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Two films I've seen a while ago and don't remember that well. I remember enjoying Platoon quite a bit, but I didn't care for Inglourious Basterds. Both would benefit with a rewatch.
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#16. Platoon (1986) was #9 on my ballot.
Haven't expected Platoon that high since I've never came across much talking about it in the forum. Didn't know it is popular these days.
Anyway, this film impressed us a lot as a school-boys, becoming one of our favorite movies in those years. I've seen it couple of times in a theater back then and couple more times on the telly in the following decade. Although I've not revisited it for a long time, it was one of the first in my mind when I've started constructing ballot.
90/100
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My Ballot
▽
1. Empire of the Sun (1987) [#40]
2.
3. The Pianist (2002) [#23]
4.
5. Underground (1995) [#43]
6. The Deer Hunter (1978) [#25]
7.
8. Ivan's Childhood (1962) [#56]
9. Platoon (1986) [#16]
10. The Great Dictator (1940) [#22]
11. The Thin Red Line (1998) [#17]
...
14. Enemy at the Gates (2001) [#88]
15. The Hill (1965) [#94]
...
18. The Hurt Locker (2008) [#58]
...
Haven't expected Platoon that high since I've never came across much talking about it in the forum. Didn't know it is popular these days.
Anyway, this film impressed us a lot as a school-boys, becoming one of our favorite movies in those years. I've seen it couple of times in a theater back then and couple more times on the telly in the following decade. Although I've not revisited it for a long time, it was one of the first in my mind when I've started constructing ballot.
90/100
-----
My Ballot
▽
1. Empire of the Sun (1987) [#40]
2.
3. The Pianist (2002) [#23]
4.
5. Underground (1995) [#43]
6. The Deer Hunter (1978) [#25]
7.
8. Ivan's Childhood (1962) [#56]
9. Platoon (1986) [#16]
10. The Great Dictator (1940) [#22]
11. The Thin Red Line (1998) [#17]
...
14. Enemy at the Gates (2001) [#88]
15. The Hill (1965) [#94]
...
18. The Hurt Locker (2008) [#58]
...
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Here are the chances that the remaining films on my ballot have at making the list:
1. Won't make the list. I blame PHOENIX74 for this.
2. Wil make the list.
3. Will make the list.
4. Will make the list.
5. To Be or Not to Be (#41)
6. The Battle of Algiers (#24)
7. Will make the list.
8. The Best Years of Our Lives (#21)
9. From Here to Eternity (#30)
10. The Ascent (#33)
11. The Thin Red Line (#17)
12. Pan's Labyrinth (#54)
13. The General (#64)
14. Kanal (#61)
15. Red Angel (#100)
16. Underground (#43)
17. Won't make the list. I blame John-Connor for this.
18. Won't make the list. I blame Citizen Rules for this.
19. Barry Lyndon (#50)
20. Will make the list.
21. Won't make the list. I blame Mr Minio for this.
22. Wil make the list.
23. Johnny Got His Gun (#97)
24. Night and Fog (#48)
25. The Deer Hunter (#25)
1. Won't make the list. I blame PHOENIX74 for this.
2. Wil make the list.
3. Will make the list.
4. Will make the list.
5. To Be or Not to Be (#41)
6. The Battle of Algiers (#24)
7. Will make the list.
8. The Best Years of Our Lives (#21)
9. From Here to Eternity (#30)
10. The Ascent (#33)
11. The Thin Red Line (#17)
12. Pan's Labyrinth (#54)
13. The General (#64)
14. Kanal (#61)
15. Red Angel (#100)
16. Underground (#43)
17. Won't make the list. I blame John-Connor for this.
18. Won't make the list. I blame Citizen Rules for this.
19. Barry Lyndon (#50)
20. Will make the list.
21. Won't make the list. I blame Mr Minio for this.
22. Wil make the list.
23. Johnny Got His Gun (#97)
24. Night and Fog (#48)
25. The Deer Hunter (#25)
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Well, I haven't seen Platoon since it came out (it was among the first R-rated films I saw), and while my memory of it is good, it wasn't good enough to vote for. I have seen Inglorious Basterds.
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Any guesses as to whether I liked today's two movies or not? Come on, take your best guesses
Maybe you liked Platoon
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Platoon is damn fine and one I considered but didn’t make it.
Inglourious Basterds was my #1. One of my favorite movies period. I’ve rambled on about it before so I don’t have much new to say. But someone made a good point that characters speak their language of origin (I.e. German characters speak German, French people speak French, etc.) and when they switch languages they say they’re going to.
