Channel 4 wants to know your favourite war films of all time. You can check out the site here.

Where was 'Bullet in the Head'?! Ok so the movie is bookended by typical John Woo action scenes but the whole central part of the movie is makes the film so brilliant. Not mention the Vietcong POW camp scene that somehow manages to out nasty the russian roulette scene in 'The Deer Hunter'.
Also in noticed that 'Threads' was missing too, surely the most terrifying and bleakest WW3 film ever made.

Good to see so many silent films in the nominations - but where is Wings?? the first Best Pic Oscar, incredible aerial combat scenes STILL TO BE BETTERED..they took the actors up in Biplanes and they flew the things for real as the cameras rolled in close-up, you can smell the fear...and the stunning Clara Bow for good measure, Gary Cooper in a cameo...pure film magic.

Very pleased to see 'Welcome to Sarajevo' included in the list.

"A little grey, but I'm still...."
"Still hot?"
"Still hot, baby."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, look. "Esc-a-pay". Hey, it's spelled just like escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy.

There's some populist crap here, I mean Troy, I ask you! Nice to see Patton, The Big Red One (can't wait for the director's cut) & Rome, Open City mentioned. Where was Bergman's Shame, the great adaptation of Grass' The Tin Drum, the underrated Saviour (with Dennis Quaid), or the two key films from Kon Ichikawa, The Burmese Harp and Fires on the Plain?

The artist formerly known as Accatone...

i think the top will be predictable... perhaps Apocalypse Now for #1?

--a---h---m---a---n---i---a

"May a choir of angels
To The Ahmed Sing
May the Jungle Cats
Protect our Ahmed King"

Les Criox de Bois
The Four Feathers (Alexander Korda version)
Road to Glory
Dawn Patrol
Went the Day Well?
The Battle of the Somme/The Battle of the Ancre (Great War period footage)

Will that do for a start?

Tom

Walrus

I have emailed quite some days ago but my films havent been added, nor have I recieved a reply. Its a bit annoying cos when/if they are added they wont recieve as many votes cos they wont have been on the list as long

I think the following films should be added..
1. Bent
2. Edges of the Lord

3. Cabaret (ok maybe not this one as its not technically a war film, more the lead up to war)

Defo some of my fav's in there...where eagles dare, kellys heroes, bridge too far, longest day!!! but what about Memphis Belle??? surely that should be on there?!?!

Lomas,

Which 'Memphis Belle"?
The one filmed during the war on the real Memphis Belle over Germany or the 90's feature film - I'd vote for the former.

Tom

Walrus

Band of Brothers! That was incredible...I know it was a miniseries, but the quality was like a series of feature films.

i havent seen many war films as they're not really my thing but i thought saving private ryan was amazing. a really moving film

*It's good to be on the right track, but you'll get run over if you just sit there*

Zulu -
"Why us Sarge ?"

"Because we're here, there's no-one else ... Just us"


And Virgin Soldiers bayonette practice

"Stick it in, twist it, pull it out !!!"
it's not a cucumber.

Such a shame "The Wild Geese" is missing from the 100 Greatest War films list. Starring Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore, it has big stars and plenty of cliché war film moments (the typical Sgt Major square bashing scene springs to mind).

They have missed out way too many films on this list!! Shame, would have been a good programme otherwise!

Why do Kamikazi pilots wear helmets??

The Great Escape

I'd go with Zulu too! and thats a classic line!

Guns of Navarone?

And there was a film with Frank Sinatra, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen set in the jungles of WW2, cant think of the name though.

Here is my email to C4.

Why has A Bridge To Far been omitted from your list. Considering its effective mix of gritiness, humour and violence that would make someone who saw Saving Private Ryan blink, plus, an all-star stellar cast the like of which has never been reproduced, I would have thought its place on the list was assured even if it didnt make it to its well deserved no.1 place.



Plus of course, ZULU, THE WILD GEESE, BATTLE OF BRITAIN and any other war movie i grew up with.

Let me tell you a story - i am 27 yrs old , and i have had a very good academic life (i have more masters than the louvre!!!, degrees that is). However, after all that i have been selected for a commission in Her Majesty`s Army. Why, because for about 4 years - from 9 yrs ago to 4 yrs ago CH4 had a great war movie on every sunday. On every monday i went to uni, got in class and said "Did you see sundays movie, etc. etc." After yuears of "researching" war movies i can definately say " A Bridge To Far " is the greates.
1. It is a long film - before it was fashionable to make smokers sneak out of the cinema in the quiet bits.
2. The acting - im sorry but Tom Hanks shaking his hand in Saving Private Ryan (good action, shame about the characterisation) to show how the war effects should never have got an oscar.
3. The cast - dont have room here - just buy or rent it and read the names of the actors on the opening screens (Elliot Gould, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, james Caan, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman and thats not even the half of it !!)
4. The violence - 25-30 years ago it would make private ryan sit up and take a second look
5. the great british humour in it. there is nothing like anthony hopkins saying - "im terribly soory about the noise but you must understand there is a war on", or even better when the german asks for the surrender of the british troops at arnhem the british officer looks around at his injured troops and say "Im terribly sorry, but, we dont have the facilities to take you prisoner so we cant except your surrender - Im sorry".

If this isnt no.1 it should be because "Kelly`s Heroes" is no.1 and its no.2.

And thats a soldiers verdict.

i loved the deer hunter, schindler's list, apocalypse now, saving private ryan, the pianist and to be or not to be

I like Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Kelly's Heroes, The Dirty Dozen and The Thin Red Line

Like the above comment apocylypse now should be up there somewhere. The redux version is the best. Has a better flow that the usual one which is a bit incoherrent for me.

For others, how about 'ice cold in alex', 'pork chop hill', 'in which we serve', 'she wore a yellow ribbon'?

If one wanted to be radical one could go for a film like 'on the beach' or even 'the war game'.

War films are a tough one becouse it's hard to pin down the genre, how about 'cassablanca' for example?

For me, I'd have to go for 'heaven knows mr allison'. Robert Mitchum's big dumb marine vs Deborah Kerr's inevitable nun with Hustons best direction. Brilliant.

Just been looking at the web site.

Ok then, own up. Who nominated 'escape to victory'? Honestly, if C4 organise these things people should at least take it a bit seriously.

For me i'd have to say Zulu, MASH, Glory, Henry V (either version), Ice cold in Alex, Dambusters and Gallipoli.

I don't know if this world be considered a war film, but I loved Stalag 17.