WAR ON FILM

This weekend, The Telegraph newspaper, in its weekend review magazine printed a feature on a new Winston Churchill biopic - as a side piece it printed what, the newspaper claim are the ten best war films ever made. Archive readers may find the top ten interesting so here it is:


10 Bridge over the River Kwai
9 The Dirty Dozen
8 The Great Escape
7Where Eagles Dare
6 Casablanca
5Ice cold in Alex
4 Schindler's List
3 The Thin Red Line
2 Das Boot
1 Saving Private Ryan

It's an interesting list but I don't think Casablanca belongs in any list of war films - it's set during the war sure enough but it is not a war film as such, and Private Ryan seems to pop up in the top spot in a lot of these lists. And why not - it's a damn good film and that opening is brutal and shows war as it must have really been. Veterans are often quoted as saying that film got it right. In fact remove Casablance and the ponderous Thin Red Line and the list would closely mirror my own. I'd have Downfall at number one, though and Cross of Iron would also be in there.

Ahh well each to their own.

The Telegraph are giving away four classic war films on DVD next weekend.

THE DUKE GOES TO WAR

John Wayne will always be seen as the definitive screen cowboy but he often worked in other genres, crime, comedy, drama and war movies. Some of his non-western excursions were forgettable but there were a fair few classic there - The Quiet Man for one but outside of the westerns it is perhaps for war movies that Wayne is best remembered.

Here is the Archive's list of the 5 best John Wayne War movies:


1- Green Berets - I know this movie is often criticised for it's "gung ho" attitude and flag waving but as a movie it doesn't go far wrong. Wayne play his usual heroic character and David Janssen is the doubter who soon raises his weapons in the defence of liberty when he realises what it's really all about. Ignore the doubters and sit back and enjoy this movie for the screen entertainment that it is.

2-The Flying Tigers - Made in 1942 this movie was very much intended to boost morale during the mid-point of the war. Cowards redeem themselves and good ultimately triumphs over evil thanks to some steely eyed heroics from the Duke.

3- The Longest Day - Whilst Wayne is only a small part in the massive cast that makes up this drama about D-Day it deserves to be included here - not only is it a great war movie but Wayne plays his cameo role wonderfully. The advertising posters boasted of 48 international stars in the cast and the movie took two Oscars in 1962.


4- Operation Pacific - Set in the Philippines this looks at the operations of the American submarine crews. The Duke plays Lt. Duke E. Gifford in this tense drama that really should be better remembered than it is.

5-In Harms Way - The Duke, Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda. What a cast! And that's not to mention Burgess Meredith, George Kennedy and Slim Pickens. This is another tension filled movie about the attack on Pearl Harbour. It's an 160 minute epic and well worth watching.