War Films : Top 5 WWII movies

In no particular order:

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. Cross of Iron
3. Enemy at the Gates
4. A Bridge Too Far
5. U571

Also, Pearl Harbor, Generation War (Which I haven't seen as yet but like the preview), Murphy's War, The Eagle Has Landed, Inglorious Bastards.

Tough to narrow to five, but these are some of my favorites:

1. The Great Escape
2. Twelve o'Clock High
3. Mr. Roberts
4. Tora! Tora! Tora!
5. Stalag 17

Honorable mention: Kelly's Heroes, Bridge On The River Kwai, Von Ryan's Express, The Dirty Dozen, Operation Petticoat, The Caine Mutiny, The Longest Day, The Guns of Navarone, A Bridge Too Far, Saving Private Ryan, Midway, The Man Who Never Was, Command Decision

I know that the intention and spirit of these incessant best war movie lists is not to berate each other's picks, but U571???

seriously?

sorry, there is no way I could let that pass unremarked.

oh, jesus christ, you have also included "Pearl Harbor" ??

maybe you have a thing for stinkers so long as they are navy stinkers..??

by Generation War, do you mean "Generation Kill" or is there now a movie called that?
on the other side of the coin, you have some actually interesting less common picks such as Murphy's War...

I was just about to post the same thing U571?... really

in alphabetical order:
The Big Red One
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Longest Day
Patton
Saving Private Ryan

Why We Fight was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen -- if I'd have seen it just before being shipped off to war, I'd have gladly killed every German, Italian, and Japanese person I met.

Special mention:
Casablanca would be at the top, but I'm not sure it constitutes a war movie.

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Mr Smith: "Like the rose trampled on the ground, you took the fall"

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Casablanca would be at the top, but I'm not sure it constitutes a war movie. - PR-7

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It does for me.


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"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." - Noam Chomsky

10/10
1. Haven (2001). This is my second favorite movie. My most favorite is Alice in Wonderland (1985).
2. Rome, Open City (1945)
3. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
4. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
5. The Monuments Men (2014)

HM:

10/10
6. Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
7. Halls of Montezuma (1950)
8. Casablanca (1942)
9/10
9. The Devil's Arithmetic (1999)
10. Straight Into Darkness (2004)
8/10
11. Australia (2008)

Volker Flenske: (While torturing David) I don't know why you're doing this to yourself!

1.The Great Escape
2.The Dirty Dozen
3.Schindler's List
4.The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
5.Saving Private Ryan

Here is my top ten: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls057253942/

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Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb.

Saving private Ryan
The longest day
Das boot
The dam busters
Where Eagles dare

CROSS OF IRON
PLAY DIRTY
THE LONGEST DAY
THE CRUEL SEA
12 O'CLOCK HIGH

Bridge on the River Kwai
Young Lions
Cross of Iron
Great Escape
Thin Red Line

1. War and Remembrance

2. Das Boot

3. Apocalypse Now

4. Saving Pvt Ryan

5. Above and Beyond





'back at the saloon my tears mixed in mildew with my drink'

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1. War and Remembrance

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probably an under-rated series.

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3. Apocalypse Now - mravholt

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Did Colonel Kurtz hook up with an isolated guerilla faction that didn't know that World War Two was over?

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"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." - Noam Chomsky

1. Jungle Fighters (The Long the Short and the Tall)

2. The 49th Parallel

3. Then There Were Three

4. The Bridges at Toko Ri

5. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Just missed:
Platoon
The Bridge on the River Kwai
They Fought For Their Country






Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time

1: Saving Private Ryan
2: Sands of Iwo Jima
3: Twelve O'Clock High
4: The Dirty Dozen
5: Stalga 17

Honorable Mentions
Patton
The Fighting Seabees
Platoon
Full Metal Jacket
Sahara

One I haven't seen on any list

In Harms Way

They Were Expendable



In a world where a carpenter can be resurrected, anything is possible.

-The Horizontal Lieutenant (💓)

-A League of Their Own...based on a women's baseball team which existed during WWII and for a bit afterwards

-The Best Years of Our Lives...three soldiers returning home after WWII

-Green for Danger...a mystery set during WWII

-Hmmm...I guess I'll include Bedknobs and Broomsticks

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💕 JimHutton (1934-79) and ElleryQueen 👍

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Top 5 WWII movies - dreaddy2-982-911416

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Tough choices here, and I'll take "top 5" as my top five and not an attempt to be "objective" or "authoritative."

Even then, though, it's tough to determine my favorites. The big-ticket ones such as The Longest Day, The Great Escape, and especially The Bridge on the River Kwai (one of my desert island picks) are great but are really taken as given. Then there are the cheeky ones such as Kelly's Heroes and The Americanization of Emily. Or ones such as Casablanca or Lifeboat that are set during the war but are not standard war films.

So I'll go with ones whose themes or atmosphere still resonate with me. In reverse order.

