isamu

Spoiler ridden...don't sat I didn't warrn ya ....




I mean seriously...can any other war movie even touch Full Metal Jacket? I have watched it over 10 times in the last week alone! I am obsessed with this film! It is so ****ing good it's not even funny! The performance R.Lee Ermy gives in the first half of the movie is nothing short of brilliant! Him and private Pyle NAILED their respective roles! I know ALL the lines fom Sgt Hartman by heart!

I am seriously tempted to come to the conclusion that R.Lee Ermy's performance in this movie is the best performance from any actor in movie history! Has there been a more convincing and menacing drill seargent in any other war flick?

Then the second half of the movie, though not quite as gripping, still manages to pull you in to the hell that was the Vietnam war. With memorable scenes such as the ever popular "Me so horney", the helicopter gunman that doesn't give a shit, and the Dorean Harewood flopping out his cock saying "What we have here a genuine black Alabama snake, but aint too Goddamn boo koo" :lol The ending, with the sniper killing them one by one and finally getting taken out by Rafterman is just writhing with suspense!

Has there ever been a better war movie? Please don't say SPR

caiman

Saving Private Ryan, and I'm being quite serious.

Jepthah

I may actually agree with you...but then again I was only able to sit through Elem Klimov's Come and See one time. That one knocked me sideways. And although I'd hesitate to call it a 'war film' per se I love The Thin Red Line without apology.

Mammal

Ermy was an actual drill sergeant once. He wasn't acting. That's the way they all are (or at least one in every basic training company). What about All Quiet On The Western Front?

The Cow

Tora, Tora, Tora

Jackskeleton

uh. Full Metal Jacket the best war movie?


Apocalypse Now was a better look at Vietnam. Platoon comes to mind as a better vietnam flick. Black Hawk Down and yes, Saving Private ryan beats the hell out of Full Metal Jacket. then again it is pointless to argue with you. Thin Red Line also is high on my list. Now if you want to talk about "preparing for war" type of films, say like bootcamp and all. I will have to say that Tigerland holds that honor as being up great.

RyoHazuki

No actually he wasnt. And yes there are better war movies.

Bilbo Baggins

Apocalypse Now is better than Full Metal Jacket (in my opinion). I LOVE FMJ but it does run out of steam once they actually reach Vietnam. The second half just doesn't live up to the first. All the brilliant dialogue and acting takes place in the training camp scenes.

wendersfan

Apocalypse Now
Paths of Glory
Thin Red Line
The Dirty Dozen

I didn't like Saving Private Ryan, and while some might classify The Grand Illusion as a war movie, I don't so much, but I think it's miles ahead of every movie that's been named in this thread so far (FWIW).

tommyp007

me too, tho the 1st hour of FMJ is an astounding piece of cinema.

Inverse

The best war movie would be the first half of Full Metal Jacket followed by the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan.

Face/Off

Dan Marino and Brett Favre were playing themselves in Ace Ventura and There's Something About Mary, so I guess they weren't acting since they were real NFL quarterbacks. So in real life, they must be that stiff and emotionless.

Ermy was a staff sergeant in the Corps.

joeydaninja

I liked The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far.

caiman

Oh, there's no doubt about that. FMJ is a brilliant movie, but SPR is a better war movie. I usually don't jump in with praise for SPR, but something about isamu's gay little " " made me want to voice my opinion. For so many people, it seems popular = crap. Sad.

AGuyNamedMike

Wow, I never knew how many fellow TRL fans I had. I also enjoyed the first half of FMJ immensely, but wouldn't put it in my top 5 war pics.

The Battle of the Bulge
Thin Red Line
Zulu
The War Lover
Apocalypse Now

honorable mention for Patton, but I reckon that's technically a biopic...

renaldow

FMJ is a good movie, but it's by far not the best war movie ever made. It's not even much of a war movie, only the last half. If you think this is the best war movie made I'd suggest seeing more, and I'd suggest reading Short Timers. After reading ST you'd see the movie was a pale shadow of what it should've/could've been.

D-Ball

Actually, he was a Marine Drill Instructor for a few years. FMJ is in the top ten war movies of all time, but it's definitely not number one.

eedoon

Das Boot and Saving Private Ryan for me.

marty888

Not even in my Top 10 War Movies .... and I'm a BIG Kubrick fan.

See some more movies.

Mammal

What about The Green Berets?

Hiro11

FMJ isn’t even Kubrick’s best war movie. As several people have already pointed out:

is.

My favorite war movie:

garolo

I can't believe Platoon has not been mentioned yet. Gallipolli has to be up there too.I must admit when I don't know what DVD I want to watch I usually find myself popping FMJ into the player.

I love the Hollywood propaganda films from WWII:
Deep Six
Bataan
Back to Bataan
Run Silent, Run Deep
Guadalcanal Diary
They Were Expendable

and so on...
But they don't really compare to the 'realism' of the war films from the '70s and after. The big budget, big star vignette movies are enjoyable but are my least favorite.

matome

Platoon & Black Hawk Down in my book.

garolo

Hiro11:
I wouldn't consider Ran a war movie. Indeed a battle for control does take place in the movie it isn't really about war, per se.

So then, what is the definition of a "war movie". In my opinion, the central theme of a war movie has to be two sovereignties fighting and/or the stories of the combatant(s) or those in someway involved in that war. If not, then Mrs. Miniver, The African Queen or Casablaca could and should be considered war movies too.


I forgot Deer Hunter should be considered one the best war movies too.

PalmerJoss

I loved Full Metal Jacket, but like The Thin Red Line it is less of a war movie than a reflection on life and death-- that being said, my top war movies are:

Apocalypse Now
Platoon
Saving Private Ryan
Bridge on the River Kwai