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May. 16th, 2004 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apocalypsosWhy didn't anybody tell me Bartles & Jaymes Strawberry Daquiri drinks tasted like strawberry soda?! Shame on all of you!
Well, anyway,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sleepyaardvark and I got into a discussion about war movies, and I got talked into writing up a short list of my favorite war movies. Notice I didn't say the best, as some of these are frankly guilty pleasures. And there are some really great movies missing from this list, but I didn't feel right listing movies I haven't seen, which is why Platoon, Patton, and Apocalypse Now aren't on the list. (And Patton, I have on DVD. Now there's some guilt for you.)
Anyway, here goes, in alphabetical order ...The Twenty War Movies I Cannot Be Expected to Live Without
1. The Atomic Cafe -- If you haven't seen this, you're missing something so neatly weird and creepy I can't even begin to describe it. Back when I was still suffering through college, I took a film class, and the professor showed us The Atomic Cafe. For those of you who haven't seen it, the IMDb description is, "Disturbing collection of 1960s United States government issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety." And that's exactly what it is, showing self-defense techniques against atomic attack that boggle the mind. (My personal favorite was the children's film with the animated turtle that said should an atomic bomb fall in your area, you will be perfectly safe curled up in a gutter or hiding under a school desk. Ooo-kay.) I saw it today at the Air & Space museum and damn near had a happy heart attack, then was bitterly disappointed when I didn't have enough cash on me. Nuts.
2. Braveheart -- Mel Gibson is a loathsome, egotistical toad. Having said that, he's not a half-bad director. (Hey, I might not have liked some things about The Passion, but it was visually impressive and if it hadn't looked like the end of a much longer movie, I might have liked it more.) In any event, once you take Mel Gibson out of consideration for Braveheart, and once you manage to ignore the fact the history's off, it's actually really entertaining.
3. Casablanca -- Come on, it's Casablanca. I should not have to explain this one at all. (Except maybe to say that I shouldn't find Humphrey Bogart sexy, and yet.)
4. Conspiracy -- I've always been interested in the Holocaust, and what drove the Nazis to do what they did. (You'll notice that there are a lot of WWII movies on this list associated with the concentration camps.) For those of you who haven't seen this wonderful (albeit quietly terrifying) HBO film, it depicts what happened during the Wannsee Conference, when the Nazi Final Solution was devised. It might sound like it might not be the most action-packed movie in the world, but this isn't about the men off fighting on the battlefields. This is about a group of men getting together one weekend and calmly discussing how to eliminate an entire group of people off the face of the earth. If you've never been creeped out by Kenneth Branagh before, this movie will remedy that.
5. Das Boot -- The reason I didn't knock on Wolfgang Petersen for some of the directorial decisions he made regarding Troy (Dude, none of the gods?! Whiskey tango foxtrot, anyone?) is because he directed my all-time favorite submarine movie. Granted, there's not a lot of them, but still. In any event, Das Boot is your basic we're-going-on-a-normal-patrol type of war film that, much in the same way Master & Commander did, is more about what life was like in a German U-boat than the action itself. Great film.
6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb -- This is one of those movies I've seen bits and pieces of from beginning, but never actually seen in one whole sitting. Even so, I adore Peter Sellers, and I adore this movie. You can't hate a movie that features the memorable line of dialogue, "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room." Ha! I mentioned I love Peter Sellers, right?
7. Full Metal Jacket -- For some wholesome family fun, I once watched this with my brother when he was about twelve. That's about all I have to say about that. (Yes,trollprincess: Warping one particular fragile mind since 1986.)
8. Glory -- Glory is one of the only Civil War movies I've ever liked. Don't ask me why -- maybe The Red Badge of Courage turned me off the Civil War for the rest of my life -- but I'm pretty much in love with this film. The sad thing is, I saw it maybe twice when I was younger, and haven't seen it since. It's one of those great films that's on my admittedly loooooong list of films I need to own on DVD but haven't bought yet.
9. Gone With the Wind -- Even though the main character is an annoying spoiled brat I despise (don't tell me you thought I'd like Scarlett?), the thing I like about movies like this and Cold Mountain is that history is written by the victors, and we don't get to see them from the losing side as much as I'd like.
10. Good Morning Vietnam -- Yeah, I said it. Want to make something of it? *growls* Most of the time, I don't like Robin Williams. He has his moments, but also has his moments, and they detract from any sort of real enjoyment I might get out of him sometimes. Most of my annoyance with him inevitably comes when his persona overcomes the character he's supposed to be playing, but one thing I liked about "Good Morning Vietnam" is that he took the character and the persona and madem them both work together for once. Yeah, it's not set on a battlefield, and yeah, it might not be a hundred percent accurate, but seeing as it's one of the more entertaining Vietnam movies I've ever seen, I'll give it a break.
