Another one for you…The TV show was a corney one but the uniforms are dead on…I am a collector and a modeler…Remember Hogan’s Heroes…
The German uniforms are right on…
Midway has to be the greatest war movie of all time about one of the most pivotal battles of all time. But I grew up in San Diego so I may have a Navy bias.
Also if the few scenes of Ben Afleck flying with the Eagle Squadron in Pearl Harbor had been a whole movie it would have been a great one. The Spitfire is such a beautiful aircraft and seeing it above the green English countryside fighting He-111s was really great. That is my favorite part of that movie, maybe my favorite part of a movie.
If you want to ruin your viewing pleasure of WWII movies, just become a military historian. You often find yourself picking apart a movie based on its historical accuracy. I would have to say that among my favorites are:
“The Boat”
“Saving Private Ryan”
“Tora Tora Tora”
“Midway”
“A Bridge Too Far”
“The Longest Day”
“Band of Brothers”
“Cross of Iron” (loved the slo-mo)
“Memphis Belle”
I couldn’t make it through U571 or Pearl Harbor.[xx(] The Thin Red Line, well the book was much better. I enjoyed Enemy at the Gates but I would recommend reading “War of the Rats”
I would like to see a remake of “The Battle of the Bulge” Just think of what they could do with CGI in that one! I would also like to see someone produce a movie based on Ambrose’s book “Pegasus Bridge”
My two cents worth
Steve
I’ll probably be branded as an idiot, but I really liked Battle of the Bulge. Sure, it’s a wildly inaccurate portrayal of events (which the producers readily acknowledge) and the equipment is all wrong (but where are you gonna get throngs of Tiger IIs, anyway? Guess they could have gotten a Sherman or two…), but I just like that '60’s kind of feel to the production, and let’s face it, accurate or not, ya got a lot of tanks there.
Thanks to this flick I developed a real appreciation for the M47 Patton. Versatile actor, that vehicle. I loved the the way they shed their bustle storage bins and bore evacuators in an effort to become more Tiger II-like. Kinda like DeNiro putting on the pounds for “Raging Bull.”
Anyway, oft-maligned though it may be, It’s my fave.
And who doesn’t love Telly???
How bout Catch-22? It’s a great old WWII movie with a gaggle of big names…but the biggest stars are the fine old B-25’s. : ) Another with obscure Luftwaffe airplanes is Battle for the North Atlantic' with Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey, the story of the Merchant Marines in WWII. Another is Operation Secret’ with Cornel Wilde and Karl Malden…another flick coincidentally with Luftwaffe airplanes in it…LOL I also like many mentioned above, most inspirational for modeling session. : )
I can’t believe no one mentioned “A Bridge Too Far”. The movie is good (at least they don’t use M-60 tanks in place of the German Panthers ! ! ! !) and the book by C Ryan is an absolutely amazing read - you won’t be able to put it down
Nobody has mentioned “The War Lover” with Steve Mcqueen. Absolutely the best B-17 buzz job ever filmed, flown by John Crewdson.
Here is my list. They all might not be historically accurate, but I enjoy watching them as often as I can.
Das Boot
Where eagles dare
Guns of Navarone
Force 10 from Navarone
Saving Private Ryan
A bridge too far
Midway
Tora Tora Tora
Schindler’s List
Band of Brothers
Big Red One
Stalingrad
Kelly’s Heroes (cheesy, but still fun)
The Winter War
I’m sure there are more movies, but this is all I can think of at this time
Stalingrad is a very good film, very authentic uniforms,battle scenes and you really get a idea of the hopeles situation the average German soldaten faced in this winter hell. on a scale of 1-10 i give it a 10, i have the video and i recomend that you get the english dubbed version.
anotther WW2 movie that rates a 10 is DAS BOOT (the boat), very authentic german U-boat film that was produced by the same german film company that made Stalingrad. the film came out in 1981 (i think), but a few years ago a directors cut was released which has around 35 minutes of extra footage. again i recomend if you get the video buy the english dubbed version.
another of my favorites, although not a WW2 film is Waterloo. the uniforms in some scenes are kinda cheesey but the overall battle scenes are realy cool. and Rod Stiger does a fantastic job as Napolieon.
has anybody read the novel by Guy Saljar called The Forgotten Solder? if you have not, get it! it is one of those books you can not put down. it is about the authors experince on the Ost front in WW2. mabey someday this will be made into a film
I know this comes a little late, but a Bridge too far is great. Someone said that Band of Brothers would be the standard by which all WWII movies would be compared. I disagree, I’ve seen Band of Brothers and I am deeply in love with this movie (series). But even Band of Brothers is compared by Saving Private Ryan.
