Greatest War Movie of All Time - Elite Eight

[swede123]

Well, we're down to the last eight. I was sad to see The Deerhunter go in the last round, but it lost to a very worthy film. As much as people bitch about using IMDB's rankings to determine seedings it's amazing how well it seems to work out towards the later rounds. Six out of eight contestants left alive are one and two seeds. On to the matchups...

[jakethebake]

There is no way platoon should still be in there.

[swede123]

Group three, while containing some great movies lacked movies with mass public appeal. Now it will most likely make it to the Final Four round. I don't know about all the Platoon hating though, I think it's a pretty solid film, and my personal favorite performance by Charlie Sheen.

Swede

[slamdunkpro]

The Great Escape vs Stalag 17 was the hardest choice in the last round. Patton should still be here too.

[jakethebake]

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my personal favorite performance by Charlie Sheen.

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that's like saying favorite performance by pee wee herman.

[swede123]

I knew that comment would be coming /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[SL__72]

I thought all 4 choices were pretty tough this round. 3 sets of very good movies matched up vs. each other and 1 set that doesn't really deserve to be here imo.

[swede123]

Yikes, already down to page 3. Vote away, children.

Swede

[offTopic]

There's an early script of Saving Private Ryan pasted all over the internet...I was skimming over it this morning. Talk about changing the movie around!

[samjjones]

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There's an early script of Saving Private Ryan pasted all over the internet...I was skimming over it this morning. Talk about changing the movie around!

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Brief summary, please.

[offTopic]

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There's an early script of Saving Private Ryan pasted all over the internet...I was skimming over it this morning. Talk about changing the movie around!

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Brief summary, please.

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Miller, Ryan, and Reiben walking off into the sunset together talking about their recently fallen comrades. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif I don't even know if it's genuine, but that's probably how the movie would have ended if it had been made in 1960 or something.

[slamdunkpro]

Miller doesn’t die in the end

[MonkeeMan]

All the remaining movies are worthy, but if I was to pick the best of the best war films it would be...

Band Of Brothers

and it's not even close.

[samjjones]

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Miller doesn’t die in the end

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This probably would've been a good thing, instead of the classic Spielberg schmaltz "Tell me I am a good person" ending.

[theweatherman]

wtf whoever voted for saving private ryan is a total bitch

[Blarg]

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Group three, while containing some great movies lacked movies with mass public appeal. Now it will most likely make it to the Final Four round. I don't know about all the Platoon hating though, I think it's a pretty solid film, and my personal favorite performance by Charlie Sheen.

Swede

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Agreed. This is not a movie that deserves hate. I could only see it getting hate from ideologues with a political axe to grind.

[wh1t3bread]

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All the remaining movies are worthy, but if I was to pick the best of the best war films it would be...

Band Of Brothers

and it's not even close.

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BoB is great, but its a mini-series. Not a film. Which is why it was never included in this poll.

[Blarg]

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Miller doesn’t die in the end

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This probably would've been a good thing, instead of the classic Spielberg schmaltz "Tell me I am a good person" ending.

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One of the most horrible endings of all time. With the kind of leaden, resounding obviousness and milking of sentimentality that's Spielberg's personal curse. The most unrelentingly gawdawful Spielberg since The Color Purple.

[bravos1]

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All the remaining movies are worthy, but if I was to pick the best of the best war films it would be...

Band Of Brothers

and it's not even close.

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I agree that all of the remaining are good movies, but my favorite did not even make the top 64 /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Bat 21 - Gene Hackman's best movie

[MonkeeMan]

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All the remaining movies are worthy, but if I was to pick the best of the best war films it would be...

Band Of Brothers

and it's not even close.

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BoB is great, but its a mini-series. Not a film. Which is why it was never included in this poll.

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Mere technicalities. Band Of Brothers was so great it deserves an automatic bye into the super-finals.

yeah, "Forrest Goes to Europe," sucked compared to Apocalypse Now.

[TheCroShow]

all depends on the generation you belong to. if you're 50+ of course you're going to enjoy apocalype now (amazing movie btw) more than saving private ryan. i voted saving private ryan because i enjoyed it a little more. a tough vote IMO

[Tom1975]

I can't wait for the FMJ vs. Platoon match-up. If we get a few people to come to their senses and vote AN over SPR, we could have an all Vietnam war final.

[TheMainEvent]

SPR is a good film no doubt, but this poll is officially a joke if Apocalypse Now doesn't even make the final four.

[flatline]

[ QUOTE ]
All the remaining movies are worthy, but if I was to pick the best of the best war films it would be...

Band Of Brothers

and it's not even close.

[/ QUOTE ]

It kind of gets screwed because it is a mini-series. However, if you classify it as a film, it is the best war movie of all time. No contest; end of discussion.

[TheGame1020]

Stalag 17 being eliminated is such an injustice.

[samjjones]

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Stalag 17 being eliminated is such an injustice.