5. The Big Red One (1980). Not really one of my top favorites, but director Samuel Fuller, who was a World War Two combat veteran, got to put into a big-budget picture the vision and attitude that informed his two modest classics from the Korean war, Fixed Bayonets! and especially The Steel Helmet.
4. Sink the Bismarck! (1960). Taut naval action interspersed with Kenneth More and Dana Wynter directing the action from London. No-nonsense, but the understated approach still works well.
3. Sahara (1943). A modest Thermopylae story that still retains force for its plainspoken approach, and for a surprisingly bold attitude toward race. Plus Bogey's speech is pretty good still.
2. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Probably the first World War Two film to deal with the impact of the war on those returning from war and those waiting for them to return. Still fresh.
1. Mister Roberts (1955). One of the best studies of the tedium and monotony that informs much of war, and one that demonstrates that the fighting isn't always on the front line. Unforgettable.

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"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." - Noam Chomsky

By Sub-genre:

Asia - Bridge on the River Kwai / King Rat

North Africa - Play Dirty / Ice Cold In Alex

Historical - A Bridge Too Far / Patton

Western Europe - The Victors / Attack

Pacific - The Thin Red Line [1998] / In Harm's Way

Naval - The Cruel Sea /The Caine Mutiny

Russian Front - Enemy At the Gates / Cross of Iron

Spy/Occupation - Casablanca / 5 Fingers



"Oh God, but I do love being king!"

I notice that somewhere in the middle of the list a poster includes All quiet on the Western Front and Platoon among their picks. Huh?!

My favourites, chronologically

Went the Day Well? (1943)
A Canterbury Tale (1944)
Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Au revoir les enfants (1987)
The thin Red Line (1998)

Others, any of which could make my list if I made it tomorrow:

Casablanca (1942)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Hope and Glory (1987)
A Midnight Clear (1992)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

THE STORY OF G.I. JOE (1945)
WENT THE DAY WELL? (1943)
THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945)
AIR FORCE (1943)
SO PROUDLY WE HAIL (1942)









I do hope he won't upset Henry...

I know there are so many to choose from, but I can't believe no one here mentioned "Battleground". And did I see "To Hell and Back" on anyone's list?

I actually read the book "To Hell And Back" which was terrific, before seeing the movie. The movie was so disappointing. It won't even be in my top 50 list.

Nice thread. I can really pick some good movies of WOII right now!

The Dirty Dozen
Cross of Iron
The Great Escape
Bridge on the River Kwai
Kelly's Heroes


The Spikeopath - Hospital Number 217

Stalag 17
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Longest Day
Ken Burns' The War

Does The Best Years of Our Lives count as a WWII movie? Also, nice to see I'm not the only one who dug Malick's Thin Red Line. I seem to remember that movie being decidedly unpopular when it came out. I always thought it was fantastic with some amazing cinematography.

1. Saving Private Ryan
2. The Train
3. The Longest Day
4. The Dirty Dozen
5. Fury

Edit: I forgot about Fury. I actually like this film and don't really understand all of the hate it gets.

1) Band of Brothers
2) Saving Private Ryan
3) Pacific
4) Ken Burns the war
5) Memphis Belle




Lawrence of Arbia, he was an English guy who came to fight the Turkish

Probably something like this

saving private ryan
letters from iwo jima
come and see
patton
das boot

hm

grave of the fireflies
bridge on the river kwai
big red one
downfall
thin red line
inglorious basterds
49th parallel

Come and See is an excellent movie - terrific choice. Have you tried The Cranes are Flying?

My top 5:

Saving Private Ryan
Das Boot
Band of Brothers (yeah, I'm cheating)
Conspiracy
Schindler's List

Honorable mention:
Sophie Scholl
A Bridge Too Far
The Longest Day
Empire of the Sun
The Best Years of our Lives

I have not seen The Cranes are Flying, its been on my watch list for a while. I have Ivans Childhood from the library and plan on watching that, then watching The Cranes are Flying. Come and See is so Haunting, I love it! Its nice to see someone else who also loves it 

Also, terrific list (BoB would also be on my list, but I'm sticking just with movies)

My personal favorite World War II movies at the moment are:

1. The Guns of Navarone
2. The Great Escape
3. Kelly's Heroes
4. Saints and Soldiers (even though I'm an atheist)
5. Farewell to the King

Honorable Mentions:

6. The Big Red One (as of right now, I prefer the original, theatrical cut)
7. Saving Private Ryan
8. FDR: American Badass!
9. Schindler's List
10. Hacksaw Ridge
11. The Longest Day
12. Castle Keep
13. A Midnight Clear
14. Hell Is for Heroes
15. Casablanca (been thinking of giving this one a big boost higher up in my personal rankings, though)
16. The Eagle Has Landed
17. Slaughterhouse-Five

1. Patton
2. Das Boot
3. Battle of Britain
4. Bridge on the River Kwai
5. Come and See (Idi i smotri)

--If they move, kill em!