What is the best War Film you have ever watched?

Mods can we have a poll please?

Saving Private Ryan
Black Hawk Down
Full Metal Jacket
Apocalypse Now
The Deer Hunter
Platoon
Schindler's List
The Great Escape
A Bridge Too Far
Other (Please mention)

Loved battle of the bulge, but for modern films it has to be Saving Private Ryan.

Oo i do like...... balls i think it was called "windtalkers" and the last solidier is good too

Was that the one when the yanks used indians for thier codes mags.

Was that the one when the yanks used indians for thier codes mags.

Think so, i remember the fire bit it was fantastic

A Bridge Too Far

I'm not passinng judgement 'til I've seen Apocolypse Now!

Heard good things but at the minute it'd be The Deer Hunter!

Great Escape easily, possibly the greatest film ever.

Just fantastic from start to finish.

Don't have time as I'm off to work, but other films could include Hamburger Hill, We Were Soldiers and Windtalkers as Mag mentioned... I do enjoy a good war film and own a fair few, haven't voted yet but I'm leaning towards Platoon.

Just a shame we can't include the Band Of Brothers series as it's not a film outright. That was fantastic!

I've voted Platoon, because I thought it was slightly better than Saving Pvt Ryan and Full Metal Jacket but I still got to watch Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. Black Hawk Down is good but it doesn't compete with these classics.

Still may change my vote, but right now it's Platoon.

Band of brothers is great series Ayrton , got the box set. (only £19.99 in HMV) And i would have voted for it if was a film.

Apocalypse Now for me but Platoon was a very close second!

Band of brothers is great series Ayrton , got the box set. (only £19.99 in HMV) And i would have voted for it if was a film.

It's true it's one of the best series I've ever seen, and like some of the very best war films it's based on true events. It's also interesting to note that it's about the 101st Airborne Division, which is the same section of soldiers fighting in Hamburger Hill (also a true story).

Saving Private Ryan is a very close second for me behind Platoon. It's the only war film I've seen at the cinema, and you can't really compare that to watching it on TV, even if I have the DVD. The sheer scale of the screen and volume of the combat, combined with the speakers all around you, make it very realistic! Obviously I'm talking mainly about the storming of the beaches at the beginning of the film, where my eyes were riveted to the screen, and I don't think I blinked for about half an hour! Utterly amazing, if very shocking, stuff. It's the one time I've ever seen people applaud at the end of the film too, it was surprising, but a testament to the director (Spielberg) and the men in whose memory the film was made.

Platoon edged it, because it goes deeper into the psychology of warfare, and the trauma that it causes each man who fights. The Second World War was a true case of good versus evil, and the men fighting knew they were doing so for the very freedom of humanity. However, the men who fought in Vietnam (and perhaps the Gulf War later) were less sure of their morals and why they were there. As such, the air of confusion and hatred of both the enemy and themselves for what they were doing was well captured by Oliver Stone. The story is also based vaguely on Stone's tour of duty in Vietnam. Plus the scene where Dafoe and the others are stoned out of their minds (for real too! ) is hilarious!

I have most of the list on DVD, I forgot to mention Stalingrad too with Jude Law, another good film. I agree Black Hawk Down is excellent too, though it's a little too technical and less "human" for me, though I still loved it.

The list is endless Ayrton . I like the old black and white one ie- The Sands of Iwo Jima etc.

No-one mentioned Pearl Harbour? :

Is Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings included?

  Best bit in pearl harbour is when the yank said - I think world war two has just started , what were we doing , playing tiddly winks.

Apocalypse Now for me but Platoon was a very close second!

I've also got Apocalypse but still need to watch it. Same with The Deer Hunter. Heard good things about these two films though. Both Vietnam war which is way more interesting than this current Afghan war.

Escape to Victory is a boss film about P.O.W's.

Colditz is a great old fashioned British comedy about the war.

Dad's Army the film is funny throughout and one of Britain's best comedy sitcoms.

