Since today marks the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and I didn't see any new movies this weekend, I'm going to go ahead and recap a few old ones instead. These are, in my estimation, the 5 greatest war movies ever made.
5. We were Soldiers
Mel Gibson is a crazy person. But the man can make a damn fine movie. This Vietnam flick tells the story of a regiment that gets trapped behind enemy lines and survives against all odds. The battle scenes are well-made and the dialogue is really good, especially for a war movie. It also shows the dark atmosphere of war in a way that isn't just pieces of people flying everywhere. It's violent, but not unnecessarily so.
Mel Gibson is a crazy person. But the man can make a damn fine movie. This Vietnam flick tells the story of a regiment that gets trapped behind enemy lines and survives against all odds. The battle scenes are well-made and the dialogue is really good, especially for a war movie. It also shows the dark atmosphere of war in a way that isn't just pieces of people flying everywhere. It's violent, but not unnecessarily so.
4. Forrest Gump
To be fair, Forrest Gump wasn't all about war. It really wasn't even that much about war. But it was an amazing movie, and the Vietnam War played a big part in it. It deserves mention. But I can't summarize it, that would take years. Tom Hanks is in it and it won Best Picture in '94, you do the math.
To be fair, Forrest Gump wasn't all about war. It really wasn't even that much about war. But it was an amazing movie, and the Vietnam War played a big part in it. It deserves mention. But I can't summarize it, that would take years. Tom Hanks is in it and it won Best Picture in '94, you do the math.
3. Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is amazing. It tells the story of the men who attempt to make a movie about a secret mission during the Vietnam War. Faced with overdramatic actors and shooting difficulties, director Damien Cockburn chooses to shoot the whole thing guerrilla style in the jungle and put real fear in his actors. But when a drug ring intercepts the heavily-armed actors and mistakes them for DEA, the five actors must come together just to survive. Ben Stiller starred and directed, which is always impressive; and Robert Downey, Jr. played a black man, which was also pretty impressive. It's funny, it's vulgar, it's actually kind of action-packed... just see it.
Tropic Thunder is amazing. It tells the story of the men who attempt to make a movie about a secret mission during the Vietnam War. Faced with overdramatic actors and shooting difficulties, director Damien Cockburn chooses to shoot the whole thing guerrilla style in the jungle and put real fear in his actors. But when a drug ring intercepts the heavily-armed actors and mistakes them for DEA, the five actors must come together just to survive. Ben Stiller starred and directed, which is always impressive; and Robert Downey, Jr. played a black man, which was also pretty impressive. It's funny, it's vulgar, it's actually kind of action-packed... just see it.
2. Inglourious Basterds
This Quentin Tarantino WWII adaptation is exactly the kind of movie I wanted it to be. When I first heard that the man who brought us Kill Bill was doing a war film, I envisioned more or less a 2-hour fight scene with a lot of cheesy one-liners. Which wasn't a bad idea (see Hot Fuzz), but it wasn't what I wanted from Tarantino. But he delivered an intriguing, shocking, hilarious film that had little or nothing to do with the wider theater of WWII and more to do with a renegade troop of Nazi-hunters.
This Quentin Tarantino WWII adaptation is exactly the kind of movie I wanted it to be. When I first heard that the man who brought us Kill Bill was doing a war film, I envisioned more or less a 2-hour fight scene with a lot of cheesy one-liners. Which wasn't a bad idea (see Hot Fuzz), but it wasn't what I wanted from Tarantino. But he delivered an intriguing, shocking, hilarious film that had little or nothing to do with the wider theater of WWII and more to do with a renegade troop of Nazi-hunters.
1. Saving Private Ryan
No explanation required.
No explanation required.
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