"Best fiction movie to make a war game from" Topic

My pick
Castle Keep, a WWII Battle of the Bulge
A American squad against a German company defending a old fashioned real castle

Where Eagles Dare

Any number of Western movies can have gameable scenarios. Individuals figure or slightly larger skirmish.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Little Big Man

The Outlaw Josie Wales

Any Gunfight at the OK Corral movie. Take your pick

If you can get past Stonewall Jackson and Chamberlain praying (Jackson gets more screen time…) and Shirley Temple dying of consumption, there a few battle scenes in Gods and Generals that can be used. I like Bull Run with tricorne militia. Great for the figure converter.

For nonsense WWII scenarios, go with the Rat Patrol.

The Keep.
Nazis, a vampyr disturbed in his rest, Rumania…
He gets actually pissed off when he discovers that the Nazis are persecuting Jews in his area of Romania. "Those are MY cattle!"
Great horror book, but I'm only "pretty sure" it was made into a movie. 🤷
Anyway, a nice RPG scenario where the participants have to find out the hard way what's going on. I cheered for the vampyr.

Plenty of Aleister McClain movies that woukd make good skirmish or RPG scenarios.

Guns of Navarrone

Force 10 from Navarrone

I keep thinking of books that would be great, then suddenly realize that they were never made into a movie. Darn.

Ones I have done on an elaborate scale and am still getting very good mileage out of — highly recommened:

The Warriors (1979)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Girls und Panzer der Film (2015)

Serenity

The Warlord with Charlton Heston. Includes an assault on a Norman round keep by ticked-off locals and a jilted husband. Sort of a very mini Trojan War.

Ivanhoe (1952). Includes another assault on a Norman castle by the hero, his allies and… Robin Hood!!! (Great movie. Also has terrific jousting scenes.)

Star Wars Duh.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Limited to a two-ship action, but what action!

Zulu Duh.

The Fellowship of the Ring— Battle of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men (opening credits), The Attack on Weathertop (just a small skirmish), The Battle of the Room of Records in Moria, the Battle of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, The Battle at Amon Hen.

The Two Towers— Battle at the Fords of Isen (not shown), The Battle of Fangorn (Orcs vs Rohan), Raid on the Retreat to Helm's Deep,
The Battle of Helm's Deep, the Battle of Isengard, the Ambush in Ithilien.

The Return of the King— The Battle of Osgiliath, The Second Battle of Osgiliath (or maybe 3rd?), the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The Battle at the Black Gate. The Fight in Shelob's Lair (Frodo & Sam vs. Shelob and Gollum),
The Battle at the Tower of Cirith Ungol (Orcs vs. Orcs).

Zulu? OK Corral? Butch Cassidy? "Gods and Generals? Has the "fiction" requirement been suspended?

Anyway, "Thursday's Charge" from Fort Apache, which is not the LBH. Fort Apache the Bronx might be interesting too. Agree with MiniMo about The Warriors at a skirmish/RPG level.

How many variations on "The Seven Samurai" and "Red Harvest"--no: the earliest MOVIE version was "Yojimbo"--are we up for?

And let us not neglect "13th Warrior" or "Hawk the Slayer."

I would not say "Star Wars" was gameable as such. The destruction of the Death Star yes, but in that case, nominate 633 Squadron, which it was taken from.

Barry Lyndon

Has the "fiction" requirement been suspended?

As Leonidas said kicking the Persian ambassador down the well: "THIFFF IV TMP!"

So, Butch Cassidy is non-fiction? 🤔 A documentary?
OK Corral? How many wildly differing movies are there? Okay, one might be "true". But the others?
Gods and Generals … takes liberties.
Ask the family descendants of Hook about the truthiness of Zulu.

My bestie froths at the mouth about the truthiness of "Alexander the Great". You can hear the "Harrumphing" from miles away. But, what the heck. Game it!

And I'm sure we can consider Nolan's "The Odyssey" as fiction. And Brad Pitt's Troy. There are those, including me, who will argue the literal truth of the books. But the movies?

I'm willing to grant "The Longest Day" an exemption from being considered "fiction". And the FIRST HALF (only) of Saving Private Ryan. Second half? 🙄
I'll grant "A Bridge too Far" the same as The Longest Day. But do I hear mumbling???

Historically 100% correct movies are very scarce.

