It's hard to pick just one, but the first 20 minutes of "Full Metal Jacket" are pure cinematic genius. Surprised nobody has mentioned "The Longest Day". I love that flick, even if it is half a day long. Another great one not mentioned is the original version of "All Quiet on the Western Front".
Glory is an incredible movie. I guess the war itself is more of a setting than anything else, but if it's on the list, it gets my vote.
War Movies aren't simply movies that show fighting in them, but movies based on events that are the direct effect of war... for instance, Saving Private Ryan is a movie filled with battles while The Great Escape doesn't have any battles but shows the lives and escapes of POWs. There would be no POWs without war, so it is a "war movie", just like there wouldn't have been a black regiment in Glory without the Cival War 50 Top Rated War Movies at IMDB.com
For some old classics, check out... Where Eagles Dare Kelly's Hero's The Dirty Dozen The Guns of Navarrone Ice Station Zebra
Someone needs to go to movie classification school, I believe you two are looking for the Sci-Fi department... which is down the hall and to the left. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_movie
Tora Tora Tora. That movie was ahead of it's time. One of the first war movies in color. Real planes, real ships, real bombs, it's amazing how well that movie holds up over time.
Wow. One of my favorites things, war films. Many excellent ones mentioned, but one of the best is not, Battleground, 1949, and directed by William Wellman. This is from IMDb: We follow a band of American soldiers as they engage the Germans in a snowy, foggy winter near Bastogne in World War II. They're low on fuel, rations, and ammunition; the Germans are constantly encouraging their surrender via radio and leaflets, and most importantly, the pervasive thick fog makes movement and identification difficult and prevents their relief by Allied air support. This film focuses much more on the psychology and morale of the soldiers than on action footage and heroics. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041163/plotsummary It has some of the most realistic WW II squad actions ever filmed, and without being gory. If you like war flicks, you've got to see it. It should be out in DVD. Just a great cast, with Van Johnson, John Hodiak, a young Ricardo Montalban, Marshall Thompson, James Whitmore (who should have recieved an Oscar nomination for his role), Richard Jaekel, and James Arness. Rent it today!
LOL! How could I forget that beauty?! I remember going to see that in the theatres when I was 6 years old... gotta love the good ol' days. It is also one of the first DVDs I bought way back in the day.
One of the only right-wing movies ever put out by Hollywood. Trivia question: What did Red Dawn have first among widespread released movies?
