# What is your favorite war movie?



## Gaer (Feb 23, 2020)

Do you have a favorite war movie?  I don't usually don't like war movies but I loved "Rough Riders", mainly because I'm a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt, and I liked "Saving Private Ryan" with Tom Hanks.  I thought Matt Damon was great in that movie.


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## Pepper (Feb 23, 2020)

I agree about "Saving Private Ryan."  I also enjoyed the movies I saw with my dad, like "The Longest Day" and "Bridge on the River Kwai."


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## Pepper (Feb 23, 2020)

Would you consider "Casablanca" a war movie, or was the war just a backdrop for a Romance?  Must all war movies have battles, guns, dying, etc?

I loved "300."  Very exciting.


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## StarSong (Feb 23, 2020)

M*A*S*H*


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## Pinky (Feb 23, 2020)

Life Is Beautiful .. Roberto Benigni was excellent in it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Is_Beautiful


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## Gaer (Feb 23, 2020)

Pepper said:


> Would you consider "Casablanca" a war movie, or was the war just a backdrop for a Romance?  Must all war movies have battles, guns, dying, etc?
> 
> I loved "300."  Very exciting.



Yea!  Let's count it!  I'm amazed so many women are responding!  I thought the ladies would say, "Yuk,NO!"  Have you seen "Rough Riders" though?  It's really, really good!


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## Nautilus (Feb 23, 2020)

"The Bridges of Toko-Ri" 1954
"The Guns of Navarone" 1961
"In Harm's Way" 1965
"Where Eagles Dare" 1968
"The Battle of Britian" 1969


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## Pinky (Feb 23, 2020)

The Teahouse Of The August Moon (1956)
The Tin Drum
Empire Of The Sun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_the_Sun_(film)


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## treeguy64 (Feb 23, 2020)

Apocalypse Now

It tore me apart, emotionally, but such is the price to be paid when viewing a movie where everything comes together, perfectly, in a tale of the horrors of mans' inhumanity to man.


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## Lethe200 (Feb 23, 2020)

"The Longest Day"
"Patton"


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## Pepper (Feb 23, 2020)

@Nautilus 
"The Guns of Navarone" 1961 
Yes, saw that with my dad!  If it weren't for me, he would have seen these movies alone, as my mother would ask him "Are there any women in it?" and the answer was many times, NO.


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## Llynn (Feb 23, 2020)

Away all Boats
The Fighting Lady
In Harms Way


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## Pepper (Feb 23, 2020)

Gaer said:


> Have you seen "Rough Riders" though?  It's really, really good!


Never heard of it, will look into it.  Have soft spot for Teddy, too, without whom we might not have our beautiful national parks.


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## treeguy64 (Feb 23, 2020)

Pepper said:


> @Nautilus
> "The Guns of Navarone" 1961
> Yes, saw that with my dad!  If it weren't for me, he would have seen these movies alone, as my mother would ask him "Are there any women in it?" and the answer was many times, NO.


As a little kid, I was shocked, badly, when the woman spy was executed, on the spot! I was a very sensitive kid. Then, of course, all of the ultra violent movies that followed numbed me out to the point of absolute desensitivity. I can only imagine how kids today are way past being emotionally numb. Sad, and scary.


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## Rich29 (Feb 23, 2020)

Just saw 1917 today. Wow, pretty gripping.


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## gennie (Feb 23, 2020)

War movies are not my favorite but being a history buff, I enjoy ones based on America's Civil War.


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## Manatee (Feb 23, 2020)

My mom liked "Abbot and Costello in the Navy" which was a WW2 movie.


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## Lc jones (Feb 23, 2020)

The Longest Day


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## CarolfromTX (Feb 23, 2020)

Do mini-series count? Band of Brothers.


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## Warrigal (Feb 23, 2020)

Rich29 said:


> Just saw 1917 today. Wow, pretty gripping.


I agree but my all time favourite has to be the Light Horsemen.

