"War on the Rocks" best war movie list

[Gusington]

^Me too.

[CptHowdy]

havent seen a mention of saving private ryan. is schindlers list considered a war movie?

[undercovergeek]

Probably need to bolt down what is actually to be considered a war movie

IIRC there is no war in top gun just a skirmish that no one knows about

Same for red October

[SirAndrewD]

havent seen a mention of saving private ryan. is schindlers list considered a war movie?

SPR has a better claim on the list than a few of the others.  I absolutely consider it a war movie and a great one.  It's not typically in my absolute top but it's solid and there are a few moments in it that I even used to lecture on in class. 

I don't consider Schindler's List a War movie.  Holocaust films I think have a separate category although there is some crossover. 

Come and See is possibly the greatest Holocaust AND war film ever made in combo.  It's the most egregious missing item from the list.

[Sir Slash]

"Pork Chop Hill" was a damned fine war movie, also a place that sounds good to eat at. Anything with Audey By-God Murphy in it's got to be a war movie because he was a By-God genuine war hero. By God! 

[Gusington]

For me the biggest miss is Platoon very closely followed by Full Metal Jacket, for so many reasons that are no doubt clear to everyone here. Come on now.

[JasonPratt]

I notice no one is disagreeing with "Pearl Harbor" being on the "worst movie" list 

I would definitely not put it on the "worst" war movie list. Technically it's a fine film, looks and sounds great, well paced. Bay meant it to be a modern throwback to 40s patriotic rah-films, and that's exactly what it does.

Bay can do serious films when he cares to. Including one of the best war films ever, "13 Hours"!

[ArizonaTank]

For me the biggest miss is Platoon very closely followed by Full Metal Jacket, for so many reasons that are no doubt clear to everyone here. Come on now.

I agree.

But the problem for me is I could easily come up with a hundred great war movies that 'should be on the list.'

I could easily start rattling off movies like:

-We Were Soldiers
-1917
-Enemy at the Gates
-Master and Commander
-The Longest Day
-Tora, Tora, Tora
-The Enemy Below
-The Alamo (2004)

On top of that...I could probably easily list 200 if you are going to open the aperture and let in techno-thrillers and general military movies. 

Then you could start listing movies like:

-The Seven Samurai
-No Time for Sergeants
-A Few Good Men
-The Imitation Game

But that is just me, and besides, nobody really wants to read a list of a hundred or two hundred movies...

[Gusington]

^I do!

And sorry Pratt, I love you like another weird uncle, but 2001's Pearl Harbor is hot dog vomit.

[ArizonaTank]

I notice no one is disagreeing with "Pearl Harbor" being on the "worst movie" list 

I would definitely not put it on the "worst" war movie list. Technically it's a fine film, looks and sounds great, well paced. Bay meant it to be a modern throwback to 40s patriotic rah-films, and that's exactly what it does.

Bay can do serious films when he cares to. Including one of the best war films ever, "13 Hours"!

OK, I'd be willing to take it off the list and switch it with "Battle of the Bulge." BotB easily gets to the top of the "worst" list after a ten second review of the final battle scene where Henry Fonda's men roll burning barrels of fuel downhill and stop Robert Shaw's advancing German tigers. The movie has only a little redeeming value with its 'panzer porn' scene; "Panzerlied"

[Tripoli]

To come up with a list of the 10 best war movies, it probably is useful to define what is meant be "best".  I would argue that in the context of a war movie, it should provide some interesting insight into man or the human condition, and/or the nature of war, while being largely historically accurate.  Using this definition, both LotR and Starship Troopers would probably be kicked off the list right away, as they are fantasy/science fiction.  Of course, by saying this, I immediately run into problems with whether to include "Apocalypse Now", so my requirement for reasonable historical accuracy may be "A Bridge too Far" (sorry, I couldn't resist....). 
How about this definition: to be considered one of the best war movies, the film or miniseries should, in the context of a reasonably believable combat setting, provide interesting insight into man or the human condition, and/or the nature of war."

This definition would eliminate holocaust movies (as they are not in a combat setting) but also likely eliminate my beloved "Winds of War/War and Remembrance" as it is not in a combat setting (as is really more of a holocaust movie).  It may also bump out "From Here to Eternity" for the same reason.  But the definition does give a way to "rack and stack" the various candidates.

[Gusington]

Also: Glory.

[Sir Slash]

What about, "Enemy Below"? Is that a war movie or a Sub movie? What about, "Memphis Belle", is that a war movie or an Air Force movie? One of the greatest combat scenes ever was in the History Channel's, "Vikings" when they assaulted Paris in Season 4 or 5 I Can't remember, Is that a war series or a Viking series?

We could go on and on what is or isn't a war film and probably never settle it. But it's fun doing it isn't it? BTW, I liked Pearl Harbor, the perfect war movie for people who know nothing about WWII except who won. "13 Hours" was also excellent even though...maybe not a war movie?

[Gusington]

^If you're gonna go that way let's never forget the Battle of the Bastards in Game of Thrones.

[Tripoli]

What about, "Enemy Below"? Is that a war movie or a Sub movie? What about, "Memphis Belle", is that a war movie or an Air Force movie? One of the greatest combat scenes ever was in the History Channel's, "Vikings" when they assaulted Paris in Season 4 or 5 I Can't remember, Is that a war series or a Viking series?

We could go on and on what is or isn't a war film and probably never settle it. But it's fun doing it isn't it? BTW, I liked Pearl Harbor, the perfect war movie for people who know nothing about WWII except who won. "13 Hours" was also excellent even though...maybe not a war movie?

I would argue that "Enemy Below" is a war movie.  You might say it is also in the sub-genre of "submarine movie"    Something like "The Bridge over the River Kwai" is different, as it doesn't fit my definition of being in combat (neither would "Stalag 17"), so possibly there needs to be a separate category of "Military Movies" for those movies in a military setting, but not directly dealing with a combat environment.  The "Memphis Belle" (the one done in 1944) I would argue is more of a documentary.