Dirty Dozen (origional) is a cracking war film as well.

Kelly's Heroes is good but not one me faves.

Very Important Person is another British classic comedy about the war.

The list is endless Ayrton . I like the old black and white one ie- The Sands of Iwo Jima etc.

I must agree with Gareth G wholeheartedly !
The sands of Iwo Jima is a Classsic but with no insult to our younger members the only people with a true view of this question has to be people nearer to 50 who will have seen the old Black and White Films as well. !
My kids who are 29,26 & 21 won´t watch B/W films as they´re "old biddy" films !
there are far too many to list them all and ones you will have forgotten but here are just a few !
633 Squadron,  Bridge on the River Kwai,  Desert Rats,  Kellys Hero´s,  the Halls of Montezuma,  the Longest Day,  Von Ryans Express,  Behind Enemy Lines ,  The Dambusters,  One of our Aircraft is Missing,  Back to Bataan,  Flying Leathernecks,  From Here to Eternity,  El Alemein,  Desert Fox,   Above us the Waves,  The Colditz Story,  To Hell and Back,  The Battle of the River Plate,  A Town Like Alice,  D-Day the Sixth of June,  Dunkirk,   Carve her name with Pride,  Ice Cold in Alex,  Run Silent Run Deep,  The Guns of Navarone,  The Longest Day,  Where Eagles Dare,  The Battle of Britain,  Mosquito Squadron,  Tora ! Tora ! Tora !,  Raid on Rommel.
out of the ones on the list I remember Saving Private Ryan as one that stand out so that gets my vote !

Escape to Victory is a boss film about P.O.W's.

Indeed! Haven't seen that for years.

Torn between Platoon and Apocalypse Now in the vote.

What about Commando? One of the best comedy characters of all time was in that - Vernon Wells.

I'm gonna kill you John!!!!!!!!!



 

Custa's Last Stand. Not your usual war film of the world wars but the yanks against the native americans. Still a boss film, like most of those sort of films.

What about Commando?

What a crap film that was!

Forgot to mention - great thread Rafa La Bamba!

The Longest Day , forgot about that one Frizzby. Now that's a brilliant film , just look at the star cast. John Wayne, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Rod Steiger, Robert Mitchum , Peter Lawford , Robert Wagner. no wonder it was the most expensive black and white film to be made, that is until they made Schindler's List. Not just a brilliant film but an all time classic.

What a crap film that was!

Don't dis Commando! How you can dismiss one man taking on a whole army to save his daughter and succeeding, is beyond me! 

Isn´t Commando the one where the car goes on its side and slides for half a mile before being pushed back over and driven away with no damage to that side of the car whatsoever !

Schindler's List is a great movie. Watched it in History and was captivatd by it. The message, images and recounts are amazing.

Also another one about slavery i saw. Amistad i think it was called. Brilliant movie.

My sister has got the film Schindler's List, am tempted to watch it soon but I've only got one more war movie of my own to watch first and that is Apocalypse Now. Heard brilliant reviews on it, may watch it tonight.

Last night I watched The Deer Hunter. It has some very intense moments, like when they are playing Russian Roulette. Robert De Niro is the main character, I'd advise you to buy this film as it's only £5 from play.com or £6 from HMV.

Full Metal Jacket is another classic. It has two halfs. The first when they are in the boot camp and the 2nd when they are trained Marine Corps out in Vietnam. It's very funny film!

I ve only seen Saving Private Ryan once, but what a film, another good one was with Jude Law an a sniper? Can't think of the name off the top of my head.

Got it "Enemy at the Gates"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215750/

One of Jude Law's better films that Redpuppy!

Love Kelly Heroes - Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas are good in it as is comedian Don Rickles who is crapgame, but Donald Sutherland steals that film by a country mile as the loony Oddball

Agree with a lot of posters with some of the films they have mentioned, including the impressive Windtalkers, Saving Private Ryan, Bridge on the River Kwai, The Dambusters, Where Eagles Dare, The Battle of Britain (another one I forgot about til I saw Frizzby's post, so many films I saw as a kid, I've actually forgotten a few of them now!

