Re: TOP 5 WAR MOVIES
by - wolf_of_the_winter on Sun May 6 2007 23:41:42
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I'm sorry to upset everybody, but Tae Guk Gi is not top five material at all, is too flawed to be that, is closer to Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor than to be a great war film.
My top 5:
1. Apocalypse Now. You can even argue it as the best film ever made. Perfect performances, excellent story, excellent script and one of the most haunting endings in cinema.
2. Lawrence of Arabia. It's here practichally as a coin toss with AN. Peter O'Toole gives one of the best performances I've ever seen in one of the toughest roles ever. The supporting cast is elite. Lawrence is also one of the deepest charaters in film history.
3. The Bridge on the River Kwai. With terrific direction, more than solid story and spearheaded by a monster performance by Alec Guinness, just see how the insanity invades him through the film, leading to an excellent climax.
4. The Deer Hunter. Might be a bit controversial here, but this is truly a superb film with excellent performances by everyone, specially Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro, this is a very interesting story that gets deeper and deeper with repeated viewings. Notice the metaphors here. And I won't even talk about it's most famous scenes.
5. All Quiet on the Western Front. After almost eighty years it hasn't lost it's power at all, it even becomes stronger. Lew Ayres sells his character wonderfully, which is important in a film like this.
Some honorable mentions (which does not include Tae Guk Gi):
Platoon, The Killing Fields, Paths of Glory, Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, Letters From Iwo Jima.
Also note that this list is made of relatively pure war films.
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Hi, cool post. However, please expand on how you feel Tae Guk Gi is flawed? I found it to be a very well balanced and rounded movie. I did not see any fundamental flaws at all, and I watch war movies over and over again. All the movies in your top 5 are absolute classics to be sure, so you know your stuff and you are obviously a fan of classic cinema. Most other people who posted on this thread, including myself, seem to be more fans of contemporary war movies. Surely you cannot believe your comparison between this movie and Pearl Harbour is accurate?
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madsic
17 years ago
what about Zulu with Michael Caine?
heheh
on a side note I cried like a schoolgirl at the end of Tae Guk Gi
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illpoetikill
17 years ago
comparing this movie to micheal bays pearl harbor is like comparing einstein to a mongaloid.
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wolf_of_the_winter
17 years ago
Yeah, I know, I made the comparison (the big reach) just to point out that Tae Guk Gi is by no means, a great movie, is not even close to it, obviously Tae Guk Gi is better than Pearl Harbor (which film isn't???).
The storyline is not particularly original (is actually kind of cliche), is too melodramatic, there is a lot of overacting, someting acceptable when talkies were starting, but not now.
Those flaws are too severe to be a great film, simply put, being the Korean film with the biggest budget, it should've been better.
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