"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.