Once you have Hollywood grade actors doing the voice acting combined with state of the art graphics you are no "just playing a game" you are experiencing an interactive adventure.

With the next Call of Duty (MW4) and Battlefield (3) about to be released in Q4 I'll be having more fun than "just" watching a movie.

...ps I've recently installed Project Strike Fighter 2, the updated version with a couple of add ons, and it appears to be a good looking cold war sim that doesn't require a long study of the manual. But I'm not totally lost to the genre.

Hugely OT, I know...

[Nokose]

I watched on "Netflix" the Russian war movie "9th Company"(in letter box) based on a real event from the Russian withdrawal in 1989. It reminded me of Gregory Peck's movie "Pork Chop Hill" (one of my favorites) at the end with the unit being overwhelmed before help arrived (but in the 9th Company case the help seemed just as dangerous).

[Nick Beale]

There'd probably be a very long list if I thought too hard about it but two that'd definitely be on it would be "Fires Were Started" and "Went The Day Well?", both made in Britain during the war.

And I'd recommend a book, "Their Finest Hour And A Half" by Lissa Evans. This is on-topic (just) because it's a humorous novel about making a film in wartime Britain.

[Bandlaw Charlie]

Gee,
that's a hard one....I reckon the "Bridge Too Far" is top notch..I especially love the bit where Sean Connery knocks off a German through some poor Dutchman's kitchen window...that actually happened...

Can you believe that Sean was not the directors first choice to play General Roy Urquart??...Roger Moore was......and he would have been a flop at the job.....didn't even look like him.....


Oh and "Bomberboy"....looks like no one's ignoring your posts now, are they ??....

Thank your lucky stars you're not married to my Wife...she ignores me all the time!!!

[Del Davis]

Top Ten
1. 12 O'Clock High
2. Pork Chop Hill
3. Das Boot
4. Band of Brothers
5. The Pacific
6. Downfall
7. Letters from Iwo Jima
8 Saving Private Ryan
9. Full Metal Jacket
10. Memphis Belle
11. The Great Escape

[Jim P.]

Nice list Del. I also like that you included 'Full Metal Jacket'. I've always much preferred that Viet Nam-era film over 'Platoon' (I think that's the title). One of my other favorites is 'The Train'.

[GMichalski]

In 2ww:
Battle of Britain
Das Boot
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Great Escape
Kelly`s Heroes
Enemy at the Gates
Stalingrad
Tora! Tora! Tora!
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regards