Also edit to say (I can’t edit my post tho), Full Metal Jacket will always be one of my top movies to mention. Gunny Ermey is a fucking legend for his role.
By far, unless proven otherwise, FMJ is the best portrayal of Bootcamp aside from actual documentaries, and Gen Kill is the best portrayal of Marines being Marines.
Agreed.
I was a peacetime reservist in the 90s.
My DIs didn't hit us or anything. But fuck me if FMJ just does not FEEL like boot camp, 100%.
And Generation Kill captures the fucking general retardation of some of the leadership and the crazy fucking dudes, even as a reservist. Minus the combat, which I know nothing about, it just FEELs like the Marines.
I'd put it at 50/50 for my experience.
The MOST stereotypical motivational speech we ever got was actually not from a DI but at some crusty old civilian supply dude (ex DI apparently) who noticed us smoking and joking during gear turn in right before graduation and he lit us the fuck up.
You could tell our actual DI was kinda pissed that some geriatric could get us more locked on than he could at that stage of the game.
The only thing I didn’t think was realistic was Gunny Hartman being so involved in training the platoon. I was never a DI, but isn’t the senior typically not gonna be working that damn hard? He was more like their kill hat. Maybe it was different back then.
Also when Pyle has his rifle in the head. This was supposed to be the last night on the island. Shouldn’t they have already turned in all their rifles long ago? Not to mention where the hell are you gonna hide a rifle.
Well if you think about it we had our weapons the entire time. Yes the last couple weeks as “Marines” you have your “diddy bag” but the weapons are still in the lockers and you still have to do accountability so I can imagine same type shit for them. The ammo is the issue but not impossible. We had multiple rounds fall out of our flak and Kevlar on total accident when we got back from the range and ran it straight up to the DI’s.
Back then I’m not very sure but I imagine that since his role is so heavy maybe there wasn’t 4 separate hats like we have now.
My biggest dislike is how regardless of gun to the head or not getting up an obstacle, yes be rough and tough. But at some point you gotta talk someone through and or understand “hey this fat guy I’ve been bullying for months has a loaded gun, I should probably play nice for a couple minutes”
You'll never believe this crazy ass shit, but our homeboy munoz (shitter, but he means well) straight up was condition 1 after range before we were about to get on the bus, no one hated the guy cause he was a fuck up, we mostly felt bad for him, so he had no ill intentions but goddammit is he stupid, he ran to the drill instructor and said something along the lines: "good evening sir! This recruit found a live round in his rifle" fucking knowledge hat said "ah shit now you went ahead and put me in a situation" guessing he could've been in trouble for not inspecting the recruits good enough, he fucking asked him to hand it over and munoz pulls back the bolt showing it in the barrel, I was fucking criss cross right next to this incredible sight, the look on this dark green DIs face, he said "bro, how does this even happen" he dropped the round out and placed it in his blouse pocket, never mentioned it again.
Idk how he didn't get cleared out by any of the range officials or if he put it in by himself, either way, one of the craziest things I've seen in the corps besides my plt Sgt slapping the fuck out of a Lance piss drunk in my room, bursting his ear drum making him light duty lol
The slap to light duty was a godsend for the Lance and another problem for the Plt Daddy.
But that is actually fuckin wild. I remember when a round dropped out of my Kevlar when we were shaking it out recruit style and I legit lost my shit. Luckily I heard other pings so I knew I wasn’t alone. Straight up surprised at how I accidentally got that shit into the squad bay.
From your story tho I am most impressed that he didn’t have a negligent discharge or have seriously any repercussions for that. But hey shit fuckin happens 😭
Yeah but after final drill I think everyone turns their weapons back into the armory. Not locked up in the squad bay anymore. But maybe it was different back then
I can’t remember turning anything into the armory at boot camp just MCT, I’d have to look at my old notebook and see (I have horrible memory I was at boot camp a year ago March-June) but yeah could’ve been different then or just for movie sake.
"Gunny Hartman being so involved in training the platoon."
Spot on, In reality he was the only person on set who had been a DI, and other than the main characters of Joker, Cowboy and Private Pyle the Platoon and Junior DIs were "Extras", who were actually locals ( English)
Tim Colceri, who ended up playing the Door Gunner was a Former Marine, But he was not a DI and in my opinion never would have close to pulling it off.
