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Post by outrider127 on Mar 3, 2017 19:36:48 GMT
War and Peace Pt 2(1968) Stunning Epic Russian film about the Napoleonic Invasion of Russia, huge anti-war film
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gogoschka1
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Post by gogoschka1 on Mar 3, 2017 21:43:38 GMT
The 4 most realistic high quality war films I can think of that haven't been mentioned in this thread yet (well: 2 films and 2 mini-series) are these (I'd rate all of them between 9/10 and 10/10) Beasts of No Nation (2015) www.imdb.com/title/tt1365050/Kilo Two Bravo (2014) www.imdb.com/title/tt3622120/ *** I highly recommend this underrated gem! *** Generation Kill (2008) www.imdb.com/title/tt0995832/The Pacific (2010) www.imdb.com/title/tt0374463/
Haven't seen any of these, gogoschka, but they look really interesting. Thanks for the suggestions. And Beasts of No Nation made me think of Hotel Rwanda, a different kind of war engagement, perhaps, but certainly one that's realistic in its portrayal of genocide.
Of the others you mentioned, I saw and really admired Galipoli, Salvador, and Under Fire.
Well, in terms of realism (and quality) I highly recommend the first 4 suggestions. The other films also really impressed at the time (although I don't know if I would still rate all of them as high if I watched them again today). A word about 'Beast of no Nation': it's a very unique film, harrowing and beautiful at the same time: and shockingly realistic. I've yet to see Hotel Ruanda so I can't compare the two, but I have only heard good things about it.
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gadolinium
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Post by gadolinium on Mar 3, 2017 23:08:13 GMT
Cross of Iron (1977).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2017 23:38:26 GMT
Not sure I would describe Apocalypse Now (1979) as "realistic". Great film that it is, most of it is like a drug-induced surreal fantasy. There are realistic scenes.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2017 23:39:47 GMT
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Post by coldenhaulfield on Mar 3, 2017 23:50:45 GMT
Hey, it certainly doesn't ROMANTICIZE interstellar combat with giant space insects...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2017 23:52:25 GMT
Hey, it certainly doesn't ROMANTICIZE interstellar combat with giant space insects... It's realistic!
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Post by coldenhaulfield on Mar 3, 2017 23:57:29 GMT
Hey, it certainly doesn't ROMANTICIZE interstellar combat with giant space insects... It's realistic! Exactly. And, smart-ass response notwithstanding, it was honestly the first thing that came to my mind! Well, after Private Ryan and Full Metal Jacket, which have to be so obvious even people who've not seen them would put them on a list like this.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2017 0:04:53 GMT
I've been watching this thread for awhile, and have sorted out my thoughts? MAYBE?
"All Quiet On The Western Front", 1930. I guess it's pretty realistic?
"Gallipoli". Yeesh. What a film.
Um, having not been in combat, I can't really speak to this subject. "Saving Private Ryan" and "Thin Red Line" (same year) both went to great lengths to 'visualize' WWII. I think they did a good job?
I have a few favorite war films. Many, in fact.
One of them is "Paths Of Glory", 1957.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Mar 4, 2017 4:22:37 GMT
About Apocalypse, another poster had a similar response to yours. But I believe it's "mythic" or "surrealistic" qualities contributes to its amazing artistic representation of the insanity of war, which, for me, makes it realistic. But I understand the subjective nature of that assessment. And I agree completely with you about the realism of the scene you mention.
As for the newer films you so aptly describe, I regret to say that I haven't seen any of them (I can't abide too much violence these days). But my friends have also sung their praises, and the trailers I've seen certainly indicate that they are everything you say. I've wanted to see them all, except American Sniper - don't think I could handle that one. But I have a DVD screener of Hacksaw Ridge, so I may give that one a try. I'm very interested in that story, so I hope I can get through it.
As for Hell is for Heroes, I saw it when it was first released and though that was a long time ago I still remember its power and McQueen's terrific performance.
