On average, the Vietnam War probably produced the best films. That isn't to say there aren't great films about other wars, but the particulars of the war lend itself to a more nuanced portrayal in film. Even Saving Private Ryan, one of the most important films ever made, suffers from jingoism.
That is my favourite in general (looking forward to the 4K Final Cut release by the way) but I only stated a specific decade because of the one I bought that was released in the midst of numerous other films from the same period.
The Thin Red Line is my favorite war film and its WWII. I still recognize that Apocalypse Now is excellent, just a preference. Platoon is probably the best from the 80s, Full Metal Jacket is close though. Trying to think of good foreign war films. I remember thinking Tai Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War was really great when I saw it but its been a long time.
Good Boys was pretty funny. I'd put it behind Booksmart and Long Shot as far as this year's comedies go.
Watching Speed for the first time. Great set pieces, even if the last is unnecessary. Of course the track isn’t finished! Dennis Hopper is fantastic. What the fuck are the two one liners at the end. “Yeah, but I’m taller?” What the fuck? He lost his head is dumb too. Stupid Whedon
Also saw The Big Lebowski on the big screen with a packed audience. There was free bowling and a costume contest. First prize went to the guy dressed as the limo driver
It is the rare film that is treated as an elevated piece of our cultural identity. They show it on cable television and make an exception for the violence. It redefined the way war movies were made. I couldn't even count the times I have seen movies and games copy the muffled sound and vision during combat. It isn't even the best World War II movie of 1998, but its impact and its branches are enormous.
The Thin Red Line is the best one, but that is only vaguely about World War II at all. He could have plugged in any war and it would have essentially been the same thing. Letters from Iwo Jima is very powerful, and Saving Private Ryan has some really great parts. The problem with World War II films is that America perceives itself as wholly the hero in the war, and that kind of framing makes less interesting films. The moral ambiguity of the Vietnam War makes for more interesting film.
war movies is def one of my least favorite genres because of the jingoism and the fact that they tend to be an excuse for people to just make movies with white dudes, as if that's the only people who fight
Has there never been a major film about the Japanese internment camps? Can’t think of any Though as much as I’d want that, I don’t want some predictably whitewashed Oscar bait, which is probably what we’d end up getting