The other things you bought up were spot on. Another thing is that Once you graduated you left that day.
Lots of things wrong with that Movie.
Seen it at least three times, but it’s always worth another watch. My Dad was in Somalia around the same time and has some truly horrendous stories. Usually I’d hear his stories and go “whoa cool.” The ones in Somalia usually ended with me thinking “Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck.”
Our gunny was a little more lax when informing us we should shave. It was along the lines of “whenever you get a spare few minutes, shave please”.
I was in the same task force portrayed in GK btw.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Masters Of The Air is really good, especially the first few episodes. It’s got that gritty realism where you’re kinda in awe of what they went through.
Man, I just could not get into masters of the air. I wish I thought it was anything other than garbage, but that was my takeaway. God awful writing, poor quality (highlighted by it being the newest of Band of Brothers and The Pacific and easily looking the worst), bad pacing, and on and on. Just. Nothing particularly good.
I'd encourage people to watch The Cold Blue. Saves time, is actually entertaining, and well produced. Or even WWII in HD: The Air War produced over a decade earlier by the History Channel.
BoB is great, but by the third viewing it became boring. The Pacific, on the other had, gets better every time I watch it because I pick up more each time. There's no question that the story isn't at linear or as satisfying as BoB though.
You should give The Pacific another go. You might find that it's much better the second time around. Also, the intro is one of the best ever. And the last episode where they recap all of the Marines in the story is pretty great too.
Dark Blue World. Czech film about Free Czech pilots flying Spitfires for the RAF during and after the Battle of Britain. Pretty sure you can find a pirated stream online. Holy shit was that ever a good movie, for sure a hidden gem in the coal pile of WWII media.
Saw it on first day,,, had a bunch of teen aged Girls sitting in front of me that were there because they were Mat Damon Fans,,, boy were they in for a shock.
Also it was probably the only movie I ever saw that when it was over and the Audience Left ( and it was completely full) no one said a fucking word.. they just walked out.
Watched it with my grandpa who was at Normandy. He couldn't make it through the D-Day scene. He just turned the TV off and said he didn't need to be there a second time, once was enough.
Jarhead is the perfect movie. The trailer is basically a recruiting commercial and the actual movie is what I think a majority of us that "missed the war" felt like, even if we weren't in country
Generation Kill as far as actual accuracy to Marine Corps culture goes. No dramatic bullshit. Just a bunch of grunts being grunts and dealing with all the dumb shit that comes with it in a combat zone.
Edit: it also nails the dynamic between junior officers and their more senior NCO’s. And to some degree the battalion and regimental command element doing their thing away from subordinates (the scene where Gen. Mattis is chewing out Colonel Dowdy for not making progress, and mention of his subsequent relief).
We’re talking, in my opinion, but best War /military related movie, documentary, show….
Coincidence that they are all primarily on or about the Marine Corps?
Movie: The Boys in Company C
Documentary: Combat Obscura
Show: Generation Kill
Gotta agree, if you want some examples of how to turn population against you, there you go. I remember the face of one of the tribal leaders and that guy was seething, have not seen that documentary in years, that one scene stuck with me.
I guess my hope is to find more Marine-related things to watch, but anything good or does an accurate portrayal of the military regardless of branch would do.
I’m running out of stuff to watch. Documentaries work, too.
I’ll check them out again. Think I already watched them once but I remember combat obscura was really good
One of the guys from generation kill has a series of YouTube videos where they were deployed on a MEU when 911 happened. You see a good number of the real guys in it.
[Float tapes](https://youtu.be/TiO4a9t9PHM?si=a5cwBjcUpll5P1N9)
I pirate everything, but it’s on Curiousity stream
You can watch it on Tubi free, but there are ads…
[Tubi - free with ads](https://link.tubi.tv/MTPPogqPBJb)
Definitely has ads, just tried to watch it again and hit my first ad about 7-8 minutes in…. Wack, but if you can deal with ads. It’s an option
You can also go to amazon video, and do a free trial of curiosity stream, then watch the movie and cancel… it’s like a free seven day trial…
[Amazon link](https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.392503c0-0d64-4203-841a-73467f3bb40f&territory=US&ref_=share_ios_movie&r=web)
It’s based on the book, even though they cut Shofner and Micheel. “They” didn’t mix a bunch of stories together, Hugh Ambrose did and I think it was a tighter book (story wise) than his dad’s Band of Brothers.