What I would like to see is some of the old greats resurected into new features with all of the modern day technology for film making. Imagine what could be done with Midway or Battle of Britain, or even my fav… Blue Max.
What do you think??
Wouldn’t mind seeing “Tora Tora To…” oh, wait…sorry.
To hell and back is pretty good and there is another one i like, think the name was “Silent Night”, About some GIs And German soldiers at Christmas '44
OK. This isn’t a WWII movie, but I am suprised no one has mentioned “The Flight of the Phoenix” with Jimmy Stewart. For those that haven’t seen it, it’s about a plane crash in the desert and they are saved by … an airplane modeller!!! Excellent movie, worth a look.
Here’s some of mine:
Battle of Britain
The Longest Day
Tora Tora Tora!
Midway
Kelly’s Heroes
Guns of Navarrone
Dirty Dozen
A Bridge too Far
Saving Private Ryan was the best war movie I have ever seen but left me a bit shaken because of its realistic portrayal of combat.
i’ve read some of the lists and i’d just like to add a couple different movies
one being empire in the sun. story of a british child separated from parents in a prisoner camp.
and my favorite actually is das boot. about the crew of a german u-boat. must be watched subtitled the dubbed version doesn’t do the movie justice.
Add these to my earlier list:
Deep Blue World (Czech pilots in the RAF)
Men of the Fighting Lady
Away All Boats
The Story of GI Joe
God I My Co-Pilot
Jet Pilot (lousy movie, but Chuck Yeager flew the F-86 scenes)-OK, it’s a stretch, but Yeager DID fly in WWII 
Wackiest Ship in the Army
and I absolutely can’t believe that NO ONE has mentioned one of the best of all WWII films-Mr. Roberts.- no combat action, but it did portray effectively the daily existence of the typical fighting man in the rear-tedious, frustrating and boring.
Wow…I’ll catch my breath and dig into the vaults to see what other treasures are out there.
Late note-a few more: Immortal Battalion, The Desert Rats, Tobruk, The Desert Fox, and Fightrer Squadron (remember those bad old Nazi P-51’s? ) -Ed
I loved:
The eagle has landed
Das Boot (the best movie about submarines)
The eye of the needle
Memphis Belle
The bridge on the river kwai
submarine U571
Saving private Ryan
“12 O’Clock High” was the best WW 2 movie in my opinion…but for some reason I always get real sleepy whenever I watch it…I think it’s because of all that rain!
I wish some network would rerun the TV series from the 60’s
Operation Petticoat-anyone out there looking to build a pink submarine?
Hmmm…
I tend to go for the later films, just on the basis of an overall better viewing experience. More accurate portrayals across the board, better cinematography, better storyline, etc.
As such, I go for these: Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates, Band of Brothers.
Also, older flicks: Air Force, Battle of Britain, Tora Tora Tora, Das Boot.
Fun flicks: Kelly’s Heroes, The Dirty Dozen series and what may be my overall favorite war flick, despite it’s being a comedy; 1941!
Some others would be: Stalingrad (foreign film, VERY good) and there was one, the title of which I can’t recall, which took place during the Battle of the Bulge. There were Germans who wanted to surrender and approached the Americans, but wanted to make it look like they had put up a fight before doing so. Things went wrong and all the Krauts died and some GI’s. I wish I could recall that flick’s title. Real nice scene that took place on Christmas Eve where the two sides were singing “Silent Night/Stille Nacht” with each other across the lines.
There are more, but I can’t recall them at the moment.
Some that I don’t like: Midway and Codetalkers.
Fade to Black…