Which war movie was it that did it? Which was the first to catch my interest to such an extent that it would become a passion? Is it the same that I would call my all time favourite war movie or has it meanwhile become one amongst many?
Which one is it for you? Or is it more than just one, maybe a whole category? Was it the day you discovered that there is actually more than just one Vietnam movie but a whole bunch of them? Or do you go for combat movies in general and the actual war isn’t even that important to you? It could also be about the camaraderie. Or the weapons. Or machines. You could love sniper movies or those with subs in them. Maybe you are obsessed with panzers.
See? A lot of things could get you hooked.
In my case it was a very specific movie. The war: Second world war. Location: The Pacific. Genre: Infantry combat. You know which one? Take a guess.
Yes, the other one, the one that didn’t get all the credit it deserved cause Saving Private Ryan was out there at the same time. Yeah, I’m talking the Thin Red Line here.
That was the first one that moved me so much it got me thinking. And looking back. There had been others before and there would be many more afterwards but this one was the first that got me hooked. Followed closely by Stalingrad, Black Hawk Down and Band of Brothers. Ok, I admit, it is not a very old passion but notwithstanding it is a profound one. These movies convinced me that there was more about war movies than the general public would ever see,it showed me a huge terrain full of astonishingly original, moving, interesting and fascinating movies. A world full of variety. There are so many war movies out there and so many different genres and subgenres that probably no one, and I mean it, absolutely no one would not name the one or the other among some of their all time favourites (it just depends on how inclusive the borders of the category are to you. Combat movies are just a genre among many and even though, admittedly, it might be what I prefer, they are not to everybody’s liking. But think: Last of the Mohicans, Enigma, The Pianist….. There’s quite a wide range.)
All About War Movies 
What is interesting is that Thin Red Line seems so modernistic but I believe it is a remake of an older film from the ’50s and maybe from that original film is a book. I’d like to see the original movie if I am not mistaken about that. I found this more recent Thin Red line to be a very artistic type of depiction of the war.
It is a remake but I have not seen the older movie either. James Jones wrote the novel that is said to be very very good. He also wrote the novel From Here to Eternity that was also made into a movie.
The Thin Red Line will always stand out I believe.
The first war movie I worshipped was “The Great Escape”. It is still one of my favorites. I have always loved history, especially war stories. I read extensively in military history and loving war movies came naturally, I suppose.
I am not sure if I have seen The Great Escape. I am pretty sure I didn’t as I would remember. It’s a shame. I will watch it soon though. I hear to much about it and only good things.
I will have to forgive you for not seeing “The Great Escape”. I will date myself a bit with this – my brothers and I worshiped it when we were growing up, but had to wait a year between showings on network TV. Kids today can watch their favorite movie every day. Technology is a wonderful thing!
I got a more shocking confession to make, for whatever odd reasons I haven’t seen The Bridge on the River Kwai yet. Although I have blurred memories of my father watching it on TV on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe even around Christmas. They always show them on TV around Christmas. Especially Ben Hur. Even nowadays.
“The Great Escape” I would say is definitely a Superb Movie, when they first showed it on TV, it was a real big deal and maybe they showed it over two nights.
I’m not heavy into Motorcycles but McQueen riding the motorcycle and doing the stunts (or a stuntman but McQueen may have done them) was thought to be awesome. An update to this is I bought some motorcycling magazine because I believe the company did a ‘Nostalgia’ edition of the bike but I don’t think the Company “Indian” motorcycles did it because I thought they were a defunct compnay.
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I thought you reviewed a movie called “The Iron Cross” but I could not find it. A movie I would like to see you review is “The Big Red One”. From reading about war movies and people’s opinions, it sounded like this was a real big deal. Maybe You have seen it, it’s one of those movies that gets around. I won’t say anything about it except I went and got it because people talk so much about it.
This is kind of a random note, however I will say The big red one coming out around 1980 so pre-dating Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and a Band of Brothers is a bit in the same vein of being a ‘realistic depiction of war” and like SPR and BoB in it’s camaraderie but as I said, Im’ not commenting on whether it was effective. Of course, Platoon and Saving Private Ryan both set a standard for war movies in my opinion.
Thank You!
Oh, and forgive me, for the Great Escape, another movie that I believe is similar is called something like Stalag 17 (not sure of the number, think that’s right). I believe it won Academy Awards.
That would make a good list, war movies that won Academy or other awards.
Yes Stalag 17. That is a movie I would like to watch. I think it is grimmer than The Great Escape. I am planning on doing a POW post. I reviewed a few POW movies. Only recently The Bridge on the River Kwai. A list of award winners would be interesting. Thanks for the suggestion.
I was not too thrilled by The Great Escape (I thought it would be more like The Colditz story) but I liked the motorcycle bit. He did all the stunts himself, you are right. I will probably review it. I was very surprised that it was actualy not only a POW movie but about a war crime. I did review The Cross of Iron. I will have to add a A-Z review list one of these days. You can always find reviews via the search feature but it is a bit annoying. I got The Big Red One on my To-Be-Watched pile. I hear a lot of good things about it.
Platoon did it for me. I watched it as a kid (probably 13) and it just grabbed me. I have been addicted to war movies and have had a place in my heart for people who have experienced combat ever since.
I really like Platoon. I don’t understand why people critice it and when they do it’s often for weird reasons. I’ve got a comment from a veteran on my 10 Vietnam movies you should watch list. It’s quite interesting to read it from his perspective. I grew up with combat stories as my father was a soldier in the French-Algerian war. I think that’s what subconsciously riggered the interest. I like many different genres and sub genres but still think, movies depciting combat, are the “real” war movies.