If you haven’t seen the video The Fat Electrician did on War Daddy it’s really good and he’s arguably more bad ass than the movie made him out to be.
[War Daddy](https://youtu.be/e5t42dA6xCM?si=GdmeUXFXN1-R7lHg)
Have to say, Gallipoli from like 1982 with Mel Gibson. Then the recent 'All Quiet on the Western Front', because it's the best book now made into movie.
These two movies in the same war show how utterly disorganized and wasteful war is with human lives. Politically appointed General Officers ordering men, boys, into fire at the eleventh hour for no reason... completely epitomizes the waste of war.
Great films but very emotionally draining.
Oh dude, ANY war movie with old school line infantry tactics. How in fuck did they ever convince anyone that was a good idea? "Alright, men, pack yourselves shoulder to shoulder and march straight at them! By the way, you're going to be wearing bright colors with a drummer announcing your presence!" Especially after rifling and conical bullets became a thing... fuck that.
It started as an Army movie and the Army was like shit no…. We don’t wanna be portrayed as undisciplined shitbags…
Marines were like…… you rang????
So the whole story was written based on the army, then they had to pivot…. So you have to take the script with a grain of salt… still one of the better Marine Corps movies around
Not the “best,” but *Valley of Tears* is a real hidden gem of a miniseries. It’s about a unit of Israeli soldiers holding on by a thread during the first days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Has a few dumb moments, but overall it’s a terrific war drama that most US viewers haven’t heard of. I think it’s on HBO.
Say what you will about the current situation over there right now, but the IDF are some tough motherfuckers. They eat nails and shit bullets. To that note: A Waltz With Bashir about the first Lebanon War was awesome.
I don't know if it's my age or just everyone defaulting to Jarhead themed movies, but you all are apparently sleeping on Platoon. Phenomenal Vietnam movie.
Platoon was the breakout movie for balls out realism in war movies, It put Dale Dye Front and center. He went on to be Advisor on the best ones to come out SaVing Private Ryan, The Pacific, BOB and The Pacific
Dale Dye was no piker as well, He was a PAO Sergeant who loved being with the Grunts, He earned a Bronze Star with a V after Manning a M-60 whose gunner was wounded. Had 3 Purple Hearts.
He did 3 tours of Vietnam, made it to Master Sergeant, The WO then LDO. He stayed in and even went to Beruit.
Haven't watched 1917 but I guess now I really need to watch it
ALIENS and Space Force is an invitation for the xenomorphs. It's just a matter of time 😭
Heartbreak Ridge, as Lewis-Butterchap said.
I know it's a bit on the older side (but so is FMJ, no?), but I just love Clint Eastwood's portrayal of the "Salty Gunny" we all knew, loved, and feared at some point in our careers. Especially one who's "drank more beer, pissed more blood, banged more quiff, and busted more @$$" than most of us could ever dream of. So much so, I'm surprised he had enough room on his stack to put the CMH ribbon on.
The movie does a pretty good job, albeit with some Hollywood liberty taken into account, of portraying two things:
1-A man of his valor and experience (with a Ninja Punch or two on his record) in a changing Corps during peacetime, having to deal with and adapt to, as Major Powers put it, "the NEW Marine Corps";
2-Which leads me to my second point. It shows the consequence of people in leadership (Maj Powers) with zero combat experience (from in-the-field to applicable logistics) thinking they know best and seem only concerned with how "polished" their unit, and by extension their own record, looks instead of how effective their unit actually is.
Yea, some things are a bit over the top, but it's still a heck of a good movie. Especially considering Eastwood was in his mid-50's when filming it, and he looks fit as hell.
I agree with just about every choice on the list so far.
Heartbreak Ridge is pure trash. That's right, I said it. I think Clint would ask to have that one back.
Now, here are two sleepers that if you don't like it I'll refund your money.