A retelling of the last 'cavalry' charge although technically the Australian Light Horse was not a cavalry unit. They were mounted infantry men, and my grandfather was one of them.

This unit charged the machine guns defending Beersheba (near Gaza) during WW I as the sun was about to set. It was literally a do or die effort because if the town and the wells were not captured that day the horses could not be watered. They would perish and so would their riders. 

The charge was successful and this particular scene provides some of the most exciting footage I have ever seen. There is also a back story, a love story based on a real nurse and real member of the Light Horse ambulance.


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## Nautilus (Feb 23, 2020)

CarolfromTX said:


> Do mini-series count? Band of Brothers.


If they do, I nominate all 8 episodes of "Horatio Hornblower."  The best and most historically accurate mini-series I've ever seen.


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## drifter (Feb 23, 2020)

Sands of Iwo Jima, Casa Blanca, Patton, but there were others, Guadalcanal Diary, for one.


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## Gaer (Feb 23, 2020)

Warrigal:  This was the Boar War?  Wow!  I've heard so many stories about how a nurse went to the battlefield to find her husband, just as he was dying.  That was an extraordinary time!
Nautilis:  OMG!!! Gregory Peck!  Wow! Was he sexy!!!!


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## Floridatennisplayer (Feb 23, 2020)

The Dawn Patrol.....Errol Flynn


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## drifter (Feb 23, 2020)

The one I liked best was not a movie but a mini series, from a book by Herman Wonk, “The Winds of War.”  What a great story.


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## Getyoung (Feb 23, 2020)

Black hawk down, platoon, the dirty dozen, Battle of Britain.


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## win231 (Feb 23, 2020)

"Born on the 4th of July" because it told the truth.


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## jerry old (Feb 23, 2020)

VASTLY underrated films.
Empire of the sun (already listed)
Paths of glory execution of their own troops (French) due to munity
Breaker MORANT (sp) aussie film, boar war executed  by firing squad for war crime (innocent, but public outcry, army had to do something0

Cannot recall title, Frank Sinatra was in it,  Brief scene of American firing
squad executing G.I.'S FOR crimes against civilians in paris in
ww ii.
As  firing squad was doing 'their duty' 
Silent Night was played on sound track


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## Bee (Feb 23, 2020)

...To End All Wars......


It is the true story of 4 POW's of the Japanese and was based on the memoirs of Ernest Gordon who was one of the POW's and served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders....for me it was one of the best war films I have ever watched.


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## jerry old (Feb 23, 2020)

Bee said:


> ...To End All Wars......
> 
> 
> It is the true story of 4 POW's of the Japanese and was based on the memoirs of Ernest Gordon who was one of the POW's and served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders....for me it was one of the best war films I have ever watched.


Must be a Brit movie, were getting darn few Brit movies, gott'a have the random killings, car chases...
That includes the movie package  on Direct and Dish tv.  
Forced to turner classic films, don't watch the zombies, the hobbits,
nor cartoon poising as movies.


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## Rosemarie (Feb 23, 2020)

I enjoy  the films which show people working behind the scenes....those who helped Jews to escape, and films about the resistance.
I don't know if Exodus is classed as a war film but it's certainly one of my favourites.


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## Bee (Feb 23, 2020)

jerry old said:


> Must be a Brit movie, were getting darn few Brit movies, gott'a have the random killings, car chases...
> That includes the movie package  on Direct and Dish tv.
> Forced to turner classic films, don't watch the zombies, the hobbits,
> nor cartoon poising as movies.




If I am totally honest Jerry and with no offence mean't, I much prefer British made war films


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## jerry old (Feb 24, 2020)

Yes, Brits and French  often take a different slant on things, often superior to ours.  
U.S; apparently have little choice but to attend movies where:
 kill everybody, blow down a city, fires, bombs... horse poo!
Six Seals wipe out North Korean Army...
However, our war movies beat the general fare.  
I listed those deserving praise that have been overlooked.
Das Boat is the best of all war films.