11. The Grey Zone -- Most of you have probably never seen, or quite frankly heard of, The Grey Zone. Let me fill you in -- it's directed by Tim Blake Nelson (the member of Oh Brother Where Art Thou's three prison escapees you didn't recognize), and stars Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Steve Buscemi, and David Arquette as Jews working in the crematorium at Auschwitz. Yes, David Arquette is in Holocaust movie. And he's good. (Actually, David Arquette is a good actor sometimes, but don't tell anyone I said that.) The plot focuses around the Sonderkomando, who were given an extra four months of life and extra rations to help dispose of bodies in the crematoriums, hence the "grey zone." The Jews start to secretly plan a revolt, and that's when things get bad. Watch it, I beg you.
12. Life is Beautiful -- Oh, shut up. Look, here's my thing with Life is Beautiful. When I first went to see this movie, I was going through some really depressing shit. I mean, nothing noteworthy, but did you ever have that period in your life where everything is just stagnant and you feel worthless and pathetic? Yeah, one of those. I went to see this movie, and I was fine -- sad, but fine - right up until I got out to my car. I got in, turned on the car, and promptly burst into great heaving sobs that didn't stop until I'd driven the forty minutes back home. Then I went upstairs, sat down, and wrote Roberto Benigni a six-page letter about what the movie meant to me. I mailed it and soon enough blocked it from my mind, until a few months later when I got a phone call from Italy, from his assistant, telling me that Roberto had read my letter and really appreciated it. I had told no one I'd sent the letter, and hadn't enclosed my phone number. So you can complain about Roberto Benigni all you want, but I just can't. Sorry. Not after that.
13. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy -- So it's not about a real war. It counts, damn it. I've seen movies about real battles that haven't made me sob quite like these films did. For all the fantasy elements that abound, under them all is the quite honest reality of how brutal and unforgiving war can be.
14. M*A*S*H* -- Not only is this one of my favorite war movies of all time, it's one of my favorite comedies, too. I die laughing from the opening credits to the end of the film. Yet another movie where the war isn't right out in front of you, but still it conveys the same sort of harsh reality that some battlefield films can't even begin to show, and all while wrapping it in a nice heaping pile of humor.
15. The Pianist -- Roman Polanski is an admitted child rapist. There. Now that we've got that out the way, can I talk about how much I adore this film? It's not pretty, and it's emotionally heartbreaking, but at the same time, there's this poignant beauty in the way Adrien Brody's character loves his music. I know there are writers on this flist. Imagine if everything you loved was taken away from you ... imagine that the government busted down your door right now and stole all your books, all your pens and pencils, even your computer. Then imagine everything you hold dear is stripped away, until your love of writing becomes an afterthought. Then, one day, you're stumbling around just trying to survive when you're caught by one of the enemy. You tell him you're a writer, and he hands you a pen and a notebook and says, "Prove it." The moment when, after so long without being able to play, Szpilman sits down in front of a Nazi officer and just start playing breaks my fucking heart every time. And don't even get me started on what the line, "I know this is an awkward time to say this, but I wish I knew you better," does to me.
16. Saving Private Ryan -- Okay, this is kind of a given. Say what you will about the emotional impact of the rest of the film, but you can't argue about storming the beach at Normandy. You just can't. TV Guide named it the best movie moment ever for a reason.
17. Schindler's List -- As heavy-handed emotionally as it might be at times, Schindler's List hooked me a long time ago in bits and pieces. Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley. The Krakow ghetto liquidation. Every little thing Oskar Schindler does for "his" Jews. Yeah, the facts might be a bit off (when is anything Hollywood makes entirely accurate?), but the film itself is just a stunner.
18. Starship Troopers -- Aw, come on! You know the cicadas? We could be under attack right now. Again, not a real war, but then again, stupidly entertaining.
19. The Terminator series -- I don't feel I need to explain my love of the Terminator movies to you, Warren.
20. U-571 -- An action-packed submarine flick with a tub full of hot guys. So the history's fucked-up. Did I mention Jon Bon Jovi gets decapitated? 'Cause that's fun for the whole family!
Hee. That was fun. Maybe I should do another list. (Yeah, like I don't have enough writing to catch up on.)
