What is your absolute favorite scene in a war movie?

It's definitely on DVD - a restored print has just been made available for the 60th Anniversary.

It's just a great British film - with real flying in real Lancasters, with real Merlins on the soundtrack..mmmmmmmmmmm !!

What's neat is that half the film is quite slow, all about designing the bomb etc - and then the 'go-ahead' is given and we see Harris deciding to create a 'special squadron'.

Cochrane says :
'Have you anyone in mind to lead it ?'
Harris replies :
'Yes... Gibson! '
Immediate cut to a Lancaster banking to land and the tempo of the film picks up...

Great stuff !

[ 17. June 2003, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: Martin Bull ]

 

Thats what I remembered--the designing the bomb part. And good--it's available. I think i'm going to check a few sites to see if I can order it through them. I hope it is available on Region 1 DVD though--because I was told that that is what my player is and that that was all it accepted

 

The bit where in Platoon where the Sergeant played by Defo comes running out of the trees to be mullered by the VC.

The fight between Guy of Gisborne and Robin Hood in the Erol Flyn version, in fact any of Flyn's sword fights, and the slicing at the rear end of the guard with a bent sword that followed it.

The 'stand your glasses steady' scene in 'Dawn Patrol'

The 'Marching into the mist' scene in 'The way ahead'

The scene where a platoon of infantry march under a bridge in 'a canterbury tale' because its my Grandpas platoon.

 

Definitely opening scene of "Saving private Ryan"!

 

Stefan--I definately agree with you on Flynn's swordfights with Guy Gisborne (Basil Rathbone) and I loved Dawn Patrol. Flynn, Niven and Rathbone were great in it. WHen it comes to DVD which I hope soon--these will be my priorities in buying.

I'm still waiting and hoping that Decision Before Dawn and A Time To Love and a Time To Die, will hopefully be released soon. If you want a movie that makes you fees as if you were there, like the great Eastfront and hometown scenes then back to the east front for the ending. Then A Time To Live And A Time To Die--is THE movie to get.

Decision Before Dawn also makes you feel as if you were there behind German lines. Both are VERY highly recommended. As for Where Eagles Dare--I absolutely love that movie and everything about it except the ill-fitting and fake-looking Gebirgsjager M-43 caps. Other that that--it's one of my alltime absolute favorite movies.

 

"Pearl Harbour":
-all the Battle of Britain scenes.
-Japanese Vals diving.
-USS Arizona blowing.

"Brave Heart":
Edward 'the Longshanks' opening the Falkirk battle:
"_ Archers, milord?
_ No, send the Irish. Arrows cost, dead don't."
Again, the King ordering the use of archers:
"_ Sir, won't we hit our own troops?
_Yes, but theirs as well."

He's MEAN!!!

 

You ain't kiddin General. But, to add on to my earlier post, I loved the scene in Finding Nemo where, no matter what, all the seagulls say "Mine!"

 

The landing on Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan.

[ 12. October 2003, 12:12 AM: Message edited by: Ahab ]

 

Gotta new one:


Gods and Generals: Jackson, During th Battle of Manassas.

"Rise Up! Rise Up Virginia! Stand up you men! Stand up you brave men! Stand up you free men! We're gonna charge them! We're gonna drive them back to Washington! Wait until they are within range, then give them the BAYONET! And when you charge, YELL LIKE FURIES!"

 

THE DIRTY DOZEN: Jim Brown running and dropping grenades down the air chutes. I watch that scene periodically because for some strange reason I still think if I yell "GO JIM, G0!" he might still make it some day.

SAVING RYAN'S PRIVATES: The scene near the end when the Panzers are approaching and they show the men dug in with the noise and the earth shaking. I squirm in my seat every time I see it. Also, later when seargant Mike is fighting the German and both of their pistols are empty or misfire and they throw them at each other. Then the sarge throws his helmet in disgust and limps away holding his arse....classic.

WHERE EAGLES DARE: Just the fact that Lt. Shaeffer (sp?) kills about 750 German soldiers in two days is quite entertaining.

Later

 

Steve McQueen's bullet ridden half living corpse being hurdled into the German bunker with a satchel charge in "Hell is for Heroes!"

 

Your favorite scene reminds me of another great Steve McQueen war scene Wilconqr. In the movie "The Sand Pebbles", Steve McQueen's Jake Holman leads the second wave of sailors who board the Chinese junk. The whole battle is very well done, but the fight aboard the junk is really oustanding.

[ 12. October 2003, 12:08 AM: Message edited by: Ahab ]

 

Great film, Capt. Ahab. It's a long time since I saw it, but the scene where Holman takes a rifle and shoots his friend who is being tortured sticks in the memory.

And it's 'trendy' to say that McQueen couldn't act...

 

My fave's

'Ice Cold in Alex' the final scene, where the British captain pulls off the German's dog-tags to prevent him from being shot as a spy.

'Zulu' the final attack when the British are in 3 lines and pouring fire into the Zulu's and all you can hear over the noise of the guns, is Michael Caine shouting 'first rank,FIRE' etc.

