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The War Flicks
Linear War World War I World War II: Europe World War II: Pacific
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TECHNOLOGY & WAR
The War Flicks Linear War World War I World War II: Europe World War II: Pacific |
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to be from movies, and movies [think they] are representing the military." Director, The Tillman Story National Public Radio, September 10, 2010 (18:50) War and conflict have been a favorite subjects for movie makers since the earliest days of video. Over the past century, hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of movies have been made about war. Some are good, some are bad, a few are great, but here is a list of war movies deemed significant for showing with reasonable accuracy some aspect of the History of Modern War. The links are to the trailer for the film and, in some cases, also a clip of some particularly significant portion of the film. Enjoy! |
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Linear War
• Barry Lyndon (1975) • Trailer • Linear warfare attack scene • War & Peace (1956 movie) • Trailer • War & Peace (1966-67 series) • Battle of Borodino (excerpt) • Waterloo (1970) • Probably one of the most lavish war movies with stunning battle scense. • Made in Russia before digital video effects using 12,000 Soviet soldiers and 1,200 cavalry. • Available on YouTube (2:08:07) • Gods & Generals (2003) • Trailer • Ted Turner's epic on the Battle of Fredericksberg (Dec 1862) • Map • Gettysburg (1993) • Trailer • Another Turner classic, this on the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg (Jul 1863) • Full Movie: Pt 1 (2:22:13) • Pt 2 (1:52:25) • Excerpts: • Picket's Charge • Glory (1989) • Ironclads (1991) • Trailer • Made-for-TV movie on the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 1862) between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. • Cornball spy/love story subplot is distracting, but the special effects in the battle scenes make it worthwhile. • The Hunley (1999) • Preview • Trailer • Well made story ot the H. L. Hunley and its first successful attack by a submarine (Feb 1864). • Another Turner production worth watching if you can find a copy. World War I The Guns of August (1964) • Skillful use of archival footage to tell the runup to and first month of World War I in 1914. • Based on Barbara Tuchman's 1962 Pulitzer Prize-winning book. • Available on YouTube (1:39:58) The Battle of the Somme (1916) • Pioneering documentary of The Battle of the Somme (July 1-November 18, 1916) • Filmed by a War Department-sanctoned team of newsreel videographers during the battle. • Some scenes staged after the beginning of the battle. • Released while battle still raged -- first widespread public view of the war. • Tremendous response: 20 million tickets sold in first six weeks (44% 0f British population!). • Footage use in most subsequent WW I documentaries. • Available on YouTube (1:13:23) • Paths of Glory (1957) • Based on mutiny of French army in 1917 • Trench warfare attack scene • Wings (1927) • First Oscar for Best Picture (1927) • Another unofficial trailer but with sound! • Long Excerpt (31:06) • All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) • Trailer • The definitive video version of Erich Maria Remarque's classic anti-war epic from pre-WW II Germany. • Oscar: Best Picture (1930) • Excerpt: Frontal Assault • Lawrence of Arabia (1962) • Part 1 Available on YouTube (2:19:25) • Gallipoli (1981) • Gallipoli (Turkish mocumentary, 2005) World War II: Europe • Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens) (1935) • Directed by Leni Riefenstahl, this is a documentary of the 1934 Nazi Party rally at Neuremburg. • It dramaticly shows the mesmerizing impact of Hitler's Nazi pageantry. • Hailed by many as the ultimate propaganda video. • Available on YouTube (1:44:28) • The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1968) • Documentary adopted from William L. Shirer's 1960 best-selling history of Adolph Hitler and Germany in World War II. • Segments on Hitler's path to war largely based on Shirer's experience as a news correspondent in Berllin, 1934-1940. • Available on YouTube (1:46:14) • Battle of Britain (1969) • Trailer • Available on YouTube ... in 14 segments! • Sink the Bismark (1960) • Trailer • Reasonably accurate account of the Battle of the Denmark Straits and the subsequent search for and distruction of the German battleship Bismark in May 1941. • Available on YouTube (1:37:34) Battle of the Atlantic Trilogy • Das Boot (The Boat, 1981) • From the perspective of the German U-boat crews • Available on YouTube (Director's Cut, 3:19:41) • The Cruel Sea (1953) • Excerpt • From the perspective of the British escort vessel crews • The Enemy Below (1981) • From the perspective of both the U-boats and the escorts • In Which We Serve (1942) • Full Movie (1:54:34) • Noel Coward wrote, directed and stars in this classic tale of Royal Navy destroyer and its crew. • Based on the story of HMS Kelly, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten and lost off Crete (May 41). • Enigma (2001) • Trailer • Interesting account of the Bletchley Park effort to re-crack Enigma after a code change • Worth putting up with the "boy meets girl" and "damsel in distress" plot diversions • The Dam Busters (1955) • Trailer • Details of Operation Chastise, the RAF raid on the Ruhr Valley dams (16-17 May 1943). • Details of "The Bouncing Bomb" • Behind the scenes: making the movie • Excerpts of major segments of the movie. • Twelve O'Clock High (1949) • Realistic, fact-based story of the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. • Still used by the Air Force as a case study in combat leadership. • Available on YouTube (2:07:05) • Read "The Real Twelve O'Clock High" for historic background. • The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) • IMDB • An excellent documentary on the first B-17 to complete 25 bombing missions in Europe. • Directed by William Wyler, movie includes actual combat footage shot by Wyler and his team. • One of Wyler's camera crews was lost during this mission. • Available on YouTube (39:55) • Enemy at the Gates (2001) • Trailer • Loosely fact-based sidebar to the Battle of Stalingrad • Good action movie that manages to capture