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156 Comments
- TheDeepFriar, on 07/07/2008, -1/+31countries OTHER than America have wars??
woah....... - funkymonkey01, on 07/07/2008, -0/+27I love Zulu. Great clip.
- MattBD, on 07/07/2008, -10/+33Why do so many US-made war movies seem to give the impression that the US won WW2 single-handed? It's really annoying!
- GateOpener, on 07/07/2008, -1/+20Where the hell is Grave of the Fireflies?!
I mean, I know it's anime, but it's one of the best war movies ever created period. - iwantamonkey, on 07/08/2008, -0/+19What, no Gallipoli?
- grc586, on 07/07/2008, -3/+17You came in two years late for starters mate. If it wasn't for the Brits holding out in 1940 then you wouldn't have even had the chance to come and save us all.
Take the Russians out of the mix and we would have all been speaking German - they fought the vast majority of the German army. The US and Britain only fought a quarter between us.. - grc586, on 07/07/2008, -0/+11Some good choices there, good that you have included Come and See.
- surfacewound, on 07/08/2008, -3/+14Back then the U.S. was still an industrial nation, and it basically out-produced the enemy. I don't see where you're basing the single-handed claims from, but it has certainly played the largest role here.
Regardless, I think it's safe to say that WW2 would have turned out much differently if either the US, UK, or Russia weren't all fighting the Germans, so it's irrelevant anyway. - ScoutzMom, on 07/07/2008, -1/+11Dugg for Zulu & Bridge on the River Kwai. Excellent films.
- PATSCRU, on 07/07/2008, -0/+9Battle of Algiers is amazing and luckily it was on TCM last night.
- JlmAWP, on 07/07/2008, -0/+9That's a movie I never mind stumbling upon on a Sunday afternoon.
- punkcat, on 07/08/2008, -2/+10of course it was France that was really the hand that tipped the scale in the allies favor.
- Xorp, on 07/08/2008, -1/+9This list fails. Hard. Lawrence should #1.
- inactive, on 07/08/2008, -7/+15Soviet Union was the larger variable in ww2.
- jeexbit, on 07/08/2008, -1/+9No Breaker Morant??? No Gallipoli?!?!?!?!
what the *****?!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080310/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082432/ - kilofox, on 07/08/2008, -5/+13So WW2 was just the Allies fighting Nazi Germany? The US fought a 2-Ocean war (Japan)... combine those and they were a far larger variable than the Soviets were.
- araza13, on 07/08/2008, -0/+7yeah,
i was going to comment on that.
One of Mel Gibson's best films Mad Max 1 & 2 aside.
Breaker Morant was good too. - MacBigot, on 07/08/2008, -1/+8A dozen notable omissions...
1) MRS. MINIVER (1942)
Sir Winston Churchill reported said that Mrs Miniver did more for the British war effort than a fleet of destroyers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTPVp1-Io5g
2) ZWARTBOEK (aka "Black Book"; 2006)
If for no other reason, Digg fans will love this movie for the stunning Carice van Houten.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIklvGsU7bM
3) THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN (1969)
WWII aircraft in movies before CGI.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVRey2XEs
4) TMAVOMODRY SVET (aka "Dark Blue World"; 2001)
Czech pilots fighting with the RAF.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKjR1V-Dg14
5) ALEKSANDR NEVSKIY (aka "Alexander Nevsky"; 1938)
Early Russian history as propaganda in the run up to WWII.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTISdgDjo-w
6) HENRY V (1989)
The Shakespeare play. Far superior to the Laurence Olivier version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAvmLDkAgAM
7) EXODUS (1960)
Birth of the State of Israel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CowI94ATpuQ
8) 49TH PARALLEL (1941)
Great ending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VzStkRmHc0
9) THE TRAIN (1964)
Burt Lancaster did all his own stunts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jxi96lXdGU
10) GALIPOLI (1981)
Early Mel Gibson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6wyD4Eo4t4
11) CAST A GIANT SHADOW (1966)
Also the birth of the State of Israel. Worth it just to hear John Wayne trying to say "L'Chaim."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tWkRRFHNjA
12) THE PIANIST (2002)
A Polish Jew struggles for survival during the Holocaust.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itR0-I9idXk - orenshk, on 07/08/2008, -0/+7The soviets reached Berlin before the Allies because that was the agreement between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin in Yalta.
