What is your absolute favorite scene in a war movie?

I Guess Krueger preferred sh*****g in the Woods like Bears do :-D

Wasn't Robert Mitchum in this as well?

 

Hi A, thanks for the song and scenes info. Id like to go to utube-but for some reason my conputer doesnt allow it. Grrr. BUt yeah, Sam Peckinpah sure had a great flair for action scenes.

 

I finally got to see Come and See, liked some scenes in it but over-all-thought that movie sucked Prune Pits. Had it not portrayed every German as a drunken coward mass murderer-I might have actually liked it.

 

the civie boat owners at ramsgate seeing army being brought home in dunkirk...music cuts in and they know what they have to do...

 

but i have 2 you need 2...hms amathyst slipping anchor to music and fighting her way back to the fleet...splice the mainbrace...

 

BATTLE OF BRITAIN

Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: [picks up green scrambler phone] Yes?
Minister: Ah, Dowding. Er. Look. Our people in Washington are having trouble with the American Press. It's about today's figures. German sources there are saying that our claims are wildly exaggerated.
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: [listens, but says nothing]
Minister: Hello? Are you there Dowding?
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: I'm here Minister.
Minister: Well I mean, can you verify the figures?
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: [clears throat] I'm not very interested in propaganda. If we're right, they'll give up. If we are wrong, they'll be in London in a week!.
[pauses then hangs up]

[to his flight of non-English-speaking, chattering, Polish pilots]
Squadron Leader Edwards: Shut up! Silence! In Polish!

Squadron Leader Canfield: The engine's overheating, and so am I. Either we stand down, or blow up. Now which do you want?

HEARTBREAK RIDGE

Highway: My name's Gunnery Sergeant Highway and I've drunk more beer and banged more quiff and pissed more blood and stomped more ass that all of you numbnuts put together. Now Major Powers has put me in charge of this reconisence platoon.
Lance Corporal Fragatti: We take care of ourselves.
Highway: You couldn't take care of a wet dream. God loves you.
Collins: I know that!
Highway: You men do not impress me!
Profile: Recon platoon kicks butt.
Highway: [grabs Profile by the nose] If you ladies think that you can slip and slide just because your last sergeant was a pussy, well queer bait, you're going to start acting like Marines right now!
Lance Corporal Fragatti: Who invited ya!
Highway: I'm not doing this because I want to take long showers with you assholes and I don't want to get my head shot off in some far away land because you don't habla, comprende?
Aponte: Ruh!
Highway: You?
Quinones: Yes, Gunney.
Corporal 'Stitch' Jones: [coming back from a shower & singing] And you really look so fine and you've got that big behind.
Highway: [sees Jones] Well, well, well, well. I'm here to tell you that life as you knew it has ended. You all may as well go into town tonight. You may as well laugh and make fools out of yourselves. Rub your pathetic little peckers against your honies or stick it in a knothole in the fence but whatever it is, get rid of it. Because at 0600 tomorrow your ass is mine.

KELLY'S HEREOS

Kelly: Well Oddball, what do you think?
Oddball: It's a wasted trip baby. Nobody said nothing about locking horns with no Tigers.
Big Joe: Hey look, you just keep them Tigers busy and we'll take care of the rest.
Oddball: The only way I got to keep them Tigers busy is to LET THEM SHOOT HOLES IN ME!
Crapgame: Hey, Oddball, this is your hour of glory. And you're chickening out!
Oddball: To a New Yorker like you, a hero is some type of weird sandwich, not some nut who takes on three Tigers.
Kelly: Nobody's asking you to be a hero.
Oddball: No? Then YOU sit up in that turret baby.
Kelly: No, because you're gonna be up there, baby, and I'll be right outside showing you which way to go.
Oddball: Yeah?
Kelly: Yeah.
Oddball: Crazy... I mean like, so many positive waves... maybe we can't lose, you're on!

Henry V (Kenneth Brannaugh)

He which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day.
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England, now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

 

for me, in no particular order,
Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, all of it - thanks Spielberg.
Das Boot - gritty realism.
633 Squadron - the Mossie and Merlin.
The Dambusters - you couldn't make it up but it's true.
Zulu, some great scenes and quotes.
Apocalypse Now - the helicopter assault, and some great quotes.
A Bridge Too Far, all of it, esp the first para drop and surrender refusal. Thanks Dickie (sorry, Lord Attenborough).
Battle of Britain, fantastic flying and characters.
Enemy at the gate, some great set-pieces.

I'll come back with some more.

 

The scene that stired me the most (perhaps because I was young) was in a British movie (I don't know the name) made in WW2 or shortly after the war. I saw the movie on a local TV station's afternoon movie in the late 1950's or early 1960's.