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## chic (Feb 24, 2020)

Gettysburg, Empire of the Sun, and Saving Private Ryan. Though I feel the plot of Private Ryan was preposterous, the cinematography was amazing. It made you feel like you were really in a warzone. Amazing film.


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## HazyDavey (Feb 24, 2020)

On The Beach. (1959)


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## moviequeen1 (Feb 24, 2020)

Two of my favorites:
Empire of the Sun' 87,a  young Christian Bale is terrific as a schoolboy who  led a sheltered life in Shanghai.He became separated from his parents,put into a prisoner camp when Japan invaded China at beginning of WW 2
"Saving Private Ryan' '98  both movies directed by Stephen Speilberg


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## Devi (Feb 27, 2020)

Nautilus said:


> "In Harm's Way" 1965



Definitely "In Harm's Way".


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## jerry old (Oct 20, 2020)

Are David Lean's films old enough (1960-70) old enough to be classics?
His epic films cannot be matched.


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## Tish (Oct 20, 2020)

Saving Private Ryan


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## officerripley (Oct 20, 2020)

_Zulu_, 1964, Michael Caine & Jack Hawkins.


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## gamboolman (Oct 20, 2020)

Band of Brothers  series - even more so since ms gamboolgals father was in the 101st all the way from Camp Toccoa thru the end of the war.

The Pacific - series based on Eugene Sledges experiences he wrote about in his book "The Old Breed"

Hacksaw Ridge

All Quiet on The Western Front

The Lost Battalion

Sergeant York

Platoon

The Red Badge of Courage


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## bowmore (Oct 20, 2020)

My all time favorite, The Hunt for Red October. I have seen it so many times I know the Russian dialogue. I love submarine movies, another great one was Run Silent Run Deep. 
One of my all time thrills was sailing on two nuclear subs when I was a Field Engineer.


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## Pappy (Oct 21, 2020)

Hamburger Hill. Properly named for sure.
Sands of Iwo Jima because my dad was there.


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## peramangkelder (Oct 21, 2020)

'Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan'
Long Tan had been a battle fought against almost impossible odds. A ferocious battle, a defining action of the Vietnam war 
On the afternoon of 18 August 1966, a single infantry company of 108 mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers engaged with a regiment of 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong and North Vietnam army troops. Almost surrounded, outnumbered 10 to one, they withstood Viet Cong attacks in cyclonic rain


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## asp3 (Oct 21, 2020)

Another vote for M*A*S*H an anti-war war movie.


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## AnnieA (Oct 21, 2020)

Last of the Mohicans (1992).   I watched a lot of cowboy and Indian movies snuggled in my dad's lap as a toddler and for some reason took a liking to the Indians.   Like that the movie incorporated seeds of colonial discontent from the French and Indian War that set the stage for the  Revolution.


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## Pinky (Oct 21, 2020)

The type of war movies I prefer:

Into the White (2012)   "Norway, WWII: A group of British and German soldiers find themselves stranded in the wilderness after an aircraft battle. Finding shelter in the same cabin, they realize the only way to survive the winter is to place the rules of war aside." 

The Thin Red Line is the most honest and multi-dimensional war movie I've ever seen. It vividly portrays just about every major facet of war.


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## Irwin (Oct 21, 2020)

Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers come to mind. Also Jacob's Ladder and Tropic Thunder.

@Pinky, I don't think I've ever seen The Thin Red Line. I just added it to my Netflix queue.


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## JimBob1952 (Oct 21, 2020)

officerripley said:


> _Zulu_, 1964, Michael Caine & Jack Hawkins.



I saw some ranking of all time best war movies and Zulu was #1.  It is great. 

I would also vote for The Enemy Below, with Robert Mitchum; Battleground; Hell is for Heroes; and another Robert Mitchum film, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.  

Another favorite is A Bridge Too Far.


