Best Recent War Film

[PeruvianSkies]

What is your favorite post-1990 War Film? Most war pictures prior to this are now classics, so what film do you think will be the next war classic???

[jrhymeammo]

Strongly recommned;

Letters from Iwo Jima. I had no idea that Clint Eastwood and Spielberg produced this film. I did notice a bit of Spielberg like scenes, but never considered it. I hope it's captioned instead of voiceover. A great film.

I voted for The Thin Red Line. One of my favorite movies of all time, and I dont really like War flicks.


J-Murda

[bobsticks]

I'd say tha Saving Private Ryan will probably be the next "classic". Crazy good sound and cinematography that translates well onto the DVD for home viewing. I probably won't ever forget seeing this in the theater and the reactions that it drew. I'd never seen a movie touch/hammer folks like that before.

That said, in my own home, I probably prefer Blackhawk Down for repeated viewing. I would imagine much of that bias comes from actually having been alive during that conflict and my general dislike for Tom Hanks. Admittedly, the film is sort of Saving Private Ryan-Lite...

[Groundbeef]

Pull out Windtalkers. That movie was awful. The actual Windtalkers were really cool. The movie ...not so much. In its place I would like to see "The Lost Battalion" It starred Rick Schroder and was about a battle in WWI where our boys hold off the Germans for several days.

In effect they help turn the war by causing the Germans to stall an advance.

Very well produced and the acting is awesome. In fact just talking about it has made me que it up on NetFlix.

[Wireworm5]

I just got 'We Were Soldiers' yesterday. Haven't watched it yet so I'll hold off my vote 'til after.
I agree 'Lost Battalion' was what I thought the best war movie I've seen. I would say it was patterned after 'Saving Private Ryan' in that it somehow makes you feel like your there at the battle, not just watching a movie.
This movie shocked me on how horrific war is (not that SPR doesn't), and I would find it difficult to watch again.

[basite]

jarhead got my vote, although it's not really a war movie like saving privat ryan where you actually see a person in the actual warfront where there is an actual war where people shoot other people, unlike in jarhead, where the only thing that was shot was a camel...

but, it really got me, to see the reality, where uncountable soldiers just are there, without actually doing something. to see how they were trained, being trained to kill, they're obsessed with it, just like a hungry dog and a fresh piece of beef...

Greetings,
Bert.

[Worf101]

The movies I'd have voted for were not on there. I'd have put "Glory" on the list as well as "The Tuskegee Airmen" and "Band of Brothers". Another superior war movie was an HBO offering called "When Trumpets Fade", good lord what a movie that was. "Windtalkers" and "Pearl" shouldn't even be on the list, both are absolute drivel, I actually preferred "The Great Raid" to both. I actually voted for "Enemy at the Gates". SPR is a great film and actully ushered in the era of "ultra graphic war movies" but I didn't find the story as compelling as EATG.

I'm a military historian and while Normandy was "important" to the winning of the war, the German army was 'broken" at Stalingrad, NOT Normandy. For too long the easter front has been ignored and I'm glad it was finally featured in all it's bloody stupidity and horror.

Da Worfster

[SlumpBuster]

I'm a military historian and while Normandy was "important" to the winning of the war, the German army was 'broken" at Stalingrad, NOT Normandy. For too long the easter front has been ignored and I'm glad it was finally featured in all it's bloody stupidity and horror.

Da Worfster

I remember a scene from West Wing where someone (Leo?) is barking at the Russian ambassador regarding some unilateral action by the Russians regarding nuclear proliferation and the security of Asia. When the ambasador was asked, "What gives you the right?" the abassador quitely responds "A long, cold winter in Stalingrad." The answer instantly silenced the room. That's what made that show so great. They never explained the answer. You were expected to have tuned in already having done your homework.

Windtalkers should be thrown out not because it was bad, but because it was a movie about Native Americans that starred Nick Cage ?!? What has been dubbed "The Last Samuri Syndrome."

I liked Pearl Harbor FWIW and for what it is. Call me a sissy if you want but the reaction of the nurses to the attack (marking the wounded with lipstick) always chokes me up.

The Patriot and Last of the Mohicans should also be on the list.

But in terms of overall movie magic including performances, writing, directing, photography, if there was only one war movie since 1990 (Okay cheating at 1989) that was allowed to grace my shelf: Glory.

[SlumpBuster]

Oh, and Adam "The Hebrew Hammer" Goldberg was robbed of the best supporting actor Oscar with his performance in Saving Private Ryan. His death scene should be required material in film and acting schools.

