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Great WWII Films
- Thread starter mellowinman
- Start date
Could have been mentioned before but, "Die Blechtrommel" -probably has a different name is the U.S.-, a veeeerrrrrrryyyy weird film at times... Go watch it, yes you
I sat down here at work, and made a list of the WWII movies I own, that I can remember off the top of my head. Holy #&*!- there's 38 0f them! Most of them have been mentioned already, but of all of them, the ones I reach for most often (in no particular order):
-Run Silent, Run Deep
- Operation: Burma!
-Sink The Bismarck
-A Bridge Too Far
-Battle of Britain (some of the dogfight scenes were filmed over RAF Feltwell, where I was living at the time)
-Dam Busters
-Big Red One
-12 o'Clock High
-Battleground
-Battle of the Bulge
I also like "Brass Target". Strictly speaking, it's not a WWII movie since it takes place just after the war, when Patton was running the American sector of Germany. Good movie, though.
-Run Silent, Run Deep
- Operation: Burma!
-Sink The Bismarck
-A Bridge Too Far
-Battle of Britain (some of the dogfight scenes were filmed over RAF Feltwell, where I was living at the time)
-Dam Busters
-Big Red One
-12 o'Clock High
-Battleground
-Battle of the Bulge
I also like "Brass Target". Strictly speaking, it's not a WWII movie since it takes place just after the war, when Patton was running the American sector of Germany. Good movie, though.
The Tin Drum.
Good film.
It made me think of another german WWII film i like but mainly like the book cause i read it as a teen, Die Brucke or The Bridge in english. Like all WWII films its about the folly of war. The setting is towards the end of the war in a small village in germany. There's no more grown men to fight and they send teens to defend a bridge against the advancing american troops. Of course that doesn't end well. The book really made an impression on me as a teen. the movie stick close to the book but is really not quite as good. Still it won the golden globe for best foreign film in 1959 and was nominated for a best foreign film oscar the same year too. Its worth watching.
Away All Boats, aboard an attack transport ship with a Captain disappointed in not having a cruiser to command
Is there a bad WW2 film?
A little change up here... I would say that Apocalypse Now is the best war movie of all time and one of the best movies ever. What, in all y'alls opinions, are the main differences between WW2 movies and Vietnam movies? Seems like WW2 movies are all 'heroic' and 'good triumphing v. evil' and stuff whilst Vietnam movies seem to dive deeper into the human condition and futility etc.
Thoughts?
--
Das Boot
Patton
Ig Basterds
About a hundred others...
The turn started with the Korean War movies. Were the good guys were not Lone Rangers in GI uniforms. MASH was Vietnam with Korean names. After the Korean War WWII movies become more real
I’m not sure how many of you are readers, but most of the books these movies are based upon are so much better. I’ve enjoyed almost every WWII book Steven Ambrose has written. Also, “Flag for our Fathers” was a pretty mediocre flick, but the book was fantastic. There was a disappointing movie called “The Great Raid” based on the book “Ghost Soldiers”. Again, amazing book, poorly executed film.
Some of my movie fav’s that, to my knowledge, are fairly accurate:
The Battle of Britain
Tora!Tora!Tora!
The Great Escape
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
Some of my movie fav’s that, to my knowledge, are fairly accurate:
The Battle of Britain
Tora!Tora!Tora!
The Great Escape
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
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It is rarer than Martian hens teeth for any book-based movie to be better than the book.
If more people understood the constraints of adapting a book to the movie-screen, then there'd be less moaning about how "the book was so much better than the film". (No offense meant punkrocko).
Time is the big one. Most books faithfully adapted to film would require a mini-series for the story to be told.
Another example: Sometimes a book has a major plot-point assigned to a tertiary character. So in the film that weaker character has to be put in the garbage bin, no time in the film to develop that character, so who can now trigger that major plot-point? Assign to a primary or secondary character, but then the film critics all rage that "that character didn't say that, it was [insert tertiary character from the book] – and [he's/she's] not even in the film!"