The Eagle Has Landed and The Great Escape.

Zulu? OK Corral? Butch Cassidy? "Gods and Generals? Has the "fiction" requirement been suspended?

To succinctly pare down the OFM's answer: "It's a movie, so is automatically fiction.". They may be based on real events (in a watery, muddy way), but they're still fiction.

Speaking of Leonidas and 300…
Besides the old Tom Loback miniature, who makes 28mm Rhinoceroses?

EDIT: Etsy
link
I'm sure you can find Immortals yourself via Google.

Escape from New York
Escape from LA

… not just because I want to do that every time I go to either city.

Demolition Man is a great movie and has about six different types of irregular combat in it.

As above, Seven Samurai link

The Good, The Bad, and The Weird. Again, a good variety pack of different types of asymmetric battle.

"Historically 100% correct movies are very scarce."

True! Also very scarce are 100% historcally correct scenarios--for game balance, for excitement, because the unit sizes are out of spec, or just to fit the whole thing on the table. I've done it too: it's not a condemnation. But for discussion purposes, I figure real-life events in a film must already have been altered more than we're going to have to to qualify it for fiction. (I'll grant you that's a standard a number of generals' memoirs might pass.) But if there is no such standard, why did the OP say "fiction movie?"

Interesting that, aside from Tolkien, this is basically an RPG/skirmish game list. Because I share the OFM's problem: perfectly good full-bore battles in Robert E. Howard, in David Drake, in Kipling, Eddison, E.R. Burroughs and Leigh Brackett which have never been filmed. (I have rarely been so disappointed as when someone introduced me to the game "Triplanetary" and I discovered it wasn't possible to form a Doc Smith Cone of Power.)

Will AI and CGI change this, do you suppose? Will another generation see a point at which I can ask the computer to show me the battle Kipling describes in "Drums of the Fore and Aft" or the combined Tharks and Warhoons crushing the army of Manator? (More likely, the computer will report me to the authorities, since all fiction will be some corporation's intellectual property.)

Great horror book, but I'm only "pretty sure" it was made into a movie. 🤷

Yes. It was a movie. Barely remembered, but Hey, it was the 80s, Man!
link

perfectly good full-bore battles … E.R. Burroughs … which have never been filmed.

Princess of Mars (2009)

* Opening Thark raid / street fighting in Helium: Early skirmishes show Thark raiders and Zodangan forces clashing with Heliumian defenders in and around the city, setting up political tensions. The sequences mix small-unit melee, chases, and John Carter's early heroic interventions that highlight his Earth-born strength.
* Skirmish on the Barsoomian plains (Thark ambushes and cavalry clashes): Several extended field engagements feature Thark war-parties fighting Zodangan mounted units and mechanized scouts across open terrain. The battles emphasize hit-and-run tactics, spear-and-club combat, and Carter's role breaking enemy lines.
* Siege/assault on Zodanga: A large-scale attack where Heliumian and Thark allies confront Zodanga's fortified positions and aerial war-machines, aiming to stop Sab Than's plans. The assault includes coordinated ground charges, explosions, and efforts to disable Zodangan siege engines.
Final confrontation / duel during the climactic battle: Amid the larger battle, John Carter duels the primary antagonist (analogous to Sab Than) in a decisive personal fight that helps determine the outcome. This duel occurs alongside collapsing battlefield dynamics as allied forces press the advantage.

John Carter (2012)

* Battle of Zodanga (final battle): A sprawling clash outside Zodanga where Helium's forces, led by Tars Tarkas and John Carter, attempt to stop Zodangan troops and their Thanator-mounted airships from executing a massacre and seizing Starkiller energy. The fight features large ground engagements, aerial skirmishes with flying war-machines, and John Carter dueling the antagonist Sab Than on the battlefield while Dejah Thoris and Heliumian defenders work to destroy the city's energy device.
* Skirmish at the Dejah Thoris rescue (initial city assault): Early in the film, Zodangan raiders attack Helium's streets and gates to abduct Dejah Thoris, prompting intense street-to-street fighting and chase sequences. John Carter intervenes using his superior gravity-driven strength, turning the tide in brief but decisive one-on-one and small-unit actions that enable Dejah's escape attempts.
Tars Tarkas' campaign against the Tharks (climactic field engagement elements): Large-scale coordinated maneuvers by allied Tharks and Heliumians confronting Zodangan forces and mechanized units across Barsoomian plains. The battle emphasizes massed spear/club combat by Tharks, cavalry-like charges with sapajou-mounted riders, and combined-arms efforts to neutralize Zodanga's technological advantage.