The movie is set in North Africa. The British are surrounded. They are gathered around a severely wounded soldier laying in the middle of the the road. He says that he hears the pipes (bagpipes) and they think it is because he is delirious. Then they here them too and look down the road to see an approaching column of British tanks led by a single piper .

 

Sounds like it could be: "Ice Cold in Alex". I saw this movie once and over 20 years ago. Do you remember any names of any of the Actors in that movie? If so? would one of them happen to be Sir John Mills. I don't think he had the "Sir" in his name at that time. Anyway, if this is one and the same? that's one hell of a great movie. Also, you will see that im a huge Sir John Mills fan-for an Ami.

 

Thankyou for your reply.

I looked at the the Wikipedia article on the movie and a trailer on YouTube. It is definately not the movie I saw on TV. The movie I saw was about an operational British Army (infantry?) unit. There were no nurses and no K5 ambulance. Although I said the movie might be post war, I am pretty sure it was made during the war. "Ice Cold for Alex" was made in 1958. It is doubtfull it was on a local US TV station in the late 1950's or even early 1960's.

 

Hi Highway, welcome and no prob/ It just sounded like it could have beenn ICiA but I didn't read the year time-frams that you mentioned the move to possibly be in. ;-))

BTW, if you do get the chance to see Ice Cold..... do so-it's an excellent movie. Of course, EVERYTHING i've seen Sir John Mills in-was excellent ;-))

 

Highway70- The scene you describe reminds me a lot of "The Desert Rats" It ends with a depleted company holding a position near El Alamein, being "relieved" by an armoured column accompanied with the bagpipes.

John Mills is probably my favourite actor, as you'll see by my 1st choice

THE COLDITZ STORY- When the french POW would rather work for 10 germans then 1 frenchman... His job? Undertaker...

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT- The intro of "This story is neither an accusation...." Sums it all up for me

 

John mills.. Dunkirk..superb and best of his none war ones hobsons choice.

 

Hi Krazy/ the only problem is-is that Sir Mills wasn't in The Desert Rats. You are probably thinking of Richard Burton-another favorite of mine ;-))

The Colditz Story is excellent and one I never tire of watching and also was the film that made me a fan of Eric Portman, Anton Differing and the Austrian Actor whose names escapes me at this time. This guy played one of the Polish Offizier.

Just remembered-Theodor Bikel played that Polish Offizier I was talking about.

 

Just watched Shaving Ryan's Privates yesterday, ooops I mean......

Anyway Im not sure why, but this time around I really appreciated the ending scene where Ryan visiting Tom Hank's grave in France, gives him a salute before walking off with his family. I found that quite touching.

 

Having just watched: "Hell Is For Heroes," for probably the hundredth time, some of many favorite scenes stick out in my my mind.

1) was at the beginning of the movie when the Squad Sergeant (Harry Guardino-another favorite actor of mine) was looking for Homer (Nick Adams-who played the Polish DP) and was when Homer appeared and told his story on how he almost got side-swiped by a Jeep-throwing himself in the mud and explaining on how he lost the Sgt.s Pen and change.

2) was when Bobby Darin was instructing Bob Newhart on the use of his M-1 Garand and Bob Newhart accidently fires a shot and it hits night next to McQueens (Reese) position and McQueen slowly turns to face Newhart with the ever so serious glare in his eyes, points his loaded Grease Gun at him and prepares to fire it. The look on Newharts face says it all ;-))

3) Unfortunately this movie had to come to an end but, the ending combat scenes where McQueen is trying to find that Satchel charge and then to try to reach the German Pillbox--just absolutely can't be beat.

I think partly because of this movie and it's grittiness, is why I love the COMBAT TV series so much. Another reason is because of it's great cast and because of both Vic Morrow and Rick Jason being the excellent actors they both were.

 

C.Evans, you are entirely correct, but to be fair that wasn't what I was trying to say...
Anyway, I forgot one other scene which I really like from THE DAMBUSTERS. When Barnes Wallis is asking an RAF bigwig for a Wellington bomber to test his bouncing bomb, he is asked, on what grounds could they grant him a Wellington. His humble reply.."You could tell them i designed it"

 

Hi Krazy-no prob at all. Also, I am wanting to watch Dam Busters again in preparation of seeing the remake ;-))

 

Yes, Robert Mitchum was in this one. He played Col. Rogers.

 

Ah, thanks for the confirmation. It was a shame to see such fine actors practically wasted on this poor try at a sequal. At least two of the original cast-made it to this film-buit sucked because they both were killed off.