UKC

Dear All,
I've been enjoying the likes of Zero Dark Thirty, Lone Survivor, Green Zone, Body of Lies, Syriana, Restrepo and Captain Phillips of late. What else is there in this vein?

If you haven't seen Beneath Hill 60 (or read the book), I recommend it. Great but grim story, pertinent at the moment.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Where Eagles Dare is the only war movie you will ever need.

Broadsword calling Danny Boy.........

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Not an out n out war movie but may have most of the requirements that you desire . Original plot , reasonable acting ( comedian John Bishop was decent I thought ) but just a tad shy of the big budgets standard , yet a commendable effort from all concerned .

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/route_irish/

In reply to toad:

Got WED, and yes I agree it is TWM.

In reply to LaMentalist:

Good beta, thanks. Never heard of it, but looks good!
I think I'm into these films at the moment because of the pale, sunny cinematography.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Ice cold in Alex.
The great escape.
Casablanca.
Kelly's hero's.
Bridge on the river Kwai.
Where eagles dare.
And a modern addition. Downfall.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Bridge too Far
The Eagle has Landed
Went the Day Well

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

just watched act of valour, pretty wooden but the technology was great, lot of seal footage because the director wanted realistic, or genuine 'users'.

In reply to Murko Fuzz: "Tae Guk Gi" & "Front Line" from Korea. Both are subtitled & outstandingly good.

In reply to Gordonbp:

The Cruel Sea
Master & Commander
Das Boot
and....
The Final Countdown
youtube.com/watch?v=IdHNfpYxNWg&

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Some of my faves;

Come and see.
Paths of glory
Cross of iron
Sargent York
Theirs is the Glory
Sands of Iwo Jima

Second votes for Das Boot, Downfall and Went the day well.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
The Thin Red Line. Blew my tits/head clean off. Not just a war movie, or even a 'war movie'.

Nobody seems to have gone for Apocalypse Now, worth an afternoon if you've never seen it. Lucky bastard.

Also 'the breath' Turkish film - small team sent to defend a radio outpost high in the mountains. Incredible.

D

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Apocalypse Now Redux
Grave of the Fireflies
Jarhead
Full Metal Jacket
Dr Strangelove
Black Book
Das Boot
Untergang
The Flowers of War
War Photographer
The Coast Guard

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Blackhawk down
We were soldiers

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Was thinking only the other day about what a good film "The Thin Red Line" was, but perhaps been too much influenced by the way that UNKLE sample a lot of it in Never, Never, Land which has been on my pod a lot at the moment.

Also R-Point if you want a Vietnam War ghost story combo.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Try this...stunning

Come and see

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Savior - above all others. 1998 film about Yugoslavian conflict. The best war film I've seen.

Some decent suggestions above (some rather obvious but hey ho).
Not trying to be obscure (all of these were major releases) but try these also.


King Rat
Battleground (1949 film)
Gettysburg
Glory
Der Untergang (POW movie aka The Counterfeiters)
A Very Long Engagement (romance with First World War flashbacks)

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

This one was on Channel 5 on Sunday, so might be repeated soon,

ATTACK

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048966/

Interesting film as it tackles the subject of stress and "cowardice" from US troops in the face of combat. So soon after the war (filmed in 1956), it took a brave director to side swerve the usual gung-ho antics of Hollywood.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Quaidster alert.

D

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Platoon


Not a films as such, but Band of Brothers is excellent.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Ill Met by Moonlight
Carve Her Name with Pride
Zulu
Zulu Dawn
The Longest Day
The Cruel Sea
The One that Got Away
The Man who Never Was
Ice Cool in Alex
Paths of Glory
Full Metal Jacket

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

When I first watched Platoon I thought Hollywood nonsense. Then after reading hundreds of Vietnam memoirs you realise it's prety much true to life.
In fact many of the scenes are taken from books.

E

In reply to Murko Fuzz:



Hi mate, I can't seem to find the book related to the film Hill 60. You got any info?

Cheers,

E

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Did anyone mention saving private ryan , hurt locker ?

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Come and See - Idi I Smotri

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

apocalypse now
the deer hunter
All quiet on the western front
Paths to glory
Richard III
Das Boot
Downfall
The iron cross
Letters from Iwo Jima (or whatever the Japanese view was called)

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Bambi. Absolutely vicious.

Seriously though, another vote for Das Boot.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Longest day, bridge too far, or patton - absolute epics of films!
For modern day - Defiance, Hill 60 or downfall (all netflix i think)

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Days of Glory - About North African French troops in WW2

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Paths of glory.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Can't believe no one has suggested Guns of Navarone yet!