[PeruvianSkies]

WINDTALKERS has been overlooked in my opinion. Nicolas Cage is not playing a Navajo Indian in the film, neither is Tom Cruise playing a native Samurai in THE LAST SAMURAI, if you actual saw both of these films you would understand those two points. Unfortunately the list could only have 10 places and THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS just didn't seem to be closely related to the war as the others and I chose GETTYSBURG in placement for THE PATRIOT since it was such a terrible narrative.

[Groundbeef]

WINDTALKERS has been overlooked in my opinion. Nicolas Cage is not playing a Navajo Indian in the film, neither is Tom Cruise playing a native Samurai in THE LAST SAMURAI, if you actual saw both of these films you would understand those two points.

The problem with WindTalkers is the way the subject matter is handled. Rather than really explain the heroics of the Navajo, and how they fluxmexd the Japanese, it became a sort of Navajo "Rambo".

The beauty of the code was that it was not cracked during the war, and thus allowed plans to be made and distributed to the battlefield without worry of intersection and counter measures being made.

With one exception in a minor scene the difficulty of training the Navajo and the difficulties they faced was never devleoped.

It basically came down to getting the bigot to like the Indian. Not much of a movie, let alone a compelling War Film.

[SlumpBuster]

[QUOTE=PeruvianSkies]WINDTALKERS has been overlooked in my opinion. Nicolas Cage is not playing a Navajo Indian in the film, neither is Tom Cruise playing a native Samurai in THE LAST SAMURAI, if you actual saw both of these films you would understand those two points. [QUOTE]

Jeez. Sorry, Mr. Big Stuff. Didn't know I was crossing "The Windtalkers Fanboy." Maybe if you weren't so literal you would have gotten my point.

"Coming this Christmas: The Defininitive Dr. Martin Luther King Story... Starring Tom Hanks as John Kennedy, Jim Carey as Bobby Kennedy, Kevin Bacon as James Earl Ray, John Goodman as Bull Conner and some dudes you never heard of that are working for scale as King, Dick Gregory, and Jesse Jackson. You will see the story of King through the eyes of all the white guys around him that had only occassional and brief interaction. Don't miss the story you never heard by a bunch of guys who weren't there."

I did see the movies. Both movies are Euro/American centric in their need to have a white guy present to tell a story of Navajos or Japanese. Since both of these movies are rooted in fact (i.e. code talkers were real and the Samuri really were disarmed) it is a lazy convention of each to have a white guy there. It is like the story doesn't count if a white guy ain't around to document it. I watched Jet Li's Fearless this weekend (Great movie btw). There were some white guys kickin' around and they served and important function in the story but were minor in focus and screne time. If Jet Li's buddy in the movie was Val Kilmer, I would declare "Last Samuri Syndrome."

Conversely, take Glory. Their commander really was a white guy. So his presense in the movie is not a lazy convention. Although, FWIW in real life he didn't die leading charge, but survived the war.

[bobsticks]

.

"Coming this Christmas: The Defininitive Dr. Martin Luther King Story... Starring Tom Hanks as John Kennedy, Jim Carey as Bobby Kennedy, Kevin Bacon as James Earl Ray, John Goodman as Bull Conner and some dudes you never heard of that are working for scale as King, Dick Gregory, and Jesse Jackson. You will see the story of King through the eyes of all the white guys around him that had only occassional and brief interaction. Don't miss the story you never heard by a bunch of guys who weren't there.".

Brilliant

[recoveryone]

I had to put my vote for Black hawk down, the first 30min of SPR is intense, but after that the story drags on, until the last 20min. We were Soldiers is very good, I would put that number 2. But BHD is something I can relate to since I was on standby in Dec of 92 to go and was left behind to oppt out to join the police force. My record book was in Africa when I discharged that how close I was to going. Even though I was to be apart of the U.S. Marine unit that restored order before the Rangers came in it was a time for us Marines that this was Desert Storm part 2 since many had just came back from Iraq.

for the others on the list:
Pearl Harbor... if they mix parts of Tora Tora Tora with this flick it would be tops hands down
Glory.....Just painful for me to watch and how it takes hollywood to bring attention to the efforts of African Americans during a time of our history when many are taught that blacks had nothing to do in any of our conflicts. Tuskgee Airmen, Men of Honor
Enemy at the Gates.....also good, but the parts with the BOSS was odd
Windtalkers.....just missed the mark by a hair
Jarhead......What waste of flim, I was in the Corps for 8 years and never seen such a undiscipline Sta platoon and the cussing was way over the top.
Flag of our Fathers.....not what I expected, but nice history lesson

the rest on the list I have not seen or did not remember much about them.

