Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: Bumrush99
Saving Private Ryan. The story may have been cheesy but the battles left me shell shocked for a full day after watching it.
The story wasn't cheesy at all. In fact, the message the story gives was the most significant of any war movie ever made.
Yeah considering a similar event (4 brothers serving on a single ship that was destroyed), left parents with no kids, enacted one of the most important policies in WW2.
That's not the central message of the film.
It really surprises me that so many people miss it.
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: Bumrush99
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: Bumrush99
Saving Private Ryan. The story may have been cheesy but the battles left me shell shocked for a full day after watching it.
The story wasn't cheesy at all. In fact, the message the story gives was the most significant of any war movie ever made.
Yeah considering a similar event (4 brothers serving on a single ship that was destroyed), left parents with no kids, enacted one of the most important policies in WW2.
That's not the central message of the film.
It really surprises me that so many people miss it.
Never said it was the central message, I'm just saying thats what the movie was loosely based around..
But what is the central message oh wise one? :roll:
No need to roll your eyes. I'm not trying to act superior here.
The central message of SPR is that we are all Private Ryan. Ryan was just a euphemism for all of us. We all need to "earn this."
To me the central message was that war is hell. Unorganized chaos with a bunch of scared kids fighting for their lives. Upham represented the coward in all of us, a pacifist that horrors of war changed in to to a soldier. The brutality and blood in the movie which showed people getting mowed down like a Quake deathmatch battle was effective in showing the grotesque nature of war
No. Those are all peripheral messages. The story is bookended by it's central message... that of Private Ryan unsure if he has "earned this."
It's a common theme among WWII vets, my father included. They want to know what we are going to do with the freedom and security they fought and so many died for.
We are all Private Ryan. We all need to "Earn this."
Originally posted by: Flyback
Originally posted by: BornStar18
I've watched Thin Red Line once and nearly turned it off a number of times. Maybe I just didn't get it but it was one of the most boring movies I've ever seen.Originally posted by: Flyback
Thin Red Line gets my vote. Unfortunately it is often overlooked as just a name-dropping fest because it has so many damn famous actors in it.
Black Hawk Down has greatest replay value IMO. I can watch it over and over. Sunday afternoons or Friday beer nights.
I tried to like Saving Private Ryan but failed to do so. I've seen it about 5-6 times and can't find anything that truly gets me interested.
I look for dialog and story as opposed to action. Probably why I didn't give much for Saving Private Ryan (has a good story, but didn't care for the large amounts of action to carry it).
I'll admit that Black Hawk Down is all that (just action) -- but it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Its an action movie meant for beer nights with good replay value so I can appreciate it.
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: bearxor
I agree - think its sad that most of these people think SPR is the best movie ever. I love Patton, and it got my vote.Originally posted by: Fmr12B
I see now that no one on this baord watched any movies older than 2000 with all the votes for Saving Private Ryan, while good, the ones below are much better nad would implore people to expand their viewing to some older classics.
Apocalypse Now is a masterpiece.
Patton is also ridiculously good.
Apocalyspe Now got my vote.
I wouldn't be as disgusted if things like AN, FMJ and Platoon were up there as they are also excellent movies but the old saying is true here, they just don't make 'em like they used to.
Patton is a great movie, but it just does not have the message, character development and incredibly real battle scenes of SPR.
Just because people are voting SPR the best does NOT diminish many of the other greats.
Apocalypse Now is a horrid drugged out parody of a war film that does everything it can to make the common soldier look bad. Just like Jarhead, it's not just anti-war, it's anti-soldier. Written, acted and directed by anti-war activists, none who ever served. It's portrayal is pure fantasy and has very little to do with reality.
Originally posted by: maddogchen
Goddamnit, now I feel like going out and buying some of these war movie dvds i've never seen before and watching it on my dvd-rom at work.
Screw you guys, I'm going home.
I say SPR over We were soldiers because of that 20 min Omaha beach landing. that was intense and well done. I also liked Black Hawk Down but that movie was too sad. If we had the full force of the military there, M1 tanks, apache gunships, better air support, we woulda pwned them
Originally posted by: bluestrobe
SPR had way too many technical inconsistencies between reality for the time period.
Also, a French/English/German language film released last year "Joyeux Noel"--about the Christmas armistace/party that occured within No-man's land during WWI doesn't get a lot of attention. Not the greatest; but definately worth a look.
Patton is a great movie, but it just does not have the message, character development and incredibly real battle scenes of SPR.
yeah...Band of Brothers, and the Episodes involving Bastogne and the accounts of the veterans in the 506 caused me to rethink Patton--the film and the man. ...what a deuche
I'm not a military person by any stretch fo the imagination; but I've yet to meet a soldier with combat experience that is pro-war.
Originally posted by: Robor
Originally posted by: maddogchen
Goddamnit, now I feel like going out and buying some of these war movie dvds i've never seen before and watching it on my dvd-rom at work.
Screw you guys, I'm going home.
I say SPR over We were soldiers because of that 20 min Omaha beach landing. that was intense and well done. I also liked Black Hawk Down but that movie was too sad. If we had the full force of the military there, M1 tanks, apache gunships, better air support, we woulda pwned them
True but it wasn't it designed to be a grab-n-go using a smallish team on a stealthish mission?
Originally posted by: RyanSengara
I'm not sure if you should include this but..
The Hunt for Red October?
It's a toss up between..
Saving Private Ryan
Full Metal Jacket
Enemy at the Gates
We Were Soldiers
I chose saving private Ryan.
Originally posted by: GDaddy
Patton, Battle of the Buldge, Bridge To Far, We Were Soldiers, were all very good i thought.
But the best i would have to say is Gettysburg, the whole feeling to the movie, the realism, the whole epic scale of the battles, very good all the way around, did very good justice to the book.
Originally posted by: crownjules
A couple of classics not on the list:
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Guns of Navarone
Das Boot
Midway
While not a classic and not a direct portrayal of the war, except for a few scenes here and there, Downfall is a great movie too.
Originally posted by: ThePresence
Nothing (aside from SPR maybe) comes close to BHD as far as battle realism is concerned.
Originally posted by: maddogchen
Originally posted by: Robor
Originally posted by: maddogchen
Goddamnit, now I feel like going out and buying some of these war movie dvds i've never seen before and watching it on my dvd-rom at work.
Screw you guys, I'm going home.
I say SPR over We were soldiers because of that 20 min Omaha beach landing. that was intense and well done. I also liked Black Hawk Down but that movie was too sad. If we had the full force of the military there, M1 tanks, apache gunships, better air support, we woulda pwned them
True but it wasn't it designed to be a grab-n-go using a smallish team on a stealthish mission?
yeah, but the military wanted the heavy backup in case things went wrong in Somalia, which it did, but was denied by the Sec of Defense. If they had it, things woulda been different.
Originally posted by: lupi
yeah...Band of Brothers, and the Episodes involving Bastogne and the accounts of the veterans in the 506 caused me to rethink Patton--the film and the man. ...what a deuche
?
I'm not a military person by any stretch fo the imagination; but I've yet to meet a soldier with combat experience that is pro-war.
Depends on what you mean pro-war or who you've asked.
Originally posted by: GarfieldtheCat
Perhaps the OP needs to redo the poll (or start a new one) into three categories:
1. "True" historical war movies - telling a true story with minimal embellishments
2. "Historical fiction" - fake story based on a true event (like SPR)
3. Fictional movies - Totally made up stories (Top Gun)