Independence Day Weekend: 10 War Movies To Watch
Logan
04 Jul 2014
With Hurricane Arthur on the Eastern Seaboard on the 4th of July, many plans for some Independence Day Celebrations may be drenched as rain will continue while the hurricane moves up further north and thus may affect the North East, such as the New England area and Long Island. If the party you want to go has been cancelled and just rest for the rest of the day for weekend airsoft games, why not just check some movies on demand to do some movie marathon?
For an airsofter, that would mean some military movies and there are lots of great military movies over the years. I have compiled here my own list of 10 military movies that I plan to watch again for weekend. You're free to follow my list, but by all means make your own since you may not agree with my list. These are not in order of being the "best" in my opinion so I would not even call it the "Top 10", "Ten Best", "The Very Best" that many websites nowadays use to bait you into clicking.
The movie that endeared real life drill instructor R. Lee Ermey (Sgt. Hartman), this movie directed by Stanley Kubric has the Vietnam War as its story. It follows U.S. Marines from boot-camp to the blood-drenched ruins and walls of the city of Hue.
An unapologetically anti-communist movie starring John Wayne, George Takei, and David Janssen, and Jim Hutton. This movie was produced in 1968 at the height of the anti-Vietnam war movement to provide a pro-military position and it was supported by the Pentagon.
One of the better World War II movies I watched. It is based on the story of the hard-charging American General, George S. Patton. With a terrific performance by George C. Scott as Patton, the movie won Oscar awards, but Scott turned down the Best Actor Award.
Also winning 7 Oscar Awards, the film was released n 1958 is loosely based on the construction of the Burma Railway during World War II when the Japanese Imperial Army had overrun most of Southeast Asia. British and American POWs were made to work on the railway bridge that was soon to be demolished by commandos sent by the Allies. It is considered to be one of the best movies of all time.
Probably one of the best sniper movies of all time. Set in the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, it sets the Soviet Union's best sniper, Vasily Zaytzev (Jude Law) against the best marksman of Nazi Germany, Major Erwin König (Ed Harris).
Another Vietnam War Movie, Apocalypse Now was directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Martin Sheen. The story is about two special operations personnel, one sent out to assassinate another who was said to have gone rogue and insane. "Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning." has become one the most famous lines from the movie.
7. The Thin Red Line (1998 Version)
Set in the Guadalcanal Campaign during World War II, The Thin Red Line is based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. One of the best movies of the World War II Pacific Theater in recent years, it was considered to be one of the best films in 1998.
Perhaps one of the most riveting World War II movies of all time. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie opens with a harrowing and intense scene of slaughter of the invading allies on the shores of Normandy during Operation Overlord. US Army Rangers Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) was sent with a squad to find Private Ryan from the 101st Airborne who is somewhere in Normandy when they jumped off during the early hours of the invasion and send him home to his mother who has already lost three sons in the war.
There were lots of really Vietnam War movies. But of all the Vietnam-War movies, We Were Soldiers is probably the most "hold on to your seats" movie as two-thirds of the movie is just plain mayhem with non-stop firefights. Almost overrun by the North Vietnamese Army regulars and Vietcong, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) holds his battalion in one of the major encounters in the early years of the Vietnam War.
If Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers were already assault on most of our senses. Add Blackhawk Down and the only thing that is not affected is our sense of smell. But perhaps you can smell the gunpowder or cringe seeing those hot shells falling down on the soldiers. Blackhawk Down is probably the best war movie released in the first decade of the 21st Century.
These are not the only war movies that I like, and there are lots more as some of the best movies and performances in the history of film have war as the story background and the list is just long. But since we cannot watch them all in just one weekend, 10 movies would just be fine for now.
