There are 219 comments.

1. Member
   Misthiocracy got drunk and

   @Misthiocracy

   

   3:24 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   I cannot decide on just a single movie.

   “Entertaining,” is a terrible criterion for ranking movies.  Yes, some movies are more entertaining than others, but I feel there’s a threshold where all the most entertaining movies are actually equally entertaining.  There’s a critical mass of “entertainment” if you will, where movies can still go higher when ranked according to other criteria, but they cannot really get any more entertaining.  It’s sorta kinda like asking which massless particle is the fastest.

   Anyhoo, in reference to the original question I’m torn between:

   • Kelly’s Heroes
   • Catch-22
   • Inglourious Basterds
   • Operation Petticoat
   • Fury
   • The Final Countdown
   • Captain America: The First Avenger
   • Tora! Tora! Tora!
   • Bedknobs and Broomsticks
2. Member
   Misthiocracy got drunk and

   @Misthiocracy

   

   3:26 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   ToryWarWriter (View Comment):

   But this is the best WW2 Movie bar none.

   THE BIG RED ONE

   It’s a good one, but far from the best.  The pacing drags to a crawl in spots, and the dialogue can be really corny at times.

3. Member
   Hoyacon

   @Hoyacon

   3:30 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   Misthiocracy got drunk and (View Comment):

   I cannot decide on just a single movie.

   “Entertaining,” is a terrible criterion for ranking movies. Yes, some movies are more entertaining than others, but I feel there’s a threshold where all the most entertaining movies are actually equally entertaining. There’s a critical mass of “entertainment” if you will, where movies can still go higher when ranked according to other criteria, but they cannot really get any more entertaining. It’s sorta kinda like asking which massless particle is the fastest.

   Anyhoo, in reference to the original question I’m torn between:

   • Kelly’s Heroes
   • Catch-22
   • Inglourious Basterds
   • Operation Petticoat
   • Fury
   • The Final Countdown
   • Captain America: The First Avenger
   • Tora! Tora! Tora!
   • Bedknobs and Broomsticks

   Those are tough choices.  Just pick The Guns of Navarone and be done with it.

4. Member
   Misthiocracy got drunk and

   @Misthiocracy

   

   3:30 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   I’d also like to throw out an honourable mention for The Keep.  It didn’t get a spot on my list because it too suffers from poor pacing, as the story repeatedly screeches to a crawl for no discernible artistic reason, but it still holds a soft spot in my heart as a mind-bending blend of disparate genres that scared the bejeebus out of me when I first saw it.

5. Member
   Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)

   @Sisyphus

   

   3:36 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   Misthiocracy got drunk and (View Comment):

   I cannot decide on just a single movie.

   “Entertaining,” is a terrible criterion for ranking movies. Yes, some movies are more entertaining than others, but I feel there’s a threshold where all the most entertaining movies are actually equally entertaining. There’s a critical mass of “entertainment” if you will, where movies can still go higher when ranked according to other criteria, but they cannot really get any more entertaining. It’s sorta kinda like asking which massless particle is the fastest.

   Anyhoo, in reference to the original question I’m torn between:

   • Kelly’s Heroes
   • Catch-22
   • Inglourious Basterds
   • Operation Petticoat
   • Fury
   • The Final Countdown
   • Captain America: The First Avenger
   • Tora! Tora! Tora!
   • Bedknobs and Broomsticks

   Those are tough choices. Just pick The Guns of Navarone and be done with it.

   This is way easier than that. Kelly’s Heroes, right there at the top. Like comment 5 and kick back and enjoy the ruckus.

6. Coolidge
   ToryWarWriter

   @ToryWarWriter

   3:39 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   Misthiocracy got drunk and (View Comment):

   I’d also like to throw out an honourable mention for The Keep. It didn’t get a spot on my list because it too suffers from poor pacing, as the story repeatedly screeches to a crawl for no discernible artistic reason, but it still holds a soft spot in my heart as a mind-bending blend of disparate genres that scared the bejeebus out of me when I first saw it.

   –Yes I did forget about that one.  It kinda falls apart in the third act.  Doesnt explain whats going on.

   –Another movie to watch like this is Castle Keep

    

    

    

    

    

    

7. Support
   Samuel Block

   @SamuelBlock

   3:52 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   Has anyone mentioned Hope and Glory? That’s a great Battle of Britain movie. And I’m surprised Empire of the Sun hasn’t come up. (Or did I miss it?)

