What is the best WW2 Movie ?

Why do you criticize the German action where the real idiocy of the movie was the fact that the Germans had Tigers (somehow) which were blown up by field-improvised sock explosives! It's ridiculous. The only good thing about this movie, and that is what generally pulls it into the green for WW2 enthusiasts, is the grand opening at Omaha Beach. However, this movie did much to improve the look and feel of war movies, seeing follow-ups such as Band of Brothers and the superior When Trumpets Fade.

Enemy at the Gates is not realistic at all because, except for the opening infantry assault scene, it completely ignores the actual battle of Stalingrad and makes it seem like the entire titanic struggle was actually about two snipers trying to get a shot at each other (and one of them didn't even exist!). The worst of this is that the movie ends when the Germans surrender, suddenly and out of nowhere, as if the imaginary King of Snipers was the only thing that held them together. Retarded. Like I said, I only value this movie because of some isolated scenes of realism.

I can only say, go see When Trumpets Fade. Do it. I couldn't have reviewed this movie any better than this "private critic" on IMDB:
Due to the fact that the two films came out close together, it is tempting to compare When Trumpets Fade to Saving Private Ryan. This would be a mistake. Unlike Private Ryan, Trumpets is not an epic set to a background of a crucial point in history, like D-Day, nor are the central characters members of an elite unit who are given a "heroic" assignment. Instead, the main character, Manning (Eldard), starts off as a private reluctant to risk his life, but who finds himself promoted and burdened with increasing responsibilities he does not want as his unit suffers horrendous attrition attempting to fight its way into Germany in late 1944. Manning's dilemma both contrasts and parallels that of his company commander, Captain Pritchett (Donovan), who has to balance achieving the objectives he has been assigned and keeping as many of his men alive as he can, and succeeding at neither. The greatest contrast with Private Ryan, however, comes in the form of the replacement troops, all green recruits with no combat experience - a far cry from Captain Miller's seasoned Rangers. Rounding it off is Dwight Yoakam as the nameless battalion commander who is unapologetic about driving his men to the slaughter, but whose face betrays the fact that, as with Captain Pritchett, their deaths weigh heavily upon him. When Trumpets Fade successfully showcases combat at its most gruesome and frustrating as Captain Pritchett's company batters itself to pieces against its target with nothing to show for the effort and bravery of the men except an ever-increasing pile of American corpses. But we get two good looks at the face of a German squad leader, portrayed by Frank-Michael Köbe, and in it we can see the despondency of a man who knows that he is fighting only to postpone the inevitable defeat of his country. A gritty, realistic, and depressing, but nonetheless excellent film.

 

I fully agree with you Roel, I was just mentioning one of the obscure scenes in Saving Private Ryan. The scene with the Tiger is just as ridiculous !

Best regards, KBO.

 

I chose my favorite WW II movies; I did not make any claims about realism or any other specific factor. Saving Private Ryan was IMO, from a dramatic standpoint, an excellent film. The pacing, plot ,character development and cinematography was first rate. Was it as realistic as a documentary? No.

 

Guys,they didn't blow up the Tiger with the sticky bombs.They took the track off to immobilize it to block the street.

 

I didn't criticize your choice, I was comparing our opinions.

Sturmtiger: you may be right about the sock bomb remark, but I still highly doubt taking out a Tiger tank with a crew with a minimal amount of experience will be tougher than that.

 

Not when you've got Matt Damon on your side.He'd have whooped Wittman's ass just as easily!

 

Which one? 50's or 80's?

 

Also from that last battle in SPR, the sniper guy some how kills a lot of germans without his crosshair in his scope being on them. I think that Band of Brothers is the best "movie".

 

I must say that movie: When trumpets fade is one of the best war movies i ever saw.

 

Well, if you are shooting at someone who is moving, you need to aim a bit in front of target.
Ofcourse if you are shooting from point blank -range, you dont need to do this.

 

In SPR, I liked the way that Tom Hanks used a mirror gummed (literally) onto a knife blade to check out the German positions without exposing himself to their fire. Does anyone know if such a trick was actually used during WW2?

BTW, do not expect historical accuracy in any Hollywood movie. Their focus is entertainment, so just enjoy the movies (if they're good, of course) and don't sweat the details.

 

I think if you can get a movie that is entertaining and accurate, it is better than just an entertaining one, which is more or less the reason for topics like these.

As to the gum and mirror trick, I believe (but I'm not 100% sure) that this was based on a soldier's actual recorded memories, in which he must have used a similar trick.

 

to my knowledge SPR is based on(real life) a guy from the 101st who had lost all his brothers, 1 on utah,1 on omaha and 1 in new guinea(sp?) but the 1 in NG was missing and found l8r in the war, the guy from the 101st was found by a padre and taken back home

 

The Battle of the Bulge is a good movie , it's not really accurate concerning equipment and vehicles but a good tank movie none the less .

 

The story of the man from the 101st is recorded in Band of Brothers I believe (the book, that is). I'd have to check if it gives any details.

Well, no. This movie is the only one I know in which the historical inaccuracy is such that it truly overwhelms whatever other qualities the film may have, these being few and far between indeed. In general I'd say this is by far the worst war movie I've seen.

 

yeh i got the details from the band of brothers book

 

Kelly's heroes

 

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For once Roel I'll agree with you! Band of Brothers was rubbish, films like Kelly's Heros you know are fiction(oh yes they are!) but BoB was supposed to be authentic.
I think one of the better American Films was "Battleground"? (is that right? with Van Johnson? 101st airbourne? black and white.)
Most of the earlier war films 43/44/45 and so, were what the people at home wanted to see, it was not until many years later we knew they were propaganda, but at least they had authentic uniforms and badges in most cases.
Battle of the Bulge!!!! Sorry Roel, I'll agree with you on this too (I thought you were refering to BoB)
Sgt.(N.A.A.F.I.) Merlin.

 

i like enemy at the gates
the best bits when vasilly(jude law) ham to cross the volga

 

I think Band of brothers or Patton are both good movies