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I personally do not consider this a "War Movie", as there are no battle scenes.

[DrSavage]

wtf why are people woting for SPR over Apocalypse Now /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Shajen]

Because it's a better [censored] movie.

Is this so hard to understand.

The title is Greatest War movie.

Apocalypse Now wasn't about war.

[ethan]

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With the kind of leaden, resounding obviousness and milking of sentimentality that's Spielberg's personal curse.

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It pains me that he insists on ruining otherwise good films with this crap.

[swede123]

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All the remaining movies are worthy, but if I was to pick the best of the best war films it would be...

Band Of Brothers

and it's not even close.

[/ QUOTE ]

It kind of gets screwed because it is a mini-series. However, if you classify it as a film, it is the best war movie of all time. No contest; end of discussion.

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Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing story, the best programming ever made for television. But it is not a movie, and that's part of what makes it so great. With Band of Brothers they had ten hours to develop the characters and they had many different writers and directors create separate chapters that all work together to tell one story.

Swede

[swede123]

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One of the most horrible endings of all time. With the kind of leaden, resounding obviousness and milking of sentimentality that's Spielberg's personal curse. The most unrelentingly gawdawful Spielberg since The Color Purple.

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It's funny to hear you say this, Blarg. I share much of the same taste as you when it comes to movies, but apparently our views differ greatly when it comes to Spielberg. Perhaps I'm a little bit simpler in my ability to enjoy the stories Spielberg creates, but I really like how he puts movies together. To each their own I guess =)

Swede

[CCass]

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SPR is a good film no doubt, but this poll is officially a joke if Apocalypse Now doesn't even make the final four.

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SPR is a good film no doubt, but this poll is officially a joke if Apocalypse Now doesn't even make the final four.

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Apocalypse now is a great film, no doubt, but greatest "war" film? There's a difference... If the poll was "Greatest Film about the Realization of Inner Evil," Then Apocalypse now would kick SPR's arse.

[Blarg]

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One of the most horrible endings of all time. With the kind of leaden, resounding obviousness and milking of sentimentality that's Spielberg's personal curse. The most unrelentingly gawdawful Spielberg since The Color Purple.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's funny to hear you say this, Blarg. I share much of the same taste as you when it comes to movies, but apparently our views differ greatly when it comes to Spielberg. Perhaps I'm a little bit simpler in my ability to enjoy the stories Spielberg creates, but I really like how he puts movies together. To each their own I guess =)

Swede

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He can't be beat on things that require little human emotion or need for a measured hand, like Jaws or Raiders of the Lost Ark.

He doesn't trust his material when it comes to emotions, and overcranks the hell out of everything. Absolutely no faith in the audience or his material or actors. Definitely the Hallmark card on steroids version of human emotion. He needs stories about guys with whips and about really big sharks.

I like how he puts movies together too, sometimes. But, it has to be a particular kind of movie. He's one of the most brilliant yet fatally flawed filmmakers ever.

[Blarg]

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With the kind of leaden, resounding obviousness and milking of sentimentality that's Spielberg's personal curse.

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It pains me that he insists on ruining otherwise good films with this crap.

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Me too. Ryan would have been so much better without that horrible last scene. I couldn't believe how badly he blew it by cornballing it up to high heaven and milking the living daylights out of it.

It's like he's compulsive or something, or bottomlessly insecure. No respect for the material or the audience. He always has to make sure you "get it." The guy just can't help himself.

[KingCon]

I am protesting the vote because MISSING IN ACTION with Chuck Norris wasnt even given a chance.

Haters

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With the kind of leaden, resounding obviousness and milking of sentimentality that's Spielberg's personal curse.

[/ QUOTE ]

It pains me that he insists on ruining otherwise good films with this crap.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too. Ryan would have been so much better without that horrible last scene. I couldn't believe how badly he blew it by cornballing it up to high heaven and milking the living daylights out of it.

It's like he's compulsive or something, or bottomlessly insecure. No respect for the material or the audience. He always has to make sure you "get it." The guy just can't help himself.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree in that Spielberg often screws up otherwise excellent films with that mushy over-the-top crap. And as sucky as that final scene in SPR is, it is Spielbergs way of bringing the focus back to the men who fought in that war, who are now old and scarred, and nearly forgotten by whipper-snappers like ourselves who so crave a perfectly sculpted film about the horrors of war.

[whiskeytown]

probably the most realistic Vietnam war film out there...(let's face it, Full Metal Jacket is too cool/surreal to be realistic - Kubrick wasn't a big fan of realism)

If for no other reason then it was written by a vet, I think it's worth watching - glad to see it in the top 9

I'm REALLY waiting to see if Saving Private Ryan can stay ahead of Apoc. Now - Personally, I have nothing against Coppela, but again, that was more of a drama - Hell, it's the retelling of that Joseph Conrad story Heart of Darkness in Vietnam, that's all...

