Great War Films

Dr. Strangelove
Paths of Glory
Ran
Kagemusha
Bure baruta (aka Cabaret Balkan)
The Pianist
The Atomic Cafe
Nuit et brouillard (aka Night and Fog)

Glory, the best Civil War film ever.

Hell in the Pacific, with Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune is a cool movie.

The Dogs of War, starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger is a great mercenary film.

Bat 21 is an good Vietnam movie with Gene Hackman and Danny Glover. It's based on a true story.

A war movie that I really want to see is Closely Watched Trains. Anyone seen it?

But it got me an A so fuckit.

Cassavetes
Savalas
Jim Brown
Donald Sutherland
Charles Bronson
Lee Marvin
Trini Fuckin Lopez
Clint Walker

Kelly's Heroes.

I think it was a combination of my dad's interest in military history and my burgeoning distaste for the military/authority-in-general.

the German "Stalingrad" film: German soldiers go to Stalingrad. and die. unlike that Enemy At The Gates shite there is no lame-ass love affair angle in this one.

"Gettysburg": big set-piece battle film. great beards.

"Michael Collins": war as the continuation of politics by other means

"The Human Condition" (at least I think that's what it's called): Japanese soldiers against the Sovs in Manchuria. Things do not go well for the Japanese.

"Aliens": US Marines turned into mincemeat by alien communists. oh wait, someone did mention this.

"Land & Freedom": pretty good Ken Loach Spanish civil war film. interesting as an example of how you can make war films on the cheap, but sadly preoccupied with now irrelevant political issues.

"Last Of The Mohicans" (the Michael Mann version): very convincing evocation of early modern Europe styles of warfare in the colonial arena. It has some of the best battle scenes ever committed to celluloid.

"Zulu Dawn": Brits get BUTCHERED by plucky Zulus at Isandlwaha. Possibly my favourite battle ever.

"Zulu": Brits fail to get butchered by plucky Zulus. most disappointing battle ever.

Both "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Longest Day" are good tell-it-like-it-is-only-without-too-much-gore war films.

I gather there is also a good film about Leonidas and the 300 Spartans fight at Thermopylae, but I have never seen it.

does anyone know if there is a good film version of the Battle of Aduwa (plucky Ethiopians butcher Italians)? or if there are any Vietnamese made films of their victorious wars with the French and Americans?

That'd be Frank Miller's 300 -- errr, this isn't I Love Comics, huh?

anyone ever seen The Bridge at Remagen? (1969) George Segal, Ben Gazzara, only screenplay by Richard (Revolutionary Road) Yates, die by John Guillermin. Showing at Lincoln Ctr tnite.

also great in this genre:

Fires on the Plain
Bitter Victory

speaking of bridges, my personal favorite is Die Brucke or 'The Bridge' - 1959 directed by Bernhard Wicki. It's pretty devastating but great. I saw it once 10 years ago but I think about it a lot.

WWI films getting a workout at MoMA in NYC for the centennial of the Great War's start:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1490

http://www.fandor.com/keyframe/antiwar-heroes-the-cinematic-legacy-of-world-war-i

anyone ever seen 1987's Vietnam-set Hamburger Hill? screening tomw in NYC

https://quadcinema.com/film/hamburger-hill/

watching Dambusters and his dog is now called Trigger...

I mean I'm not usually in favour of rewriting old stuff (cf. the recent roald dahl controversy) but maybe it's not always bad...

it's not exactly a war movie that stands up with any of Rossilini's war trilogy, it's fucking shite!

Any recommendations re Spanish Civil War?