Inglourious Basterds was my #1. One of my favorite movies period. I’ve rambled on about it before so I don’t have much new to say. But someone made a good point that characters speak their language of origin (I.e. German characters speak German, French people speak French, etc.) and when they switch languages they say they’re going to.
Platoon was #30 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1980s while Inglourious Basterds was #8 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium and #18 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s.
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I kinda hated leaving Platoon off of my ballot, but top 25 is top 25. What I love about the movie is that it pretty much gives me everything I expect from both the war and anti-war stories. Inglourious Basterds didn't quite make it either. It's a nearly perfect movie with largely engrossing characterization, but I wanted to know more about the Basterds themselves. Tarantino obviously likes the idea of "fighting teams," so he should've done something more with the concept.
Now if Tarantino did an early 90's cartoon, what would it be like? :P
Now if Tarantino did an early 90's cartoon, what would it be like? :P
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Platoon
What a powerful and emotional watch for me. I felt like I was forgetting to breathe, the movie was that intense. I'd seen this before, in fact I reviewed it here at MoFo and only gave it a 3.5. I don't remember why I wasn't as enthused last time.
Maybe it's because since I last watched Platoon I watched an excellent documentary by Ken Burns, The Vietnam War It's 17 hours long in 10 episodes and riveting! It was a real eye opener about the causes and effects of the Vietnam War including interviews with North & South Vietnamese and U.S soldiers...all who lived through that time. I can say that Platoon is pretty well factual and those types of atrocities did actually happen. Not often, but sadly they did happen. I do have a relative who was in Vietnam war and he would never talk about it until more recently when he told about an incident that happened, I can't repeat it here but enough to say that Vietnam was a confusing hell of a mess.
What a powerful and emotional watch for me. I felt like I was forgetting to breathe, the movie was that intense. I'd seen this before, in fact I reviewed it here at MoFo and only gave it a 3.5. I don't remember why I wasn't as enthused last time.
Maybe it's because since I last watched Platoon I watched an excellent documentary by Ken Burns, The Vietnam War It's 17 hours long in 10 episodes and riveting! It was a real eye opener about the causes and effects of the Vietnam War including interviews with North & South Vietnamese and U.S soldiers...all who lived through that time. I can say that Platoon is pretty well factual and those types of atrocities did actually happen. Not often, but sadly they did happen. I do have a relative who was in Vietnam war and he would never talk about it until more recently when he told about an incident that happened, I can't repeat it here but enough to say that Vietnam was a confusing hell of a mess.
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 09-23-23 at 11:54 PM.
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Now the other movie of the day
If anyone knows me, they know how I feel about Tarantino and his movies.
Inglourious Basterds is a prime example of an auteur's stamp on his movie. If you like Quentin you'll probably like this movie. If you don't like him, well then be prepared for a Quentinesque film.
Inglourious Basterds is an 'alternative history' movie with a pulp comic book feel. Some of the scenes are ultra violent, with closeups of human scalping and brutality. Brad Pitt is good at delivering a believable southern accent without going over the top. To bad Christoph Waltz, who does play a mean Nazi with gusto, couldn't lose his British accent.
The filming technique looks great and Tarantino makes good use of wide angle lenses, but he over does the extreme facial close ups. An overly distracting soundtrack, made of an ecliptic collection of music styles...ranging from David Bowie to old Spaghetti Western Spanish Guitar, is used during the film, no doubt an homage to the 1978 Italian film of the same name.
Quentin obliviously thinks his audience is inattentive as text labels for the name of key Nazis are inserted into the film with an arrow pointing at the correct actor...just in case we weren't paying attention to who the Nazis were. Even more annoying is a rather lengthy voice over narrative, explaining to the viewer just how flammable old film nitrate stock is. It matters not that the characters have already discussed the flammability of nitrate film in laying out their attentions to burn down a building with top ranking Nazis in it, Quentin thinks we're stupid.
The director repeats this behavior by showing us an unnecessary flash back of the lead actress, a Jewish girl, escaping the Nazis. But wait a minute the entire 1st act already showed us that very scene.
Inglourious Basterds had a great look and a good working script but Quentin killed it in post production. Turning the film into kitsch.
If anyone knows me, they know how I feel about Tarantino and his movies.Inglourious Basterds is a prime example of an auteur's stamp on his movie. If you like Quentin you'll probably like this movie. If you don't like him, well then be prepared for a Quentinesque film.
