I missed Gettysberg somewhere along the line, unless it's an alternative title for Cold Mountain. Gettysburg, on the other hand, was pretty good apart from two things: the unfeasibly fat Confederate on the picket line, and the trampolining Confederates in Pickett's Charge.

Quote from: Ithoriel on 26 March 2016, 12:02:01 AM
  * Braveheart - The names remain the same but the plot has been changed to protect the innocent
  * The Patriot - the American Braveheart ... The names remain the same but the plot has been changed to protect the innocent

Thanks, Mike (that was understood but up to that point, you hadn't made it clear if you liked them or not).  As we know, with Braveheart, historical accuracy went out the window from the word "go" - definitely a thumbs down (and worth a dishonourable runner-up, FK) but as a movie, I thought it was very good (as 5 Academy, 3 BAFTA, 1 Golden Globe awards etc. will testify) as was James Horner's film score. The Patriot was just bad; so bad, it was even offensive.

Didn't like The Thin Red Line on first viewing (was expecting another SPR) but on second viewing, saw its deeper meaning and quite enjoyed it (I wouldn't say its Vietnam set in WW2 - I'm sure the WW2 combat troops' experience was similar - the mental pressures were 'handled' in a different way by the establishment, the press and the participants at the time) . Another of that ilk is Bridge Over The River Kwai. Hated that as a lad but like it now.

Quite liked Gettysburg probably because I wasn't expecting much and so it was better than I thought (also 'nip in' now again for some painting ideas  ).

Cross of Iron - liked that the first time but caught a glimpse of it the other night and had a minor Nosher Anzio moment - funny how our tastes change!

None But The Brave -  - no.

Ice Cold in Cleethorpes was pretty grim, particularly the sequence featuring the FT17 going backwards at 50mph across the sand, AND with a hexagonal turret. Do these film makers NEVER count rivets!

I wish the local Scots would rise up in defense of the word ilk.

Only if people of that ilk paint their faces blue and white and raise their kilts.

Quote from: Leman on 26 March 2016, 08:36:28 AM
Pickett's Charge.

There's a rumour going around that a very, very distant relation of mine was first over the wall/fence.......

Gladiator - Lost interest at the beginning when the supposed chant of the Germans was actually the chant of the Zulus in Zulu.

If you thought the Omar Shaif version of Ghengis Khan was bad, it' s masterpiece compared to the John Wayne version.

Quote from: Chad on 26 March 2016, 01:36:59 PM
Gladiator - Lost interest at the beginning when the supposed chant of the Germans was actually the chant of the Zulus in Zulu.

If you thought the Omar Shaif version of Ghengis Khan was bad, it' s masterpiece compared to the John Wayne version.

I noticed that about the chant in Gladiator as well; also the bastardised version of Mars from the Planets Suite as inspirational music. Saw it once all through and thought the opening battle scenes were well done, but the rest...

As to your other comment, I've yet to see the Mr Wayne version...I'm not holding my breath.

"Red Tails" - about the Tuskegee airmen. One of the few films I thought was so bad I did not finish it. I did not even get to the bit where they sink a German destroyer with the 50 cals on a Mustang...
Cheers,
Aksu

Pearl Harbour. What a pile of s...!

Quote from: Chad on 26 March 2016, 01:36:59 PM
Gladiator - Lost interest at the beginning when the supposed chant of the Germans was actually the chant of the Zulus in Zulu

I could point you in the direction of the people responsible as well 

Still smarting over the entire Light Brigade being clad in red trousers in Charge of the Light Brigade.

Quote from: Aksu on 26 March 2016, 03:14:04 PM
"Red Tails" - about the Tuskegee airmen. One of the few films I thought was so bad I did not finish it. I did not even get to the bit where they sink a German destroyer with the 50 cals on a Mustang...
Cheers,
Aksu

Though the vessel in question did not sink it took no further part in the war and the Tuskegee airmen undoubtedly believed at the time that they had sunk it. It was the ex-Italian Navy destroyer Giuseppi Missori which the Germans had converted into a torpedo boat.

The film perpetuates several myths about the Tuskegee airmen but most of the myths are exaggerations rather than untruths. "Never lost a bomber" for example - they did, but far fewer than other fighter groups.

Quote from: FierceKitty on 26 March 2016, 11:03:24 AM

I wish the local Scots would rise up in defense of the word ilk.

Why? It's an English word.

Quote from: Ithoriel on 26 March 2016, 04:34:13 PM
Though the vessel in question did not sink it took no further part in the war and the Tuskegee airmen undoubtedly believed at the time that they had sunk it.
The film perpetuates several myths about the Tuskegee airmen but most of the myths are exaggerations rather than untruths.

I stand corrected. Pretty much in line with any claims made by aircrew during the war then? Such as tanks destroyed by P47/Typhoon pilots vs real numbers lost.

Anyway, I just couldn't stand the ridiculous cgi dogfight sequences and the hollywood appropriate "maturity of a six year old" of the main protagonists. I am rather more fond of those "stiff upper lip tally-ho chaps I seem to have lost my legs damned nuisance" sort of lead characters myself...
Cheers,
Aksu

Thin Red Line is my favorite war movie. Moves me to tears every time I watch it. But yes, it is more of a poem than a film. I do not disagree on that. Considering the hate I see for Revolution, I actually like it a lot.

Worse war films for me?
-Green Berets
-Channakale (recent Turkish one)
-Last Letter( Turkish Red Baron) (btw there are good Turkish War movies mostly on the Battle of Sarikamish, and Kuturlus on the Turkish War of Independence)
-Passchendaele was a let down.
-1612 (the Russian film. There are good Russian and Soviet war films, this is not one of them)
-Battle of the Bulge
-many of the 1950s - 1960s Greek war-movies. Melodrama, cartoon villains, cartoon characters, and cartoon plots. There are some very good ones though.
-Gods and Generals (yes one of the best depictions of flank attack, but beyond that dreg)
-King Arthur (the recent Clive Owen one)

Generally speaking the more nationalistic the film, the more gung-ho war is great the film, and the more cartoon villains it has, the more I will dislike it.