"15 Foreign War Movies That Everyone Should Watch" Topic

"We Are The Mighty: 15 best foreign war movies

We on Team WATM agree that no matter how you feel about the countries depicted or the wars they're fighting in these movies, without a doubt, all these films are better than The Hurt Locker.

Here are the 15 best foreign war movies:…"

link

a)How many have you seen?
b) Which of them do you like it?

Amicalement
Armand

The Hurt Locker was/is a stupid movie with little basis in reality. Out of these movies I have seen 4, Days of Glory, Das Boot, Gallipoli, and Mongol. I enjoyed all of them. I saw a couple others I would watch too.

Never seen the Hurt Locker, but I have seen 7 on this list so far – the 4 mentioned by Stosstruppen, plus Talvisota, Zvesda, and Battle of Algiers. My top 3 films out of these 7 would be Das Boot, Talvisota & Zvesda (Star).
A little surprised that "Breaker Morant" was missing from the list, not to mention "A Soldier of Orange". A couple more sounded very interesting, so I'll be looking out for these on DVD.

Seen 7 as well, will look out for the ones I havent.

The Hurt Locker is a fine film, no less silly in bits than Mongol.

Cheers

CW

Another South Korean film is "The Front Line". As good as any of the others listed.

I liked "The Hurt Locker".

Of these films, "Tae Guk Gi" wasn't bad. The combat scenes were unbelievable, but it developed characters and a sense of what it was like to serve in the South Korean Army pretty well.

"The Battle of Algiers" should be mandatory viewing for US Army soldiers assigned to Afghanistan (or Iraq).

As far as the others, some good tips there, and I'll keep an eye out for them.

Agree with Husc that Breaker Morant should be on the list (definitely before Gallipoli).

Not War Movies as such but two Brazilian films are about urban warfare. "Elite Squad" and "Elite Squad;The Enemy Within". Police in Rio are military and the cutting edge force is BOPE (pronounced Bo-pay), initials for a police special forces unit. Look them up on Wikipedia after you watch these films. BOPE carries out no quarter warfare in the "favelas" against the drug gangs. Brutally honest and so divorced from policing in the US to make all the hand-wringing about the militarization of US police downright silly. How BOPE trains and what they do with that training is something to see.

With Fire and Sword was good

OK, here's my take on the ones I've seen.

1) "Days of Glory" – Terrible movie. A very poor rip off of "Saving Private Ryan". Waste of time.

2) "Das Boot" – Great movie. Really gave me the chills when I saw it. The feeling of being in a sub under attack really comes through.

3) "Tae Guk Gi" – Very well done film on the Korean War from a South Korean view. There are no American troops in this film. Very much put forward as a civil war tearing families apart.

6) "Battle for Algiers" – Another good movie. Really liked how they filmed going forward on patrol in the narrow alleys.

8) "Mongol" – I liked it. It follows his rise to Khan rather than the battles after. Not great, but entertaining.

11) "Gallipoli" – Very good movie, young Mel Gibson. Not as many scenes of trench attacks as I'd like, but a very good view of life in the trenches.

13) "Talvisota" or "The Winter War" – The best movie on this list. Combat scenes are amazing, trench fights, close assaults against T-26 (yes, real T-26 tanks, at least they look real). Wonderful movie, I can't say enough good things about it.

14) "The Star" – Very much Soviet propaganda movie. Doesn't make it bad, as uniforms and equipment are all very well done. It is the over the top Soviets fight to the end for the Motherland that took a bit away from me with this film. Example, while on fire in a burning barn killing buckets of Germans. Just too much to make it a great or really good film.

So, I've seen 8 of 15.

Should have mentioned the Brazilian movies are on Amazon.

I'm surprised they omitted 'NoMan's Land'
YouTube link

I agree with willthepiper.

WHAT ABOUT "RED CLIFF". CHINESE IILM BASED ON REAL BATTLE.

I had forgotten that movie, very funny.

Good proposal boys.

Amicalement
Armand

Seen several, I'd add 9th Company – Russians in Afghanistan, Max Magnus Man of War – Norwegian film of actual resistance hero with interesting documentary about the man himself on the DVD, Russian made Stalingrad – small group in 1 building fighting across the street. I'd avoid Come and See – very Russian, long and slow.

I liked The Front Line (Hill Aero-K), but it's not on that list…

Agree with hockler--Elite Squad 1 and 2 are really interesting movies, and make for excellent wargaming inspiration. The actor playing the main character, a police captain, gives a great performance---not a simple heroic character. The action is excellent. There are no big, silly, choreographed shoot-outs or martial arts, just gritty firefights.

More so than the war movies listed here, the Elite Squad movies have some pretty savage social and political commentary. I'm not up on Brazilian current events and don't know how those movies are received there.

I'm not sure if the movies are intended as criticism of liberal criminal justice policies, of Brazilian social/economic conditions, police brutality in that country, or all of them---the movies have scenes that suggest criticism of all three.

Interesting.

9th company is decent though you have to realize that the events as they unfold are completely fictional.
The real unit was not forgotten but got significant support and while almost everybody was wounded, most made it out alive.

"Brest Fortress" (sometimes translated as "Fortress of War") is excellent. It's a bit jingoistic but not too bad. About the level of Saving Private Ryan. Very brutal fighting.

The German "Stalingrad" and "Cross of Iron" are both must-sees. Neither ends on a very positive note.
In Stalingrad, it felt appropriate, in Cross of Iron, the ending made me feel a bit cheated.

Talvisota is excellent, well worth a watch.

Not a "war film" as much as a "film that takes place during a war" but The Cuckoo ( link ) is a great watch.
You have to be one to enjoy dialogue as most of the film involves characters monologuing as the three protagonists don't speak each others languages.
It's rather sweet, strangely funny and in the end, very heart-warming.

(also, I should add that my film tastes are very different from TMP's so well.. no guarantees, but just go find them anwyays)

How about "the Sorrow and the Pity". About France under occupation in WWII. A few uncomfortable truths about that time are revealed.

"The German "Stalingrad" and "Cross of Iron" are both must-sees."

German film "Cross of Iron"? Can you provide a link, I don't know it.

imdb.com/title/tt0074695

This is the one I'm talking about. Like I said, it's a bit of a downer and the end was a bit unsatisfying (but a German war movie never ends well) but it has some fantastic scenes of what a T34 close assault is like to those on the receiving end :)

Ah, that classic. Thanks, I thought you meant a German-produced movie.

Talvisota, hands down with the assembly a very close second

I've got lots of foreign war films in my dvd collection:

Saving Private Ryan
Kelly's Heroes
Glory
Memphis Belle…

Very Good , Jemima Fawr!!

I own Gallipoli and have seen about half o the rest. Talvisota is fantastic! Must see Border, despite the singing!