favorite WWII related war movies

[lestweforget]

After you see Das Boot, watch The Cruel Sea. Probably as close to bookends as you can get.

I know this is an aviation based forum, but I am in complete agreement. The Cruel Sea is amazing and is one of the best novels I have ever read. It is also very close to Nicholas Monsarrat's true war experiences which he writes about in the book Three Corvettes. For realism I don't think you can fault Band of Brothers, it was the best researched and acted war series that I have ever seen (closely followed by Das Boot.) For an aviation based film, The Battle Of Britain still does it for me along with Angels One Five. The original Memphis Belle by William Wyler stands alone as a piece of documented aviation history and is a treasure to us all. I consider the motion picture to be an insult (to the crew and history,)and only like to watch it , as a warbird fan , for the flying scenes.I suppose I worry that people take it to be fact, which a lot of the TV generation probably do.
Don't even get me started on Pearl Harbor!!!

[gary1954]

isn't there a docu-film on the Bloody 100th that William Wyler did around the same time he did the Memphis Belle?

[Jack Frost]

The Big Lift Based on the Berlin Airlift. With actual in-flight cockpit footage in a C-54. Good story too.

[jamesintucson]

The Longest Day
Tora
A Bridge Too Far

[Canso42]

All Riiiiiight! Some great stuff here! About two dozen here that are my favorite movie. Depends on what I'm watching at the moment.
One I have to include...'What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?' since so many of my dad's stories remind me of that movie.

Jack, tell me more about "High Barbary"

Doug.

[tom d. friedman]

i could have made this post a mile long......... alot of great movies mentioned i forgot about!!!!

[gary1954]

A Bridge too Far - 1977 great cast super low level Spit shot too
Tora
30 seconds over tokyo
Great Escape
Bridge on the River Kwai - 1957
Longest Day

[AviaS199]

I mentioned "Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy" a few posts back. Got me thinking about some good flying films that aren't available at all, not on VHS or DVD. Some of them:

"Sole Survivor" - a sort of sci-fi film loosely based on "Lady Be Good."

"Fate is the Hunter"

"I Wanted Wings"

"Tail Spin," a film about women pilots of the 1930's, featuring - I hear - great footage of a P-35, among others.

"Now We're In The Air" - a silent film with Wallace Beery and Louise Brooks. Not available anywhere because there are no surviving prints. A real shame. I hear it's a very funny movie with good flying scenes. And Louise Brooks was so darn sexy.

[TonyM]

I really like "I Wanted Wings" and I actually have a copy I taped from TCM some years ago. There are a lot of good shots of B-18s, AT-6s, and early model B-17s. And some great footage of real life 1941 Texas passing under the wings. All three male lead actors became pilots or were pilots (Ray Milland, Wayne Morris, William Holden). Some of the secondary plot subject matter was a little racy for the times: pre-marital sex, out of wedlock pregnancy, sexual blackmail. Not as corny as some 1940s productions. A lot of great flying footage and a great sequence of AT-6 hedge-hopping in rural Texas. I have been waiting for a DVD of this one for some time. Maybe some day.

[Canso42]

Has anybody here ever seen "Abbot and Costello Join the Air Corps? I saw it once many years ago and laughed so hard it hurt. Good biplane footage.

[warbird1]

I mentioned "Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy" a few posts back. Got me thinking about some good flying films that aren't available at all, not on VHS or DVD. Some of them:

"Sole Survivor" - a sort of sci-fi film loosely based on "Lady Be Good."

"Fate is the Hunter"

"I Wanted Wings"

"Tail Spin," a film about women pilots of the 1930's, featuring - I hear - great footage of a P-35, among others.

"Now We're In The Air" - a silent film with Wallace Beery and Louise Brooks. Not available anywhere because there are no surviving prints. A real shame. I hear it's a very funny movie with good flying scenes. And Louise Brooks was so darn sexy.

A few of them are actually. Here are two on DVD:

Sole Survivor:
http://www.amazon.com/Sole-Survivor-Ani ... 493&sr=1-1

I Wanted Wings:
http://stores.films-classic.com/-strse- ... Detail.bok (I don't know if this is an "official release", so be careful if you decide to buy it)

Also, the following movies have not made it onto DVD yet:

Fighter Squadron

Strategic Air Command

The McConnell Story

A Gathering of Eagles


And lots of others that I'm probably forgetting!

[Cripes A Mighty]

You can get Strategic Air Command on Dvd but they are not official.
http://store.animefirst.com/strategic-a ... d-dvd.html

Personally I am just going to wait till the real one comes out and hope for some B36 special features! Hopefully it wont be too long.

[warbird1]

You can get Strategic Air Command on Dvd but they are not official.
http://store.animefirst.com/strategic-a ... d-dvd.html

Personally I am just going to wait till the real one comes out and hope for some B36 special features! Hopefully it wont be too long.

Yea, I'm going to wait as well. There is a HUGE movement afoot right now to convert a lot of the older Technicolor movies to Blu-Ray. I don't have any direct knowledge, but I would bet we'll see Strategic Air Command on Blu-ray before DVD!

[Chris Brame]

Has anybody here ever seen "Abbott and Costello Join the Air Corps"?

The title is actually Keep 'em Flying. Filmed at Chino!

Sole Survivor:
http://www.amazon.com/Sole-Survivor-Ani ... 493&sr=1-1

That's a different movie from the WWII story.