KnockBack, Episode 8: The Greatest War Movies of All-Time
Added 2018-04-05 16:13:58 +0000 UTCWar is hell. But on the big screen, it's sure as hell fun to watch. On this week's episode of KnockBack, Dagan and I take a long, hard look at our favorite war movies -- from the obvious to the obscure -- and discuss why movies that show such heinous acts of violence can also uplift us all with equally amazing acts of heroism and valor. So suit up, grab your M1 Garand, and get listening!
Comments
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Colin Moriarty
2018-04-14 02:55:34 +0000 UTCfyi Grave of the Fireflies was made by Takahata not Miyazaki. Common mistake. Takahata passed away last week. RIP. :-(
Ivan Hornett
2018-04-13 15:05:44 +0000 UTCI've not seen it, but heard great things.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-12 22:25:10 +0000 UTCGreat movie/book. Very allegorical, too!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-12 22:24:59 +0000 UTCThank you for listening, and for the feedback! I appreciate it.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-12 22:24:45 +0000 UTCI've seen it, though I'm loath to give Polanski any airtime. Dude's a piece of shit.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-12 22:24:30 +0000 UTCThanks for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-12 22:23:57 +0000 UTCThe Deer Hunter is another interesting Viet Nam era movie I wanted to throw into the mix. It is one of those harder to watch films but worth seeing once in my opinion.
Dan Sievers
2018-04-12 21:27:06 +0000 UTCAs far as fictional war movies I love Starship Troopers!
walter pocasangre
2018-04-12 20:45:35 +0000 UTCGreat episode! Some other WWII mentions that shouldn't be missed: Das Boot A Bridge Too Far - about Operation Market Garden Patton - George C Scott is incredible in this Sam Fuller's The Big Red One (director's cut) Letters from Iwo Jima - Japanese perspective during the battle of Iwo Jima Twelve O'Clock High - classic Gregory Peck Escape from Sobibor - extermination camp escape film Stalingrad Memphis Belle Winter in Wartime COMBAT! ...great tv series from the 60s starring Vic Morrow
Justin Ogilvie
2018-04-12 18:30:04 +0000 UTCMaybe another commenter suggested it already, but I strongly recommend that you watch The Pianist by Roman Polanski. It's 50% a study of what happened to Polish Jews immediately following the invasion, and 50% Cast Away in Warsaw's ruins. It's heartbreaking but essential, as far as WW2 movies are concerned. Biographical, too.
Michal Dudic
2018-04-12 16:46:26 +0000 UTCHaha! how dare you sir, of course it’s a unique thought. (it’s not, i’ve heard it on many different places) I saw the patriot when i was a kid, never realized how weird the dialog was lol. Great episode.
Eric Wilson
2018-04-11 23:25:34 +0000 UTCClearly wrote this comment with 5 minutes left in the episode before Dagan rapid fired off a bunch of flicks and included Inglorious Basterds. My bad.
Ryan Berry
2018-04-11 19:54:48 +0000 UTCI'm so glad that we're not alone. LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-11 19:53:39 +0000 UTCInterstellar rules. =D
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-11 19:53:19 +0000 UTCOMG I have spent years thinking that my 2 brothers and I were the only people on the planet to have bonded and loved the Patriot as much as we do, we literally broke my parents first DVD player wearing the thing out watching it multiple times a day often, we too could probably quote it front to back, my baby bro often telling how "Peter Cuppin joined the Continentals, he's only 17, nearly a year younger than I" many other lines are still quoted to this day nearly 18 years later 😂 and I still have trouble when the actor that plays Tavington plays a good guy in film and TV to this day, hated that guy haha! it might be one of the only movies outside of star wars and indiana Jones that I've seen as often as I have in my life.
Christopher Hopkins
2018-04-11 18:33:33 +0000 UTCHonorable mentions that were missed (in my opinion): - Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino version), especially as a work of fiction - Zero Dark Thirty (more of a military espionage suspense/thriller, but I consider it a war movie) - The Hurt Locker - The Pacific, in the same Band of Brothers Honorable Mention category. - Starship Troopers, for fictional futuristic satire. And thank you for proclaiming Interstellar as possibly the greatest film of all time. Couldn’t agree more.
Ryan Berry
2018-04-11 15:13:17 +0000 UTC=D
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-10 18:27:22 +0000 UTCIt's on my list!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-10 18:27:13 +0000 UTCThank you! My suspicion is that we will cover both topics. =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-10 18:27:06 +0000 UTCThe Patriot is not good but i'll watch it every single time.
Joey Finelli
2018-04-09 18:22:33 +0000 UTCCan not agree with Dagan enough, gotta read Blood Meridian. Absolutely wild and otherworldly. Great episode as always 👌
Robert Graham
2018-04-08 17:18:28 +0000 UTCJust recently watched Hacksaw Ridge it really is a fantastic movie and Band of Brothers is also fantastic. I would love to hear you guys talk about Tarantino's and M. Night's films. This was a awesome KnockBack👍👍👌👌.