The context of the question movies that are good to use as patterns for ttwg battles, not good movies that you could use for ttwg battles.

Robert E. Howard

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

* Khalar Zym's village massacre (opening raid): Thulsa Doom's cult attacks young Conan's village in a brutal raid that kills his family and enslaves survivors, establishing Conan's revenge arc; it's a small but savage mass killing rather than a formal pitched battle. The sequence focuses on surprise, fire, and slaughter to show the cult's power and cruelty.
* Conan's gladiator arena battles (series of arena fights): Several large, chaotic arena matches pit Conan against multiple opponents and beasts before an audience; these are intense close-quarters melees that build his reputation as a warrior. The fights are personal combat set pieces more than army-scale engagements.
* Attack on the Valley of the Worm / final assault on Thulsa Doom's stronghold: Conan leads a strike against Thulsa Doom's hilltop keep, including a stealthy infiltration and collapsing temple; the climax combines a small-scale assault with cultists defending their leader and ends in Doom's death. The battle mixes siege tactics, hand-to-hand combat, and supernatural elements.

Conan the Destroyer (1984)

* Battle at Zembabwe (Or/Queen's kingdom raid): Forces attack a fortified city/temple to recover the gem and rescue involved parties; the film stages set-piece skirmishes with troops, magical traps, and collapsing temple rooms. The conflict is medium-scale, combining soldiers, mercenaries, and sorcery.
* Final battle at the goddess's temple / confrontation with Thoth-Amon's forces: A larger clash occurs around the resurrection/ritual chamber where Conan and allies confront an enemy army and sorcerous defenders, culminating in the destruction of the magical threat. The sequence blends conventional fighting with magic-driven spectacle.

Conan the Barbarian (2011 — reboot)

* Opening raid and slaving raids (various attacks): Several violent raids and skirmishes depict Khalar Zym's forces and other warbands pillaging villages, establishing the film's grim world; they function as prologues to Conan's path of vengeance. These are brutal, gritty combat vignettes rather than organized set-piece wars.
* Fortress assault / final showdown at Khalar Zym's stronghold: Conan mounts an assault on Zym's fortress in a multi-pronged fight that includes siege elements, cavalry charges, and large infantry clashes leading to the final duel. The battle is presented as the film's climactic, high-casualty confrontation.

The (Brandon Frasier) Mummy series, including The Scorpion King also have some big set piece battles.

Another vote for one of my favourite oldies, The Warlord

Also some good cavalry battles in Taras Bulba

As well as the Conan movies

@rp
Interesting that you mention Kipling.
First time I saw The Man Who Would Be King in the movies, I was mentally assigning WRG Ancients ratings to the various troops shown.
Lots of Irregular D infantry on both desires, with a tiny Irregular A LC bodyguard for Danny and a small detachment of Regular B rifle skirmishers for Peachy. "Rifle", you say? Show me a gamer who can't deal with that. Harrumph!

Speaking of"general's memoirs"… Yeah. That's an … interesting subject. 🙄
Mark Felton Productions on YouTube has a few fun ones on the Germans' memoirs in WW2, the Big One.

The movie Patton was based on Omar Bradley's memoirs. He disliked Patton nearly as much as Monty did.
It's a pity that Patton did not live to write a multi volume memoir. He had quite the literary flair. 😄🤔

For combat racing sports:

Speed Racer (2008): the Casa Cristo 5000 race particularly.

Star Wars The Phantom Menace (1999): the Boonta Eve Classic pod race. (forgot that I have indeed geared up for and played this a lot!)

Rollerball (1975).

(Unless there are some mighty strong role-playing elements added, a game of Circus Maximus should not count as 'gaming' Ben Hur!)

Eto, I did not say "no one has ever filmed a combat scene inspired by these authors." I wrote that there were--quoting myself--"perfectly good full-bore battles in Robert E. Howard, in David Drake, in Kipling, Eddison, E.R. Burroughs and Leigh Brackett which have never been filmed." This remains true.

Show a little patience. Correcting me when I'm actually wrong doesn't generally require a long wait.