Agree with some of the posts about Band of Brothers too, got the DVD box-set - utterly Brilliant, also impressive are the extras including the interviews with the surviving members of Easy Company.

Just for RedKenny

"Hey ladies, wanna see me go kick some ass!"

"He's one Huge Muthafucker"

"This is my weaker arm Sally!"

"You know when I said I was going to kill you last Sally!
"Yes you did"
"I Lied!"

"I was a Green Beret"
 "I eat Green Beret's for breakfast"
 "You guys eat too much red meat!"

"Let's go shopping!"

"She's got something for us?"
 "Oh sh*t!"

"I read the instructions!"

"How will I know your call sign?"
"Cos all F***ing hells going to break loose!"

"I'm not going to shoot you between the eyes John, I'm gonna shoot you between the balls"
 "Let off some steam Bennett!"

"You left anything for us John?"
"No, just bodies"

"All I would say is, you're coming back"
"NO CHANCE!"

You gotta to love Commando. As a kid I always thought Commando would have had Rambo in a straightner!

 

"I'm not going to shoot you between the eyes John, I'm gonna shoot you between the balls"
 "Let off some steam Bennett!"

 

Cheese beyond belief!

For those who loved Band Of Brothers, a sequel is currently being filmed, and will be aired next year in the USA. Whilst not following any of the characters from the original, the series will be produced again by Spielberg and Hanks, and be in the same style.

Called The Pacific, more details are here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacific_(miniseries)

The thin red line, good war movie I think it is a Oliver Stone flick.
Deer Hunter is messed up big time but love the way they get out of the POW camp!!!
Jarhead is good too.
Which is the one with the line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"

Apocalypse Now, one of the greatest war scenes ever!

Ride of the Valkyries blasting out

Robert Duvall is boss!

Apocalypse Now "The scene, famous for its use of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries," ends with the soldiers surfing the barely claimed beach amidst skirmishes between infantry and VC. After helicopters swoop over the village and demolish all visible signs of resistance, a giant napalm strike in the nearby jungle dramatically marks the climax of the battle. Kilgore exults to Willard, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", which he says smells "like...victory" as he recalls a battle in which a hill was bombarded with napalm for over twelve hours."

I'm not passinng judgement 'til I've seen Apocolypse Now!

Don't bother over rated sh*te 3hrs of my life I'd like back please!

Uprising ( about the warsaw ghetto)
Full Metal Jacket
Bridge To Far
Land & Freedom (Spanish civil war)

Did enjoy a Band Of Brothers

Just fresh from watching another war movie in history called, 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Not the newest movie but it shows exactly what they went through; disease, death etc. Great factual movie if thats what you like. I know i certainly enjoyed it.

PS: Its not one of those school educational films entirely.

Band of Brothers, even though it technically is a mini-series

I`ve voted for Apocalypse now........and on second place definetly The Deer Hunter,but there are a lot more war films,I do like,
for instance,The Grey Zone,and to me one of the best:The Pianist!


also::

-Casulties of War
-Anne Frank the whole story

633 Squadron, one of my favourites on ITV4 now !

Sink the Bismarck.

This morning.

Boss.

enemy at the gates is a modern classic.... concentrating on the border between russian ad germany.... the siege of stalingrad...and it mainly concentrates on snipers....absolutly brill war film

The Great Escape. Still is and always will be the best war film in my opinion.

Don't care if I've already posted pretty much the same thing in here. It deserves mentionin again.

The Iron Cross another great film .

Forgot Zulu & Dambusters

Dizzy absolute tremendous shout there for Zulu, got it on DVD as well!!

Rorke's Drift and all that

Dizzy: great call for Zulu, what a classic film.

Although not a film outright, I loved the "Sharpe" series with Sean Bean, that was wicked! Real gung-ho stuff, with Sharpe being the officer who rises through the ranks, detested by all the upper class tossers who thought he didn't deserve it. I loved the adventures of him and his gritty band of mis-fits!

