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The Essential World War Films

pauljeremiah

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
Was chatting in another post with jufonuk jufonuk about films based on both World Wars, and I decided to do a list of what I think are the essential films/limited series worth checking out.

The list is in release order as I fucking hate ranked lists.

 
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kruis

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
The Thin Red Line is massively overrated. It was intended to tell the story of the book, but Malick couldn't help himself and cut out most of the plot and inserted neverending poetic musings. If you're a fan of war movies, give that one a miss.
 
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Sidney Prescott

Sidney Prescott

Member
Awesome list, I haven't seen a lot of these. I think my favourite in recent memory was Hacksaw Ridge, it also made me boot up Battlefield and play a Medic right after.
 
Jaybe

Jaybe

Member
Put War Sailor (2022) on your ’to watch’ list for when it is released to cinemas or a streaming service.
Jaybe said:
War Sailor (4.5/5)

Incredibly well acted story of Norwegian men who join a shipping company and depart months before WW2 breaks out. The horrors of war on those involved and back home are brought to life. Hopefully, this gets more attention.

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Batiman

Batiman

Banned
I think Fury should is worthy enough to be in that list. Probably the best war movie I’ve seen on the last 10-15 years. I really didn’t like Dunkirk and hacksaw ridge.

Band of brothers still the goat. Even though it’s not a movie. Best experience overall. Watched through it probably 3 times
 
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jufonuk

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Denzel Washington GIF
 
IDKFA

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Happy to see Downfall and Come and See on the list.

One I was surprised not to make the list was the 2014 Polish film Warsaw 44. Not the best WW2 film by a long shot, but it has some incredible and brutal battle scenes that make it worthy of this list.
 
Men_in_Boxes

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I'll second Midway. Might be my favorite modern war movie since...Thin Red Line. I'd have to watch Letters from Iwo Jima and Dunkirk again to make sure.
 
pauljeremiah

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
Batiman said:
I think Fury should is worthy enough to be in that list. Probably the best war movie I’ve seen on the last 10-15 years. I really didn’t like Dunkirk and hacksaw ridge.

Band of brothers still the goat. Even though it’s not a movie. Best experience overall. Watched through it probably 3 times
Click to expand...
I honestly forgot to add Fury. Will do so when I get back home later
 
StreetsofBeige

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Batiman said:
I think Fury should is worthy enough to be in that list. Probably the best war movie I’ve seen on the last 10-15 years. I really didn’t like Dunkirk and hacksaw ridge.

Band of brothers still the goat. Even though it’s not a movie. Best experience overall. Watched through it probably 3 times
Click to expand...
Band of Brothers is awesome. I've watched it twice. Wasnt a fan of The Pacific. Didnt even finish it. I bailed at episode 4 or 5 and thought it was boring as hell.
 
Batiman

Batiman

Banned
StreetsofBeige said:
Band of Brothers is awesome. I've watched it twice. Wasnt a fan of The Pacific. Didnt even finish it. I bailed at episode 4 or 5 and thought it was boring as hell.
Click to expand...
Ya after all these years I’ve just watched The pacific last year. I struggled to finish it but I did. It was boring and I put most of the blame on just a boring cast. The two mains were just not fun to watch. Kid from Jurassic park and blond guy from Iron man 3
 
FunkMiller

FunkMiller

Gold Member
Saving Private Ryan remains the single greatest depiction of WW2 ever made. Closely followed by Band Of Brothers. Still both phenomenal pieces of work.
 
Ballthyrm

Ballthyrm

Member
FunkMiller said:
Saving Private Ryan remains the single greatest depiction of WW2 ever made. Closely followed by Band Of Brothers. Still both phenomenal pieces of work.
Click to expand...

It's come and see for me or maybe Grave of the Fireflies. Both capture apocalyptic themes that saving private Ryan and Band of Brothers can't quite capture.
The psychological horror you get from watching these movies add context you can't quite get otherwise.

As for OP list, It quite good, and I like having something like that than I get back to.
Sad to see that Tora! Tora! Tora! didn't make it though as it is the best Pearl Harbor movie.
 
pauljeremiah

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
Ballthyrm said:
It's come and see for me or maybe Grave of the Fireflies. Both capture apocalyptic themes that saving private Ryan and Band of Brothers can't quite capture.
The psychological horror you get from watching these movies add context you can't quite get otherwise.

As for OP list, It quite good, and I like having something like that than I get back to.
Sad to see that Tora! Tora! Tora! didn't make it though as it is the best Pearl Harbor movie.
Click to expand...
I will add that to the list on Letterboxd
 
AJUMP23

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Gettysburg is a good film about that single battle in the Civil War. It is long, but overall a good and interesting film about the battle that finished it for the south.


Edit: Sorry I read war films and not world war. 😐
 
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EviLore

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Well done. Nice to see Army of Shadows in there as well as many other non-obvious classics.