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## win231 (Oct 21, 2020)

There were many war movies made, but most were fiction, dramatized, & edited to brainwash & program people into supporting the war & make the U.S. look wonderful & discourage any questioning & suspicion.
But the actual veteran who was there - Ron Kovic - was heavily involved in "Born on the 4th of July" & he wanted the _truth _to be told,_ before, during & after _the Vietnam war_._  In my view, that is what makes that movie worth watching.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Kovic


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## 911 (Oct 21, 2020)

"Behind Enemy Lines"
"Full Metal Jacket"
"Run Silent, Run Deep"


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## jerry old (Oct 21, 2020)

I've watched "Jacob's Ladder," many times...
One of the best illustrations of cannon fodder

'Fourth of July'-were the two vets in wheelchairs get into a fight, fall out of their chairs...both are like turtles, cannot get up-it does make a strong
point.


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## RadishRose (Oct 21, 2020)

Life Is Beautiful 
The Longest Day


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## Pinky (Oct 21, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> Life Is Beautiful
> The Longest Day


Life Is Beautiful .. absolutely a favourite.


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## RadishRose (Oct 21, 2020)

Pinky said:


> Life Is Beautiful .. absolutely a favourite.


Yes, unforgettble.


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## MarkinPhx (Oct 21, 2020)

Saving Private Ryan
Das Boot
Brest Fortress-Russian film showing their struggles in WW2. There are many Russian movies about WW2 that I have enjoyed but this one is the most mainstream.


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## JB in SC (Nov 5, 2020)

Where Eagles Dare, very entertaining.

Across the Pacific, Bogart in a different role.

Bataan, much better than the run of the mill wartime flicks.


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## charry (Nov 5, 2020)

The Deer Hunter .....


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## debodun (Nov 5, 2020)

_Stalag-17
The Longest Day
The Red Badge of Courage
The Caine Mutiny
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
April Morning
On the Beach_


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## jerry old (Nov 5, 2020)

War movie,  the best :
"The War of The Roses" 
no prisoners, no survivors


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## Autumn (Nov 5, 2020)

Many years ago my dad took the whole family to see Patton because he served under General Patton in World War 2...I don't remember anything about the movie, but I remember my dad's reverence for the man and the pride he took in his service.  50 years later, I can still remember how proud we all were of him that day...


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## Sassycakes (Nov 6, 2020)

*I'm not much of a war movie fan. I do remember though my Dad loved watching "The Dirty Dozen" and he watched it over and over again. I would always watch it with him.*


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## win231 (Nov 6, 2020)

I did like "Full Metal Jacket."
I don't like anyone who abuses their authority, so you can imagine how I clapped & cheered when that bullied GI delivered .308 Cal. justice:


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## Gaer (Nov 6, 2020)

charry said:


> The Deer Hunter .....


Really?  I couldn't sleep for three days!


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## wcwbf (Nov 7, 2020)

"The Great Escape"... Steve McQueen on a motorcycle... James Garner (super handsome)... Donald Pleasence (i was "blind" like that).

"The Dirty Dozen"

"Bridge Over the River Kwai"


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## wcwbf (Nov 7, 2020)

win231 said:


> I did like "Full Metal Jacket."
> I don't like anyone who abuses their authority, so you can imagine how I clapped & cheered when that bullied GI delivered .308 Cal. justice:


my ex did a tour in Viet Nam.  he never watched this movie.  was afraid it would be just like what he experienced.


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## ManjaroKDE (Nov 7, 2020)

win231 said:


> I did like "Full Metal Jacket."
> I don't like anyone who abuses their authority, so you can imagine how I clapped & cheered when that bullied GI delivered .308 Cal. justice:


Served non-combat during VietNam, BIL was in Marines, washed out of DI school telling me he couldn't treat people like they wanted.


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## Butterfly (Nov 11, 2020)

StarSong said:


> M*A*S*H*



YES!  But I liked the TV series better than the movie.