Inglourious Basterds is an 'alternative history' movie with a pulp comic book feel. Some of the scenes are ultra violent, with closeups of human scalping and brutality. Brad Pitt is good at delivering a believable southern accent without going over the top. To bad Christoph Waltz, who does play a mean Nazi with gusto, couldn't lose his British accent.
The filming technique looks great and Tarantino makes good use of wide angle lenses, but he over does the extreme facial close ups. An overly distracting soundtrack, made of an ecliptic collection of music styles...ranging from David Bowie to old Spaghetti Western Spanish Guitar, is used during the film, no doubt an homage to the 1978 Italian film of the same name.
Quentin obliviously thinks his audience is inattentive as text labels for the name of key Nazis are inserted into the film with an arrow pointing at the correct actor...just in case we weren't paying attention to who the Nazis were. Even more annoying is a rather lengthy voice over narrative, explaining to the viewer just how flammable old film nitrate stock is. It matters not that the characters have already discussed the flammability of nitrate film in laying out their attentions to burn down a building with top ranking Nazis in it, Quentin thinks we're stupid.
The director repeats this behavior by showing us an unnecessary flash back of the lead actress, a Jewish girl, escaping the Nazis. But wait a minute the entire 1st act already showed us that very scene.
Inglourious Basterds had a great look and a good working script but Quentin killed it in post production. Turning the film into kitsch.
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16. Platoon - I've seen Platoon a few times over the years and I neither love nor hate it - one day it'll come time to give it another go. I remember it taking on the good and evil in man with a very direct comparison between two sergeants played by Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger. I also remember narration from Charlie Sheen, and that final scene with musical lament as Willem Dafoe throws his arms in the air - and the fact that Tropic Thunder probably used this film more than any other in the way it parodied the making of war films.
15. Inglourious Basterds - I must love Inglourious Basterds because I've seen it at least 10 times, if not more. Tarantino is great at making every scene in a film absolutely riveting and entertaining to watch. All of the nods and moments of homage, all of the great comedic moments, all of the unflinching horror and brutality, all of the sharp dialogue and a well-written screenplay, and all of the visual flair - I love it. It's a very "movie" war film, if that makes sense - it's not meant to be taken as an effort to put us into anyone's shoes, and is instead a purely cinematic exercise which comments on movies themselves, directly at times. There's an interesting thread running through it to do with language, comprehension, and the advantage knowing different languages affords those in dire circumstances. I have the original Inglorious Bastards on DVD, and understand why Tarantino, when he was younger, would classify certain films as "Inglorious Bastards" movies - they'd be that certain type of genre movie similar to The Dirty Dozen - misfits on a mission movies, which were usually violent, crass and buddy-bonding type of fare. He couldn't help but propel this way beyond that, and that would be my only strange kind of criticism about it. He had far too much time, money and talent - and overshot the mark in that respect. I don't mind though, because that meant we got so much more. Inglourious Basterds was my #21.
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Seen : 64/86
I'd never even heard of :12/86
Movies that had been on my radar, but I haven't seen yet : 10/86
Films from my list : 12
#15 - My #21 - Inglourious Basterds (2009)
#17 - My #11 - The Thin Red Line (1998)
#20 - My #17 - The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
#27 - My #15 - The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
#31 - My #20 - 1917 (2019)
#33 - My #2 - The Ascent (1977)
#34 - My #4 - The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
#38 - My #23 - Glory (1989)
#49 - My #24 - The Guns of Navarone (1961)
#51 - My #7 - The Human Condition II : Road to Eternity (1959)
#70 - My #14 - The Caine Mutiny (1954)
#74 - My #16 - Shoah (1985)
Overlooked films : Breaker Morant, Fail-Safe, Night and Fog
15. Inglourious Basterds - I must love Inglourious Basterds because I've seen it at least 10 times, if not more. Tarantino is great at making every scene in a film absolutely riveting and entertaining to watch. All of the nods and moments of homage, all of the great comedic moments, all of the unflinching horror and brutality, all of the sharp dialogue and a well-written screenplay, and all of the visual flair - I love it. It's a very "movie" war film, if that makes sense - it's not meant to be taken as an effort to put us into anyone's shoes, and is instead a purely cinematic exercise which comments on movies themselves, directly at times. There's an interesting thread running through it to do with language, comprehension, and the advantage knowing different languages affords those in dire circumstances. I have the original Inglorious Bastards on DVD, and understand why Tarantino, when he was younger, would classify certain films as "Inglorious Bastards" movies - they'd be that certain type of genre movie similar to The Dirty Dozen - misfits on a mission movies, which were usually violent, crass and buddy-bonding type of fare. He couldn't help but propel this way beyond that, and that would be my only strange kind of criticism about it. He had far too much time, money and talent - and overshot the mark in that respect. I don't mind though, because that meant we got so much more. Inglourious Basterds was my #21.
