Favorite WWII Movie
 

This is the Memorial Day weekend, and several movies will be on television.

What is your favorite WWII movie, and why?

I'll go first.

"The Best Years Of Our Lives", with Myrna Loy, Federick March, Dana Andrews, Theresa Wright and Harold Russel, (a real WWII veteran who lost the use of his arms). Also with Kathy O'Donnell and Hogey Carmichael.

I like it because it shows the difficulties adjusting back to civilian life, and it has great acting. Bette Davis said it was the best film ever made, but then she was in love with the director, the great, Billy Wilder.

Playing on TCM, Monday at 10:30 PM.

Saving Private Ryan
 

Mine would be Saving Private Ryan because of its very well done and extremely graphic depiction of the horrors of war while also showing the heroism of those drawn for the most part unwilling into it. Very little false flag waving in this film. They fight for their brothers-in-arms for the most part.

There is even a Villager whose daughter worked on this movie. She was in charge of casting. According to her father, she was quite shocked when it did not win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The things you learn at Doggie Doo Run Run from fellow dog lovers.

My uncle Bill fought as a scout in Italy in WWII and lost an arm, a leg, and part of his skull to a German tree burst shell. It killed all of his squad except for one other man. He was talking to these men when I took care of him just before he went into a nearby nursing home. He had some kind of brain damage that caused dreams while he was awake. This was only when he was much older though. The squad still seemed to be the most important thing to him even though he came home a small town hero in Itasca, Illinois.

Casablanca with Bogie and Bergman

Play it again, Sam.

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That's probably my favorite romance movie. And, up there in my Top Ten list.

Battleground with Van Johnson

There is one I remember seeing called "The Victors" made in 1961. Once again the look of end of war & reality of war on people.

I liked the movie " Von Ryan's Express". I thought it was a very well done movie.

Saving Private Ryan. I have it & I think its time to watch it again.

A Walk in the Sun has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid.

"Red Ball Express." My father was on the committee that conceived and implemented the convoy. He would talk about the logistics of operating it and the courage of the drivers. So, this movie became very personal to me although not all that historically correct (but enough facts to show how amazing this feat was).

Dirty Dozen, Stalag 13, Great Escape, Sands of Iwo Jima, Halls of Montezuma, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Wake Island, The Guns of Navarone, and on and on.

There are too many to mention.

Z

I had never heard of that one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_...un_(1945_film). http://www.allmovie.com/movie/v53181 I put it in my Netflix queue. They do have it but the line is very long.

A lot of those movies can be seen on Youtube.

Airborne
 

The Longest Day based on the book by Cornelius Ryan.

It is the story of the D-Day invasion of Europe with true-to-history characters and events.

It gives the story from both the Allied and the German points of view.

I like having the Germans speak German (with subtitles) rather than speaking heavily accented English.

I like it being in black and white rather than color, making it more gritty.

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The man who was for years my Congressman in Tampa was an Airborne trooper who jumped into France on D-Day. A few years ago the Tampa Tribune ran a feature story about him and printed a photograph of the "cricket" that he carried on that jump. He has kept it ever since then as a souvenir.

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Schindler's List

A Bridge Too Far.
http://gcaggiano.files.wordpress.com...ge-too-far.jpg

Battle Cry.. Remember Tab Hunter !!! I had such a crush on him and also on Aldo Ray !!

Patton

Saving Private Ryan.

"The Enemy Below".....submarine picture with the American Capt. on the destroyer, Robert Mitchum, matching wits with the Capt. of the German "U" boat. They both figured what the other would do but realized that the opposing Capt. would realize this so should they do something different or should they do what they originally planned figuring what the other Capt. figured? It was a chess game with the results being their lives.

One of the best books I ever read..........read it in highschool in the late 50's.

Too tough to choose, Patton, Saving Private Ryan, Bridge on the River Kwai. I watch them again when they are on TV.

Best Picture winners for WWII Films:

1942: Mrs Miniver
1943: Casablanca
1957: Bridge on the River Kwai
1970: Patton
1993: Schindler's List

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When I was a kid in the fifties, there were two favorites and they still are up there: Audie Murphy's "To Hell and Back" and "Walk In The Sun," with unbearable suspense in the advance on the Italian farmhouse.

Today, my favorites are "Saving Private Ryan" for reasons cited above by Tal and "Das Boot" which I have seen at least ten times. Same basis.

Another one that has been a favorite since I was a kid is Sahara (1943) with Bogart.

Action In The North Atlantic, a story of the Merchant Marine in WWII.

Catch-22. Disturbing but thought provoklng.

How could I forget the Merchant Mariners?


USMM.org LINK

My mom thought it was the farm she was raised on, in Italy. Nice thought, but I don't think so. :D

Good flick, that deserves, to be watched.

It's in my Netflix queue. :smiley: I could not find it in entirety on YouTube. It does seem to be on a site that you have to download something or other but I am usually very wary of these.

Butt me!
 

A Walk in the Sun - Rotten Tomatoes

Just watched A Walk in the Sun on DVD from Netflix. They had to get it from their Pittsburgh location where it heads back soon.

Lot's of talking about various things with very frequent requests for cigarettes with the heavy use of the word "butt". Actions scenes interspersed with all the melodramatic conversations. I will bet that this movie influenced Saving Private Ryan's Director Steven Spielberg.

I agree with many of the selections previously mentioned.

However my "favorite" WWII movie (certainly not the "best") is God Is My Co-Pilot starring Dennis Morgan, Raymond Massey, and Alan Hale Sr.

The Flying Tigers (AVG) have always been of particular interest to me. I have done lots of reading on the subject. This dramatization based on the book by Robert L. Scott uses the names of the actual AVG pilots that served in China, and contains some events that actually happened, as opposed to many fictional accounts of the AVG's exploits (like "The Flying Tigers" starring John Wayne). The flying sequences with the P-40's are also well done.

Link to Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Is_My_Co-Pilot_(film)

Do any of the following count as WWII movies?
The Sound of Music
The Diary of Anne Frank
Life is Beautiful

When I first read the post I thought of "battle" movies like The Longest Day or The Sands of Iwo Jima, but these are related to the war also.

Life is Beautiful was a heart warming tale about romance and a parent protecting his child, with an award winning performance by Roberto Benigni.

Great movie, that I have on CD.

"From Here to Eternity,"

"In Harm's Way", John Wayne, Robert Montgomery and Donna Reed.

I just like the combination of adventure and the relationships formed. :smiley:

Twelve O'Clock High! When I was in leadership school it was movie we watched which had good examples of leadership styles in certain situations.

Gen. Savage turned into the Col. he replaced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfbDcBkJ8QQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVbnDBBtg3I

Saving Pvt. Ryan has got to be the best with honorable mentions going to A Brigde to Far and the Longest Day.