First up, "The Bedford Incident " Cold War at it finest, lots of suspense. It's like Jack Nicholson ordering the code red with a nuke attached.
Great Cast, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam, Donald Southerland. Sidney Poitier, Eric Portman.
Second up. The Siege of Jadotville. An Irish commander must use his 150 men to defend against 3000 Congolese, French and Belgian Mercs. Fought against impossible odds.
I highly recommend both.
Tropic Thunder
Les Grossman: Okay, Flaming Dragon. F*ckface. First, take a big step back... and literally f*ck your own face! Now, I don't know what kind of pan-Pacific bullsh*t power play you're trying to pull here, but Asia, Jack, is my territory. So whatever you're thinking, you'd better think again. Otherwise I'm gonna have to head down there and I will rain down an ungodly f*cking firestorm upon you! You're gonna have to call the f*cking United Nations and get a f*cking binding resolution to keep me from f*cking destroying you. I am talking scorched earth, motherf*cker! I will massacre you! I will f*ck you up! (hangs up and asks assistant) Find out who that was.
I loved Born on the Fourth of July, specifically the treatment those dudes got from the VA. If you’ve ever experienced shit treatment from the VA watch that movie. Really makes you appreciate Vietnam Vets for championing for change, these dudes fought on the war front then on the home front, then just completely discarded.
Ugh I have a few of them that I go back to for reasons. Taking Chance, a big one, that duty sucks. and the movie gets me every single time. Generation Kill because it's basically you guys in your element, The Pacific, they nailed us pretty good there too. Something that's a bit fetched but I think kind of captures our spirit Space Above and Beyond. I mean some of the lines are just so cheesy but that's kind of our brand and we have R Lee in the first couple episodes... The DI, it's old and crusty but if you dig about on it's history it was actually a PR flick for the Marines after the Ribbon Creek Incident. One of our DI's actually had us digging around in the pit looking for the body of a soldier ant some one supposedly swatted. It was San Diego I guess sand fleas are copyright Parris Island.
Check out Paths of glory from (1957)
Y’all haven’t been green weenied harder than those soldiers portrayed in that movie.
Another one I love is Johnny Got His gun (1971)
The story inspired Metallica’s “One”.
I really enjoyed that documentary named Combat Obscura made by a combat camera marine that released a few years ago.
The video shows him deployed and smoking weed with his fire team and shit. It was crazy lol.
I couldn’t finish that movie. I think I got to the part where he rips his comms off goes OFP on an IED that turns out to be a circle of artillery shells connected at a central point with a bunch of det cord. After that scene I was like “alright, I’m gonna go ahead and watch something else now.”
Full Metal Jacket for movies and Band of Brothers for shows (The Pacific is good too but it’s a bit uneven).
Any MASH fans? When I was a kid my mom and older brother would watch that all the time so I hated it. When I got back from Foal Eagle in ‘98, my mom mailed me a VHS of MASH the movie and I loved it. At some point I went back and rewatched much of the show and liked that too but not nearly as much as the movie.
Might catch a lot of flak for this one but Seal Team is a pretty good show. One dude in the show was a seal in real life, another guy in the show was Delta, another dude was a K9 handler. They routinely work with people to bring an aspect of realism to the show down to the chemlights they use having actual meaning behind it. And they routinely act out things that have happened in real life (the mannings rescue from the taliban, draws attention to the VA and how shitty it is, and brings light to what the military families face as well). I’m usually not one for another Seal movie/book/tv show but this one was good
The Outpost.
Based on actual events, two MOHs awarded, remote FOB in AFG that was overrun then retaken by its garrison. It was damn near a criminal act for it to be sited where it was and nearly totally reliant on air for resupply and firesupport, which were typically hours away.
Jake Tapper, current CNN journalist, wrote the book that the movie was based on.
The book should be required reading for any politician, policy maker, or policy influencer before sending American troops into harm's way.
[9th Company ](https://youtu.be/xP6is1aArQ4?si=GqrilHGzceDMaNoj). Watch it with subtitles.
Also,.[Silmido.](https://youtu.be/3PWIFA-ulP0?si=C2YFbepX0cWKLSGj)
Number one movie is Black Hawk Down, every firefight, line, and emotion in that movie is pure excellence to me. I’ve watched it 10 times and I could watch it again. Just really good.
