nazz

My wife and I have been on a roll with watching WW II DVD's and just finished Band Of Brothers, The Pianist and Night and Fog in that order.

I was wondering if any of you could offer some suggestions of similar discs that we might go for next.

We're looking for anything that might be overlooked aside from the obvious such as Saving Private Ryan.

Thanks.

mikenyc

"13 Rue Madeline".... is a particulary taut, WW2 docu-drama, that ALWAYS entertains on repeated plays. James Cagney heads this very able veteran cast. It encapsulates the role of the OSS in

"Dirty Dozen"...great cast, headed by Lee Marvin. Again, stands up to repeated viewings. While the Tv version has been beaten to death, the dvd really is lots of fun to watch, repeatedly.

"Das Boot"...GREAT submarine movie here. I, and others, would love to see the REAL mini-series length version. I believe, that it's around 6 hours long ????

"Blood on the Sun"...James Cagney's patriotic yarn about pre-war Japan, always entertains. While usually found in the "public domain" bin, there is an official transfer that REALLY entertains !

"Von Ryan's Express"...a very light-hearted take on the WW2 genre film, but it still entertains, thanks to the top-knotch character actors who support a wise-cracking Frank Sinatra.

"Bridge on the River Kwai"...top knotch, pathos acting stars, with a stand-out performance from William Holden, the Yank cynic. See also Billy Wilder's "Stalag 13"...lots of great drama and tension, again, with a very strong supporting cast.

"Empire of the Sun"...John Malkovich carries this whole film. Long but worth the journey !

darkflounder

You could go with some of the classics
Patton
Macarthur
The Best Year of Our Lives
The Great Escape
Bridge on the River Kwai
Das Boot
Life is Beautiful (A great compliment to The Pianist)
Stalag 17

Or some of the less known, but still very good, movies
A Midnight Clear

Or some straight documentaries
WWII in Color from The History Channel is very good

Or even some of the more recent movies and kinda crappy movies
Enemy at the Gates
Hart's War
Jakob The Liar
The Thin Red Line

mikenyc

More.....


Attack...Robert Aldrich's very very taut, WW2 drama starring Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, Buddy Ebsen, and perrenial Robert Strauss, who plays the perfect grunt. VERY well acted, Very overlooked !

SlangNRocks

A couple of my favorites are the Tuskegee Airmen, and Grave of the Fireflies.

Hendrik

...erm...

* A WALK IN THE SUN (****/****)

* THE THIN RED LINE

* THE BIG RED ONE

* BATAAN

* BACK TO BATAAN (don't know if that's out on DVD)

* HANGMEN ALSO DIE

* THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (****/****0

...from Japan :

* HUMAN CONDITION - Parts 1, 2 and 3 (****/****)

...from the USSR :

* COME AND SEE (****/****)

* THE CRANES ARE FLYING

* IVAN'S CHILDHOOD

...from the UK (available only(?) on R2/UK/PAL DVD) :

* A CANTERBURY TALE

* THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (****/****)

* IN WHICH WE SERVE

* ICE=COLD IN ALEX

* A TOWN LIKE ALICE

...to name but a few...

. . . . . .

Class316

not exactly a WWII DVD but here's something worthwhile

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

Jazzbutcher

Big to The Best Years of Our Lives
Hope and Glory
The Sorrow and the Pity (Documentary; quite long)
Hotel Terminus (VHS Documentary; quite long)
Stalag 17
The World at War Box Set

Rascal

Don't forget Tora! Tora! Tora!.

Azrael23

A must see are :

- Cross of Iron
- Stalingrad

Iron Chef

Anybody with a WW2 collection needs to have this film in their collection. Make sure tat you watch it with commentary.

Class316

I haven’t gotten around to watching it with commentary. I watched it all without commentary and maybe the first 5-10 minutes with commentary. One disappointing thing about this DVD is that there are no subtitles in the extra short film. The menu is also sort of a disappointment, as it has absolutely nothing to do with the main feature.

I wish Olympia I and II would come out on DVD. It actually is available on R2 German BUT 1) no subtitles and 2) I *shudder* to think how much it would be censored (for one thing blurred logos a la WWE TV since there is no free speech in Germany).

dvd-4-life

What about WW2 documentaries out there besides World at War?

mikenyc

"Sorrow and the Pity" is excellent. There are alot of History Channel things out there, although I've only sampled the Pearl Harbor special, DVD set with 3 dvds, that include bios on MacArthur and Nimitz.

It would be interesting to get the "Victory at Sea" series on DVD, someday, along with the CBS News, early TV, series, "Twentieth Century", and one the did on WW1. CBS produce MANY "war" oriented documentaries in their heyday, that should see the light of day...some day.

mikeporter

I second SlangNRocks vote for Grave of the Fireflies. Not yet mentioned is Barefoot Gen. BTW: both are anime. I bought my copy of BG from Anime Krazy

nazz

Thanks very much for taking the time to suggest these films.

I'll be adding to my Netflix queue now!

Ky-Fi

Sink the Bismarck is out on a nice anamorphic widescreen B&W disc for under $10 at BestBuy. I think the story of the Bismarck is one of the most compelling of WWII. The Bismarck sank The Hood--the pride of the British navy---in a matter of minutes. 1500 crewman, 3 survivors. Churchill basically ordered every available ship in the Royal Navy to go after the Bismarck.

I would also recommend It Happened Here, a very interesting alternate reality/historical fiction based on the premise that the Germans conquered England and established a puppet Fascist government, while the Americans and British partisans were planning to reinvaded from Ireland. Very powerful, thought-provoking film.

If you want a "weird war tale", I thought Below was quite a good, creepy WWII movie.

cisco1959

633 Squadron
Battle Of Britain
The Big Red One
Das Boot
Bridge On The River Kwai
The Desert Fox
The Devil's Brigade
Dirty Dozen
Eagle Has Landed
The Great Escape
Guns Of Navarone
The Longest Day
Midway
Patton
Run Silent, Run Deep
Stalag 17
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Twelve O'Clock High
Where Eagles Dare (Release date 9/2/03)

mike45

Sahara with Bogart

Also Casablanca with Bergman and Bogart. Though no battles take place in the film, it is a WWII film.

MarcinL

My favorite

Dirty Dozen
Guns of Navarone
The Great Escape
A Bridge too far

and sept 2nd Where eagles dare

funstan

My faves are:

Grave of the Fireflies
Das Boot
Casablanca
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Bridge Over the River Kwai

There are so many more but I am tired.

mikenyc

"The Burmese Harp" or "Harp of Burma"

Kon Ichikawa's memorable, tale, from the otherside of the war.
See also his film, "Fires on the Plain".

For the strong hearted, "Come and See" by Elem Klimo, about a Russian boy's journey during the madness of the Nazi invasion of Russia. Compelling, hallucinatory vision of the madness of War.

jedidiah

I definitely recommend The Longest Day. It is a really great film.

BJacks

Stalingrad, Mr. Roberts, Longest Day, Bridge At Remagen, Patton, and...1941 .