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## Butterfly (Nov 11, 2020)

Saving Private Ryan, Gettysburg, Twelve O'Clock High, Memphis Belle, Band of Brothers, The Longest Day, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, The Tuskegee Airmen, The War Lover, Patton, Pearl Harbor, Run SIlent, Run Deep, Glory, Dunkirk, The Big Red One, Schindler's List, etc.  Also Judgment at Nuremberg (not exactly a war movie, but about the aftermath and very powerful).

I'm a history buff; I've always been interested in the American Civil War and WWII, and have in recent years ventured forth into WWI.


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## Lewkat (Nov 11, 2020)

charry said:


> The Deer Hunter .....


Oh, I hated that movie.


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## Lewkat (Nov 11, 2020)

Definitely, The Longest Day.  There were so many and some so sloppily done, but Saving Private Ryan was another well done movie.

For mini series, Winds of War and Band of Brothers take top tier.

Patton was well acted, but a tad overdone.  Apocalypse now was based on Conrad's Heart of Darkness.  I don't like Brando's form of acting, so other than the good job done by Martin Sheen that one left me cold.  I already knew the story from having read Conrad.


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## Lewkat (Nov 11, 2020)

jerry old said:


> VASTLY underrated films.
> Empire of the sun (already listed)
> Paths of glory execution of their own troops (French) due to munity
> Breaker MORANT (sp) aussie film, boar war executed  by firing squad for war crime (innocent, but public outcry, army had to do something0
> ...


I loved Empire of the Sun.  Good movie.


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## john danson (Nov 12, 2020)

12 O'clock High, with Gregory Peck.It was based on real events in the early days of the war when American crews had to fly daylight missions over Europe without fighter escorts and took heavy losses.He summed up the grim reality of what they faced by telling his men to "stop making plans,consider yourself already dead."Plus it was filmed in 1949,so all the planes, uniforms etc. were left over from the war and the mannerisms and speech was true to that era.


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## john danson (Nov 12, 2020)

I thought the BBC series "Colditz" was great too.


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## StarSong (Nov 12, 2020)

Agree with @Lewkat & @Butterfly about Band of Brothers.  Very, very well done.


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## Camper6 (Nov 12, 2020)

The Dirty Dozen.  
The scene where the Canadians arrive is a classic with the bagpipes playing.

A comment from an American.:
As a US Navy submarine veteran, I’m about as  “bleed red, white, and blue” as they come. Having said that, this entry by the Canadians is so freaking cool! I could watch this on a continuous loop. What an awesome display of a proud fighting force... glad they were on our side!!


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## drifter (Nov 12, 2020)

Got a letter from my granddaughter in Italy. 
She's disappointed she can't move around Europe more due to the virus.
She and her mother did go to the beach, she said, with friends. She recently turned seventeen 
and is learning to spread her wings. She wished a happy Veteran's Day and told me about three old cameras
her other grandfather had beforee he died recently, and that she missed me and loved me dearly.
I've always thought of her as an old soul beyoond her years. It was a sweet letter and I'm glad she 
is thoughtful in that way.


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## Judycat (Nov 12, 2020)

I like movies like The 13th Warrior because I enjoy a good sword fight.


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## fmdog44 (Nov 12, 2020)

The Russians Are Coming!


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## charry (Nov 13, 2020)

Lewkat said:


> Oh, I hated that movie.





It was A very Sad movie lewkat,  but well written and portrayed.......im Afraid this is Life ,!!


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## charry (Nov 13, 2020)

Gaer said:


> Really?  I couldn't sleep for three days!




I’m afraid , that’s life Gaer.......


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## charry (Nov 13, 2020)

The English Patient

Schindler’s List...


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## Lewkat (Nov 13, 2020)

charry said:


> It was A very Sad movie lewkat,  but well written and portrayed.......im Afraid this is Life ,!!


Not where I live, Charry.  I was well written, but so depressing, that I could not stand it.  This is not the usual, thankfully.