Cameron Paterson
2018-04-08 05:27:28 +0000 UTCPerfect. Thank you!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-08 00:45:10 +0000 UTCThe Final Days is the name of the white rose movie
Eric S
2018-04-07 17:26:40 +0000 UTCAnd when I say it's a great movie, I'm circling back to The Patriot, not IDR.
Brian Dewire
2018-04-06 23:36:41 +0000 UTCMy favorite part of listening to you talk about The Patriot is that Roland Emmerich directed that movie and them somehow later went on to direct Independence Day: Resurgence..... It's also a great movie.
Brian Dewire
2018-04-06 23:35:27 +0000 UTCGood to know! Thank you for the details. (And glad you enjoyed the episode. <3)
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 22:40:36 +0000 UTCNow you understand my psychosis a little more.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 22:40:08 +0000 UTCReally enjoyed this episode. Dagan came up with some really good unusual ones. Glad you brought up Red Dawn, which was one of those obsessive schoolyard-discussed films when I was a kid, as it was coming out then, and in Scotland we were close enough to Russia for that plot to be a viable fantasy. (By the way, Braveheart is not historically accurate. It's a fantasy based on a few historical events.) One world war 2 film that you may not have seen is The Big Red One. It stars Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill, is from the early 80's. It goes with a sargent and four soldiers who survive while all others in their squad don't, as they go through Africa, italy, d-day, Eastern Europe, and finally the concentration camps. It was made on a limited budget by Sam Fuller, a great director who was a journalist in the warzones during world war 2 and the film is based on his experiences. It would urge anyone interested in world war 2 to give it a try, in its longer cut version, as it really gives a sense of both the scope of the war and what it took for someone to survive throughout the long years of constant battle and loss of people on their own side. There is no way in hell that this wasn't a big influence on Saving Private Ryan.
Peter Campbell
2018-04-06 22:06:10 +0000 UTCI finally watched Red Dawn about a month ago. Had no idea how fucked up and SUPER dark that movie is.
Brian Dewire
2018-04-06 18:31:37 +0000 UTCHoly moly. That's deep. Thanks for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:27:35 +0000 UTC(And thank you!)
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:27:23 +0000 UTCGeneration Kill got me down a bit for a weird reason: The flippancy soldiers showed towards those back home that supported them. It's a weird takeaway, I know, but it stuck with me.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:27:15 +0000 UTCHe was great. And the episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee he did with Seinfeld made me appreciate him even more.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:26:40 +0000 UTCSounds like an interesting flick! Thank you for the suggestion.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:26:24 +0000 UTCWe actually didn't touch on The Pacific. Truth be told, I wasn't blown away by it, probably because it as was compared to Band of Brothers so much, and really, what could possibly compare?
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:26:08 +0000 UTCDag and I were just discussing doing a Cormac McCarthy episode. He's read all of his books, but I've not, so I'd have some catching up to do!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:25:32 +0000 UTCThanks ma!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:25:05 +0000 UTCAmen, amen, amen.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:24:57 +0000 UTCI don't think I've seen Das Boot, no. But I will certainly look into it. Thank you or listening!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:24:47 +0000 UTCOh man, I woulda gotten lost in those jungles!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:24:29 +0000 UTCHahaha! More incoming, for sure.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:24:15 +0000 UTCSo glad you enjoyed the episode. Thanks for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:23:55 +0000 UTCI can't tell if you're kidding or not. =D Thank you for listening!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-06 18:23:39 +0000 UTCHoly shit man when you talked about Saving Privates Ryan I started to tear up thinking about it.. Also my grandfather was in Vietnam and I'll never forget I had a pop gun and I accidentally let it go off in the house one day and it made him lose it for a split second.
Anthony Stewart
2018-04-06 17:33:27 +0000 UTCAlso you and Dagan have a great chemistry. Keep it up.
Owen
2018-04-06 17:12:08 +0000 UTCPatton is one of my favorite war movies of all time. I think literally every CLS proper vote I tried to get Colin to talk about General Patton because everything about him was fascinating to me. - I do find it strange though I don't like modern day war movies... like movies about the US in the middle east. American Sniper for example... can't stand it. I dont know why. maybe because I don't agree with how long this war has gone on? I dunno. - I did love Generation Kill though which if people haven't seen is a fantastic mini series.
Owen
2018-04-06 16:28:00 +0000 UTCVery glad Inglorious Bastards made it into this conversation. Christoph Waltz makes such a great villain.
Kenny Gutzler
2018-04-06 15:04:44 +0000 UTCSo many great films brought up. I’d like to point you two towards a lesser known film that I highly recommend, Turtles Can Fly. Days before the invasion of iraq 2003, it is the story of children living in a border town.
Chris B
2018-04-06 12:21:57 +0000 UTCI’m not finished with the episode yet so apologies if y’all mention this at some point, but I recommend the Spielberg mini series ‘The Pacific’ if you want a great representation of The Pacific theatre of WWII.