   Both are very entertaining.

8. Member
   Miffed White Male

   @MiffedWhiteMale

   

   3:54 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   ToryWarWriter (View Comment):
   This movie stars Lee Marvin and follows a squad of US GI’s from the landings in Morroco, the Tunisian campaign, the fighting Italy, the landing of Normandy, the Hurtgen forest, which plays like a Grimms fairy tale, and the capture of Auschwitz.

   Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians.

    

9. Inactive
   Arvo

   @Arvo

   3:55 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

   Miffed White Male (View Comment):

   ToryWarWriter (View Comment):
   This movie stars Lee Marvin and follows a squad of US GI’s from the landings in Morroco, the Tunisian campaign, the fighting Italy, the landing of Normandy, the Hurtgen forest, which plays like a Grimms fairy tale, and the capture of Auschwitz.

   Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians.

    

   He didn’t say it was liberated.  He said it was captured.

10. Member
    Miffed White Male

    @MiffedWhiteMale

    

    4:07 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Arvo (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):
    This movie stars Lee Marvin and follows a squad of US GI’s from the landings in Morroco, the Tunisian campaign, the fighting Italy, the landing of Normandy, the Hurtgen forest, which plays like a Grimms fairy tale, and the capture of Auschwitz.

    Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians.

     

    He didn’t say it was liberated. He said it was captured.

    “follows a squad of US GI’s”

    Auschwitz was in Poland.  No American Soldiers were involved in any way with its capture or liberation.

11. Inactive
    Arvo

    @Arvo

    4:10 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Arvo (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):
    This movie stars Lee Marvin and follows a squad of US GI’s from the landings in Morroco, the Tunisian campaign, the fighting Italy, the landing of Normandy, the Hurtgen forest, which plays like a Grimms fairy tale, and the capture of Auschwitz.

    Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians.

     

    He didn’t say it was liberated. He said it was captured.

    “follows a squad of US GI’s”

    Auschwitz was in Poland. No American Soldiers were involved in any way with its capture or liberation.

    Of course.

12. Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)

    @Sisyphus

    

    4:15 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Arvo (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):
    This movie stars Lee Marvin and follows a squad of US GI’s from the landings in Morroco, the Tunisian campaign, the fighting Italy, the landing of Normandy, the Hurtgen forest, which plays like a Grimms fairy tale, and the capture of Auschwitz.

    Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians.

    He didn’t say it was liberated. He said it was captured.

    “follows a squad of US GI’s”

    Auschwitz was in Poland. No American Soldiers were involved in any way with its capture or liberation.

    From the US Holocaust Memorial Museum entry for the 1st Infantry Division:

    On May 8, 1945, units of the 1st liberated liberated Zwodau and Falkenau an der Eger, both subcamps of the Flossenbürg concentration camp. Both camps were located on territory that today is in the Czech Republic. Zwodau had been set up in 1944 by the SS for the production of air force equipment and housed some 1,200 female prisoners by March 1945. Falkenau housed 60 prisoners. At the time of its liberation, the camp in Zwodau held some 900 to 1,000 starving women prisoners. The 1st Infantry Division procured food from the neighboring areas and provided badly needed medical attention to the survivors.

    So I’m going with Zwodau.

13. Thatcher
    The Scarecrow

    @TheScarecrow

    

    4:28 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Arvo (View Comment):
    And Band of Brothers deserves an honorable mention.

    On a scale of 1-10, Band of Brothers is an 11. But it doesn’t count because it’s a Miniseries.

    Likewise, Winds of War and War & Remembrance. They get downgraded by casting, and the prevalence of soap-opera sub-plots, but otherwise remain probably one of the finest dramatizations of the whole war, and certainly of the Holocaust, ever put on film.

    Didn’t see these, but now you have intrigued me. Thanks for the recommendation!

14. Inactive
    repmodad

    @Repmodad

    4:29 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):

    But this is the best WW2 Movie bar none.

    THE BIG RED ONE

    Best part of these threads, hands down: finding movies I don’t know about to add to my watchlist. 

15. Member
    Miffed White Male

    @MiffedWhiteMale

    

    5:27 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    The Scarecrow (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Arvo (View Comment):
    And Band of Brothers deserves an honorable mention.

    On a scale of 1-10, Band of Brothers is an 11. But it doesn’t count because it’s a Miniseries.

