Best and worst historical movies.

[Jeff]

"Merry Christmas" is based on some very real Christmas truces that happened in WWI. I Studied these in college i did this on my own it was not an assignment . There are even photos that were taken durning the truce. It happened in more then one place and pretty much from then on both sides shelled no mans land to prevent it from happening again. I have not seen this film I will have to find and watch it.

http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm

 

[chris1]

What about all the star trek movies.
It's just history that hasn't happened yet.But it will because as you know they are onboard recordings being beamed back to Star Fleet HQ but are sucked into a worm hole and these transmissions are broadcast to the masses with some lawyer named Denny Crane who uses the stage name of William Shatner being named as the actor playing James T kirk.

Chris

 

[Jeff]

I love "Glory" I get all teary eyed when they are marching up to assault the fort. This one may get to me because one of my great grandfathers was a Capt. who led black troops.

Also a fan of" The Blue Max". We will never see a film that uses real airplanes like this film and others of its time did. They are all CGI now. I would like to see that new Red Baron film just because. I have heard it is not very good but I would like to se how the airplanes look.

 

[Diegoff]

I think we are talking about Historical movies with some fighting, not the kind of "Amadeus", for example.
A few of best that I remember now:
-Apocalypse Now.(Not the redux version)
-Paths of Glory.
-Barry Lyndon.
-Master and Commander.
-Objective Burma.
-The Duellists.
-Black Hawk Down.
-Die Brucke (The Bridge)
-Das Boot.
-La Vaquilla (The cow)

There are thousands of bad war movies, some of the worst:
-Braveheart.
-Stalingrad (only the scenes in the factory are good)
-The Patriot
-The english patient
Recently I saw "Cross of Iron" and "Big Red One" and were very dissapointing for me.

Diego

 

[Jeff]

It can be any historical film. So no worries if it is not a war movie.

 

[Paul Kernan]

LIke all the 'Best' movies so far. Add The Seven Samurai to the list.

As for the worst, how about Battle of the Bulge and Passchendale

 

[twofalls]

One of my favorites is "Kelly's Heroes" if only because the tanks were not just Pershings or Pattons with German camo.

"As for the worst, how about Battle of the Bulge and Passchendale" - Just the other morning I was channel surfing when I came to a commercial for a "male enhancement" pill. Just as they were saying that I should try their product I noticed the title of the movie that was playing on that channel....Battle of the Bulge! I was laughing so hard (sorry, couldn't resist) I couldn't have watched the movie even if I had wanted to!

 

[Jeff]

Some years back someone put out a conversion kit for the Kelly's Heroes Tanks. They called it the Hollywood Panzer kit. I can not remember which tank they converted for the film but it looked pretty good.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Jeff,
the 'Tiger' in Kelly's Heroes was a converted T-34, and many of the tanks in Band of Brothers were converted British APCs, from memory.

Quang,
thanks for the clarification, always good to have feedback from the likes of you.

There seems to be a definite 'guy' theme emerging, I dare say other historical movies would appeal to the Ladies in our lives.

Just an observation, men and women seem to enjoy certain kinds of films more then the opposite gender....

Cheers

 

[Jeff]

Well My wife is a big fan of the BBC productions of Jane Austin's novels "Sense and Sensibility" being one of her favorites I have grown to like this one myself. She also has the feature film version with Keira Knightley That was done just a few years ago. I was actually surprised at how good this version was. I have really come to love the costumes in these films. Regency period was very elegant period for clothes for men and women.

My wife also loves "Dangerous Beauty".

I have always liked "Impromptu". Other musical films that I like are "Amadeus" and "Immortal Beloved" I thought Gary Oldman was just great in that film.

I saw "Reds" not that long ago and I thought it was still a great movie. I can not think of a period epic by David Lean that I do not like.
So posting movies that are not war movies is OK.

 

[bonehead]

Best: "Winter War" and "Stalingrad" both Finnish produced movies. Brutal, honest and refreshingly free of all of the schmaltzy honor and glory crap that usually amounts to little more than propagandistic glorifying of culturally approved slaughter. These movies are slaughter with the kid gloves and rose colored glasses off.

Worst: Pearl Harbor - are you kiddin' me? What a load of Hollywood hooey. And why do the WWII dogfight scenes look like Star Wars video game crap? UGH!

Thin Red Line: Three hours of my life I will never get back. I almost walked out on it and am now disappointed that I didn't. This coming from a person who actually sat through a half hour of Prince's agonizing "Purple Rain". Some things are just too torturous for human consumption.

But perhaps the biggest travesty of all is the obsequious fawning over the director of this movie, by adulating Hollywood sycophants after this movie was released. I don't care if he is some, supposedly, hot shot director. This load of crap was a shameful waste of celluloid and Hollywood talent. People can be such morons sometimes.....