Well, anyway,
sleepyaardvark and I got into a discussion about war movies, and I got talked into writing up a short list of my favorite war movies. Notice I didn't say the best, as some of these are frankly guilty pleasures. And there are some really great movies missing from this list, but I didn't feel right listing movies I haven't seen, which is why Platoon, Patton, and Apocalypse Now aren't on the list. (And Patton, I have on DVD. Now there's some guilt for you.)Anyway, here goes, in alphabetical order ...
1. The Atomic Cafe -- If you haven't seen this, you're missing something so neatly weird and creepy I can't even begin to describe it. Back when I was still suffering through college, I took a film class, and the professor showed us The Atomic Cafe. For those of you who haven't seen it, the IMDb description is, "Disturbing collection of 1960s United States government issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety." And that's exactly what it is, showing self-defense techniques against atomic attack that boggle the mind. (My personal favorite was the children's film with the animated turtle that said should an atomic bomb fall in your area, you will be perfectly safe curled up in a gutter or hiding under a school desk. Ooo-kay.) I saw it today at the Air & Space museum and damn near had a happy heart attack, then was bitterly disappointed when I didn't have enough cash on me. Nuts.
2. Braveheart -- Mel Gibson is a loathsome, egotistical toad. Having said that, he's not a half-bad director. (Hey, I might not have liked some things about The Passion, but it was visually impressive and if it hadn't looked like the end of a much longer movie, I might have liked it more.) In any event, once you take Mel Gibson out of consideration for Braveheart, and once you manage to ignore the fact the history's off, it's actually really entertaining.
3. Casablanca -- Come on, it's Casablanca. I should not have to explain this one at all. (Except maybe to say that I shouldn't find Humphrey Bogart sexy, and yet.)
4. Conspiracy -- I've always been interested in the Holocaust, and what drove the Nazis to do what they did. (You'll notice that there are a lot of WWII movies on this list associated with the concentration camps.) For those of you who haven't seen this wonderful (albeit quietly terrifying) HBO film, it depicts what happened during the Wannsee Conference, when the Nazi Final Solution was devised. It might sound like it might not be the most action-packed movie in the world, but this isn't about the men off fighting on the battlefields. This is about a group of men getting together one weekend and calmly discussing how to eliminate an entire group of people off the face of the earth. If you've never been creeped out by Kenneth Branagh before, this movie will remedy that.
5. Das Boot -- The reason I didn't knock on Wolfgang Petersen for some of the directorial decisions he made regarding Troy (Dude, none of the gods?! Whiskey tango foxtrot, anyone?) is because he directed my all-time favorite submarine movie. Granted, there's not a lot of them, but still. In any event, Das Boot is your basic we're-going-on-a-normal-patrol type of war film that, much in the same way Master & Commander did, is more about what life was like in a German U-boat than the action itself. Great film.
6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb -- This is one of those movies I've seen bits and pieces of from beginning, but never actually seen in one whole sitting. Even so, I adore Peter Sellers, and I adore this movie. You can't hate a movie that features the memorable line of dialogue, "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room." Ha! I mentioned I love Peter Sellers, right?
7. Full Metal Jacket -- For some wholesome family fun, I once watched this with my brother when he was about twelve. That's about all I have to say about that. (Yes,
trollprincess: Warping one particular fragile mind since 1986.)8. Glory -- Glory is one of the only Civil War movies I've ever liked. Don't ask me why -- maybe The Red Badge of Courage turned me off the Civil War for the rest of my life -- but I'm pretty much in love with this film. The sad thing is, I saw it maybe twice when I was younger, and haven't seen it since. It's one of those great films that's on my admittedly loooooong list of films I need to own on DVD but haven't bought yet.
9. Gone With the Wind -- Even though the main character is an annoying spoiled brat I despise (don't tell me you thought I'd like Scarlett?), the thing I like about movies like this and Cold Mountain is that history is written by the victors, and we don't get to see them from the losing side as much as I'd like.
10. Good Morning Vietnam -- Yeah, I said it. Want to make something of it? *growls* Most of the time, I don't like Robin Williams. He has his moments, but also has his moments, and they detract from any sort of real enjoyment I might get out of him sometimes. Most of my annoyance with him inevitably comes when his persona overcomes the character he's supposed to be playing, but one thing I liked about "Good Morning Vietnam" is that he took the character and the persona and madem them both work together for once. Yeah, it's not set on a battlefield, and yeah, it might not be a hundred percent accurate, but seeing as it's one of the more entertaining Vietnam movies I've ever seen, I'll give it a break.