    Likewise, Winds of War and War & Remembrance. They get downgraded by casting, and the prevalence of soap-opera sub-plots, but otherwise remain probably one of the finest dramatizations of the whole war, and certainly of the Holocaust, ever put on film.

    Didn’t see these, but now you have intrigued me. Thanks for the recommendation!

    Both based on the books by Herman Wouk.  The first one, Winds of war was on TV circa 1983.  Covered from the start of the war through to Pearl Harbor.  Robert Mitchum as “Pug” Henry, Ali Macgraw as Natalie Jastrow, Jan Michael Vincent as Byron Henry and John  Houseman as Aaron Jastrow. 

    Aaron Jastrow is a Jewish professor caught in Italy and Germany after the start of the War, Natalie is his Niece(?)/research assistant who travels with him.  Pug Henry is a US Naval officer, his son Byron is married to Natalie.  Pug is assigned as a naval attache to various countries which gives him an excuse to be running around to various war zones, including Moscow.   

    War & remembrance is split into two sections that were broadcast about 9 months apart in 1988 and 1989.  Houseman is replaced by John  Gielgud, Ali MacGraw is replaced by Jane Seymour, and Jan Michael Vincent in replaced by Hart Bochner.  All three are *significant* upgrades from the first miniseries.  Covers from Pearl Harbor to the end of the war and slightly after.  

    There’s very good coverage of the submarine war in the Pacific (Barry Bostwick plays a submarine commander), but the highlight of the story is coverage of the Holocaust.  Probably the most chilling thing I’ve ever seen on TV was the demonstration for Himmler of the “processing” of an arriving train at Auschwitz.  The scene runs 20 or 30 minutes.  The plot of the miniseries revolves around Aaaron and Natalie being shuttled around winding up first in Theresienstadt and then eventually Auschwitz.  The scenes of their train arriving at Auschwitz were shot at the actual camp in roughly 1985.  They had camp survivors there during the filming who said the production really nailed it.

    The soap opera stuff you can skip over – Basically any scene with Polly Bergan (who plays Robert Mitchum’s wife), and at least half the scenes with Victoria Tennant (who plays a war correspondents daughter with whom Mitchum is having an affair).

    The whole thing runs something like 38 hours, so it’s a major time investment.  But it’s worth it.

     

16. Member
    Misthiocracy got drunk and

    @Misthiocracy

    

    5:33 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):
    This movie stars Lee Marvin and follows a squad of US GI’s from the landings in Morroco, the Tunisian campaign, the fighting Italy, the landing of Normandy, the Hurtgen forest, which plays like a Grimms fairy tale, and the capture of Auschwitz.

    Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians.

     

    The game is about entertaining movies, not historically accurate ones.

17. Member
    Miffed White Male

    @MiffedWhiteMale

    

    5:55 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    The scenes of their train arriving at Auschwitz were shot at the actual camp in roughly 1985. They had camp survivors there during the filming who said the production really nailed it.

    https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/02/world/for-a-tv-miniseries-cameras-roll-at-auschwitz.html

     

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1988/11/13/war-and-remembrance/56bf8a12-4f4b-4494-bc21-7255945dd514/

18. Member
    Eustace C. Scrubb

    @EustaceCScrubb

    7:56 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Downfall – Official answer. Bruno Ganz’s performance as Hilter makes this grim film very watchable, but it continues to provide entertainment through the many memes it has provided.

    

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5R0UHGh8vA

19. Coolidge
    Flicker

    @Flicker

    9:49 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown.  Final answer.

20. Coolidge
    Skyler

    @Skyler

    10:43 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 12, 2020

    Skyler (View Comment):

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):

    But for you Pacific Lovers this is probably the best of the Pacific Campaign.

    I’m pretty shocked that I’ve never seen this one. I’ll watch it today.

    Okay, I just watched “In Harm’s Way” this evening.  Meh.  Too much soap opera.  I’ll pass.   It’s not a terribly bad movie, but not even close to the top of this list.

21. Inactive
    Songwriter

    @user_19450

    5:01 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown. Final answer.

    Trivia: One of my uncles flew one of the fake Japanese Zeros in that movie. He was administrator for the Confederate Air Force at the time, and they provided the Zeros.

22. Coolidge
    Flicker

    @Flicker

    6:02 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Songwriter (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown. Final answer.

    Trivia: One of my uncles flew one of the fake Japanese Zeros in that movie. He was administrator for the Confederate Air Force at the time, and they provided the Zeros.