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Seen : 64/86
I'd never even heard of :12/86
Movies that had been on my radar, but I haven't seen yet : 10/86
Films from my list : 12
#15 - My #21 - Inglourious Basterds (2009)
#17 - My #11 - The Thin Red Line (1998)
#20 - My #17 - The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
#27 - My #15 - The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
#31 - My #20 - 1917 (2019)
#33 - My #2 - The Ascent (1977)
#34 - My #4 - The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
#38 - My #23 - Glory (1989)
#49 - My #24 - The Guns of Navarone (1961)
#51 - My #7 - The Human Condition II : Road to Eternity (1959)
#70 - My #14 - The Caine Mutiny (1954)
#74 - My #16 - Shoah (1985)
Overlooked films : Breaker Morant, Fail-Safe, Night and Fog
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To bad Christoph Waltz, who does play a mean Nazi with gusto, couldn't lose his British accent.
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I love Inglourious Basterds but cut if from my list at the last, sad to say. But it's great to see it make it. Platoon is one of my favorite films of all-time, regardless of whether it's a war film or not. Of course I loved the good Sgt. vs. the bad Sgt. scenario, driven home with Sgt. Elias and his Christ-like reaching for the heavens (which wasn't supposed to be exactly like that---squibs were supposed to be exploding on his body and they didn't work, which made it even more effective to me) and Sgt. Barnes trying to kill Chris as the napalm hit and you see a red, devil-like glow in his eyes. The great cast, the building tension, the superior acting and directing. I'm not a huge fan of Oliver Stone films but this one is a all-time classic in my book. I know several Vietnam vets who said that of all the films about that war, this one came the closest to being what they experienced. This was my #2 but I almost made it my Number One. It was a toss-up, really, my top two being so great. I'm just disappointed it didn't rank higher on the countdown.
#2 Platoon "Barnes been shot seven times and he ain't dead. Does that mean anything to you, huh? Barnes ain't meant to die. The only thing that can kill Barnes is Barnes." #16
#4 1917 Forward! #31
#7 The Longest Day Hit the beach! #36
#8 Hacksaw Ridge On point #67
#10 The Hurt Locker Bombs away! #58
#12 Dunkirk Retreat! #47
#15 Patton "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
#17 The Best Years of Our Lives “I had a dream. I dreamt I was home. I've had that same dream hundreds of times before. This time, I wanted to find out if it's really true. Am I really home?” #21
#18 The Dirty Dozen "Killin' generals could get to be a habit with me." #32
#21 Tora! Tora! Tora! In the vanguard #63
#23 The Deer Hunter "Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else. This is this. From now on, you're on your own." #25
#2 Platoon "Barnes been shot seven times and he ain't dead. Does that mean anything to you, huh? Barnes ain't meant to die. The only thing that can kill Barnes is Barnes." #16
#4 1917 Forward! #31
#7 The Longest Day Hit the beach! #36
#8 Hacksaw Ridge On point #67
#10 The Hurt Locker Bombs away! #58
#12 Dunkirk Retreat! #47
#15 Patton "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
#17 The Best Years of Our Lives “I had a dream. I dreamt I was home. I've had that same dream hundreds of times before. This time, I wanted to find out if it's really true. Am I really home?” #21
#18 The Dirty Dozen "Killin' generals could get to be a habit with me." #32
#21 Tora! Tora! Tora! In the vanguard #63
#23 The Deer Hunter "Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else. This is this. From now on, you're on your own." #25
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Last edited by dadgumblah; 09-24-23 at 11:27 PM.
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I really like bits of Inglourious Basterds but other bits annoy the crap out of me. I didn't care for Platoon when I watched it but I also can't remember much about it. Ran I think is excellent. Somebody posted some side by side shots of Ran and Barry Lyndon which only serve to show how superior Ran is to me 
I didn't vote for it however, due to my own narrow criteria for war films.
I didn't vote for it however, due to my own narrow criteria for war films.