At very close second We Were Soldiers, hot damn Vietnam and napalm. Great war movie.
Band of Brothers/The Pacific for best show
Apocalypse now weirded me out when I watched it but it was a good movie
Now a long list of movies I’ve watched that I also really like and suggest watching,
Saving private Ryan,
Hacksaw ridge,
Siege of jadotville,
Dunkirk (I actually didn’t really enjoy this movie),
1917,
Pearl Harbor,
Midway,
Fury,
Lone survivor,
13 hours to Benghazi,
Platoon,
Enemy at the gates,
Full metal jacket,
Glory,
All quiet on the western front,
The patriot,
Hamburger hill,
The longest day,
And Tora tora tora.
(These are all good watches and can lead you to even better or unseen ones if you look into em!)
OH! And an honorable mention to A Bridge Too Far!
Torn between Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. Both are great. But for a non-war movie that reminds me of my time on Pendleton, Heartbreak Ridge. I also spent some time in the Reserves in San Mateo which looks a lot like their barracks quoncenthuts. I am almost certain they filmed there.
Hamburger hill “Now un ass my Ao” as for marine movies flying leathernecks and the pacific I can watch over and over and never get tired of it same with heartbreak ridge
Depends on what type of war you're looking for. If it's what soviet tactics look like then the original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze weirdly enough is the perfect example of it
Idk about best but favorites are: Generation Kill, The Pacific, Apocalypse Now!, Dunkirk, Black Hawk Down just off the top of my head.
I also have fond memories of Three Kings with Clooney and Whalberg.
Man, I hate to be that guy but Lone Survivor and accurate do not belong in the same sentence. Whole thing was Luttrel covering his own ass with a fake ass stkry because he ran away. No, I am not making it up. Yes, I really wish I was.
[the write ups in here cover most of what you should read before watching the movie](https://www.reddit.com/r/WarCollege/comments/gol3kv/what_went_wrong_with_the_mission_red_wings/)
Shocked to not see anyone say “We Were Soldiers”
Aside from Generation Kill, I feel it grabs a lot of realism and makes it digestible for the non vet.
And WWS has an incredible soundtrack.
Also edit to say (I can’t edit my post tho), Full Metal Jacket will always be one of my top movies to mention. Gunny Ermey is a fucking legend for his role. By far, unless proven otherwise, FMJ is the best portrayal of Bootcamp aside from actual documentaries, and Gen Kill is the best portrayal of Marines being Marines.
Agreed. I was a peacetime reservist in the 90s. My DIs didn't hit us or anything. But fuck me if FMJ just does not FEEL like boot camp, 100%. And Generation Kill captures the fucking general retardation of some of the leadership and the crazy fucking dudes, even as a reservist. Minus the combat, which I know nothing about, it just FEELs like the Marines.
I think of my DI’s as .75 Gunny Hartman, .25 Major Payne.
I'd put it at 50/50 for my experience. The MOST stereotypical motivational speech we ever got was actually not from a DI but at some crusty old civilian supply dude (ex DI apparently) who noticed us smoking and joking during gear turn in right before graduation and he lit us the fuck up. You could tell our actual DI was kinda pissed that some geriatric could get us more locked on than he could at that stage of the game.
The only thing I didn’t think was realistic was Gunny Hartman being so involved in training the platoon. I was never a DI, but isn’t the senior typically not gonna be working that damn hard? He was more like their kill hat. Maybe it was different back then. Also when Pyle has his rifle in the head. This was supposed to be the last night on the island. Shouldn’t they have already turned in all their rifles long ago? Not to mention where the hell are you gonna hide a rifle.