    I guess they had the planes, huh.  That scene of getting buzzed by jets is the coolest part of the movie.  And I wondered where they got those Zeros from. :)

23. Member
    Miffed White Male

    @MiffedWhiteMale

    

    6:17 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Songwriter (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown. Final answer.

    Trivia: One of my uncles flew one of the fake Japanese Zeros in that movie. He was administrator for the Confederate Air Force at the time, and they provided the Zeros.

    I guess they had the planes, huh. That scene of getting buzzed by jets is the coolest part of the movie. And I wondered where they got those Zeros from. :)

    Weren’t they all modified T-6s?  I don’t think there were any flyable zeros around anymore, at least at the time.

24. Coolidge
    Flicker

    @Flicker

    6:59 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Songwriter (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown. Final answer.

    Trivia: One of my uncles flew one of the fake Japanese Zeros in that movie. He was administrator for the Confederate Air Force at the time, and they provided the Zeros.

    I guess they had the planes, huh. That scene of getting buzzed by jets is the coolest part of the movie. And I wondered where they got those Zeros from. :)

    Weren’t they all modified T-6s? I don’t think there were any flyable zeros around anymore, at least at the time.

    Yes, so I read.  I didn’t think about it at the time I saw the movie.

25. Coolidge
    Taras

    @Taras

    9:56 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Songwriter (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown. Final answer.

    Trivia: One of my uncles flew one of the fake Japanese Zeros in that movie. He was administrator for the Confederate Air Force at the time, and they provided the Zeros.

    I guess they had the planes, huh. That scene of getting buzzed by jets is the coolest part of the movie. And I wondered where they got those Zeros from. :)

    Weren’t they all modified T-6s? I don’t think there were any flyable zeros around anymore, at least at the time.

    Yes, so I read. I didn’t think about it at the time I saw the movie.

    The Confederate Air Force beat the rush and renamed itself the Commemorative Air Force some years back.  

    They sent me some nice address stickers, but misspelled my name.

     

     

26. Member
    B. W. Wooster

    @HenryV

    10:03 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    My sentimental selection and and one of my all-time favorites, “Empire of the Sun”.   Official answer.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OkdnMsVm6k

     

27. Coolidge
    Tex929rr

    @Tex929rr

    10:05 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    B. W. Wooster (View Comment):

    My sentimental selection and and one of my all-time favorites, “Empire of the Sun”. Official answer.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OkdnMsVm6k

    One of the best scenes of all time.

     

     

     

     

     

28. Member
    Miffed White Male

    @MiffedWhiteMale

    

    10:11 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Taras (View Comment):
    The Confederate Air Force beat the rush and renamed itself the Commemorative Air Force some years back.

    I wanna say that was 2005, plus or minus a couple years.  

    I was on their mailing list for a while after I did a flight in their B-17 in 2001.  They made the change while I was still regularly receiving correspondence from them.

29. Coolidge
    Taras

    @Taras

    10:23 AM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Taras (View Comment):
    The Confederate Air Force beat the rush and renamed itself the Commemorative Air Force some years back.

    I wanna say that was 2005, plus or minus a couple years.

    I was on their mailing list for a while after I did a flight in their B-17 in 2001. They made the change while I was still regularly receiving correspondence from them.

    Too bad, though.  “Confederate Air Force” was a droll name.

30. Coolidge
    Flicker

    @Flicker

    1:38 PM EDT ⋅ Jul 13, 2020

    Taras (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Songwriter (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Does The Final Countdown count?

    Yes.

    Then I’ll vote for The Final Countdown. Final answer.

    Trivia: One of my uncles flew one of the fake Japanese Zeros in that movie. He was administrator for the Confederate Air Force at the time, and they provided the Zeros.

    I guess they had the planes, huh. That scene of getting buzzed by jets is the coolest part of the movie. And I wondered where they got those Zeros from. :)

    Weren’t they all modified T-6s? I don’t think there were any flyable zeros around anymore, at least at the time.

    Yes, so I read. I didn’t think about it at the time I saw the movie.

    The Confederate Air Force beat the rush and renamed itself the Commemorative Air Force some years back.

    They sent me some nice address stickers, but misspelled my name.

    Yes, I wondered exactly how and when the Confederacy could be construed to have an air force.  Wikipedia listed it under Commemorative Air Force, I think.  It started as a joke didn’t it?