Top 5 War Movies
As requested by Oyaguy.
Before I do my list, I thought that people should know that I do not like The Thin Red Line very much, a reason it was an HM on my Top 5 Disappointing Movies list. So it won't be here, at all.
5 - Black Hawk Down. A great movie but a little too many historical errors drag it down, but I still think this is a beautifully done film, one that really made me think how the United States goes over its head thinking how its military can accomplish anything, yet all we're really good at is killing lots of people and not accomplishing our original task. Go, USA.
4 - Hamburger Hill. I'm not so sure why I like this movie, my research on the Vietnam War is not very good, so I can't say if it's very accurate or not, but I think the reason I like it is because it gives the impression that the facts really don't matter in the Vietnam War. It's not even considered a war by some people, it's more of a "conflict" that happened to last 16 years. So what this movie does is take the average joe Army squadron trying to battle a hill for the sake of capturing enemy territory, no real sound strategy in it. It gives the good impression that the soliders during Nam really could care less of the results of the war, they were (for the most part) drafted in, and all they cared about was doing their service and getting the hell out.
3 - Saving Private Ryan. Although I tend to get a little irritated with movies making war look like romantic art, this movie was very captivating with a breathtaking opening scene and ending battle as well. As cheap as it may sound, even if you're just in the mood to watch a good battle, this movie will satisfy you. But it's cool that they made a movie out of a true story that seems so superficial but gives the impression that a missing soldier is just as important as any other soldier in line.
2 - The Band of Brothers Series. Ok, it's not a "movie", but I'm not going to leave it out because it's that good and was written specifically on historical research, not a storyline and then throwing in historical references here and there. The documentary of the real life Easy Company soldiers made it feel even more authentic. So because it's not a movie I can only give it the #2 spot.
1 - Platoon. Like Hamburger Hill, this does an even better if not best display of disgruntled Army soldiers during the Nam war. Not inspired by true stories or research, just a public statement about the progress the American Army really makes when you have to force people into a war that not very many people agree on. I find it amusing, in a dark way, how this movie truly depicts the hatred a solider could have for his comrade, how he could be dying in the field and at the very least he is annoyed by it, and in the case of Sgt. Barnes in this film, he feels proud when he gets his comrade killed. I love, love, love Dafoe's performance here.