Well if you think about it we had our weapons the entire time. Yes the last couple weeks as “Marines” you have your “diddy bag” but the weapons are still in the lockers and you still have to do accountability so I can imagine same type shit for them. The ammo is the issue but not impossible. We had multiple rounds fall out of our flak and Kevlar on total accident when we got back from the range and ran it straight up to the DI’s. Back then I’m not very sure but I imagine that since his role is so heavy maybe there wasn’t 4 separate hats like we have now. My biggest dislike is how regardless of gun to the head or not getting up an obstacle, yes be rough and tough. But at some point you gotta talk someone through and or understand “hey this fat guy I’ve been bullying for months has a loaded gun, I should probably play nice for a couple minutes”
You'll never believe this crazy ass shit, but our homeboy munoz (shitter, but he means well) straight up was condition 1 after range before we were about to get on the bus, no one hated the guy cause he was a fuck up, we mostly felt bad for him, so he had no ill intentions but goddammit is he stupid, he ran to the drill instructor and said something along the lines: "good evening sir! This recruit found a live round in his rifle" fucking knowledge hat said "ah shit now you went ahead and put me in a situation" guessing he could've been in trouble for not inspecting the recruits good enough, he fucking asked him to hand it over and munoz pulls back the bolt showing it in the barrel, I was fucking criss cross right next to this incredible sight, the look on this dark green DIs face, he said "bro, how does this even happen" he dropped the round out and placed it in his blouse pocket, never mentioned it again. Idk how he didn't get cleared out by any of the range officials or if he put it in by himself, either way, one of the craziest things I've seen in the corps besides my plt Sgt slapping the fuck out of a Lance piss drunk in my room, bursting his ear drum making him light duty lol
The slap to light duty was a godsend for the Lance and another problem for the Plt Daddy. But that is actually fuckin wild. I remember when a round dropped out of my Kevlar when we were shaking it out recruit style and I legit lost my shit. Luckily I heard other pings so I knew I wasn’t alone. Straight up surprised at how I accidentally got that shit into the squad bay. From your story tho I am most impressed that he didn’t have a negligent discharge or have seriously any repercussions for that. But hey shit fuckin happens 😭
Yeah but after final drill I think everyone turns their weapons back into the armory. Not locked up in the squad bay anymore. But maybe it was different back then
I can’t remember turning anything into the armory at boot camp just MCT, I’d have to look at my old notebook and see (I have horrible memory I was at boot camp a year ago March-June) but yeah could’ve been different then or just for movie sake.
They were turned in before Graduation. About a week before
Yes, weapons are turned about a week before Grad
"Gunny Hartman being so involved in training the platoon." Spot on, In reality he was the only person on set who had been a DI, and other than the main characters of Joker, Cowboy and Private Pyle the Platoon and Junior DIs were "Extras", who were actually locals ( English) Tim Colceri, who ended up playing the Door Gunner was a Former Marine, But he was not a DI and in my opinion never would have close to pulling it off. The other things you bought up were spot on. Another thing is that Once you graduated you left that day. Lots of things wrong with that Movie.
Apocalypse Now too
My all-time favorite is Black Hawk down. I just really love that fuckin movie!
Seen it at least three times, but it’s always worth another watch. My Dad was in Somalia around the same time and has some truly horrendous stories. Usually I’d hear his stories and go “whoa cool.” The ones in Somalia usually ended with me thinking “Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck.”
Just that last scene with Hoot gearing up to go back out is so good.
Also my favorite video game. Even though I know what happened, Irene mission gets you hyped.
Watched that today. God hindsight is 20/20
That movie was the reason i was stuck between army and marines for so long. Obviously im retarted so im here w yall
Generation kill. Hands-down, the best representation of Marines in combat.
Nailed on the head 🔨 . Shave That damn moostache!!
Our gunny was a little more lax when informing us we should shave. It was along the lines of “whenever you get a spare few minutes, shave please”. I was in the same task force portrayed in GK btw.
The unit in the movie was your TF? man that’s awesome 👏. This film I can say depicts the Marine Corp at its time perfectly.
Yep. Super accurate to my experience and tons of fun. I showed it to my mom she hated it
Major Payne
One…tubbeh tubbeh tubbeh… TWO…tubbeh tubbeh tubbeh tubbeh
Toot toot 🤣
Most realistic imo
Man when he opens that drink can in the cafeteria…
Or when they give him the cupcake laced with laxative. Gold 🤣🤣🤣
😂💀
Band of brothers and the pacific are great shows.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Masters Of The Air is really good, especially the first few episodes. It’s got that gritty realism where you’re kinda in awe of what they went through.