Also The Train with Burt Lancaster is brilliant.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Heroes of Telemark
9th Company
Bridge too far
Escape to Victory (if you like football too)

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Dam Busters
Reach for the Sky
633 SQuadron
One of our aircraft is Missing
Memphis Belle
Battle of Midway
Pearl Harbor

God. If people are allowed The Guns of Navarone and Escape to Victory, can I have Escape to Athena? FFS

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Letters from Iwo Jima

ml

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Prisoner of the Mountains. by Sergei Bodrov Jr. Set in Chechnya, very moving and watchable.

In reply to Hat Dude:


I simply couldn't get into that. Watched about 40 minutes, with best intentions, but it didn't grab me. Sell it to me (as it were). I have the DVD.

(incidentally I thought the UK title was a bit timid, the translation of the French - in context - should have been "Wogs" :-O )

In reply to cb294:



Good call - the Ian McKellen version in the alternate 1930s England, yes?




To my shame I have not yet seen it, but I thought Flags of Our Fathers was quite excellent.

Actually despite the Cage factor (he's fine in it, you know), Windtalkers whilst not a classic is worth a look. Just came to mind as it's in the same theatre of war. John Woo does WWII. Lots of squibs!

In reply to Enty:




I thought many of the scenes were taken from Oliver Stone's time serving in Vietnam, or was that a bit of hype?

In reply to HansStuttgart:






Oooh I don't know these three, I will look them up. Good calls on Black Book and Der Untergang (The Counterfeiters in the UK - I think maybe I listed it too).

I'd like to add "Barefoot Gen" (I and II), early 70s anime, autobiographical tale of the bomb on Hiroshima. Brilliant, horrific, stays with you forever.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Don't think Hamburger Hill has been mentioned yet to add to the Vietnam War options.

In reply to thermal_t:

Second vote for Hamburger hill, casualties of war is surprisingly okay as a different Vietnam film, likewise Tigerland.

In reply to Dauphin:




AND?????

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

The Trial of Tony Blair

All Quiet on the Western Front

Dunkirk

Stalingrad

The 9th Company (Russia in Afghanistan)

Night of the Generals

Lawrence of Arabia

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Inglourious Basterds

In reply to Blue Straggler:


I'd agree it's a bit muddled to start with but does get stronger as it goes on.
Interesting in that you see the war from a perspective that I wasn't particularly aware of which highlights the contribution of colonial troops and how shabbily they were treated during and after the war.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

An upcoming film I'm looking forward to is "Unbroken", the story of Louis Zamperini who incidentally died in July.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1809398/

I read the book last year and it's a great story

In reply to Dr.S at work:


Which also opens things up for Generation Kill.

In reply to wercat:




Ooh I don't know that one, will check it out. I liked "The Beast" though being from a stage play, it's rather, er, stagey Stranded Russian tank crew in Afghanistan


Great book, weak adaptation - O'Toole looked like a waxwork in this.Shame...but not really a story that lends itself to film, I'd say.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Night of the Generals

I saw it in the cinema when I was about 14, perhaps it would seem a bit dated and diluted on the small screen.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I'll put it on the list!

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Apocalypse Now
All Quiet on the Western Front
Saving Ryan's Privates
Catch 22 - first vote for this!

In reply to Dr.S at work:



Indeed it was.

I became totally immersed in the series.

To the point ,that my house was named after a prominent mountain the paratroopers ran up and down for training.

"Three miles up and three miles down".

At the time (early noughties) iit reflected how tough it was doing a self build.and working 9-5

And I liked the name.

Currahee !!

In reply to andymac:

Yurp, great series - found the pacific a disappointment however.

In reply to Dr.S at work:


Yes .

Regarding BoB;

I think 'Wild Bill' Guarnere is the only Scraming Eagle Still alive.

In reply to andymac:

If you are anywhere near Hampshire, that hill is located on Longmoor training area, it was known as the trigpoint on a military course I did there and we got totally beasted up that hill on a number of occasions. I remember when it was being filmed.

In reply to sbc_10:

Excellent nomination.
US Defence Dept refused to back it because of its portrayal of officers under fire.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067277/?ref_=nv_sr_1

In reply to Dr.S at work:
I felt sorry for the Pacific...really good but always a let down following an all time classic. No Kurosawa epics yet? Otherwise my choices for films not yet mentioned would be Spartacus or Zulu.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

One with a topical theme; Peter Watkins' brilliant "Battle of Culloden"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057982/

In reply to Offwidth:

Zulu and Zulu Dawn were cited on 9 Sept.

In reply to Offwidth:


I was surprised at that. I didn't cite any because I haven't seen them but I would have expected someone to mention some....but then which of them is actually a WAR film (with reference to my thread about how one defines such a thing)?