'Das Boot' the scene where they are all singing "It's a long way to Tipperary"

 

the mosquitos taxin at the beginning of 633 squadron.
schlindlers list ...givin him the ring at the end.
where eagles dare ...the board room speech.
full metal jacket ...the first 15 minutes with the drill sgt .
private ryan ...miller on the bridge........earn this .
cross of iron ...all of it but especially the slow motion as steiner throws away his MP40 mag

 

Heres one that you guys probably are not aware of. This movie was done in the late 50s or early 60s and in B&W. It is called: "Hell To Eternity" and has Jeffrey Hunter as real life Marine Guy Gabaldon, who by the way is still living and lives on Okinawa. The movie also had George Takai (Lt. Sulu from Star Trek fame) and also has David Janssen as Guys Platoon or Squad Sergeant. Vic Damone is also one of a group to be Guys friends.

George Takai, of course was not in the Marines and though not seen in the movie as a soldier except for a photograph, had joined the Army to become one who was in the 44dnd RCT.

Whats so special about this movie you might ask?

Wellllllll, besides having the most realistic Marine Inf charge and subsequent hand to hand combat scenes I have ever seen in any movie. You also see what was so special about Guy Gabaldon.

A bit of his background.

Guy Gabaldon's parents died in the 1930s and he used to steal food from stores and sidewalk stands in order to live. His P.E. Coach, who was Japanese-American, found out his situation and to keep Guy from becoming a troublemaker and ruining his life, he had him move into his parents home where he learned manners, and the Japanese way of life.

Over the years, he was accepted as an actual family member, became fluent in the Japanese spoken and written language, and had also become an upstanding citizen.

Pearl Harbor was bombed and he tried to join a service and was turned down due to a messed up ear drum. Finally, later on, he was finally accepted into the USMC as a translator, as the Marines needed people who could speak the language.

He got the nickname: "The Pied Piper of Saipan" when the Marines invaded the island and got the upper hand. Gabaldons main job was to try to keep the islands civilians from committing suicide as well as the Japanese soldiers themselves.

He was very successful in doing so. On one occasion, Guy along with one other Marine, went way behind the Japanese lines and discovered the bunker where the Japanese forces commander was at.

This Japanese commander was a General. Upon finding this Generals hidden HQ, Guy sent his buddy to sneak back and tell of what was happening and that he had a Japanese General as his prisoner.

The General and a few other Officers were being held prisoner but, as Guy was alone, he could not disarm the other officers so...it was much like a "Mexican Standoff" meaning Guy held his weapon trained on the General, and the officers had their hands on their holstered pistols.

The General did not know Guy spoke Japanese and had issued some orders to his officers about killing him when they had a chance and in English, told Guy that they were about to surrender their weapons to him.

As he knew better, he shot and killed the other officers there and told the General that he was fluent in Japanese. He then forced the General to surrender and started outside.

The General had already issued the suicidal "Marching Orders" to his soldiers before being captured. The General was "escourted" by Gabaldon to a hill over-looking where his men were to march through.

Gabaldon made the General tell his men to surrender, and then the General committed suicide.

There were hundreds if not thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians that followed him into Marine lines. From then on, he was known as "The Pied Piper of Saipan."

[ 10. November 2003, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: C.Evans ]

 

As no-one mentioned it so far (just WW !!):

The night fight from the patrol retreating from th other side of the river in BoB #8. Very cute tracer, chaos, noise.

The scene in the "The longest Day" when the tired German officier took a last look onto to the sea in the dawn...shock!

SPR: The SS man stabbing Mellish to death: "Hush, don't fight against it..." and the Omaha landing scene.

The sinking "Boot" at Gibraltar, when the 1st engineer says: "Boat can't be leveled"

Robert redford in " a bridge too far", paddling over the river in a rubber boat, praying.

etc.pp.

Cheers,

 

War scene in non-war movie: The naval battle in Ben Hur, definitely a cornerstone of movie history.

Not really a war movie, but the final fight in The Hunt for Red October was clever and thrilling.

Some of the drill sergeant's humiliating remarks in Full Metal Jacket were actually very funny.

A calm and strong scene to show the bitter irony of war in La Grande Illusion: The French prisoners, who had started to dig a tunnel, are transferred and replaced by Russian prisoners. Trying to tell them about the tunnel, they fail for the language barrier.

 

Dark Blue World: (the first movie I've seen with CGI spitfires and messerschmitts composited with cleaned up Battle of britain footage off-cuts)

* The Czech pilot's first flight in spitfires,
ending in the squadron hitting zip! and when one Czech pilot crash-lands just short of the runway, the Wing Commander bellows: "This is England. Keep off the grass!"

 

Gladiator - Opening Battle

Kenneth Brannagh's Henry V - Battle of Agincourt

Last of the Mohicans Classic, for some reason.

The Duelists - Depiction of the retreat from Moscow, 1812, any of the duels themselves.

I really don't have a WWII favorite scene.