Dude, that movie makes people wanna throw up and not because of the violence. Are Americans really unaware of this kind of stuff in their movies?

OH guys... That's a huge list :D Really, really thanks for your contributions. I guess I'm having a war movies month.... :D
And this is a kind of movies I don't want to see anymore in my life. Showing war like a fucking video game or just a game with big boys and their toys. This movie is shallow like goblin's skull. You may try to drink from it, but you'll never get drunk. Wait, what..?

You know, it's not the director's fault that Infinity Ward turned his movie into a video game - and yeah, I honestly believe that you'd have a better opinion on that movie if it had not been trivialized by being the ONLY fucking source used by Infinity Ward for the Soviet campaign in Call of Duty. :P

On a different note, Paul Verhoeven (the Basic Instinct, Robocop and Starship Troopers guy) has made two WWII movies titled Soldier of Orange and Black Book. Haven't seen Soldier of Orange yet but I was quite impressed by Black Book. Not really a war movie, rather a thriller set in WWII. It's quite abstract but Verhoeven delivers an interesting statement about the occupation in the Netherlands. If you don't like any of his movies don't bother watching it though.

I found it quite cool. It's not more shallow than any "men, we gotta hold this position" or "when it'll be over i'll get that ranch and i -peng- oh noes tell my wife that arrgh" classic war movie. It's got a decent suspence, a nice tension, focuses on one interesting technical aspect (sniping and related tricks), and makes it a standard duel matter à la ww1 flying aces. Plus, it's got Ed Harris. You'll have hard time finding movies that avoid both pathos and looking like videogames aboit big boys and their toys (95% of war movies are about the latter). Heck, what will you say of "Kelly's Heroes"...

Also, I add "La Grande Vadrouille" to the list. And I'm being urged to watch "Un taxi pour Tobrouk" one of these days. I'm not sure of these french classics' availability abroad, though...

This is an absolute must watch. So +1 to this one. Had forgotten about it.

I saw a movie first. And really, it was one of the shallowest experiences I had in my life.
Yeah, with mid-air headshots like in Call of Duty it's a very good source material for knowledge about snipers :P
that scene is freaking riddiculous

I don't like movies when American Soldiers die only with the national anthem playing in the background while their enemies are mindless horde of nameless barbarians.

Same goes for Band of Brothers and Pacific. Terrible, terrible. They have nice "brothers in arms" climate but it's DESTROYED by primitive patriotism and everything surrounding it.
Even the opening theme for The Pacific is horrible. Even the pencil breaks in pathos.

My understanding is that Soldier of Orange is at least as if not more grim than Black Book - yeah I would also say they aren't quite war movies, movies where the backdrop is about rebel groups set in war. Those movies are stylistically pretty different from his others - especially Starship Troopers. For an old classic movie about WWII french resistance there is "The Train" with Burt Lancaster.

Hmmm ... okay ... the Germans are hardly shown as nameless, mindless horde of barbarians, but sure ... I mean it is told from the American soldier's perspective but you do see them interacting with German soldiers - especially at the end, in the last episode "Points". In fact, they have the German general give the final monolog to sum up the war to his men. As for the action, most of that is from German and American after-action reports (mostly American granted, the German ones are harder to find intact and in as good condition).

However, there is a degree of sentimentality to Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, but I think you far overstate your case. It is not blind patriotism nor patriotic chords that play while men die. John Wayne WWII movies are blind patriotism. I think sentimentality is the worst you can accuse those movies of and even then, I disagree with your assessment.

I've not seen the Pacific so I can't comment.

Might be, but I didn't manage to go through entire Band of Brothers series. I even cancelled watching the final Pacific episode because I've had enough.

This is why I like Letters from Iwo-Jima. It was the first movie I saw that portrayed Japanese differently than "banzaiiiiiii!" kamikazes with no brain.

How about a book rather than a movie.

In Pharaoh's Army - Tobias Wolff

About the author's time in Vietnam.

Letters from Iwo-Jima is a fantastic movie. On that we agree. Although that reminds me I saw it butchered on American TV, butchered even more than American TV usually does it. AMC had it on during Veteran's Day here and dubbed it. Dubbed it. I couldn't believe it. I mean it is a fucking American-made movie even if it is in Japanese and the sons-of-bitches still dubbed out the Japanese. And it wasn't even like it was good dubbing. It was terrible. I had to stop watching even though I love that movie.

I've heard The Pacific is not that great. A friend of mine (not American ... well he might've gotten his citizenship, but not originally American anyway :P) loved Band of Brothers, but stopped watching The Pacific because he said he simply didn't care about anybody in the program. But as the famous internet expression goes your mileage may vary and you may find it still too sentimental for your tastes. The only times you really see the German side is pretty much Episode 2 where an American soldier is talking to a German-American POW (fighting with the Germans) and the final episode "Points" where the war is over and the German and American soldiers are interacting - mostly positively, sometimes well sometimes not so much. Other than that, the series is through the eyes of the American soldiers. However, at the end, the series does take the time to remind the viewer of the universality of the soldiers went through - Allied and German.

Good movie, shot during WW2, concerning Poland and the start of the war. Great word plays, and a lot of Nazi criticism.
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Be_or_Not_to_Be_(1942_film)]To Be Or Not To Be[/url]

Hilarious and funny movie, pacific arena WW2. A pink Submarine. PINK. That's enough reason to watch it.
Operation Petticoat

Furthermore, concerning the Vatican during WW2 and Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who saved many of victims of Nazi occupation:
The Scarlet And The Black

Also I second someones notion of "Casablanca". A classic.

3 must-see films, although not as depressing as Apocalypse Now and similiar anti-war films.

Honestly? I can't say that about Black Book. I've watched most of his movies and Black Book IMHO does have the typical Verhoeven feel to it. The characters, the events and the violence are heavily overdrawn, there is this weird direct approach to sex etc.. But sure, because of the content it does still differ a lot form his other films.

You're right, they only play when Americans die. :B

hmm ... maybe I have to re-watch it, it has been awhile. I didn't notice many style similarities, but maybe since the content was so different, I missed them.

haha, but no :) Hell most of the Americans simply drop like flies too ...

The Pacific might contain some unoriginal pathos, as someone puts it, but overall I think it's quite good. I remember it as a bit more focused on some of the hardship endured by the characters when compared with Band of Brothers. I won't put any of these great series above the other, though. Both are more or less excellent in my opinion.

Generation Kill also deserves a bright star in my book. I really appreciate how it adds focus on stupidity and incompetence (as perceived by some characters) and the results of this, inter-personal relations, personal reactions and so on. I think it's important to introduce such issues among the more ordinary depictions of war in American movies and series. Not much ill-placed pathos or patriotic messages to be found here. Highly recommended.