Films on the Great War . . .

[stockwellpete]

This game has really given me the WW1 bug now and I am starting to track down films that have the conflict as its main subject matter. In the last few weeks I have watched the following . . .

"All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930s version)
"Paths of Glory" (with Kirk Douglas excellent as a French officer)
"The Monocled Mutineer" (TV series, an account of the life of Percy Topliss)

. . . and I am currently working my way through another very good TV series from way back "Reilly: Ace of Spies", about the exploits of the British agent Sidney Reilly, based on the memoirs of his associate Bruce Lockhart.

I am sure there are many, many more that can be recommended. What have you watched about the Great War?

[Plaid]

I can recall "The Lost Battalion" (2001 remake of 1919 film, never watched original though).
Also recent "War Horse" was surprisingly good.

[Amaranthus]

The remake of "All Quiet", with that guy from the Waltons as Paul, wasn't bad either. Or you can go with the US battle scenes in "Legends of the Fall"

Then there is a terrific Australian film called "Beneath Hill 60", about the mining operation prior to the attack on Messines Ridge - was made just a few years ago. And there's a classic Australian film "Gallipoli".

[Samhain]

The Trench is a good one though it ends with the first day on the Somme rather than covering all of it. My Boy Jack is a great film as well.

[stockwellpete]

Another good one is "Riddle of the Sands" based on Erskine Childer's novel. It is set just before 1914 and it is about the naval arms race.

[Brenmusik]

"All the King's Men". A Pals Battalion up against Johnny Turk.

[stockwellpete]

"Lawrence of Arabia"
"Reds"

[majpalmer]

There was a good Canadian film a few years ago. I think the title was Passchendaele (sp?).

Netflix has the recent German film THE RED BARON, but it sucks.

I prefer THE BLUE MAX.

There's Sergeant York with Gary Cooper.

There are some old silent movies. WINGS was great.

And there is the worst of all--FLYBOYS!

[Umeu]

red baron was aweful, the blue max might be better but i still didnt like it much, flyboys is also crap. i didnt like the trench either.

Lawrence of Arabia is good though, and i also liked all the kings men. However compared to movies about the ww2, the movies about ww1 are very few and of less quality :S which is too bad. very few really capture the horrors of the trench or how life wouldve been for the soldiers back then. there is no equivalent of saving private ryan, the thin red line, or Come and See.

except if you maybe are able to appreciate the older cinema which i cannot always do, then indeed movies such as all quiet on the western front can be very good.

[stockwellpete]

One I must get to see . . . La Grande Illusion (1937)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Illusion_(film)

Spoiler alert! Wikipedia does give the plot away in the text.

[Brenmusik]

Coming to a screen near you soon, if you're lucky!
Die Manner der Emden.

[majpalmer]

Another is WESTFRONT, or whatever the German is. It's about as old as the original All Quiet, but set in the 1918 offensive.

And let's not forget Gallipoli.

[Samhain]

Uh, yeah. I agree.