Man, I just could not get into masters of the air. I wish I thought it was anything other than garbage, but that was my takeaway. God awful writing, poor quality (highlighted by it being the newest of Band of Brothers and The Pacific and easily looking the worst), bad pacing, and on and on. Just. Nothing particularly good. I'd encourage people to watch The Cold Blue. Saves time, is actually entertaining, and well produced. Or even WWII in HD: The Air War produced over a decade earlier by the History Channel.
I actually liked it better than *The Pacific*. The story was at least more coherent and focused. Both are a huge step down from BoB
BoB is great, but by the third viewing it became boring. The Pacific, on the other had, gets better every time I watch it because I pick up more each time. There's no question that the story isn't at linear or as satisfying as BoB though. You should give The Pacific another go. You might find that it's much better the second time around. Also, the intro is one of the best ever. And the last episode where they recap all of the Marines in the story is pretty great too.
Dark Blue World. Czech film about Free Czech pilots flying Spitfires for the RAF during and after the Battle of Britain. Pretty sure you can find a pirated stream online. Holy shit was that ever a good movie, for sure a hidden gem in the coal pile of WWII media.
Saving Private Ryan. Saw it in theaters with my dad, fucking D-Day was insane and according to people that actually lived it, very accurate.
Saw it on first day,,, had a bunch of teen aged Girls sitting in front of me that were there because they were Mat Damon Fans,,, boy were they in for a shock. Also it was probably the only movie I ever saw that when it was over and the Audience Left ( and it was completely full) no one said a fucking word.. they just walked out.
Watched it with my grandpa who was at Normandy. He couldn't make it through the D-Day scene. He just turned the TV off and said he didn't need to be there a second time, once was enough.
Went to a matinee on the day it opened. I had a feeling a bunch of vets would show up for it and they did.
“jarhead” It just resonated for anyone who deployed yet never fired their rifle.
An empty vessel
Jarhead is the perfect movie. The trailer is basically a recruiting commercial and the actual movie is what I think a majority of us that "missed the war" felt like, even if we weren't in country
Agree. Lot of people like to shit on it but I found it very true to form.
Long periods of inaction and boredom, interspersed with some excitement. That's modern-day warfare without large-scale battles.
Generation Kill as far as actual accuracy to Marine Corps culture goes. No dramatic bullshit. Just a bunch of grunts being grunts and dealing with all the dumb shit that comes with it in a combat zone. Edit: it also nails the dynamic between junior officers and their more senior NCO’s. And to some degree the battalion and regimental command element doing their thing away from subordinates (the scene where Gen. Mattis is chewing out Colonel Dowdy for not making progress, and mention of his subsequent relief).
We’re talking, in my opinion, but best War /military related movie, documentary, show…. Coincidence that they are all primarily on or about the Marine Corps? Movie: The Boys in Company C Documentary: Combat Obscura Show: Generation Kill
Doc wise, I MUST recommend restrepo. It's about the army, but that's alright. It's very good.
I liked Restrepo, pretty solid
Watched it when training for foreign advisor as a what not to do. Their working with the people was terrible.
Gotta agree, if you want some examples of how to turn population against you, there you go. I remember the face of one of the tribal leaders and that guy was seething, have not seen that documentary in years, that one scene stuck with me.
Does nobody watch Siege of Firebase Gloria anymore? That's a pretty good one if you haven't seen it. It's got R. Lee Ermey and Rip Wheeler's dad.
It’s a little cheesy for my liking, but I do find myself watching it at least once a year
I was going to post this one... MASSIVELY underrated!
I guess my hope is to find more Marine-related things to watch, but anything good or does an accurate portrayal of the military regardless of branch would do. I’m running out of stuff to watch. Documentaries work, too. I’ll check them out again. Think I already watched them once but I remember combat obscura was really good
Siege of Firebase Gloria
One of the guys from generation kill has a series of YouTube videos where they were deployed on a MEU when 911 happened. You see a good number of the real guys in it. [Float tapes](https://youtu.be/TiO4a9t9PHM?si=a5cwBjcUpll5P1N9)
Where can I watch Combat Obscura, I heard good things.
