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Best Military movie of all time.

As usual, many people are confusing movies they happen to enjoy, with truly great movies. I enjoyed most of the movies mentioned, but a good many of those were actually pretty weak, if not abysmally stupid. I can still enjoy them, but that doesn't negate or blind me to the fact that a lot of them were hokey, over-dramatic, poorly written and acted, and basically kinda dopey.
I personally loved all those old classics like The Flying Tigers, PT109, The Sands of Iwo Jima, Sink The Bismark, etc. etc., or some later ones like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, The Boys in Company C, but these were all seriously hokey, over-rated flicks, with some often ridiculous writing and acting. And don't get me started on lame, corny dog**** like Top Gun, or especially, Heartbreak Ridge! I can't believe those were suggested with a straight face!
Big personal favorites of mine include stuff like Kelly's Heroes, Tora Tora Tora, The Dirty Dozen, The Green Berets, but I couldn't label these among "the best of all time" (which is the criteria here), I just happened to like them, which ain't necessarily the same thing.
There are surely others, but my short list of top-quality, really well done military movies would include, Saving Pvt Ryan, Band of Brothers, Bridge on the River Kwai, Patton, The Longest day, We Were Soldiers, maybe Blackhawk Down.
OK, rant over, flame away !! :becky:


BTW, anyone remember The Wild Geese ? It was a mercenaries-in-Africa type movie. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, so I can;t say how "good" it actually was, but i remember some of that being very cool, and really intense, like the last guy that couldn't quite catch up to the plane they were escaping in, and he frantically screams at them to shoot him, so he wasn't captured by the pursuing African soldiers.
(spoiler: they shot him!)
Another favorite, that still could've been better (and hasn't been mentioned yet) is, "The Dogs of War ", a very early Christopher Walken flick. The book was way better though.
 
I keep forgetting about "Tears In The Sun", I thought that one held up very well.
Come to think of it, "The Last Samurai" was basically a war movie, and surprisingly good, for a Tom Cruise movie.
 
Gallipoli
The Winter War
Stalingrad
Lawrence of Arabia
All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
My Boy Jack
Regeneration (Behind The Lines, US release)
The Beast...to name a few.
 
I got caught watching Full Metal Jacket by my mother when I was about 17. Right during the Drill Instructor scene (RIP R. Lee Ermey). I still can't watch it w/o feeling guilty.

But, my vote goes to Sgt. York. Wished they would release in on DVD.
 
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