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Inglorious basterds is Tarantino at his worst. I rewatched it recently and it's really not very good. The first 40 minutes or so is pretty watchable but it descends into gratuitous rubbish. Just braying to the masses - yay nazi killers etc
Platoon I loved as a young adult but has dated slightly.
No votes.
Platoon I loved as a young adult but has dated slightly.
No votes.
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I was sure that I'd have Platoon higher, but perhaps I take it for granted like a played out song. I was 15 when I went to see it with a friend, and it was the only time I ever had to ask an adult to buy my ticket. Even at 12yo I was able to walk right in to Star 80 and Videodrome. Anyway I had never seen anything like it and I was blown away, much more so than a 15yo kid would be today. Access to movies was just more limited back then, especially to minors.
Even though I'd rank Inglourious Basterds on the lower end of Tarantino's filmography, it's still a very good movie with several great parts. I'd probably have it top 40.
2. Ballad of a Soldier (#68)
8. From Here to Eternity (#30)
9. The Deer Hunter (#25)
14. Red Angel (#100)
15. Platoon (#16)
16. Waltz with Bashir (#45)
17. Underground (#43)
20. Johnny Got His Gun (#97)
22. The Best Years of Our Lives (#21)
24. Wings (#79)
25. The Cranes are Flying (#20)
Even though I'd rank Inglourious Basterds on the lower end of Tarantino's filmography, it's still a very good movie with several great parts. I'd probably have it top 40.
2. Ballad of a Soldier (#68)
8. From Here to Eternity (#30)
9. The Deer Hunter (#25)
14. Red Angel (#100)
15. Platoon (#16)
16. Waltz with Bashir (#45)
17. Underground (#43)
20. Johnny Got His Gun (#97)
22. The Best Years of Our Lives (#21)
24. Wings (#79)
25. The Cranes are Flying (#20)
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32: The Dirty Dozen (1967, Robert Aldrich)
31: 1917 (2019, Sam Mendes)
30: From Here to Eternity (1953, Fred Zinnemann)
29: Army of Shadows (1969, Jean-Pierre Melville)
28: Patton (1970, Franklin J. Schaffner)
27: The Human Condition 1: No Greater Love (1959, Masaki Kobayashi)
26: Braveheart (1995, Mel Gibson)
25: The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino)
24: The Battle of Algiers (1966, Gillo Pontecorvo)
23: The Pianist (2002, Roman Polanski)
22: The Great Dictator (1940, Charlie Chaplin)
21: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, William Wyler)
20: The Cranes Are Flying (1968, Mikhail Kalatozov)
19: The Great Escape (1963, John Sturges)
18. Ran (1985, Akira Kurosawa)
17. The Thin Red Line (1998, Terrence Malick)
16. Platoon (1986, Oliver Stone)
15. Inglorious Basterds (2009, Quentin Tarantino)
Seen 37/86
The ones in bold definitely would have made my list.
31: 1917 (2019, Sam Mendes)
30: From Here to Eternity (1953, Fred Zinnemann)
29: Army of Shadows (1969, Jean-Pierre Melville)
28: Patton (1970, Franklin J. Schaffner)
27: The Human Condition 1: No Greater Love (1959, Masaki Kobayashi)
26: Braveheart (1995, Mel Gibson)
25: The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino)
24: The Battle of Algiers (1966, Gillo Pontecorvo)
23: The Pianist (2002, Roman Polanski)
22: The Great Dictator (1940, Charlie Chaplin)
21: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, William Wyler)
20: The Cranes Are Flying (1968, Mikhail Kalatozov)
19: The Great Escape (1963, John Sturges)
18. Ran (1985, Akira Kurosawa)
17. The Thin Red Line (1998, Terrence Malick)
16. Platoon (1986, Oliver Stone)
15. Inglorious Basterds (2009, Quentin Tarantino)
Seen 37/86
The ones in bold definitely would have made my list.
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I love Inglourious Basterds but cut if from my list at the last, sad to say. But it's great to see it make it. Platoon is one of my favorite films of all-time, regardless of whether it's a war film or not. Of course I loved the good Sgt. vs. the bad Sgt. scenario, driven home with Sgt. Elias and his Christ-like reaching for the heavens (which wasn't supposed to be exactly like that---squibs were supposed to be exploding on his body and they didn't work, which made it even more effective to me) and Sgt. Barnes trying to kill Chris as the napalm hit and you see a red, devil-like glow in his eyes. The great cast, the building tension, the superior acting and directing. I'm not a huge fan of Oliver Stone films but this one is a all-time classic in my book. I know several Vietnam vets who said that of all the films about that war, this one came the closest to being what they experienced. This was my #2 but I almost made it my Number One. It was a toss-up, really, my top two being so great. I'm just disappointed it didn't rank higher on the countdown.