Michael Miller
2018-04-06 03:05:45 +0000 UTCYour guys’ affinity for the patriot is absolutely hilarious haha. Also, I heard you mention Cormac McCarthy. I would love to hear an episode about him! The Road is a masterpiece and I’ve seen the film version of No County For Old Men (which is phenomenal) but haven’t read the book. I’d love to hear your and Dagan’s thoughts! Great episode! :)
Will Hahn
2018-04-06 01:18:23 +0000 UTCAgain, great episode! Love the two of you together- that chemistry is amazing! ❤️😘❤️😘👏🏻
BettyAnn Moriarty
2018-04-06 01:01:31 +0000 UTCI really, really loved it. It was pretty much the perfect movie. Entertaining, challenging, and thought-provoking in all the right ways.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-05 23:28:00 +0000 UTCThe Patriot is one of my all time favorite "war" movies. Just so damn good. There isn't a single scene in that movie that takes you out of the experience.
Nicholas Swanson
2018-04-05 22:09:02 +0000 UTCJust finished listening, loved every second of it. great call by Dagan on Guns of Navarrone, fantastic movie. Colin you were correct about Black Hawk Down, the movie was based on the book by Mark Bowden, and he based that off reporting that he did on the event for, I believe, the Philadelphia Enquirer. One of my favorite books ever. Also I'm curious if you've ever seen the movie Das Boot, what a brutal movie in both what it depicts on screen and the toll it takes on the viewer.
Bryan Finck
2018-04-05 21:25:11 +0000 UTCGreat episode guys, Interesting commentary about the pacific theater in WW2. I lived on one of those islands when I was a kid and remember the jungles being littered with old abandoned artifacts from the war. Reflecting back it really drives home how lucky we are that we saw such limited action on our soil. Anyway, keep up the great work!
Jeff Stevens
2018-04-05 21:15:17 +0000 UTCLol, the conversation about The Patriot is the best thing CLS has produced yet. More novelty conversations plz.
desperateLuck
2018-04-05 20:08:57 +0000 UTCColin, American Movie is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've heard you bring it up several times throughout the years and I always pop so hard. Ooohhh man, one of the greats. I really enjoyed this episode, I'm actually going to link it to my older brother once it goes public, as he's a history/war buff himself, and would probably love this one. Great job as always, guys.
Ian (616Entertainment)
2018-04-05 19:41:06 +0000 UTCAlso for Dagan, deep cut on Grave of the Fireflies, that’s probably the saddest thing ever created.
Marc Boggio
2018-04-05 19:40:55 +0000 UTCMy face when Colin shows love to Hacksaw Ridge: 😢 (happy tears, it may be an army medic thing, but I love that movie). I found an interesting thing that film did, was that it framed Desmond Doss’ devout religious belief in two ways: 1. A religious person can watch it as a justification of their own faith. That his faith in god gave him the strength to pull off spectacular feats and that god protected him. 2. A non religious person can view Desmond’s devout faith as something that makes him delusional, but as a consequence, makes him crazy enough to pull of some of the bravest shit you can possibly imagine. This is encapsulated very well at the end of the film, when the men (regardless of whether they are religious or not), are waiting for Desmond to finish praying for them before they attack. Essentially: “I may not believe... but he does and that crazy motherfucker pulled off a miracle yesterday”
Marc Boggio
2018-04-05 19:03:26 +0000 UTCDagan talks about that flick extensively on this episode!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-05 18:25:19 +0000 UTCThank you for the suggestion! I'll look into it. (Also, thank you for the kind words.)
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-05 18:25:03 +0000 UTCI’ve always told my friends I’m not much into horror movies and no movie really scares me, but I always cite Jacob’s Ladder as the one movie that truly freaked me out. I would recommend you watch it again if you haven’t in awhile it’s awesome.
Kenneth thomas
2018-04-05 17:17:07 +0000 UTCColin, as always, your content is a delight. I'm not sure if you're familiar with this band (you should be) but SABATON is something I think you would vibe with. Historically driven lyrics addressing war - and it's done in a way that's not just propagandistic anthems. They cover everything from the Battle of Belgium, the Carleous Rex's campaigns, the 6 Day War and even Witold Pilecki. If you're already familiar I apologize for the spam, if not, give them a listen.
Eric Gee
2018-04-05 17:02:47 +0000 UTC=) =) =)
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-05 16:27:32 +0000 UTCCan't wait to listen to this one!
Steven Oslund
2018-04-05 16:23:09 +0000 UTCWell, all three of those are in here (and many others). Enjoy!
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-05 16:22:44 +0000 UTCThank you! I hope you enjoy.
Colin Moriarty
2018-04-05 16:22:33 +0000 UTCI haven't listened yet, but I think Saving Private Ryan is still the gold standard. 20 years later and it still holds up. I would put Black Hawk Down and Band of Brothers (a series, but within the same realm) high in the rankings as well.
Jimmy Valentine
2018-04-05 16:20:40 +0000 UTCSo excited for this one, thanks guys, keep up the great work!
Bryan Finck
2018-04-05 16:17:15 +0000 UTC