Boo, hisss!

Mike

P.S. I am with Tavis: anything with an exquisite piece of eye candy like Ursula Andress in it is worth a drool or two!

 

[Nappy1]

Movies

Did anyone mention "The Duellists"? Great film in so many ways and particularly the accuracy of every uniform, including the changes as time moves forward.

 

[Jeff]

Two hours of my life that I will never get back is how I felt about "Alexander". "Pearl Harbor" is right up there with that one though.

 

[jcichon]

What a great thread!! Gives me ideas of movies I want to see or have never heard of.
Best Movies-
Downfall- awesome movie
Schindlers List
Band of Brothers though not a movie!
Worst Movies-
Pearl Harbor
Alexander
A Day in Haditha-not worth the film they put it on!

 

[je_touche]

Did anyone mention "The Duellists"? Great film in so many ways and particularly the accuracy of every uniform, including the changes as time moves forward.

Not quite. The action supposedly starts in 1800, and both the protagonists are wearing tchakos with imperials eagles on them. They should be rather wearing mirlitons at that point of time. Just my two pennies worth.

 

[Diegoff]

Well, I did mention The Duellists as a great historical movie. Taking aside some details, it creates a moving "atmosphere" of the period. And with such low budget! The influence of Kubrick´s Barry Lyndon is evident there.
The Duellists is based in the novel by Joseph Conrad and is interesting that his books had been used in the movies with great results as "Lord Jim" or "Apocalypse Now".
I will add to my lists the movies by David Lean: The Bridge on the river Kwai, Lawrenece and Doctor Zhivago.

Other two cents

 

[garyjd]

Not quite. The action supposedly starts in 1800, and both the protagonists are wearing tchakos with imperials eagles on them. They should be rather wearing mirlitons at that point of time. Just my two pennies worth.

My understanding is that the "costumes" alone for the two main characters cost $19,000! big money in that time. What is a bit crazy is that the company that made them retained ownership. It would have been cool to have a few mirlitons, but oh well. ~Gary

 

[chippy]

Heres a few of my top favourits
Last of the Mohicans , Zulu Dawn , Flags of our Fathers and heres one probably no one has heard of In Pursuit of Honour , starring Don Johnson .
Briefly its about the time the US Cavalry switch from horses to tanks and vehicles, and the determination of some of the troopers to save there mounts from slaughter .
bad ones
the last remake of The four Feathers starring Heath Ledger
Pearl Harbour , Again
Custer Of THe West , starring Robert Shaw
chippy

 

[Jeff]

I just thought of a film that I have always liked is "Little Big Man". Chief Dan George was just great in that movie. It is a lot of fun. We would call it a dramedy now.

People have mentioned Band Of Brothers which is a great HBO show. Another HBO show that was really good was "From The Earth To The Moon". I worked on this one so I may be disqualified for putting it on the list .;-). I still think of this as some of the best work I have done for a film or TV show.

 

[JBoisson]

Got to agree with a lot of your picks especially Gary's, with Memorial Day Marathons going on Turner Classic Movies and American Movie Classics, I'm reminded of alot of great movies...and some real schlock.
Here's some more to add to the lists
The Wind and the Lion
Hell is for Heroes
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Empire of the Sun
Young Winston
Hope and Glory
Henry V (Kenneth Branagh's version)
Abe Lincoln of Illinois
Gore Vidal's 'Lincoln'
The Crossing
Conspiracy
the German film the above is based on-Die Wanssee Konferenz
some "indie" flicks that don't get alot of attention
Ride With the Devil--ACW in MO/KS w/ Tobey Maquire, Simon Baker, Jeffrey Wright, Jewell,
Jonathan Rhys Meyer, Tom Wilkinson, etc. directed by Ang Lee
Ambrose Bierce: Civil War Stories--very "indie," well made, well acted with 'fit' re-enactors of military age, 2006 directed by Don Maxwell
Company K--2004, based on novelized memoir of William March a Marine veteran of Belleau Wood and the Argonne
Oh What a Lovely War--Richard Attenborough's directorial debut, a Great War Musical! All of the music is contemporary British music-hall and soldier songs ca.1914-18.
Speaking of musicals of historical events, to my knowlege the only movies ever made about the California Gold Rush and the conception, discussion and drafting of the Declaration of Independence are respectively " Paint Your Wagon," and "1776!"
And of course the all time greatest war movie...drumroll please....
THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA!!!!
Cheers
EDIT--Sorry forgot to mention some of my 'worsts':
Spike Lee's Miracle of St. Anne...annoyingly bad
Indigenes--the star actor has only one arm thus the main character, the rebellious North African Colonial fighting both for France's honor and French racism, takes on Les Boche literally single-handedly with one empty sleeve jammed into his jacket pocket. I couldn't get past that.
Flyboys