The Movieforums Top 100 War Movies Countdown

Seen one, heard of the other - so things are getting a little complex, but not complex enough for one of my choices to show up so far.

#96 - Napoleon - 330 minutes? I won't be watching this in one sitting, although the challenge beckons. It seems this was made in so many varied ways, and uses many cinematic techniques that wouldn't be commonplace until many decades later. That's interesting. Not on Criterion yet, but there's a nice 4-disc DVD put out by the BFI.

#95 - The Tin Drum - I watched this not so long ago - January 2022. A very strange film which featured in the documentary Banned in Oklahoma - there's one part where a young boy (who is actually a man - in years lived) has sex with an adult woman. The kid in this film, always with his trusty tin drum, happens to live in Danzig during the fraught Second World War years, and has a unique perspective on the rise of the Nazis and the war itself - especially considering one of his relatives (and perhaps this person is really his father) is Polish, and works at Danzig's Polish Post Office. One of the greats that I've been meaning to get the Criterion edition of. I didn't vote for it though.

Seen - 2/6
Heard of - 3/6
Never heard of - 3/6
Voted for - 0/6

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Cool, I didn't know you watched that old of films. I've seen a number of silent films but not Napoleon.

Overachiever! Impressive really that you've seen them all so far. But I thought you said in the Group Watch you didn't know of that many war films? You know of a lot of them.

I've wanted to see Napoleon for a while now, but I'll think about it, then forget about it, then life gets in the way to where I can't give that much of my time to it. One day.

The Tin Drum is one I have seen but it's been a long time so I didn't feel it was fair to put it on the list. But it's a great film as I remember it.

So far, zip on the reveals.

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

Napoleon I have only seen segments of, not the entire film, looks amazing for it's time.

The Tin Drum is underrated. It is quite an eerie, strange film that seems to be a metaphor for Kristallnacht. It left an impression me, enough for me to purchase the Criterion Blu-Ray. I imagine it's not exactly a crowd pleaser though. It was 17th on my ballot.

I've seen War and Peace and that's all so far. I wasn't a big fan of it as it's too damn long and the story really isn't up my alley anyways.

94 = Rescue Dawn
93 = Henry V

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

94. Hamburger Hill

93. Richard III (the 1995)

I imagine most people here have outwatched me since they've been into film for much longer, but I guess I'm just getting lucky with the countdiwn so far.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

Don't fret, I'll keep you company. We're not the only ones either.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

All right I'm late to the party/war. (Although some may say our generals were the ones that were late!) My one-pointer made it:
I had a feeling it would. This film is something else. Something for fans of something different, or fans of Peter Watkins, or both. I thought it was brilliant. Think you can find it on youtube.



Very much liking the look of the films reveals with the camo and dog tags. Well done, Yoda!

I've seen The Burmese Harp and Ashes and diamonds, both very good films and the latter was in my top 50 along with Kanal but I ended up not going with any Wajda.

Haven't seen Johnny Got His Gun or the Russian War and Peace film series. The former is added to the list - it looks good, the latter has been on my list for a long time. One of Mark F's favourites I've been meaning to see. I have read the book, though.

I've seen the next two. A little surprised that Napoleon made it, not to take away anything from the film based on that statement. Anyone else also interested in what Ridley Scott/Joaquin Phoenix do with Napoleon this fall? I bet Miss Vicky is! I saw The Tin Drum so long ago and never went in for a rewatch - just didn't connect with or care for it. That's fine, though. Might just be me.

Excited we got this countdown going!

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Another 1 pointer, but I don't know who's it was? I wish I would've voted for Operation Petticoat and it might have made the countdown. This is my third watch of this comic war gem.


Operation Petticoat (1959)
Director Blake Edwards

Filming in a real WWII submarine including many of the interior shots made this film look so real, no CG here!...I appreciated that many of the water scenes were filmed out in the ocean (Florida Keys) which added to the visual fare of the film. I read that some of the crazy things that happened to the USS Tigerfish in the movie really happened during WWII. There was a real sub that had it's paint burnt off during an attack and so had to use red paint as that was the only thing available...which then prompted the infamous Tokyo Rose to comment on the America 'red pirate sub'.
Cary Grant makes the movie! I read that Jeff Chandler was slated to be the Captain and that Bob Hope regretted not doing this film. Sorry Bob and Jeff but you're no Cary. Grant has this laid back, calm style of delivering his comic lines with a hint of amusement mixed with a dash of sarcasm...very effective. And what a funny, well written script.



If I didn't know that Marion Ross (Mrs C from Happy Days) was in the movie I'd never had recognized her, she looks so young there. I wish she had more air time, in fact if I had my dithers she'd be the Army nurse that Cary Grant keeps running into.

Thanks to whoever voted for this, I wish it had made the countdown, not artsy enough I guess
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