Candidates For Military Movies

[Slater]

Considering the level of realism and detail that's often seen in CGI effects in movies these days, what historical military topics would make good movies, assuming the quality of a "Band Of Brothers" could be maintained?

 

I'd like to see The Battle of Kursk, maybe Coral Sea/Midway (redone), Bismarck Sea, Anzio and the assault on Monte Cassino, Operation Mercury (Crete), Linebacker II (Vietnam), and a lot of others.

 

There's a lot of decent topics out there.

[FlyingCanOpener]

Your horizons are quite narrow my boy.

 

Lützen (Thirty Years War)

 

The Mongol Invasion of Europe

 

The Mongol Invasion of Japan

 

The Spanish Armada

 

A remake of Zulu

 

The Indian Mutinies of the 1850s

 

Jutland

 

World War 1 in Africa (The Ice Cream War would be nice)

 

Spanish-American War

 

Mexican-American War

 

Six Day War (I know, I'm dreaming, but watching CGI Israeli planes annihilate the Arabs would be nice)

 

Agincourt

 

Dutch War for Independence

 

I culd go no nad on...

[Doug Kibbey]

Chancellorsville

Antietam

Siege of Khe Sanh

 

And since we're talking CGI possibilities, Prokhorovka.

[Tiemler]

TORCH - Begins on a note of ironic tragedy after the surrender of France, with the destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Continues to show the circumstances which lead to the brief but still bloody battle between the Americans and French in North Africa. Ends with the German occupation of southern France, but with the western powers finally united against their common enemy.

 

Also, a movie about WWI air combat, in the skies over Verdun. No sign of chivalry or even mercy. These people were blasting away at each other from yards away with machineguns, and they were in open cockpits. The results could be downright gory as hell, and as mean-spirited and dehumanizing as the trenches. Show that, and don't flinch. And use modern CGI to show the massive swirling hairballs of the Great War.

[Ssnake]

Yom Kippur in the Golan (something along the lines of The Heights of Courage), and the battle of Marathon.

[swerve]

Unfortunately, some of the most interesting might have little box-office appeal, due to the obscurity (to most possible viewers) of the events. e.g. WW1 from a Serbian point of view. Could be interesting. The winter retreat over the mountains into Albania would present tremendous cinematic opportunities. But I fear too many people would say "What?".

 

The Greco-Turkish war of 1919-22 could go down well in Turkey (depending on how it's told), but not necessarily anywhere else.

 

Poltava & the campaign leading up to it.

 

Italian & Austrian mountain troops fighting the snow & each other along the crest of the Alps in WW1. Great backdrops.

 

The Fourth Crusade. Lots of CGI necessary.

[ink]

Kursk would indeed be a good one - but then I was mightily disappointed with Enemy at the Gates so they'd probably botch this one as well.

[Corinthian]

More ACW movies!

 

More medieval period movies!

 

Give me Gettysburg! Give me Sherman's campaign! Give me the Crusades! Give me the siege of Constantinople!

 

And let Peter Jackson and his crew do the work.

[nitflegal]

I have several wishes, but my first place one is easy. Somebody needs to get a big SFX budget and a kick-*ss writer and give me a three hour epic on the battle of Trafalgar.

 

Beyond that, anything ACW with ironclads would be welcome.

 

Matt

[Noble713]

Salamis

Thermopylae (I hear this one is already in the works)

Cannae

 

Maybe something from the Three Kingdoms period in China? I'm not familiar with this era...

 

anything about the Russo-Japanese War

Operation Bagration

 

Iwo Jima

 

It's probably too taboo for most audiences, but I'd love to see a movie about one of the Waffen SS divisions doing the "fire brigade" thing on the Eastern Front. These guys fought through some of the most brutal actions of the war on a regular basis. Plus they tended to have the coolest equipment too.

 

Already mentioned:

Kursk/Prokorhovka How could anyone NOT want to see a special effects-laden uber-violent flick about the largest land engagement in history?

 

 

 

EDIT: Oh yes, and the fall of Constantinople (inspired by the Mongols vs Byzantines thread, and an article I read in a military history magazine).

Edited February 28, 2005 by Noble713

[Scott Cunningham]

I'd love to see movies based on Trafalgar, Jutland, the Baghdad Thunder Run, Golan Heights, Sinai 1973, bombing of Dresden, and one about Guadalcanal (including some sea battles). As far as a biography I'd like to see one on Rommel.

 

Ben Affleck may not appear in any of these movies unless its a cameo, and he meets a cruel and gruesome end without uttering a single line.

 

oops, Forgot to include Tsushima 1905

[Old Tanker]

Mel Gibson ought to do one based on the Aussie Kakoda Trail Campaign .

That was a meat grinder.

[BP]

Hell, the US Army should devote its out year recruiting budget to making a "Thunder Run" movie. Get rid of that inane "Army of One" bullshit, and show an unflinching look at the Army at its most powerful.

 

Forget money for college, forget jobs skills for girls, this is what the Army does- and does it better than anybody else. It would dovetail neatly with the mythical GWOT as well. But I won't hold my breath- the Army couldn't sell its story to save itself. The Army has the bulk of the forces in theater, and to read news reports it looks like a USMC show. The Army's marketers need lined up against the wall. . .