#2 Platoon "Barnes been shot seven times and he ain't dead. Does that mean anything to you, huh? Barnes ain't meant to die. The only thing that can kill Barnes is Barnes." #16
#4 1917 Forward! #31
#7 The Longest Day Hit the beach! #36
#8 Hacksaw Ridge On point #67
#10 The Hurt Locker Bombs away! #58
#12 Dunkirk Retreat! #47
#15 Patton "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
#17 The Best Years of Our Lives “I had a dream. I dreamt I was home. I've had that same dream hundreds of times before. This time, I wanted to find out if it's really true. Am I really home?” #21
#18 The Dirty Dozen "Killin' generals could get to be a habit with me." #32
#21 Tora! Tora! Tora! In the vanguard #63
#23 The Deer Hunter "Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else. This is this. From now on, you're on your own." #25
#2 Platoon "Barnes been shot seven times and he ain't dead. Does that mean anything to you, huh? Barnes ain't meant to die. The only thing that can kill Barnes is Barnes." #16
#4 1917 Forward! #31
#7 The Longest Day Hit the beach! #36
#8 Hacksaw Ridge On point #67
#10 The Hurt Locker Bombs away! #58
#12 Dunkirk Retreat! #47
#15 Patton "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
#17 The Best Years of Our Lives “I had a dream. I dreamt I was home. I've had that same dream hundreds of times before. This time, I wanted to find out if it's really true. Am I really home?” #21
#18 The Dirty Dozen "Killin' generals could get to be a habit with me." #32
#21 Tora! Tora! Tora! In the vanguard #63
#23 The Deer Hunter "Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else. This is this. From now on, you're on your own." #25
I had Platoon pretty high on my list (No. 6) even though I have several issues with it but most of those issues have nothing to do with what's on screen but rather how Stone presents it as a sort of biography. Stone is questionable as an historian, as far as I'm concerned, but he is a very good filmmaker and Platoon is probably his best.
My dad served in Vietnam. He never talked about his time there with me but I did ask him once about what movies got it right, with the expectation that he would say Platoon pretty much nailed it, but he told me Platoon is "Hollywood BS" then added Full Metal Jacket was closer to what he experienced. And that was the end of our talk about his time in Vietnam. I had the chance to speak with a couple veterans he served with at his funeral and they all said the same thing - Platoon was garbage. This is just me piecing shit together but what I THINK they all hated about Platoon was the lack of Brotherhood. The soldiers were really fighting for the guy next to them not fighting against them. Platoon, in a not too subtle way, gives the exact opposite message.
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I probably would have had the following 25 films on my list had I not missed this, can't be bothered to sort them, it's too difficult 
A Farewell to Arms
A Man Escaped
A Matter of Life and Death
Apocalypse Now
Army of Shadows
Battleship Potemkin
Casablanca
Come and See
General, The
Grande Illusion
Great Dictator, The
Inglourious Basterds
Ivan’s Childhood
Lawrence of Arabia
M*A*S*H
Mr. Klein
Night and Fog
Paths of Glory
Ran
Son of Saul
Stalag 17
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Birth of a Nation
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Thin Red Line
A Farewell to Arms
A Man Escaped
A Matter of Life and Death
Apocalypse Now
Army of Shadows
Battleship Potemkin
Casablanca
Come and See
General, The
Grande Illusion
Great Dictator, The
Inglourious Basterds
Ivan’s Childhood
Lawrence of Arabia
M*A*S*H
Mr. Klein
Night and Fog
Paths of Glory
Ran
Son of Saul
Stalag 17
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Birth of a Nation
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Thin Red Line
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Favorite Movies
...My dad served in Vietnam. He never talked about his time there with me but I did ask him once about what movies got it right, with the expectation that he would say Platoon pretty much nailed it, but he told me Platoon is "Hollywood BS" then added Full Metal Jacket was closer to what he experienced. And that was the end of our talk about his time in Vietnam. I had the chance to speak with a couple veterans he served with at his funeral and they all said the same thing - Platoon was garbage. This is just me piecing shit together but what I THINK they all hated about Platoon was the lack of Brotherhood. The soldiers were really fighting for the guy next to them not fighting against them. Platoon, in a not too subtle way, gives the exact opposite message.
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