- tattertech, on 07/08/2008, -0/+6The Soviet Union bit is interesting. Something like 90% (or reasonably close to) of the German units were deployed on the Eastern front against the Soviets. On the other hand, a very significant amount of materials (metal for guns and such) as opposed to full units were actually pulled out and deployed in the West (particularly with regards to AA guns and such). As a result the Soviets fought against a disproportionate amount of German units, but the Western allies fought against a disproportionate amount of German material. If the Germans had been able to consolidate in either direction their opponents would have had much, much more difficulty.
- t3hmyth, on 07/08/2008, -0/+6Breaker Morant, anyone?
- duli42, on 07/08/2008, -0/+5Dugg for Hotel Rwanda. Shame Enemy at the Gates wasn't on there though.
- thegreenspanput, on 07/07/2008, -0/+5you don't want to meet a real Zulu in the wild though... they are ferocious.
- funkymonkey01, on 07/07/2008, -2/+7Eh? Why is that?
- amanilaenvelope, on 07/07/2008, -0/+5I love Stalingrad and Downfall and dugg especially for Zulu.
- inactive, on 07/08/2008, -0/+5Das Boot
Wind That Shakes The Barley
Michael Collins
Gallipoli
The Great Escape (only a couple of Americans) - masterm1nd, on 07/08/2008, -0/+5Do you mean to tell me that the guy who just copy-pasted his own comment multiple times just calculated the square kilometers taken in ww2 by nation?
- dalittle, on 07/08/2008, -0/+5The Beast (1988) is a good one for this list. Russian Soldiers in Afghanistan when they were trying to occupy it.
- Hartley1942, on 07/08/2008, -1/+6Movies.
- xt0xicx, on 07/08/2008, -0/+5because the list is about wars/battles that america wasn't a part of.. letters of iwo jima is about japan and america.
- webman77, on 07/07/2008, -0/+4My favourite is still "Dr Zhivago (1965)".
- epmc, on 07/08/2008, -5/+9No Star Wars?
- iDoraemon, on 07/08/2008, -0/+4Dugg for Taegukgi (The Brotherhood of War). Epic battle scenes that topped Saving Private Ryan and made me despise the cruelties of war even more.
Basically, the best Korean War movie...ever. - FrankieAngels, on 07/08/2008, -0/+4Sends shivers down my spine....
Men of Harlech stop your dreaming
Can't you see their spear points gleaming
See their warrior pennants streaming
To this battlefield
Men of Harlech stand ye steady
It cannot be ever said ye
For the battle were not ready
Welshmen never yield
From the hills rebounding
Let this warcry sounding
Summon all at Cambria's call
The mighty force surrounding
Men of Harlech on to glory
This will ever be your story
Keep these burning words before ye
Welshmen will not yield - dsmx, on 07/08/2008, -1/+5No, if you watch the film you'd probably understand it better
- ucigangsta, on 07/08/2008, -0/+4If I recall WWII is just the back drop for the movie. I don't think you can call it a war movie unless the war is the focus of the movie. Otherwise you might as well add Persepolis to the list. That movie also has war as a backdrop for the story.
- moskaudancer, on 07/08/2008, -1/+5Speaking as an American, your ignorance embarrasses me. Have you never heard of the Battle of Britain? If it weren't for the RAF, the Allies would never have gotten the chance to properly fight back.
- Ubermann, on 07/08/2008, -0/+4Add Soldier Of Orange.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6hCjgrXJSlA - >mark, on 07/08/2008, -0/+4Missed one of my personal favourites: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVRey2XEs&locale=e ...