[Old Tanker]

Hell, the US Army should devote its out year recruiting budget to making a "Thunder Run" movie. Get rid of that inane "Army of One" bullshit, and show an unflinching look at the Army at its most powerful.

 

Forget money for college, forget jobs skills for girls, this is what the Army does- and does it better than anybody else. It would dovetail neatly with the mythical GWOT as well. But I won't hold my breath- the Army couldn't sell its story to save itself. The Army has the bulk of the forces in theater, and to read news reports it looks like a USMC show.  The Army's marketers need lined up against the wall. . .

149888[/snapback]

 

The Army seems to have a problem bragging or showcasing armor. More interested in light and stealthy types.

 

As to the Army vs. USMC in news reports , I understand the Army has a group of PR orientated officers secluded at the Carlisle Barracks working on the situation. They have been there since June 1918 and soon will issue a priliminary report.

[swerve]

oops, Forgot to include Tsushima 1905

 

That's a very good idea. You could follow the Baltic fleet on the long trip to meet its fate: encounters with British fishing boats, the difficulties of coaling & nursing engines not built for long distance cruises, etc. Cutbacks to the Japanese victories in the Far East. Culminating in the battle itself.

[Xonitex]

Something involving armored advances during Desert Storm would be a good chance to showcase the Abrams. 73 Easting, maybe?

[BansheeOne]

As far as a biography I'd like to see one on Rommel.

 

I nominate Ed Harris for that one. I've agreed with a fellow military history buff that guy bears an uncanny resemblance to old Erwin ever since watching him in "Enemy at the Gates".

[Brasidas]

How about one about that WWI German light cruiser Emden and her crew?

 

Also, a movie about the Taffy 3 being jumped by Kurita at Leyte Gulf.

[Grant Whitley]

  Also, a movie about WWI air combat...

149771[/snapback]

 

They did that, right? Meet the Fokkers?

[Rickshaw]

Mel Gibson ought to do one based on the Aussie Kakoda Trail Campaign .

That was a meat grinder.

149883[/snapback]

 

 

Only if you want one that is highly critical of the British (who weren't there), filled with historical inaccuracies and perhaps tried to claim it was secretly an American victory.

 

I nominate a biography movie about Major Reg Saunders AIF/RAR, first Australian Aboriginal officer. He beat incredibly odds to become both a soldier and an officer, when officially the Australian Army was "all white" and went onto lead successfully in both war and peace white Australian soldiers and earn their respect and admiration at a time when Aborigines weren't even considered citizens.

Edited March 1, 2005 by Baron Samedi

[JorBR]

Napoleon hundred days, culminating with Waterloo. Lot´s of guts, colourfull uniforms, cavalry charges, Napoleon vs Wellington duel and so on...

Besides, a english victory (well, germans give a hand also ) and one could wonder about a group of american volunteers holding Hougomont. It´s Holywood after all.

 

Kursk of course. Difficult one though, I liked Oliver Stone´s style in the Gaugamela Battle scene, he´s a good choice provided the movie won´t cover the rumours about a supposed more-than-friendly relation between Model and Guderian which sometimes included Eva Braun and two austrian dachshunds...

 

Agincourt: common people conquering the aristocracy, always a popular appeal.

 

But the definitive one would be about WWI, you name it: Verdun, Somme, Vimy, Ypres, Cambrai. A "WWI Band of brothers" could be the ultimate experience in the human suffering dimension of war, badly needed these days. "All quiet in the western front" cames to mind.

[ShotMagnet]

Leyte Gulf, the whole thing, as a miniseries a la Band of Brothers.

 

One or more of the North Africa campaigns, same treatment.

 

The Falaise Gap, mostly because I'm still plugging away at my ASL module on the subject and really would like to see the fighting on Maczuga.

 

Having Ralph Peters' Red Army made into a movie would be cool. Same for Kenneth Macksey's excellent First Clash and Counterstroke. Chimera TDs in combat! Fun!

 

 

Shot

[swerve]

Lots of proposals for remakes here.

[Hans Strelow]

That is an excellent idea ShotMagnet, anything about the cold war turning hot would be facinating. I suppose that you could do really good battle scenes with a good budget. So we are waiting to se the T55/62/64/72/80 beeing blown up by M40RR/LAW/M48/60/even A2/TOW/M1/A10 or whatever the Brits or the Germans can field. You can always discuss Clancy but the Red Storm could even be a good basis for a film.

 

Cheers

 

Hans

[Weaver]

It's probably too taboo for most audiences, but I'd love to see a movie about one of the Waffen SS divisions doing the "fire brigade" thing on the Eastern Front. These guys fought through some of the most brutal actions of the war on a regular basis. Plus they tended to have the coolest equipment too. 

 

How about a movie of the novel Devil's Brigade? That should hit just about all the PC brigade's FIRE buttons.......

 

For those who don't know, Devil's Brigade follows a bunch of Waffen SS guys who trek across Germany from the Eastern Front in order to surrender to the Americans rather than the Russians. They then end up, withib a few years, joining the French Foreign Legion and being sent to Indo-China in the 1950s where the majority of the (very bloody) action takes place.

 

It's presented as a "true memoir", but many people have their doubts, and the consensus seems to be that it's a collation of different war stories put into one vehicle. Still a damn good read, though....

Edited March 1, 2005 by Weaver