11. The Grey Zone -- Most of you have probably never seen, or quite frankly heard of, The Grey Zone. Let me fill you in -- it's directed by Tim Blake Nelson (the member of Oh Brother Where Art Thou's three prison escapees you didn't recognize), and stars Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Steve Buscemi, and David Arquette as Jews working in the crematorium at Auschwitz. Yes, David Arquette is in Holocaust movie. And he's good. (Actually, David Arquette is a good actor sometimes, but don't tell anyone I said that.) The plot focuses around the Sonderkomando, who were given an extra four months of life and extra rations to help dispose of bodies in the crematoriums, hence the "grey zone." The Jews start to secretly plan a revolt, and that's when things get bad. Watch it, I beg you.
12. Life is Beautiful -- Oh, shut up. Look, here's my thing with Life is Beautiful. When I first went to see this movie, I was going through some really depressing shit. I mean, nothing noteworthy, but did you ever have that period in your life where everything is just stagnant and you feel worthless and pathetic? Yeah, one of those. I went to see this movie, and I was fine -- sad, but fine - right up until I got out to my car. I got in, turned on the car, and promptly burst into great heaving sobs that didn't stop until I'd driven the forty minutes back home. Then I went upstairs, sat down, and wrote Roberto Benigni a six-page letter about what the movie meant to me. I mailed it and soon enough blocked it from my mind, until a few months later when I got a phone call from Italy, from his assistant, telling me that Roberto had read my letter and really appreciated it. I had told no one I'd sent the letter, and hadn't enclosed my phone number. So you can complain about Roberto Benigni all you want, but I just can't. Sorry. Not after that.
13. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy -- So it's not about a real war. It counts, damn it. I've seen movies about real battles that haven't made me sob quite like these films did. For all the fantasy elements that abound, under them all is the quite honest reality of how brutal and unforgiving war can be.
14. M*A*S*H* -- Not only is this one of my favorite war movies of all time, it's one of my favorite comedies, too. I die laughing from the opening credits to the end of the film. Yet another movie where the war isn't right out in front of you, but still it conveys the same sort of harsh reality that some battlefield films can't even begin to show, and all while wrapping it in a nice heaping pile of humor.
15. The Pianist -- Roman Polanski is an admitted child rapist. There. Now that we've got that out the way, can I talk about how much I adore this film? It's not pretty, and it's emotionally heartbreaking, but at the same time, there's this poignant beauty in the way Adrien Brody's character loves his music. I know there are writers on this flist. Imagine if everything you loved was taken away from you ... imagine that the government busted down your door right now and stole all your books, all your pens and pencils, even your computer. Then imagine everything you hold dear is stripped away, until your love of writing becomes an afterthought. Then, one day, you're stumbling around just trying to survive when you're caught by one of the enemy. You tell him you're a writer, and he hands you a pen and a notebook and says, "Prove it." The moment when, after so long without being able to play, Szpilman sits down in front of a Nazi officer and just start playing breaks my fucking heart every time. And don't even get me started on what the line, "I know this is an awkward time to say this, but I wish I knew you better," does to me.
16. Saving Private Ryan -- Okay, this is kind of a given. Say what you will about the emotional impact of the rest of the film, but you can't argue about storming the beach at Normandy. You just can't. TV Guide named it the best movie moment ever for a reason.
17. Schindler's List -- As heavy-handed emotionally as it might be at times, Schindler's List hooked me a long time ago in bits and pieces. Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley. The Krakow ghetto liquidation. Every little thing Oskar Schindler does for "his" Jews. Yeah, the facts might be a bit off (when is anything Hollywood makes entirely accurate?), but the film itself is just a stunner.
18. Starship Troopers -- Aw, come on! You know the cicadas? We could be under attack right now. Again, not a real war, but then again, stupidly entertaining.
19. The Terminator series -- I don't feel I need to explain my love of the Terminator movies to you, Warren.
20. U-571 -- An action-packed submarine flick with a tub full of hot guys. So the history's fucked-up. Did I mention Jon Bon Jovi gets decapitated? 'Cause that's fun for the whole family!
Hee. That was fun. Maybe I should do another list. (Yeah, like I don't have enough writing to catch up on.)
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Date: 2004-05-17 07:08 am (UTC)atomic cafe i first saw in earth sicence, and it's been a perenial event in my acedemic carrier. whenever a writing, science, etc. class needs to ligthen up, we get atomic cafe. i love it.
when you see apoclypse now, avoid the redux, the 5 min expanded surfing scene is cool. the other 40 minutes added are just either suk or wtf.
mother night is another nazi favorite
personal opinion is that band of brothers is a more compelling piece of work than saving private ryan, but that's just me.
of course, that's keeping movies about wars or about units of fighting men.