Best war movie ever?

Discussions on naval-war movies, films and games.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Re: Best war movie ever?

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Being that the case Band of Brothers is much better than Saving Private Ryan.
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Bgile
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Re: Best war movie ever?

Post by Bgile »

Legend wrote:The closest one I can think of... is Saving Private Ryan. The only thing that I can think of that would be not true would be the the actual plot (how ironic). Besided the rescue mission, everything was super-realistic...
I agree. I espectially like the sound effects during the Normandy landing. It makes me want to scrunch down in my seat.

I'd also recommend "Cross of Iron".

Band of Brothers is excellent, but I'm not sure that qualifies as a "movie" since it's a series. In any case, one of the best WWII portrayals. But Karl, it's "Hollywood". Doesn't that rule it out for you? (not for me.)
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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Having seen Band of Brothers I am left wondering whether some parts of the plot are a little far fetched, rather like the Winds of War.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Re: Best war movie ever?

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Cross of Iron is an excelent movie. Saw it many years ago and read the even more years ago. Sam Peckinpah was the director and I think it was with Lee Marvin.
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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I don't recall seeing this. If as you say its good, I presume you were spared from Lee Marvin's efforts at ''singing'' as in Paint Your Wagon.....
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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Karl Heidenreich wrote:Cross of Iron is an excelent movie. Saw it many years ago and read the even more years ago. Sam Peckinpah was the director and I think it was with Lee Marvin.
James Coburn.
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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RF wrote:Having seen Band of Brothers I am left wondering whether some parts of the plot are a little far fetched, rather like the Winds of War.
Wasn't Winds of War fiction? This is a true story. You didn't see the interviews? If someone embellished it wouldn't have others have complained? I think these are honerable veterans, and you are calling them liars. What part do you think was embellished?
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Karl Heidenreich
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Re: Best war movie ever?

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Bgile:
James Coburn.
No kidding! I would have swear it was Lee Marvin. I always confuse them botj. But the director was Sam Peckinpah, the same one of Straw Dogs, Wild Bunch and Convoy.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Re: Best war movie ever?

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

In Band of Brothers, Chapter 4 "Replacements" you can see the 101 Division operations during the battle of Arnhem, near the Eindhoven zones. In it Easy Company tries to capture a town that´s ocuppied by the Germans. They got kicked away, even with tank support (Shermans and Cromwells) when they find a couple of German light tanks plus a Tiger which destroy all the allied armoured spearhead. It looks to me pretty honest.
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Re: Best war movie ever?

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

If we are talking about honesty in movies we can see that, also, in Band of Brothers final chapters there is a despiction on how "victorious" french soldiers are executing German prisioners. In another movie, Letters from Iwo Jima, one pivotal scene is when some marines decide to kill, cold blooded, two Japanese that had surrender.

The notion of "pristine" allied conduct is far from being real and the notion of moral high ground, so common in Hollywood movies, is not so much a fact. For example:

-July 1943 (more than a year before Malmedy): Canada´s soldiers proceed to kill German PoW.
- French Moroccan Goumiers are responsible of mass rape and murder after the battle of MonteCasino, Italy (not even against Germans)
- US did knew and let unpunished the Canically slaughter or the Chenogne (New Year´s Day) crimes
- Also the Dachau or Biscari war crimes

Not taking into account the Laconia incident, amongst others. All of these were known by allied authorities and "covered" or those responsible were never prosecuted as was Doenitz who commited the crime of giving the allies a hard time. Or "Bomber Harris"?

It would be some great material for a "Schindler List" kind of movie something like the:

- Betrayal of the Cossaks by the allies in 1945, in which the 100% of the 50,000 cossaks were casualties
- the rapes at Okinawa (at least 1,336 reported rapes in the first 10 days)
- Operation Keelhaul
etc. etc. etc.

As with a realistic Bismarck movie these are movies we will never see, ever.

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Re: Best war movie ever?

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Who would want to watch that anyway?
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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Bgile wrote:
Wasn't Winds of War fiction?
Winds of War was based on true events of WW2 using a fictional central charachter. The problem Ihave with that is that unless you have a very detailed knowledge of WW2 you cannot separate fact from fiction.
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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Karl Heidenreich wrote:In Band of Brothers, Chapter 4 "Replacements" you can see the 101 Division operations during the battle of Arnhem, near the Eindhoven zones. In it Easy Company tries to capture a town that´s ocuppied by the Germans. They got kicked away, even with tank support (Shermans and Cromwells) when they find a couple of German light tanks plus a Tiger which destroy all the allied armoured spearhead. It looks to me pretty honest.
Operation Market Garden was not primarily an American operation, the land forces involved were British, with British, Polish and US airborne forces used to try to seize the river bridges.
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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Karl Heidenreich wrote: If we are talking about honesty in movies we can see that, also, in Band of Brothers final chapters there is a despiction on how "victorious" french soldiers are executing German prisioners.
In addition to the incidents you mention there was an occasion in Alsace where Free French Army troops in November 1944 under the command of De Lattre de Tassigny were involved in the capture of Frenchman wearing German Waffen SS uniforms. These Frenchmen were legally enrolled in the German forces, were wearing regular SS uniform and fighting for Germany. They were paraded in front of the French commander, photograhed being inspected by him, and minutes later, off camera, were shot as traitors to France.
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Re: Best war movie ever?

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I also notice Karl that you failed to mention the atrocities and abuses commited in Germany by Soviet forces during 1945 and beyond the end of the war.
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