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

John Woo's "Red Cliff", both the "short" and the full version are as good as each other.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Kagemusha and Ran probably the best examples as I dont want to get lost in definitions ( to me war is about violent resolutions between large groups (usually nations) not just the detail of any fighting). There was a really good film about two soldiers lost post battle and trying to get home and getting caught up in matters of state in the border wastelands....cant remember what that was called though (or if he directed it)

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085218/?ref_=nv_sr_1

In reply to Blue Straggler:

The Internet is wonderful.....The Hidden Fortress.

In reply to Offwidth:

Fair enough. I think I call the fictional ones (often Eastern) "battle epics" in my subconscious
I had thought Kagemusha and Ran obvious candidates too (bearing in mind your definitions) even though I have not seen them! Nor have I seen The Hidden Fortress but somehow I knew what you were on about as soon as read "two soldiers lost"

Actually I did start watching THF but it was a bit annoying

In reply to SidharthaDongre:

Already on the thread :-P

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Good shout!

Also:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185616/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0879843/?ref_=nv_sr_1

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260991/

In reply to SidharthaDongre:

Rescue Dawn and the similarly themed Bat 21 -both more or less "true".

Also the brilliant "Tropic Thunder" - hopefully not true.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
In this vein, The Kingdom has some stunning action but the politics of it are about as subtle as those of Top Gun.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Comically annoying on purpose, like Shakespeare minor characters caught up in wider affairs.

In reply to Offwidth:

Or robots in a galaxy far, far away...

In reply to GrantM:

For the comic effect part maybe but hardly illustrating the human condition of the desperate grunt?

In reply to Enty:

Yup,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beneath-Hill-60-Will-Davies/dp/085750049X

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Kelly's Hero's. All time classic.

"Woof woof, that's my other dog impression"

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

And l can't beleive that no one's mentioned the Battle of Britain yet.

In reply to lucas95:

Amazing for the number of genuine WWII aircraft involved. I read a book about it at the time - was the story of the making of the film interleaved with a narrative of the real Battle of Britain itself. IIRC they got hold of many many genuine Me109s and He111s that the Spanish airforce was ready to dispose of.

In reply to lucas95:

Apologies,
just looked up the details and I see they were actually Spanish built derivatives of the Me109 and Heinkels

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Heartbreak Ridge - with a very cool but aging Clint Eastwood

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Restrepo has 2 sequals
Korengal and The Hornets Nest

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Bravo Two Zero. My favourite. It's a true story and realistically done.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

I won't duplicate what other s have said but these two would get my vote:

Generation War - Our mother, our father - Recent TV mini series - I think it was made by someone involved with Downfall.

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

PS: Don't mix up Stalingrad (1993), from the maker of Das Boat with the recent (2013) Russian hollywooded movie of the same the same title. I enjoyed both but for very different reasons - 1993 is a very gritty & realistic portrayal of men at the front, the latter is a good take your brain out action movie.

In reply to PanzerHanzler:



Which "maker" of "Das Boat"(*) was involved with Stalingrad (1993)? Wolfgang Petersen has no connection to it.


* you remind me of when the Radio Times tried to be a bit international but made a poor compromise and billed it as "The Boot"

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
Unless it has already been mentioned, Generation War is excellent. The German version of Band of Brithers looking at WW2 from their perspective. very good.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:
I could be wrong but I remember 'The Beast' being very good. I'd also vote for Attack! as being ahead of its time. Must also mention from, I think,the same year (1949?) 12 o'clock high. For documentary films I'd offer the original Memphis Belle, The True Glory and Report from the Aleutians. Theirs is the glory is a rare hybrid documentary/reconstruction of the Battle of Arnhem which is worth seeking out.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Probabaly not the kind of war you had in mind, but to the many excellent suggestions above I'd add Ken Loach's 'Land and Freedom' and 'Wind that Shakes the Barley'.
Also Chinese civil war epic The Assembly (that's Communists v Kuomintang, so not swords 'n' samurai)

In reply to ripper:

I thought Land and Freedom was dreadful. As some wag put it, it was like having Ken Loach batter you over the head with a big left-wing frying pan for two hours (I know that could be applied to most of his films, but Land and Freedom in particular seemed awfully one-sided which surprised me)

I didn't see The Wind That Shakes the Barley

In reply to Blue Straggler:

True, Land and Freedom is very one-sided (and not just lefty, but a fairly narrow band of leftiness), but I still enjoyed it. The Irish one was better, IIRC, although to be fair it's a while since I saw either.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

Brian De Palma's little-seen "Redacted" is worth a look. Imagine Casualties of War but less dramatised, with no recognisable stars, set in Iraq, filmed in a cinema-verité style, and edgier.

In reply to Murko Fuzz:

On Utube the other night ,prior to seeing whatever random music I was looking for ,the ad was for a New Brad Pitt film about a US armoured unit (Shermans ) in WW2 Europe.

Looked like a decent film ,similar to Saving PR.

In reply to andymac:

Fury