Best modern WWII movie?

[terry.330]

I'm gonna go with Thin Red Line shit is seriously under appreciated. Cast is huge and crazy, a very personal movie as far as each character goes, plus it takes place in the pacific. Also one of the best looking movies ever made period, the Blu-Ray is out of control.

One of those movies that got overlooked when it came out then written off as pretentious but really is a gem.

I've heard a lot of people talk shit on it recently, as in I even sat thought that piece of boring shit in the theater... blah blah blah.

Thoughts, your picks etc.

[cdamm]

thin red line may be the best of the modern ones.

you gotta talk about private ryan in the same thought too, however. yes the overall story was a bit hokey, but the combat and military bits were second to none.

letters from iwo jims/flags of our fathers were both fantastic flicks that showed both sides of the war as opposed to being from the allied point of view.

I wish i could count the hbo mini series' band of brothers and the pacific in this talk, but they are not movies. I think band of brothers is the best modern portrayal of WWII in film currently- its just not a movie.

[terry.330]

I wish i could count the hbo mini series' band of brothers and the pacific in this talk, but they are not movies. I think band of brothers is the best modern portrayal of WWII in film currently- its just not a movie.

This is true both of those series are fantastic. They kept all the quality of SPR and dropped the shlock. Band of Brothers is amazing the interludes with the guys that actually lived it really push the point home without crossing the line into sap. Both great shows and some of the best original programming to ever appear on HBO.

[cdamm]

This is true both of those series are fantastic. They kept all the quality of SPR and dropped the shlock. Band of Brothers is amazing the interludes with the guys that actually lived it really push the point home without crossing the line into sap. Both great shows and some of the best original programming to ever appear on HBO.

thats exactly my thought on those series'.

as far as movies (and only movies) in this genre are concerned, its tough to beat the thinn red line. maybe letters from iwo jima comes close.

[Takumaji]

I only like older WWII movies, the newer ones always bring in this emotional omg-it's-war-let's-make-love-before-the-bomb-hits bullshit.

[terry.330]

I only like older WWII movies, the newer ones always bring in this emotional omg-it's-war-let's-make-love-before-the-bomb-hits bullshit.

Examples please. I enjoy pretty much any well done war movie regardless of the era it was made of when it's supposed to take place.

I think with Thin Red Line it's one of the only WWII movies that applies the Vietnam era "why are we here and what are we accomplishing in regards to us?" attitude. Which I think really works in the context of the war in the pacific. Not to mention the enemy side of it which is one of the most interesting aspects of what the Japanese were doing.

[Mikhail]

The problem with The Thin Red Line is that Malick directs it with his usual poetic self-indulging artistry. That is what most film critics love about him, and what I can't sit through as I'm not able to connect to his characters' performances.

I understand that he creates a thinking man's WWII movie, imbuing every shot with questions about the war's purpose and its effect on humanity. But just like A New World, this movie is poetry and not literature, making it incredibly artistic but intolerable for everyday enjoyment.

I respect Malick's art direction, but I prefer Spielberg's generic fluff. Saving Private Ryan is the most enjoyable WWII movie for me.

[Xander Crews]

Downfall

[Takumaji]

Examples please.

Some of my faves:

The Longest Day

A Bridge Too Far

All Quiet on the Western Front (WW1)

08/15 (three-part German WW2 movie)

Dam Busters

The Great Escape

Das Boot

The Dirty Dozen

Fat Man and Little Boy

The Bridge at Remagen

Eye of the Needle

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Cross of Iron (Steiner)

...etc...

[Xander Crews]

Raiders of the Lost Arc

[bcfczulu]

again not movies but i absolutely love Band of brothers and the Pacific. i could watch them on loop.

[Mike Shagohod]

There have been so many "good" ones along with a few epic ones that it's hard to say. I'd have to agree with Kiselgof's take on Thin Red Line, it's why I only ever sat through it twice. I liked Enemy At The Gates but didn't care for the fact it spent too much time on the fucking romance part of it, had it not I might very well have picked that film. Saving Private Ryan to me has it's moments, (the battles obviously) but overall I didn't connect with it. I'd say Band of Brothers is a much better production in that light and while a mini series, it was filmed as a continuous story and edited down into a mini series, so to me it's an 11 hour movie. "Semantics" I know.

For me the film that hit home and made me feel dirty inside however, was a German movie...

[Renmauzo]

I find Schindler's List unsettling (it makes me tear up every time) and a powerful film in general. To echo most people's sentiments, Band of Brothers is incredible, and I tend to watch it through a couple of times a year.

[Lagduf]

Band of Brothers is just about the only one that was palapatable for me.

Letters from Iwo Jima was pretty good, but I felt they tried to paint the main low-ranking character as too much of a "good guy" - in that you were supposed to sympathize with him because of his anti-war stance as opposed to sympathize with him because of the hell he went through.

Is Das Boot modern? It's probably in the top three war films ever made.

[cdamm]

lag- i dont know if i could call das boot modern. its over 30 years old now!

[Lagduf]

Well Band of Brothers is the only good one then.

Paths of Glory is fantastic, btw, for those who have not seen it.

[lithy]

Definitely Pearl Harbor.

[SouthtownKid]

Definitely Pearl Harbor.

And to think I was about to blast Kiselgof for saying Private Ryan. Thanks for putting things back in perspective.

[cdamm]

i just watched 'only the brave' yesterday. its about the 100th infantry battalion (the us-born asians). Its got a rockin asian cast (and marc dacascos). I understand its an independant film with a tiny budget. it was just really flat for me. Bonus points for being one of pat moritas last appearances.

It was on late night cable and i thought it was relevant. there are a bunch of little known war films out there. just dont waste your time with this one.

[Normdog]

The Pianist

[lithy]

And to think I was about to blast Kiselgof for saying Private Ryan. Thanks for putting things back in perspective.

I'd also put Red Tails in a close second.

[cdamm]

I'd also put Red Tails in a close second.

to be fair 'the tuskegee airmen' wasn't bad. made for hbo movie. decent cast.

[lithy]

In all seriousness, of movies that haven't been mentioned, I think that Enemy at the Gates is a pretty fun movie. It isn't perfect, but hell, who doesn't like snipers?

Same reason I like Shooter.

[Lagduf]

It was entertaining when I saw it, but good? No.

[lithy]

It was entertaining when I saw it, but good? No.

I guess I was too busy swooning over Jude Law...