If you haven't seen it, check out Soldier of Orange. Early Verhoeven from the '70s, WW2 adventure epic, quite good.
 
hollams

hollams

Gold Member
To Hell and Back. Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. It's one of my favorite movies.
 
Happosai

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
pauljeremiah said:
Was chatting in another post with jufonuk jufonuk about films based on both World Wars, and I decided to do a list of what I think are the essential films/limited series worth checking out.

The list is in release order as I fucking hate ranked lists.

Click to expand...
Always liked Memphis Belle.

A couple ones that didn't make it in:
- Men Behind the Sun (not for the faint of heart)
- Barefoot Gen

Both exaggerste the truth a bit and MBHTS was pretty contraversial making some portions debatable.

A good one from a survivor:

- The Hiding Place: The Story of Torrey Van Boome
 
DKehoe

DKehoe

Member
kruis said:
The Thin Red Line is massively overrated. It was intended to tell the story of the book, but Malick couldn't help himself and cut out most of the plot and inserted neverending poetic musings. If you're a fan of war movies, give that one a miss.
Click to expand...
I've actually never seen it. But I remember reading that Adrian Brody had thought he was the lead and only found out he had been cut down to a minor role when he saw it at the premiere.
 
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01011001

01011001

Banned
Hitler: The Rise of Evil (I just like Robert Carlyle a lot... but it was a good film (2 parter) too)
Der Untergang (Downfall) is overall the better movie tho of course
 
pauljeremiah

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
DKehoe said:
I've actually never seen it. But I remember reading that Adrian Brody had thought he was the lead and only found out he had been cut down to a minor role when he saw it at the premiere.
Click to expand...
Also actors like Kevin Costner, Johnny Depp and Mickey Rourke filmed scenes for the film that ended up on the cutting room floor.
 
Ionian

Ionian

Member
01011001 said:
Hitler: The Rise of Evil (I just like Robert Carlyle a lot... but it was a good film (2 parter) too)
Der Untergang (Downfall) is overall the better movie tho of course
Click to expand...

Funny story, was my mothers birthday. I sent my father downfall, just because it was awesome.

She thought a Hitler film was her gift.

Very very unhappy. She wanted pastel paints.
 
kruis

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
DKehoe said:
I've actually never seen it. But I remember reading that Adrian Brody had thought he was the lead and only found out he had been cut down to a minor role when he saw it at the premiere.
Click to expand...

There quite a number of actors whose work was never seen.

But Malick never got past pre-production of a project until producer Bobby Geisler hired him to write and direct an adaptation of James Jones' World War II novel The Thin Red Line. Malick began working on the film in 1989, and it would be another nine years before the finished product was released.

During the production, many actors approached Malick about starring in the film. He reportedly met with people like Nicholas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Josh Hartnett about starring in his movie. Although many people who were considered were not cast, Malick still built a very large ensemble for his film.

After he completed shooting in the Pacific, Malick and his editors were tasked with whittling the reported million feet of footage shot down to a feature-length movie. The editor's first cut ran five hours. Malick at first refused to watch it, knowing full well that Fox, who distributed the film, would never release it. However, he was forced to do so after the editors threatened to quit. He sat with the editors and selected which footage to use[1]Malick wanted to put out a much longer cut that featured more scenes with the Guadalcanal native, but the studio demanded the final film run three hours or less and include as much battle footage as possible. The final cut runs two hours and 51 minutes.

As a result of the editing, many actors had their roles cut completely. Bill Pullman, Mickey Rourke, Viggo Mortensen, and Gary Oldman all shot scenes for the film but are not in the final cut. Billy Bob Thornton recorded three hours of narration that was not used. George Clooney and John Travolta had much larger roles, but their final screen time only lasts a few minutes.

Probably the most reduced role was that of Adrian Brody, who played Corporal Fife. In the script, his role was advertised as the lead and had the most dialogue. Brody thought that the role would provide him with his big break. However, in the final version, Broday only has one line of dialogue and is barely on screen at all. Brody was upset with the change, saying, ""I was so focused and professional, I gave everything to it, and then to not receive everything ... in terms of witnessing my own work."[2]

Bill Pullman, Viggo Mortensen, Gary Oldman, Jason Patric, Martin Sheen, Mickey Rourke, and Billy Bob Thornton all are mentioned in the film's credits under "special thanks." However, with the exception of Rourke, none of the footage they shot for the film has ever been released.
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Artoris

Artoris

Gold Member
1944 is quite good

Watch 1944 | Prime Video

In the year 1944, Estonia faces advances from both the Russian Red Army and Nazi forces. Families are torn apart across enemy lines and soldiers are forced to make difficult choices to preserve a small nation caught in the middle of a global war. Estonia's Official Submission for the Academy Awards
www.amazon.com
 
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