the desperation of this WW II turning point • Band of Brothers (1991) • An epic story of soldiers in war (10 episodes) • Follows a company of paratroopers through training and across Europe • Historically accurate with excellent special effects -- D-Day air drop scene is spectacular • Saving Private Ryan (1998) • The first scene -- the landing in Normandy -- is a classic • The rest is just a good action movie • The Longest Day (1962) • Told from both Allied and German perspectives • Good coverage of the broad scope of the operation • A Bridge Too Far (1977) • Trailer • Operation Market-Garden, a combined US-UK airborne and ground sweep through Holland and into Northern Germany. • Downfall (2004) • A haunting story of Hitler's last days in Berlin bunker, very well told • Portrays the true madness of the Nazi regime World War II: Pacific • Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) • The best of the Pearl Harbor movies -- detailed, accurate • Air Force (1943) • The story of the B-17s inbound to Hickam Field on December 7th • Rousing motivation for Home Front audiences yet historically accurate • Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1945) • Trailer • A true story by and about a pilot on the Doolittle Raid (1942) • Available on YouTube • Midway (1976) • Trailer • Not a critical or box office success, but a reasonably accurate dramatization of the turning point of the Pacific War. • PT 109 (1963) • Trailer • Dramitization of President John Kennedy's service on a motor torpedo boat in the South Pacific during WW II. • The Fighting Lady (1944) • Wartime documentary of an Essex-class aircraft carrier (the second USS Lexington but not identified). • Follows ship and crew from post-construction work-up to the Battle of Philippine Sea. • Moving home front motivational piece -- excellent naval air action color footage. • Available on YouTube Cold War • Fog of War (2003) • Full movie (1:40:03) • Robert McNamara's recounting of his 11 Lessons. • The Big Lift (1950) • A unique dramitization of the Berlin Airliift (1948-1949). • It was filmed on location in Berlin a year after the airlift with good integration of newsreel footage. • With the exception of the stars (Montgomery Cliff and Paul Douglas), all military personnel in the film are played by US Air Force members assigned in Germany. • The cockpit procedures and air traffic sequences are authentically done -- well worth watching! • Available on YouTube (1:42:06) • Strategic Air Command (1959) • A classy effort to showcase America's nuclear deterrent force (a.k.a SAC) during the early days of the Cold War. • Stars Jimmy Stewart who actually flew B-17 and B-24 bombers in WW II. • Stewart was an Air Force Reserve colonel at the time the movies was made. • The movie features some great aerial footageof the monsterous B-36 Peacemaker and then-new B-47 Stratojet. • An excerpt from the movie featuring the B-36 Peacemaker • On the Beach (1959) • Fictional account of a global nuclear war and its impact on individuals in Australia as radiation contaminates the planet. • Available on YouTube (Part 1, 1:08:14) • (Part 2, 1:06:35) • Thirteen Days (2000) • Trailer • Reasonably accurate dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), a near-nuclear war situation. • Available on YouTube (2:19:38) • Dr. Strangelove (1964) • A black comedy on the dangers of accidental nuclear war. • Chillingly realistic. • Memorable scenes and lines • Fail-Safe (1964) • Trailer • A sobering fictional account of accidental nuclear war. • Like Dr.Strangelove, another fallout from the Cuban Missile Crisis. • Video of 2000 live TV presentation of story (not as good as movie). • The War Game (1965) • A chilling fictional account of the impact on Britain of a global crisis that escalates into a nuclear war. • Chillingly graphic depiction of human reactions, casualties, and difficult decisions in reponding to such a catastrophe. • An obvious attempt at governement awareness but judged so shocking that it was not publicly released intil 1985. • Of all the nuclear apocalypse movies, this is the one you will not forget ... if you can finish it. • Available on YouTube (48:08) Korean War • The Bridges At Toko-Ri (1954) • The classic movie of carrier jets in Korea based on James Michener novel. • Outstanding aerial footage (excerpt) • Trailer • Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) • Naval air action -- more great carrier aviation footage; based on a true story • Pork Chop Hill (1959) • One of the better ground combat movies on the Korean War • Based on a true story Vietnam & Counterinsurgency • Battle of Algiers (1966) • The story of a classic counterinsurgency in Algeria (1956-57) • Told from both sides: how a revolution starts and the steps taken to suppress it • Used by the U.S. as a case study in fighting Iraqi insurgency (2004 on) • Path to War (2002) (excerpt) • Comprehensive dramatization of the LBJ White House from 1965 to 1968 • Covers LBJ's conflict between his Great Society agenda and the Vietnam War • Available from YouTube in its entirity! (2:44:33) • We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young (2002) • Reasonable account of the Battle of Ia Drang, first major US action in Vietnam • Covers issues of families at home and casualty notification procedures early in war • Hamburger Hill (1987) • "War at its worse fought by young men at their best" • Realistic account of ground combat in the A Shau Valley, 1969 • 84 Charlie MoPic (1989) • A sleeper! This low-budget film deals with the interactions of a patrol in Vietnam late in the war. • Based around the making of a training film to pass along tips and tactics for long range patrols. • Title refers to the Army MOS (military occupational specialty) for a motion picture specialist (84C). • Available from YouTube (1:30:51) • Bat 21 (1988) • Bsed on the rescue of a crew member of a USAF EB-66 just south of the DMZ duirng the NVA's 1972 Easter Offensive. • The crew member had sensitive defense information that the U.S. did not want to fall into NVA hands. • What followed was the most complex, costly and controversial SAR operation of the war. • Available from YouTube (1:40:15) • Review Post-Cold War • Black Hawk Down (1991) • Trailer • Arguably one of the most realistic small unit combat movie ever made. |
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