Thanks for your thoughtful, insightful comments. I viewed Hacksaw Ridge four times in the theater (once on an Oscar pass)—I consider it "very good," definitely one of the five or six best movies from this past year. The film is draining, partly due to the brutally realistic nature of the combat scenes and partly due to the ironic and poignant nature of the story. ... fascinating to learn that you saw Hell Is for Heroes during its release—you are surely one of the very few posters who did so. The film also came at an intriguing stage of McQueen's career, where he was a rising star after The Magnificent Seven two years earlier yet not quite (as I understand matters) the iconic star that he would soon become and still a half-decade away from making the Quigley's Annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll (his first appearance coming for 1967). Quigley's Annual through 1970There is something really unmitigated about McQueen's performance in that film, and Don Siegel's lean direction seemed to suit him. And, considering that the American public was not yet focused on Vietnam, Hell Is for Heroes would appear to have been a little ahead of its time in anticipating the ambiguities that would soon accompany representations of war in the popular culture. (Of course, Hell Is for Heroes is about World War II, but it reflected sensibilities that became more commonplace later in the 1960s.)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2017 4:26:40 GMT
Exactly. And, smart-ass response notwithstanding, it was honestly the first thing that came to my mind! Well, after Private Ryan and Full Metal Jacket, which have to be so obvious even people who've not seen them would put them on a list like this. Perhaps the OP should have been more specific in terms of war movies.
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Post by london777 on Mar 4, 2017 22:23:35 GMT
Surprised no-one has mentioned this one: The Big Red One (1980) which included many of director Samuel Fuller's own experiences while serving in the same regiment.
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Post by neurosturgeon on Mar 4, 2017 23:29:13 GMT
A friend of mine said her father sort of freaked when watching "Saving Private Ryan" because the Normandy Invasion sequence was way to real for him.
My 91 year old housemate was at Iwo Jima, he always comments about if the sand isn't black, it isn't real. His biggest memory was the smell of death, which really can't be portrayed without Smell-O-Vision.
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Post by london777 on Mar 5, 2017 3:54:48 GMT
Surprised no-one has mentioned this one: The Big Red One (1980) which included many of director Samuel Fuller's own experiences while serving in the same regiment. London, I saw this when it was released and remember being impressed by it, though I confess that I don't remember it as well as I would like. What I do remember, however, is that it seemed very realistic to me - without sentiment or propaganda. But Fuller was never a director who succumbed to either of those, I think it's safe to say. It is well worth seeing, but hardly a masterpiece. It had a very troubled production history then Fuller tried widely varying cuts. It may also be that he was too close to the material and needed more emotional detachment.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Mar 6, 2017 10:00:38 GMT
Adding these: The Killing Fields (1984) The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) (maybe; not sure I remember it well enough) Fail-Safe (1964) (not on the ground combat, but definitely realistic about war) Fail-Safe is terrific. I do not believe that the narrative is ultimately "realistic," but I understand what you mean in terms of a sobering view of the Cold War nuclear arms race.
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Post by london777 on Mar 7, 2017 14:46:00 GMT
Somehow forgot an old favorite of mine: The Bridge at Remagen (1969) It is not too popular in the US, maybe because it over-simplifies the story of one of the US Army's most heroic and fruitful actions. But purely as an action film it is great, with Robert Vaughan in a rare sympathetic role. Director was a Brit, John Guillermin, which maybe means I am biased in favor and Yanks against. He directed a variety of good, but never great, movies: The Towering Inferno (1974), one of the first and best of the "disaster movies" in vogue in the 1970s. Town on Trial (1957), which resembled a minor Hitchcock effort and was filmed in the town where I was raised. Guns at Batasi (1964) Death on the Nile (1978) one of the better Agatha Christie adaptations. He also directed loads of total rubbish including two abysmal King Kong movies.
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Post by koskiewicz on Mar 7, 2017 16:40:54 GMT
I am a Vietnam era vet. I have discussed Vietnam war movies with fellow vets and we universally agree that "We Were Soldiers" is the most authentic portrayal of that depicted action.
Also mentioned is "Generation Kill" which is a mini series that shows the futility of military actions...i.e., sending jungle fatigues to marines fighting in a desert environment.
Another bone chilling film is "USS Indianapolis" with Nicholas Cage.
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Post by geode on Mar 8, 2017 1:16:13 GMT
"The only way to make a realistic war film would be to hide snipers behind the screen and have them shoot at the audience." -- Samuel Fuller Ah, Sam Fuller who I think some French critic called "an American primitive"...his war films are certainly "gritty" if not realistic.
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Post by Rufus-T on Feb 25, 2022 18:12:28 GMT
Hard to say for me what is realistic since I never been in a war except through news reporting and documentary. I am not a big fan of The Hurt Locker, but I have to say it feels very realistic 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi , I like and does feel mostly realistic, with some exaggeration to add action.
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Post by novastar6 on Feb 25, 2022 18:38:42 GMT
What about The Deerhunter?
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