The Battle Rages on: Which War Movie Is Best?
As Veterans Day rolls around, it's time to reflect on the greatest war movies ever made -- and the vital role the silver screen plays in how we understand history. More than a half-century after the last bullets flew in World War II, Saving Private Ryan (left) brought D-Day back to Americans in visceral fashion: Vets and their grandchildren alike were reminded of the incredible sacrifices made on that fateful day in Normandy. Whereas a film like David O. Russell's Gulf War satire Three Kings (right) -- shot comparatively soon after the end of the foreshortened conflict -- allowed audiences to reconsider what happened in the whip pan of the present.
Whether deployed as picaresque comedy (M*A*S*H), harrowing drama (Platoon) or a guys-on-a-mission movie (The Dirty Dozen), each war film becomes a piece of our cultural history. And those featured here have served beyond the call of duty.
We salute them all! But now it's time to choose: Which among them deserves the ultimate honor?
Didn't like the voting method. Should have offered a list of 100 movies and had respondants rate them 1 to 100. Current options had 4 or 5 movies that I've never seen and I've seen a LOT of war movies.
R LEE ERMEY was a real marine DI. How more realistic can you get?
All those movies listed were good movies but not great movies.A great movie makes you want to see it over and over and still enjoy it.Sgt. York,12 O'Clock high,From here to eternity,Stalag 17,The longest day and Midway are just a few but the ones you chose haven't earned that rank yet,maybe someday
The Longest Day Was the best movie!
The Lost Patrol, Sgt. York, Patton, The Battle of the Bulge, Band of Brothers, The Longest Day, even Wind Talkers. Others mentioned by the others commenting. Sitcoms such as Combat; who picked the movies and did the pairings? DO OVER - DO OVER!!! But the try is appreciated!
the longest day set the a format of production that still is a standard.
Even though i agree that Saving Private Ryan was the best war movie of all time,I also believe that there were quite a few other great war movies left out of the vote...Run Silent,Run Deep...Torpedo Run...Bridge On The River Kwai..Hell Is For Heroes..Kellys Heroes,and also the movies named by other bloggers just to name a few, were much better than a couple of the movies in the voting lineup(in my opinion anyway) but thanks for trying