Great Movie Battles, Round 2: War is Hell

  • Thread starter Thread starter ///M-Spec
  • 26 comments
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Which battle is more gritty, intense and hellish?

  • [b]Battle of Remel[/b], from [i]Saving Private Ryan[/i]

    Votes: 13 65.0%

  • [b]Battle of Mogadishu[/b], from [i]Blackhawk Down[/i]

    Votes: 7 35.0%
  • Total voters
    20
///M-Spec

///M-Spec

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It's Spielberg vs. Scott in this fight to see which film battle is the most graphic, honest, gritty, intense and ultimately haunting.

Battle of Remel, from Saving Private Ryan

vs.

Battle of Mogadishu, from Blackhawk Down

Notes: Remel is the bombed out French town at the end of 'Ryan'. Between it and Omaha beach, I felt it was the more complete of the two, and it will carry the torch for 'Ryan'.

I also left out the 'neither' option. There's no way you can dislike them both.


M
 
The best 'War' movie battle was definitely:

Topper Harley vs. everybody else - Hot Shots! Part Deux 👍

Seriously though, I thought the scene in Saving Private Ryan was better. It left me thinking "Thank god I'm not there" which isn't something I normally think during movies.



-Mark
 
To me, Black Hawk Down was nowhere close to the level that Saving Private Ryan is. For Ryan, the move just convinces you that you are there in the midst of the battle. It's so graphic and detailed. The realism is complete in that movie.
BHD seemed to me much more like a basic Steven Segal shoot'em up movie. It lacked the gripping drama and character building that SPR has.

I have both on DVD at home, maybe I'll watch these scenes again to get a better sense of them. It's been a while since I've seen either one. But I still know my vote lies with SPR. The cinemetography makes Saving Private Ryan so convincing.

EDIT: After watching them, my opinion stands. BTW, where was Vin Diesel in SPR? I don't remember seeing him?
 
Originally posted by nightkids4ever
why didn't u put the vietnam war in full metal jacket
Click to expand...

Because, Platoon has a better war scene, and Platoon is 100% fake.

Hamburger Hill has a great scene. The beginning of Dances With Wolves is pretty good. We Were Soldiers is the best, IMO, but people think it's not real. It seem pretty real to me. Three Kings is pretty good, too. That Denzil Washington, an Matthew Brodrick film about the Civil War was pretty good. I never saw A Thin Red Line, did any of you? The Good, Bad, and Ugly has a great Civil War battle scene in it.
 
I'm with Solid Lifters. FMJ was quite good, but Platton was distinctly better. 'Ryan' really raised the bar to an almost unreachable standard, and of all the recent war movies I think 'Blackhawk' came closest. (whoops, I guess I gave my vote away)

We Were Soldiers... did have a lot going for it, and perhaps deserves a run against 'Ryan', which I see is dominating right now.

I never walk out on bad movies, but I almost walked out on Thin Red Line. I don't know who likes their war movies shot like a badly pretentious art-house film, but I sure don't. That director did a lot of drugs.

Boombexus: Vin can be seen at Omaha in brief shots, and he was the character killed by the German sniper while trying to rescue the toddler in Neuville.

Good commentary, btw. I agree wholeheartedly.


M
 
Originally posted by ///M-Spec

I never walk out on bad movies, but I almost walked out on Thin Red Line. I don't know who likes their war movies shot like a badly pretentious art-house film, but I sure don't. That director did a lot of drugs.



M
Click to expand...

That's the fourth bad review for that movie I've heard. I still haven't seen it, but I'll take your word on it. I wont waste my time on it.

I should add The Big Red One to my list, but I haven't seen it in a long time, and I don't remember any great long war scenes.
 
Originally posted by boombexus
EDIT: After watching them, my opinion stands. BTW, where was Vin Diesel in SPR? I don't remember seeing him?
Click to expand...

He's in Omaha Beach when they get up to the shingle. A guy gets shot in the head but it deflects off his helmet and Vin says "Jeez! You lucky bastard."

I would know this because I saw the movie yesterday. :)

As for my vote, Ive seen both of them. But my vote goes out to the battle of Remel in SPR.

Constructed very well. 👍
 
I've not seen the "Blackhawk Down" one, but the battle of Remel was nicely done.
Though my favorite part still is when Tom Hanks is shooting his handgun at a slowly oncoming tank. The way his arm recoiled with every shot, the last stand of a human being. Great stuff.
 
I've seen some good titles in the above.

Hamburger hill was a notable stand out. :D

I totally support the saving private ryan call. (great flick)

I woud also have to put down the names of a few that I thought were great war films.
The Longest Day
Sands of Iwoagima
The boys of company C
Bravo 20

It should also be noted that one of the biggest military enthusiast I have ever met, who also read the book of black hawk down, long before the movie was made, said that the movie black hawk down was one of the least realistic depictions of that story ever.
(I have only seen parts and it didn't really impress me.)

Of course, there are a couple of others that I just can't think of, but I will come back as soon as they come to mind. :D
 
Falkirk....

Maybe the Gladiator Colosseum (with the chariots).

I only barely remember Sparticus, but I remember it was good.

The highlander battle scene doesn't make the cut. :)

Anyone else have any other options? The only battles scenes I think would rival the braveheart one are others from the same movie.
 
Ten to Chi to (Heaven and Earth) has tremendous Japanese mediveal/gunpowder age battle scenes in it, but I doubt anyone here but me has ever seen it.

The opening battle in Germania in Gladitor is pretty good. But short.

The Last Samurai is a possible candidate --even though I didn't care for the film, the battle scenes did have a lot going for them.

EDIT: Wow.. Ryan WHALLUPS UP ON on Blackhawk Down.


M
 
I haven't seen Black Hawk Down, and I won't

The reason is that its producer (Jerry Bruckheimer) has produced some of the most awful films ever. I mean, when you count Armageddon, Independence Day and Pearl Harbor on your CV, you really should be taken outside and beaten.

He has also done some decent ones (The Rock springs to mind), but his best work was done in collaboration with Don Simpson, who died some years ago.

However, in any movie where there is a battle of any description, he throws history and reality out of the window in order to give a good uplifting victory to middle America. It's like he's following a formula, and everything (truth included) gets bulldozed out of the way so that he can stay "on message".

I find his films insulting. And I won't intentionally pay to put myself in that place.

Saving Private Ryan is an awesome movie. It is everything that Pearl Harbor is not.

How about the battle in Germania at the start of Gladiator as a contender?

And you lot who are crying out for Braveheart should read a history book.
 
BHD is a great movie. Forget about Jerry's black and white, up and down resume, and give the movie a chance. I thouroughly enjoyed this movie. It was very energetic, I would buy this movie, if I could find it for sale anywhere. :banghead:
 
Originally posted by ///M-Spec
...which film battle is the most graphic, honest, gritty, intense and ultimately haunting....
Click to expand...
The opening 20-30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan at Omaha beach was about as intense as any war scene I've ever seen. The final battle in the movie was looked like a cakewalk in comparison. I remember how the audience was noisy, it was packed, about half of them teens...but about 30 seconds into the movie, it was nearly dead quiet.

My grandfather was right there in 1944, in real-life, by the way. "Welcome to Hell", he told me...so maybe the battle had that much more of an impact on me.
 
I read an article that talked about the person that was the basis of Saving Private Ryan, and it turns the that he got lost and stayed in a French hospital, then waited for a jeep to pick him up. Yeah that's about it.
 

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