Space: Above and Beyond both the battles with the artificial people and the Space Battles with the Chigs.

The Expanse had several cool battles.

Went the day well

Eto, I did not say "no one has ever filmed a combat scene inspired by these authors."

No you didn't. Can you point to the part where I said you did?

You made a vague, broad statement about a lot of content. I provided examples that illuminate what you left out of your statement.

Fictional battles--i.e. never having taken place in historical fact--that lend themselves to wargaming certainly include "The Wind And The Lion" and "Master And Commander."

Similarly, "Capt. Horatio Hornblower" alone provides several unique scenarios.

Others could easily include "The Searchers," "Attack!," "The Steel Helmet," "The Blue Max," and any number of battles written as part of the story/character arcs that are the point of the stories.

TVAG

I have fond memories of games friends ran based on Shout at the Devil.

Not necessarily a poll suggestion, but might trigger other ideas.

Doug

Beau Geste

Firebase Gloria

The Vikings (with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis) it has a great attack on a castle.

This may be blasphemous heresy to imply that Robin Hood wasn't "real". (Four Our Fathers and four Hail Marys)
But Errol Flynn and Carey Elwes sure have fun storming the castle.

Do you like jousting games? I'd love to find a set of rules that looked and felt "real" without relying on matrices. 🤷🙄
But, for jousting and tourneys, may I suggest:
Ivanhoe (my goodness, Elizabeth Taylor is gorgeous…)
Game of Thrones
House of the Dragon
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Gladiator movies?
Gladiator
Spartacus

Chariot races?
Ben Hur
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Gangs of New York
HBO's Rome, for similar gangs games.

Fencing? Far too many to list, but may I suggest Jill Bearup's channel? Again, we need a set of rules that doesn't involve advanced math.

The GOR counter Earth series of books. They did make one poor quality movie but the books cover much more interesting scenarios.

The Richard Blade series of the 1960-70s series of books. Again a poor quality movie was made about the first book.A guy travels to parallel worlds.

Maybe CASCA?

"The Odd Angry Shot" The Book And Movie of the same name. Australian SASR in the Vietnam War
Regards Allan

GOR novels are soft core BDSM trash.

I am talking about gaming and campaigns. The framework not the dribble that ruined it

Major Dundee, US Cavalry fighting French lancers in a river.

How did you all miss "The Wind and the Lion"?

I just did "Tombstone" at Little Wars for which was awarded 2nd Place Gaming Table.

link

Kim

Nobody missed it. I can't place everything, so I "allow" stuff to get by. Criminal.

Actually, never saw it.

The best movie of '75 would, however, make a terrible war game. On this side, we have a giant white shark on a homicidal rampage; on the other side, we have Quint in a small boat with a coup coup. Asymmetrical games do have their finite limits.
: 3

The Wind and the Lion is great. A John Milius film (Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn). Loosely inspired by the real life Perdicaris Affair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdicaris_affair ).

The "capture of Morocco" by a company of US Marines never happened, but what a great small battle scenario, and as classic a "we're better than anybody, and especially you" US Marine attitude as you can get.

Plus Sean Connery, Candace Bergen, Brian Keith and John Huston… what's not to love? It's in my personal DVD collection.

"In Real Life" 🙄Ion Perdicaris was a middle aged Greek American of dubious citizenship.
He should have been played by Ed Asner. But who woukd want to see the "sexual tension" between Ed Asner and Sean Connery? Candace Bergen was a much better choice.

"You are now my prisoner!"
"You are a very dangerous man, and your President is mad."
"Yes Sir!"

The opening sequence in the beginning of Star Wars. The rebels can't win the fight but like the Alamo, the rebel player can get a victory by surviving a certain length of time. If the movie were a game, the Rebels won by getting R2D2 away. Lose the battle but won the game.

Now. If we consider literature, the Raising of the Shire at the end of the Lord of the Rings…. I gamed this with my own rules back around 1980 with whatever figures I could get my hands on, including plastic cowboys.

Next of Kin. The climax is a terrific Pulp-style skirmish-level battle in a graveyard between the gangsters and the hillbillies!

The Last Valley has a nice battle between the marauders and the villagers defending their settlement.

Next of Kin is a great movie!

There are a couple of good irregular combat scenes it in too. The big battle is one of the few attrition-warfare games I will run.

And I resemble half the cast …