There were some beauties, don't remember them all off the top of my head, but Sharpe's Eagle and Sharpe's Honour were great! Could always rely on him to shag a bit of French totty, shoot her abusive husband, and survive against all the odds against Napoleon's troops!

Here are some more that haven't been given a mention  (most I own)

Battle Of Britain
Casablanca
Eagle Has Landed
Hart's War
Hunt For Eagle One
Ice Cold In Alex
Master & Commander
Memphis Belle
Massacare In Rome
Salvador
Tora Tora Tora
We Are Soldiers
The Malta Story

Windtalkers is one of my faves but there are so many to choose from.

"Brothehood of War" is very good film for me,was so sad after it.

Letters from iwo jima was great but for a classic then its either Where Eagles Dare or The Great Escape

Great Escape for me,read the book its even better

we were soldiers,

What a film and true as well

we were soldiers,

What a film and true as well

Agree, cracking film!

Read some bad reviews of it online, but I found it an excellent film. Not only based on true events, but shows the courage and brotherhood that bonds soldiers on the front line, and the heartache of the families who lose their sons and husbands on the field of battle.

I suppose some people don't think it was political enough for a film set during the Vietnam war.  :

A movie that I thought was better than black hawk down is Tears of the Sun.

Patton
Longest Day
Bridge to Far
Platoon
Downfall
Desert Fox
Resistance..(2008)
Victory
Great Escape
Midway

Please don't include "Pearl Harbor" in any debate about Good WW2 movies.... ...That movie was a disgrace.

Band of Brothers....really a "mini series" but THE "BEST" WW2 Film made.

Does small soldiers count 
For me it's the great escape.
What a film 

Band of Brothers....really a "mini series" but THE "BEST" WW2 Film made.

Absolute classic that, got that on DVD, the interviews with some of the survivors of easy company are something else as well.

Absolute classic that, got that on DVD, the interviews with some of the survivors of easy company are something else as well.

Historically, the BEST WW2 film. These kids, 18,19,20 year olds..Jumped into France on D-day, jumped into Holland for "Market Garden", took huge losses at Carentain, Held off the Germans at Bastogne, crossed the Rhine into Germany, Liberated Landsburg concentration camp, and captured Hitlers HQ at Berchetsgaden...Christ' you could'nt make up a better story.

Full metal jacket - i could watch the first half with the cool sergeant major all day

Zulu - Any film with a character called Gonville Bromhead (michael caine) has to be worth watching

The Dam Busters - bombs that bounce ! and its all true - great stuff

Kelly's Heroes!!! 

I'm quite obsessed with war movies and military history and one of the best films I've ever seen is Escape From Sobibor.

But my all time favourite isn't a film, it's the tv serial Band Of Brothers. Both the book and the tv serial are amazing.

How does Schindler's List only have 2 votes now I have voted for it.

Oozes class. Spine-Chilling.

I suppose people must prefer action instead...

Doesn't anyone think Saving Private Ryan was slightly spoilt at the end when he saluted at the grave. Cheese to the max.

How does Schindler's List only have 2 votes now I have voted for it.

Oozes class. Spine-Chilling.

I suppose people must prefer action instead...

So did i! I loved it.

For me it has to be Apocalypse Now by a country mile. It's got depth, action and even comedy seeping out of every gritty pore. Yeah the older "classics" were great but Apocalypse Now changed the over-sanitised, Hollywood imagery of war for ever.

"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning: it smells like victory." .......class! 

Can't choose between Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List.

For me it has to be Apocalypse Now by a country mile. It's got depth, action and even comedy seeping out of every gritty pore. Yeah the older "classics" were great but Apocalypse Now changed the over-sanitised, Hollywood imagery of war for ever.

