I watched a movie last night that astonished me quite a bit. It was gut-wrenching and fabulously good and has managed what none before did manage, it has entered my Top 10. The question is now, which one of the 10 will I kick out? Of course you are wondering which one managed to enter my Top 10. Maybe the film stills will give you the answer. If not, you have to wait until my review is ready. Hopefully that will be tomorrow.
A while back one of my readers, Cliff, suggested to do a post on war movies that won the Academy Award for Best Film. I finally collected them and am going to share the list with you. I must say I was amazed to see how many there are. There are of course a few I have never seen, but many are very familiar. Out of my Top 10 there is only one, Platoon. The posters I added for you are from the first and the last so far to win the award, Wings and The Hurt Locker. The list shows the year when the movie won which is not always identical with the year it was produced. You will see easily that there are not many infantry combat movies on that list, that’s probably why there is only one of my Top 10 List (that you can see here) as I chose mainly combat movies. Still it is an interesting list and it puts me in the mood to re-watch some of them. It seems to be as if the 90ies were THE war movie decade. I wonder why. Any ideas?
Wings (1928)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Cavalcade (1933)
Casablanca (1943)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Ben Hur (1959)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Patton (1970)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Platoon (1986)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Braveheart (1995)
The English Patient (1996)
Gladiator (2000)
The Hurt Locker (2009)
The filmsite has undertaken to analyze as many lists as possible and came up with a total of 6 war movies that had equally high ranks on all the lists, including other genres than war movies.
Since we all love lists, here goes:
Battleship Potemkin (1925) (see my enthusiastic post)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) (see my posts on Remakes and Daniel Radcliffe)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
While I do agree with some choices I really disagree with others. I suffered through Battleship Potemkin which doesn’t mean it is bad but I don’t think Apocalypse Now and Schindler’s List deserve to be among the 6 most appreciated war movies. What’s funny though is the fact that these two movies are such opposites in the way they treat their subject. While one is easily understood and a very simple, true story – one man’s fight for justice and humanity , so to speak – the other one is a conflicting, ambiguous movie. There are a few war movies that are multilayered, Apocalypse Now is certainly one of them. Not easily accessible for everyone like Schindler’s List. Yeah, well, people are fickle, why shouldn’t this be reflected in lists?
I generally enjoy air combat movies. Like sniper and bomb squat movies. They are among my guilty pleasure war movies. Can´t help it. That is why there are some air combat movies in my little list that experts would never allow in theirs. But as I just said, I can´t help it and I also like an occasional bit of pure entertainment. Here are my six favourites:
6. The Blue Max (1966): WWI. Centered on a German fighter pilot who strives for the Blue Max, the highest possible decoration for a German fighter pilot. As he is not an aristocrat like the “normal” fighter pilots he is not accepted by his comrades. (see review)
5. Memphis Belle (1990): WWII. Yes, yes, it is a bit corny and glorifying. So what? I enjoyed it. Story of a tight-knit group of pilots. Friendship, camaraderie and courage.
4. Battle of Britain (1969): WWII. A hymn to British heroism. The use of original languages makes it very authentic. Great and realistic aviation scenes. (Here is my review)
3. The Red Baron (2008): WWI. The story of the Red Baron. German movie. Gorgeous cinematography. Maybe he is shown as too much of a hero. I think we see how he becomes aware of how different the battle in the trenches is from the one high up in the air.
2. The Dam Busters (1955): WWII. I love this one. So exciting. The true story of British pilots on a secret mission to attack German dams. The first part is dedicated to the inventor of the bombs.
1. Dark Blue World aka Tmavomodry svet(2001) : WWII. I consider this to be the most beautiful air combat movie. It´s a Czech movie and should be much more known. Great story. Czech pilots fly for the RAF. Wonderful pictures. Really moving from the idyllic beginning to the tragic end.
I have seen many more but find them a tad too corny to be included here ( Top Gun, Flight of the Intruder, Pearl Harbor, Flyboys…to name but a few) and there are a lot I have not seen yet.
Which are your favourites? And which are the ones you think I have to watch absolutely?
All About War Movies 