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## FastTrax (Dec 25, 2020)




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## JimBob1952 (Dec 26, 2020)

Camper6 said:


> The Dirty Dozen.
> The scene where the Canadians arrive is a classic with the bagpipes playing.
> 
> A comment from an American.:
> As a US Navy submarine veteran, I’m about as  “bleed red, white, and blue” as they come. Having said that, this entry by the Canadians is so freaking cool! I could watch this on a continuous loop. What an awesome display of a proud fighting force... glad they were on our side!!



That's The Devil's Brigade, not the Dirty Dozen.


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## ManjaroKDE (Dec 26, 2020)

'Dunkirk'
'Saving Private Ryan'
'A Bridge Too Far'
'Apocalypse Now'

Added: 'Band of Brothers'  (Great TV mini series.)

Closer to reality.  No John Wayne coming to the rescue,


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## Irwin (Dec 26, 2020)

Inglourious Basterds was pretty good.


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## Pinky (Dec 26, 2020)

Not a big fan of war movies, though some stand out for me.
The Teahouse Of The August Moon (actually, it was post-war)
Good Morning Vietnam


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## Packerjohn (Dec 26, 2020)

Again, I'm the rebel here.  Don't like war movies, period.  Never watch them.  Why?  I had 2 uncles shoot in WW II.  Too many  movies showing macho heroes in wars (John Wayne) while in reality war is often composed of men just trying to survive.  War never really solved anything; just maintains ethic hatred for generations.  Many war veterans refuse to talk about the war.  It just brings back too many painful memories that they would not like to relive again.  My thinking is "make love, not war."  Maybe I'm just an old hippy but if not, I'm sure a pacifist!


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## Colleen (Dec 26, 2020)

In Harm's Way with John Wayne and The Expendables with Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. We much prefer the old movies to the new ones.


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## wcwbf (Dec 26, 2020)

Irwin said:


> Inglourious Basterds was pretty good.


watched that AGAIN last night for at least the 5-6th time.  i think first re-watch was because i didn't catch the "German 3" that caused the "altercation" in the pub/bar.


"The Great Escape"!







"Bridge Over the River Kwai" - saw this in theater on Wildwood NJ boardwalk





 & whistled the theme all the way home.


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## Sunny (Dec 26, 2020)

Schindler's List


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## Warrigal (Dec 26, 2020)

One of my favourites came on TV last night. Tired as I was I just had to watch a bit of it before falling asleep. It was Zulu with Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. With each watching I pick up more nuances about that period of military history.


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## Repondering (Dec 26, 2020)

Lots of fine films listed here and I enjoyed watching most of them, but here's one that made a real impression on me:  "Culloden".  I saw it when I was about 12 yrs old.  The English army decisively put down a Scottish attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty.
For an older film the visual depiction of the English cannon fire on the Highlander infantry was pretty graphic.


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## jerry old (Dec 26, 2020)

'The Cruel Sea,' real oldie.  Brit destroyer on convey duty in Atlantic...      
Spots of horrific action, with long periods of inactivity.  
Excellent movie and novel


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## Irwin (Dec 26, 2020)

Anthropoid was pretty good.


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## drifter (Dec 27, 2020)

Sorry, I'm afraid I put my comment in the wrong thread.
Didn't mean to lead your great thread astray. Don't know
what's wrong with me lately. Will try to be more careful.
Apologies.


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## Irwin (Dec 27, 2020)

The Pianist
Life is Beautiful
Jacob's Ladder (One of my favorites. I've seen it four times.)


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## ronaldj (Dec 27, 2020)

the Great Escape, read the true accounts in several books and have watched the movie several times.   plus, Steve Mcqueen fan  and David Mccallum fan.                                             full metal jacket was just to real for me....


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## Camper6 (Dec 29, 2020)

Warrigal said:


> One of my favourites came on TV last night. Tired as I was I just had to watch a bit of it before falling asleep. It was Zulu with Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. With each watching I pick up more nuances about that period of military history.


That was a fantastic movie.


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## squatting dog (Dec 30, 2020)

Kelly's hero's.  Mainly because having been through war, I'd just rather have a chuckle.


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