"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning: it smells like victory." .......class! 

overlong overrated unadulterated sh*te!!!  that saying is the best thing about that film

Voted Schindler's List.

overlong overrated unadulterated sh*te!!!  that saying is the best thing about that film

Ouch! That's me told off then.

overlong overrated unadulterated sh*te!!!  that saying is the best thing about that film

You've got to be a wind up mate,the film is to borrow one of your adjectives ,unadulterated quality which received more accolades from critics and Joe Public than any war movie made,veterans of the conflict even acknowledge its authenticity and honest portrayal of events.From your comments you sound like a Sylvester Stallone fan,nothing whatever wrong with that but a lot of people would describe Rocky in the same way as you depict Apocalypse Now.

As Far As I'm Concerned:
Im Westen nichts Neues
Schindler's List
The Dirty Dozen
The Longest Day
The 50 Hours of The Death (sorry , I know only in Hunagarian This Title-and translated it..)

Battele of The Bulge - This is The Title of The Movie, which was teranslated "The 50 Hours of The Death".

Escape to Victory for me.

You've got to be a wind up mate,the film is to borrow one of your adjectives ,unadulterated quality which received more accolades from critics and Joe Public than any war movie made,veterans of the conflict even acknowledge its authenticity and honest portrayal of events.From your comments you sound like a Sylvester Stallone fan,nothing whatever wrong with that but a lot of people would describe Rocky in the same way as you depict Apocalypse Now.

I have to agree with you Stuey. Apocalypse Now is a bloody classic, and I also agree that there are very differing opinions about that film and also Rocky. I think they are both seminal movies that both pack quite a punch (pardon the pun!)

I voted for Saving Private Ryan  because the action scenes were gripping, and the jaw-dropping landing at the beginning defy words. The courage that the soldiers had to show entering that barrage can never be understated.
I don't know if Braveheart counts, but that had a similar effect on me watching it in the cinema, where you do get lost in the battle. It's the only true form to view them and fully appreciate what went on.

Schindler's List was also extremely moving. Chilling at times. Two Spielberg gems.

Really surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet, 'The Pianist', it has to be the best war movie I have seen. Ofcourse 'Band of Brothers' is really great too, but thankfully its a mini series so I don't have to ponder on which I like most. Also not mentioned yet, 'Hotel Rwanda', great movie.

What about MASH? Not a typical war movie (a "satirical dark comedy", like wikipedia defines), but I love it. Hilarious.

Agree, cracking film!

Read some bad reviews of it online, but I found it an excellent film. Not only based on true events, but shows the courage and brotherhood that bonds soldiers on the front line, and the heartache of the families who lose their sons and husbands on the field of battle.

I suppose some people don't think it was political enough for a film set during the Vietnam war.  :

That movie captured the feel and mood at the time of that battle to a tee. I read reviews slamming it to, and i was shocked at the ineptitude of some reviewers not knowing their history. They complained it didn't capture the hopelessness of the Vietnam war as in a Platoon type feel.. hello, this was the first battle of the war!! : At that time these soldiers went in with that fresh hopeful outlook any new soldier in those days did. They hadn't heard any bad media before, all they had seen was John Wayne films all gung ho about world war II. Brilliant film IMO, and very hard to watch in parts to. The bit where they pick up the asian lad who has been burnt by napalm gets me every time. Sad stuff.
For me, im a big fan of Black Hawk Down. Don't ask me why, but the hard hitting of that film just really got me in. And i have done a bit of history research when in high school on the whole thing and i just really enjoy it as a film. As far as the event itself goes, a tragedy. Cannot believe how under-prepared they went in. Then after that Clinton just decided to pack up and leave. So much for the mission there :

What about All Quiet On The Western Front truly a classic

Really surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet, 'The Pianist', it has to be the best war movie I have seen.

This is a movie I always wanted to watch but for some reason I never did untill today. I like war movies, dramas, pianos and I'm a big fan of both Adrien Brody and Roman Polanski. There was no way in the world this could be bad, but it was even better than I could imagine. Really sad and brilliantly told story.