[PeruvianSkies]

I see your point about the WHITE GUY thing, that's why John Woo (non-American or white) directed WINDTALKERS.....he was hot to trot about having the NAVAJO represented by some white guy. Now that makes so much sense. Also, THE LAST SAMURAI's impact is loss if it wasn't dealing with an ex-American officer....you see at the end of the film...if you remember...he was attacking his former allies.

[Worf101]

Brilliant

+1 there mate. Couldn't have said it any better myself. Brilliant!!!!

Da Worsfter

[Worf101]

I had to put my vote for Black hawk down, the first 30min of SPR is intense, but after that the story drags on, until the last 20min. We were Soldiers is very good, I would put that number 2. But BHD is something I can relate to since I was on standby in Dec of 92 to go and was left behind to oppt out to join the police force. My record book was in Africa when I discharged that how close I was to going. Even though I was to be apart of the U.S. Marine unit that restored order before the Rangers came in it was a time for us Marines that this was Desert Storm part 2 since many had just came back from Iraq.

for the others on the list:
Pearl Harbor... if they mix parts of Tora Tora Tora with this flick it would be tops hands down
Glory.....Just painful for me to watch and how it takes hollywood to bring attention to the efforts of African Americans during a time of our history when many are taught that blacks had nothing to do in any of our conflicts. Tuskgee Airmen, Men of Honor
Enemy at the Gates.....also good, but the parts with the BOSS was odd
Windtalkers.....just missed the mark by a hair
Jarhead......What waste of flim, I was in the Corps for 8 years and never seen such a undiscipline Sta platoon and the cussing was way over the top.
Flag of our Fathers.....not what I expected, but nice history lesson

the rest on the list I have not seen or did not remember much about them.

Good to see you back man.. I've missed ya. Seriously. Good takes by the way. And although, the Army in me breaks out in hives around Jarheads, it's good to hear from you again. Where you been keepin' yourself?

Da Worfster

[recoveryone]

Good to see you back man.. I've missed ya. Seriously. Good takes by the way. And although, the Army in me breaks out in hives around Jarheads, it's good to hear from you again. Where you been keepin' yourself?

Da Worfster

Was spending too much time playing BF2 online and after they split up the HT section it look like the threads were getting a bit stale. So over the holidays I got back to my roots, and got one of those Squeezebox's and it has cause a rebirth of the music side of me. I been downloading music for years, and as we get older it becomes more important to be able to look back. Any who, I had a Netgear Mp101 that connected RCA analog to my AVR and the performace was just so, so wirelessly and had problems getting an IP through via hardwire. And to make things worse my old Elite 26 TX started getting the no sound problem (after 6 years of great service) I went and picked up a new Elite 81TX and one of the features is this thing called a sound retriever (to make compressed music sound to CD quality), So you know us upgrade nuts as we are, I wanted to get something that would allow me to use this new feature and it had to connect digitaly to work. And that's were the Squeezebox came into play.

And not to completely highjack they thread here, I been in Stereo heaven since, from being able to listen to HD radio and my Mp3 collection is nothing short of true bliss to listen to. The AVR and this Squeezebox is a match made in heaven.

[Worf101]

Was spending too much time playing BF2 online and after they split up the HT section it look like the threads were getting a bit stale. So over the holidays I got back to my roots, and got one of those Squeezebox's and it has cause a rebirth of the music side of me. I been downloading music for years, and as we get older it becomes more important to be able to look back. Any who, I had a Netgear Mp101 that connected RCA analog to my AVR and the performace was just so, so wirelessly and had problems getting an IP through via hardwire. And to make things worse my old Elite 26 TX started getting the no sound problem (after 6 years of great service) I went and picked up a new Elite 81TX and one of the features is this thing called a sound retriever (to make compressed music sound to CD quality), So you know us upgrade nuts as we are, I wanted to get something that would allow me to use this new feature and it had to connect digitaly to work. And that's were the Squeezebox came into play.

And not to completely highjack they thread here, I been in Stereo heaven since, from being able to listen to HD radio and my Mp3 collection is nothing short of true bliss to listen to. The AVR and this Squeezebox is a match made in heaven.

No apologies necessary. Just glad to have you back AND you're playing music to boot??? Outstanding!!!

Da Worfster