- masterm1nd, on 07/08/2008, -4/+8Well, you're the one using the term "single-handedly". I'm not sure what a larger variable than the US would be.
- edelay, on 07/08/2008, -1/+4Everyone missed "Enemy at the Gates"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215750/ - Animan351, on 07/08/2008, -1/+4Wheres 7-Samurai¿?¿?¿
I'm counting that as a war movie and because its at least somewhat excepted that this is the greatest movie that was ever made I just cant take this persons list seriously enough for me to think we might have common tastes. - masterm1nd, on 07/08/2008, -0/+3Bah. Square kilometers taken is still not a measure of ones usefulness or effectiveness in war unless you factor in the strategic importance of square kilometer. And even then it's just one of many things to consider.
- surfacewound, on 07/08/2008, -0/+3"Sure, they have large areas with little population but that didn't keep the Germans from inflicting a body count of TWENTY MILLION on the Soviets in the end. AGAIN compare that to the body count suffered by the Western Allieds in Western Europe and Asia. Not to mention the dozens of trillions of today's US Dollars in material losses suffered by the Soviets in comparison to the thriving US war economy. There simply can't be any argument that the Soviet Union made by far the biggest effort and the biggest sacrifice in defeating the Axis (Germany, Japan, Itly etc.)."
I don't think anyone is disputing the effects or importance of the Eastern front, hell, I think it alone had 30+ million casualties, which was probably more than all the other theaters combined. But I think that say, the T-34 had far more to do with Russia's overall success than high death tolls ever did... especially if most of those deaths were Russian.
"The outcome of Operation Barbarossa was at least as detrimental to the Soviets as it was to the Germans, however. Although the Germans had failed to take Moscow outright, they held huge areas of the western Soviet Union, including the entire regions of what are now Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, plus parts of Russia proper west of Moscow. The Germans held up to 500,000 square miles (1.3×106 km²) of territory with over 75 million people at the end of 1941, and would go on to seize another 250,000 square miles (6.5×105 km²) before being forced to retreat after defeats at Stalingrad and Kursk."
I think this is proof enough that simple square milage controlled has very little to do with overall effectiveness. All it takes is one key strategic point to make it all irrelevant. - surfacewound, on 07/08/2008, -0/+3"Heck, go ahead and lump all Western Allieds together under the American flag. You'll still find that they stuggled for FAR, FAR fewer square kilomters not only in Europe but in all theaters of war combined."
Which couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that Russia is by far the largest country in the world area-wise, right? Not to mention it's obviously far less dense than Europe... which would mean larger expanses traveled with large areas of little to no population compared to the equivalent area in Europe... etc. etc. - Nayson, on 07/08/2008, -0/+3"Dont throw those bloody spears!"
- masterm1nd, on 07/08/2008, -2/+5"# of dead people" is not a measure of ones usefulness or effectiveness in war. Quite the opposite, really.
- Stockwell, on 07/08/2008, -0/+2Now that's a damn' good list.
Time to expand the movie collection again.
Comes down to about my top movies - but don't forget 'The Beast' and 'Soldaat van Oranje' (Soldier of Orange). - masterm1nd, on 07/08/2008, -3/+5Ok, but if any nation could have done it without one of the others, it would have been the US, simply because of the nuke factor. I think it becomes the clearer choice when you factor in Japan and I believe the US supplied by far the most "material"
- orenshk, on 07/08/2008, -3/+5The gradients of influence are very hard to quantify. I think the issue is with the "single-handedness" that MattBD mentioned. Films generally depict the US as coming to the rescue of Europe, while fighting a second front with Japan. But as tattertech said, the very existence of the Russian front made the allied job easier. And let's not forget that Britain held against German attacks since 1941, providing the allies with a base from which to launch their 2nd front. I don't know "who did more" and I don't think it's relevant. The point is the US didn't and couldn't have done it alone.
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