The most authentic war films (according to Armchair General magazine)

[John R.]

317 Section was a great movie, that is for sure. John

[calif]

Many great movies already mentioned, but thought I would add "Saints and Soldiers". For a small budget film, I thought it was really well done. The use of reenactors in the film gave good authenticity. "The Lighthorsemen" was another great WWI movie. Authenticity of period equipment, uniforms and weapons were great.

[Huntzman]

How about these:

A Bridge Too Far and The Longest Yard ?

Andrew

[Gene]

How about these:

A Bridge Too Far and The Longest Yard ?

Andrew

I think you meant The Longest Day

[Huntzman]

Gene

Nice catch !!!!!!!!!!!

Although some might have argued a few of those yards were pretty long too

Andrew

[JPhilip]

Salut,

IMO & without a shadow of a doubt, by far the most realistic war film ever ever made is "317 Section" made in 1965 by Pierre Schoendoerffer.

It's the story of 4 French white officer/NCA and their squad of suppletive troops in Laos retreating towards friendly lines through Viêt Minh (VC) infested territory at the time of the fall of Dien-Bien-Phu in 1954.

http://www.allocine.fr/film/galeriev...film=5354.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058863/

All uniforms + equipment + weapons are 100 % authentic - But more to the point Schoendoerffer, himself a army cameraman in Indochina from 52 to 54 and POW at DB-Phu , put on the screen what he had witness & lived throught - that makes all the difference with directors that have not experienced first hand their story.

Difficult to talk about war film whithout having seen 317e Section , it realy makes "Band of Brothers" looks like a musical for school-girls

yves

yes the movie is really good, but the book is even better.
all along the book, Wilsdorff, who is the adjudant, Bruno Cremer plays his character in the movie, tells some anecdotes about the time he served in the german army during the war, meeting french WSS in Berlin in ruins, etc...
that's for sure a masterpiece, far from these blockbusters made nowadays

[Marc Garlasco]

Operation Petticoat

[Daniele C]

The longest Day is the Best war film so far IMO also cause i love the normandy battle history...
After that A BRIDGE TOO FAR is very well done!not to forget Bands of brothers!

[behblc]

Flak88

Operation Petticoat

Yes , good one

[LuckyStrike23]

The longest Day is the Best war film so far IMO also cause i love the normandy battle history...

I am also very interested in normandy´44 and IMO The longest day is a very bad film, not realy worth to watch.
Lots of famous actors, but the flim itself is unrealistic and has a lot of stupid scenes. The first 20 minutes of Saving privat Ryan are much better.

[Chad1]

you guys are all wrong

You guys have it all wrong. THE war movie of war movies is Dr. Strangelove.

Come on, it's got big bombs, crazy mad generals, rediculous squabbeling politicians, a hot but not so smart chick, and an ex-Nazi scientist turned Imperialist stooge.

Basically it's got, like, everything that makes up a good and realistic war in it, even the US Army in a gunfight with the US Air Force.

[mkb42h]

what about the russian film, 'come and see'?

[Mike Davis]

Recommended: Fires on the Plain

http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=378

[Gary Cain]

Here's the cast list you asked for.




Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

John Gavin... Ernst GraeberLiselotte Pulver... Elizabeth Kruse Graeber (as Lilo Pulver)Jock Mahoney... ImmermanDon DeFore... Hermann BoettcherKeenan Wynn... ReuterErich Maria Remarque... Professor PohlmannDieter Borsche... Captain RaheBarbara Rütting... Woman GuerrillaThayer David... Oscar BindingCharles Régnier... JosephDorothea Wieck... Frau LieserKurt Meisel... HeiniAgnes Windeck... Frau WitteClancy Cooper... SauerJohn Van Dreelen... Political Officer
Klaus Kinski... Gestapo LieutenantAlice Treff... Frau LangerAlexander Engel... Mad Air Raid WardenJim Hutton... Hirschland (as Dana J. Hutton)Bengt Lindström... SteinbrennerWolf Harnisch... Sergeant MueckeKarl Ludwig Lindt... Dr. Karl FresenburgLisa Helwig... Frau Kleinertrest of cast listed alphabetically:Paul Frees... Several characters (voice) (uncredited)Alexander Welbat... Otto Binding (uncredited)Ralf Wolter... Feldmann, the

Now there's a coincidence, Jody! I was going to nominate that one myself, but I couldn't remember whether it was A Time to Love and a Time to Die or A Time to Live and a Time to Die. I saw it twice many years ago and thought the portrayal of urban devastation along with the SS-Offizier casually playing the piano intriguing. The movie's dark Holocaust theme lurking in the background and haunting sound track really pulled me in until I was in a state of total absorption whereby I almost felt I was there. It was particularly poignant to me because parts of the larger German cities still had totally devastated wards when I was sent there the first time. A least half of Mannheim, for example, still lay in ruins. Do you happen to recall the names of the cast? I believe it was a European production and filmed there.

Cheers,

--BHS1956

[Stahlhelm]

what about the russian film, 'come and see'?

Yes, I guess you all know I'm going to second that nomination. However, I'm at least happy to see that someboby else mentioned it before me. I recently started a whole thread praising that one less than a week ago.

Chris