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WAR what is it good for? Freedom and Movie plots!Dec 17 '05 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line War has been with human history for thousands of years. The film industry has only had a fraction of that to chronicle human history. Here are my personal favorites. When writing a best of WWII movies, I kept thinking of other war movies so it wasn't too hard to assemble my best WAR movies ever list! There is of course, some overlap, but without further ado, here are my favorite ten movies about war. TEN - DR. STRANGELOVE: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964 directed by Stanley Kubrick) Since the rest of my list is so serious and brutal, I wanted at least one film on my list to lighten it up. The Cold War between the Russians and the United States has been done in many serious movies, but the best one was this comedy by my favorite director, Stanley Kubrick. It perfectly captures the mindset of post WWII America, and it's the only film on this list that will make you laugh. NINE - PLATOON (1986 directed by Oliver Stone) Although I am not a big fan of director Oliver Stone, I did like this Vietnam movie staring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. Charlie shows that he is capable of the acting that his dad did in Apocalype now. EIGHT - BRAVEHEART (1995 directed by Mel Gibson) Hundreds of years ago, Scotland was under the harsh rule of the English. William Wallace (Mel Gibson) lead a revolt For Freedom!. The story told in this movie was great, and the battle scenes were outstanding. Much better than Gibson's cliche ridden We Were Soldiers or The Patriot SEVEN - GLORY (1989 directed by Edward Zwick) This was the first outstanding film I have seen about the U.S. Civil War, and it certainly earns a spot on the Top Ten War films list. Fine performances by Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick. SIX - BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001 directed by Ridley Scott) - This shouldn't even be on this list, no war was going on. The U.S. was delivering food in Somalia, we weren't at war, we were there to HELP. However, once a Blackhawk Helicopter is shot down on a mission, and we move in to recover it, this is most definitely a war movie, and a damn good one at that. It also has outstanding surround sound, I felt like I was in the middle of a war zone watching this movie. Pick up the Superbits DVD if you can with the DTS soundtrack. We've got a Black Hawk down, we've got a Black Hawk down FIVE - DAS BOOT (1981 directed by Wolfgang Petersen) - Still the greatest submarine film ever made, and one of the best war movies ever made. Follow the story of the crew of a German submarine in WWII. The surround sound alone on this film makes it worth watching, turn your sub on and feel the depth charges. Be sure to get the Director's cut with the 5.1 DTS soundtrack. FOUR - SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998 directed by Stephen Spielberg) - This moves down a couple spots from its postion in my WWII list, but still remains high, because its such an incredibly well done film. The opening scenes alone of the storming of Normandy are enough to cause shell shock. THREE - BAND OF BROTHERS (2001 based on book by Stephen Ambrose) - Okay, this is actually a miniseries, but I can't imagine any movie lover not enjoying a ten hour epic about WWII based on the true stories of Easy Company by Stephen Ambrose. Moreover, its the best story of WWII set to film. TWO - APOCALYPSE NOW (1979 directed by Francis Ford Coppola - adapted from the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad) Coppala gives us one of the best movies ever made. Who could forget Robert Duvall clearing the beaches so he could go surfing, or the brutal helicopter attack of the Vietnamese village with Wagner blaring through the air!? I love the smell of napalm in the morning Sheen I'm a soldier Brando You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill. The movie like the book ends with one line repeated The horror... the horror.. ONE - FULL METAL JACKET (1987 directed by Stanley Kubrick)- Stan "the Man" Kubrick is my favorite director, and this is one of the most riveting war films I have seen. The first time I watched this, it was with my dad one Sunday afternoon. We usually talk when we watch movies, but from the opening scenes at boot camp til the credits rolled, we watched with absolute stunned silence. Sevn Six Two Millimeter Full Metal Jacket I will also never forget the performance by R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Bonus Section - Some of my favorite Battle Scenes from Movies not on my list: Gladiator The opening battle between the Romans and the invading Visigoths was spectacular from the visuals to the outstanding sound. Master and Commander Russell Crowe leads two of my favorite battle scenes. In this epic tale of battles on the high seas the opening battle between Crowe's ship and the French ship were excellent. I thought my living room has collapsed as cannon shots exploded behind my head. Lord of the Rings - Return of the King Extended Edition Since its a fantasy film, it's not on my War list, but the final battle with the forces of Mordor against the humans at Minas Tirith was filmed with every bit of detail and impact as any movie about real war. Troy The final battle scenes of the Greek army on Troy were done very well. Historical inaccuracies and the overall film prevented it from being on my list, but the battle scenes deserve honorable mention here.  |
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