Veteran's Day Films (in several genres)

It's Veteran's Day, and in honor of our fallen soldiers you'd like to watch a film.  But which one?  Luckily, you have several options.  War Films are a genre unto themselves, to be sure, but much like Westerns they can be broken down into several sub-genres.  Here are a few of the best options, depending on your mood, divided into standard video store sections.  My only binding criteria is that they either have to be about soldiers, or ex-soldiers.

DRAMA!

All Quiet On The Western Front - Ok, it's about Germans, but I think all soldiers who've fought in the trenches could relate to this story of the brutality of battle, and the sense of isolation one can feel upon returning home.  Ever topical in that it's an indictment of war, but a realistic and sympathetic analysis of the hardships that soldiers face.  Available in the classic 1930 version directed by Lewis Milestone, or the 70's version containing 100% more Ernest Borgnine.

Patton - With a script written by Francis Ford Coppola, direction by Franklin J Schaffner, and a lead performance by George C Scott as one of the most outrageous figures in American history, you know you're in for a treat.  Even if you've never seen the film, you'll be familiar with the opening monologue in front of the giant American flag; it has to be one of the most parodied scenes in film history, in everything from Sesame Street to Jackass.  The real life Patton was a larger than life figure, and they pull no punches in both celebrating his victories and illuminating his anti-social behaviors.  The score by master composer Jerry Goldsmith will be stuck in your head for days.

COMEDY!

M.A.S.H - I've you're only familiar with the tv adaptation of this film, you're in for quite a shock.  This is filled to the brim with raunchy, irreverent humor, in which nothing is sacred (That theme music from the tv show?  Wait until you hear the lyrics!).  The movie that made Robert Altman an institution.

Three Kings - This movie could fit into several categories; it certainly has it's share of action and drama, as well.  But the things that will stick with you are exploding cows, Spike Jonze shooting Muppets like it's his job, and explosives strapped to a football.

ROMANCE!

From Here To Eternity - This is THE war romance film, and it's not just for chicks.  Again, you may be familiar with this vicariously, as "That old film where the couple makes out on the beach as the water washes over them".  Burt Lancanster and Deborah Kerr to ogle, depending on your preferences.  Sequelized in The Thin Red Line. . .  sort of.

Coming Home - Certainly not the most uplifting of films, but definitely powerful.  Jane Fonda plays a woman torn between two veterans;  physically crippled Jon Voight, and emotionally crippled Bruce Dern.  One of the few war films to directly address the realities facing veterans with disabilities.

ACTION!

Saving Private Ryan - An odd mixture of cheesy, emotional exploitation, and hard hitting, bloody-intense violence, this is a film for the whole family.  For better or worse, this movie gave birth to the "grim and gritty" action films of the aughts, and it gave us a whole new perspective on WWII veterans.  Some of the greatest action scenes of all time.

The Dirty Dozen - There are many great "Men On A Mission" films, but very few have a cast of this caliber:  Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland and John Cassevetes.  You could mop the floor with the testosterone.  Taking the concept of anti-heroes to it's utmost extreme, these are REAL bad dudes;  ones you most certainly wouldn't want to leave home with your daughters.

SUSPENSE!

Das Boot - The Citizen Kane of submarine films.  Despite the protagonists being Nazis in a U-Boat, you'll be biting your nails by the end of this.  Claustrophobic, dramatic, and totally thrilling.

The Hurt Locker - Director Of The Week Kathryn Bigelow took a lot of flack for being supposedly unpolitical with this war thriller, but she managed to succeed in her one, true goal;  to scare the living shit out of you.  Every second spent outside of the base is skin-crawlingly uncomfortable, and nowhere this film takes you is safe.  After awhile you start to love it, which is completely intentional as well.

CHILDREN'S FILMS!

Operation Dumbo Drop - Vietnam movies are several things, but often not family friendly.  If you want a movie to show your kids about the most divisive war of the last 50 years, how about this charming comedy starring Ray Liotta, Danny Glover, and a paratrooping elephant?

The General - Let me be clear; NOT the movie about Martin Cahill, but the Buster Keaton film about a railroad engineer trying to survive the Civil War.  Slapstick antics and romance ensue.  It is very pro-South, so take that as you will, but it's hardly political.


HORROR!


Uncle Sam - This might seem an odd choice, seeing as how the murderous zombie veteran is actually the villain.  But, if your leanings run conservative, the victims are all lilly-livered liberal caricatures, so everyone leaves happy.


Jacob's Ladder - Highly influential horror film about a Vietnam vet who comes home to a strange new world.  As much as this has been ripped off, some of the visuals and themes still leave an impact.


MUSICALS!


South Pacific - You know the songs. . .  "Bali Ha'i", "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair", but if you haven't seen the film, it's a treat.  The photography is gorgeous, and the tropical setting is one to enjoy before our long descent into winter (Depending on where you're reading this from, I suppose).

Carmen Jones - Featuring an entirely black cast, including such notables as Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, this updated version of the tragic opera Carmen will both charm and horrify.  Great, classic songs.

KUBRICK!

Paths Of Glory - Stanley Kubrick's story of a group of soldiers who do the right thing, and are unjustly punished for it.  While Dr. Strangelove would probably be Kubrick's definitive statement on war, this and the following film are the ones that are truly about a soldier's struggles.

Full Metal Jacket - Loved by both pro and anti war film enthusiasts, you're sure to laugh at R Lee Ermey's inventive use of the english language, cringe at Pyle's growing madness, and embrace along with Joker the insanity of armed conflict.  Maybe he's just trying to say something about the duality of man?


Well, there are tons more options out there, but this'll be a good start, if you haven't seen one or two of the films listed above.  I would've done sci-fi and fantasy, but that seems a little too far removed from the reality of war for me to find it appropriate for the holiday.  Much love to the many fighters I've had in the long history of my family tree.