The best war movies should be realistic, IMHO....

RB

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The best war movies should be realistic, IMHO....



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[Blarg]

The thing is, it was already on them for the whole long movie already. Which was doing good, up to that point. Speilberg just wanted to beat the damn thing to death.

If someone as incredibly powerful as Spielberg wasn't involved, it would have looked like a cartoon of a studio-demanded schmaltzy ending. But Spielberg did it to himself -- and to us. Uggh.

Don't get me wrong, every time I watch it on dvd, I turn it off before that last scene. Likewise, I jump ahead to the splashing of the ocean upon the tank-barrier, in the beginning, as well. Unecessary bookends to a very awesome flick.

[ChipWrecked]

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SPR is a good film no doubt, but this poll is officially a joke if Apocalypse Now doesn't even make the final four.

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This poll is already a joke because Patton is out.

[jakethebake]

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The best war movies should be realistic, IMHO....

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There was one? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[TheCroShow]

wait, was rambo in the first round? i demand a re-vote! or place the winner vs. rambo =P

realism in war movies? hmm..unfortunately that would not sell tickets.

[lem45216]

How the bollocks is the score currently 74/73 to apocalypse now? Who on earth is voting against it? It should be miles out in front.

[jakethebake]

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realism in war movies? hmm..unfortunately that would not sell tickets.

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in particular, the people that were aware of the realism wouldn't want to see it, and the rest would never know the difference anyway so why bother?

[ChipWrecked]

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realism in war movies? hmm..unfortunately that would not sell tickets.

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in particular, the people that were aware of the realism wouldn't want to see it, and the rest would never know the difference anyway so why bother?

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People may be forgetting that lots of Vietnam vets freaked out in the theater during Platoon. I saw it happen.

[jakethebake]

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People may be forgetting that lots of Vietnam vets freaked out in the theater during Platoon. I saw it happen.

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That's kind of odd since there was nothing very realistic about platoon.

[MonkeeMan]

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People may be forgetting that lots of Vietnam vets freaked out in the theater during Platoon. I saw it happen.

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That's kind of odd since there was nothing very realistic about platoon.

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You are totally wrong here. Totally. Of all the Nam flicks I've seen (not all of them, for sure, but over a dozen at least), Platoon is the closest to my experiences.

Wonder if any other Nam vets care to chime in?

[jakethebake]

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You are totally wrong here. Totally. Of all the Nam flicks I've seen (not all of them, for sure, but over a dozen at least), Platoon is the closest to my experiences.

Wonder if any other Nam vets care to chime in?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was not in vietnam, but I've been to war. I'm specifically referring to combat scenes. Other films like Pvt. Ryan's opening scene or Blackhawk Down really put me on edge. Platoon did nothing like this to me. But I don't know specifically it was about Platoon that you found realistic.

[Blarg]

I still suspect it's political in your case.

[jakethebake]

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I still suspect it's political in your case.

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Explain? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[MonkeeMan]

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You are totally wrong here. Totally. Of all the Nam flicks I've seen (not all of them, for sure, but over a dozen at least), Platoon is the closest to my experiences.

Wonder if any other Nam vets care to chime in?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was not in vietnam, but I've been to war. I'm specifically referring to combat scenes. Other films like Pvt. Ryan's opening scene or Blackhawk Down really put me on edge. Platoon did nothing like this to me. But I don't know specifically it was about Platoon that you found realistic.

[/ QUOTE ]

What put me on edge was the ambush scene, those damn dinks creeping up on you at night in the boonies.

The shiit burning detail. The shotgun shotgun. The bugs, those fackin bugs. The juicers and heads. The friendships. The recently deserted NVA base camp. The lifers. The fog.

[Blarg]

First, I don't think your evaluation of the movie is very fair. It also seems very firm, as if more than a mere movie is being discussed or involved. Just a feeling.

That feeling comes also from certain past posts which sounded like catch phrases or sound bites of the right wing, which hates Oliver Stone with a passion and still often finds criticism of the Vietnam war offensive. Therefore, criticism of the Vietnam war by Oliver Stone gets some of those types in an uproar, even though he went and many if not most of them didn't.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
First, I don't think your evaluation of the movie is very fair. It also seems very firm, as if more than a mere movie is being discussed or involved. Just a feeling.

That feeling comes also from certain past posts which sounded like catch phrases or sound bites of the right wing, which hates Oliver Stone with a passion and still often finds criticism of the Vietnam war offensive. Therefore, criticism of the Vietnam war by Oliver Stone gets some of those types in an uproar, even though he went and many if not most of them didn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, no. Not at all. I personally have mixed feeling about the war. It's honestly been quite awhile since I've seen it, bit I just thought it was a very hokie movie.

It's interesting you mention that though. Maybe 15 years ago what you say may have been true about me. But that's not at all what I'm basing my evaluation on.

[Blarg]

OK, fair enough. Was just a feeling.