I stopped comparing films to books long ago – The questions in either medium are the same: Was the story good, believable? Were the characters developed, did they have an arc? Did it maintain my interest throughout? Did it touch me emotionally and intellectually? What was the message?
If more people understood the constraints of adapting a book to the movie-screen, then there'd be less moaning about how "the book was so much better than the film". (No offense meant punkrocko).
Time is the big one. Most books faithfully adapted to film would require a mini-series for the story to be told.
Another example: Sometimes a book has a major plot-point assigned to a tertiary character. So in the film that weaker character has to be put in the garbage bin, no time in the film to develop that character, so who can now trigger that major plot-point? Assign to a primary or secondary character, but then the film critics all rage that "that character didn't say that, it was [insert tertiary character from the book] – and [he's/she's] not even in the film!"
I stopped comparing films to books long ago – The questions in either medium are the same: Was the story good, believable? Were the characters developed, did they have an arc? Did it maintain my interest throughout? Did it touch me emotionally and intellectually? What was the message?
Bob Lee (QSC)
In case you missed it, I work for QSC Audio!
- Jul 3, 2001
- 12,668
- 2,036
- 67
- Disclosures
- Former Technical Communications Developer, QSC Audio
Bob Lee (QSC)
In case you missed it, I work for QSC Audio!
- Jul 3, 2001
- 12,668
- 2,036
- 67
- Disclosures
- Former Technical Communications Developer, QSC Audio
Yeah, I think ShoeManiac mentioned it.
"The Enemy Below" with Robert Mitchum, not to be confused with pseudo-horror "Below":
"In the dark silence of the sea during World War II, the submarine U.S.S. Tiger Shark prowls on what should be a routine rescue mission. But for the shell-shocked crew, trapped together in the sub's narrow corridors and constricted spaces, this is about to become a journey into the sensory delusions, mental deceptions and runaway fear that lurk just below the surface of the ocean and deep inside the human psyche." - IMDB
Yup, that Star Trek episode is mentioned in the trivia for "The Enemy Below". I think Wrath of Kahn borrowed heavily from the final scene, too. Don't give away the ending, I'm watching it now (EB, not WoK). I like sub movies, WWII, not so much modern sub movies.
"This movie represents one of a select group of a few World War II submarine movies which have won the one single Academy Award in a technical category, that's just only the one Oscar in either special effects or sound editing. These movies include Invalid Link Removed (1943); Invalid Link Removed (1957); Invalid Link Removed (1958) and Invalid Link Removed (2000). The non-WW II sub-movie, Invalid Link Removed (1990) also won just the one Oscar as did the WW 2 part sub-movie Invalid Link Removed (1941), but for Best Original Story." - IMDB
"This movie represents one of a select group of a few World War II submarine movies which have won the one single Academy Award in a technical category, that's just only the one Oscar in either special effects or sound editing. These movies include Invalid Link Removed (1943); Invalid Link Removed (1957); Invalid Link Removed (1958) and Invalid Link Removed (2000). The non-WW II sub-movie, Invalid Link Removed (1990) also won just the one Oscar as did the WW 2 part sub-movie Invalid Link Removed (1941), but for Best Original Story." - IMDB
OT 
I read a book once that was about a WWII Tank crew caught in a tunnel (in their tank), when they finally escape the tunnel after 3 days or so, they discover the front has moved and they are now behind enemy lines and the story follows them as they try to get back to friendly turf.
Sound familiar? Know the name of the book? It's more than 30 years since I started it on a weekend vacation, but lost my copy by the end of the weekend and never got to find out how it ended. Would make a great movie, I think.
Book Title, anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?
I read a book once that was about a WWII Tank crew caught in a tunnel (in their tank), when they finally escape the tunnel after 3 days or so, they discover the front has moved and they are now behind enemy lines and the story follows them as they try to get back to friendly turf.
Sound familiar? Know the name of the book? It's more than 30 years since I started it on a weekend vacation, but lost my copy by the end of the weekend and never got to find out how it ended. Would make a great movie, I think.
Book Title, anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?