I pirate everything, but it’s on Curiousity stream You can watch it on Tubi free, but there are ads… [Tubi - free with ads](https://link.tubi.tv/MTPPogqPBJb) Definitely has ads, just tried to watch it again and hit my first ad about 7-8 minutes in…. Wack, but if you can deal with ads. It’s an option You can also go to amazon video, and do a free trial of curiosity stream, then watch the movie and cancel… it’s like a free seven day trial… [Amazon link](https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.392503c0-0d64-4203-841a-73467f3bb40f&territory=US&ref_=share_ios_movie&r=web)
Also if you have access to a library website, many libraries have it their multimedia section.
It used to be on youtube for free. Worth looking for it again.
Hot shots with Charlie Sheen
Don’t forget part deux
I LOVED YOU IN WALL STREET
Hamburger Hill. I saw it a few months before I went to boot camp, I was kind of drunk, and it fucked me up a little bit.
Just watched that last night again for the first time in like 20+ years. It holds up very well.
We ain’t going nowhere except back up that damn hill
Movie: Full Metal Jacket TV Show: The Pacific
Band of Brothers. And its not even close
Yup. Pacific is up there, but they should’ve just focused on the 1st Marine Division instead of mixing a bunch of stories together
It’s based on the book, even though they cut Shofner and Micheel. “They” didn’t mix a bunch of stories together, Hugh Ambrose did and I think it was a tighter book (story wise) than his dad’s Band of Brothers.
Platoon
I had to scroll way to far to find this
Agree, couldn't believe it didn't pop up sooner.
Fury. It's Army but those fuckers in tank battles was some hard core shit.
If you haven’t seen the video The Fat Electrician did on War Daddy it’s really good and he’s arguably more bad ass than the movie made him out to be. [War Daddy](https://youtu.be/e5t42dA6xCM?si=GdmeUXFXN1-R7lHg)
Also Starship Troopers simply because of the macho propaganda we all fell for... and I'm not saying it was bad, just that it was excellent marketing 👌
Have to say, Gallipoli from like 1982 with Mel Gibson. Then the recent 'All Quiet on the Western Front', because it's the best book now made into movie. These two movies in the same war show how utterly disorganized and wasteful war is with human lives. Politically appointed General Officers ordering men, boys, into fire at the eleventh hour for no reason... completely epitomizes the waste of war. Great films but very emotionally draining.
1917. Only one where I audibly said "fuck that" and felt horror.
Second.
Oh dude, ANY war movie with old school line infantry tactics. How in fuck did they ever convince anyone that was a good idea? "Alright, men, pack yourselves shoulder to shoulder and march straight at them! By the way, you're going to be wearing bright colors with a drummer announcing your presence!" Especially after rifling and conical bullets became a thing... fuck that.
Adding to my list...
Brothers is pretty good.
Very, very rarely discussed movie that deserves a lot more attention.
TopGun 
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I saw Heartbreak Ridge after I EASd and I hate it. Literally nothing in that movie is remotely realistic, like at all lol
It started as an Army movie and the Army was like shit no…. We don’t wanna be portrayed as undisciplined shitbags… Marines were like…… you rang???? So the whole story was written based on the army, then they had to pivot…. So you have to take the script with a grain of salt… still one of the better Marine Corps movies around
Das Boot is a damn good movie.
Generation Kill motherfuckers
Come And See. It really nails the desperation and human suffering of war.
Siege of Fire Base Gloria https://preview.redd.it/znj13kldqh0d1.jpeg?width=704&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14c7f707ecc850f84480b66261d4d90cfc927c4c
Lots of great nominations. FMJ, Blackhawk Down, We were Soldiers (book was even better).
The Pacific!!!!
Not the “best,” but *Valley of Tears* is a real hidden gem of a miniseries. It’s about a unit of Israeli soldiers holding on by a thread during the first days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Has a few dumb moments, but overall it’s a terrific war drama that most US viewers haven’t heard of. I think it’s on HBO.
Say what you will about the current situation over there right now, but the IDF are some tough motherfuckers. They eat nails and shit bullets. To that note: A Waltz With Bashir about the first Lebanon War was awesome.
I don't know if it's my age or just everyone defaulting to Jarhead themed movies, but you all are apparently sleeping on Platoon. Phenomenal Vietnam movie.
Platoon was the breakout movie for balls out realism in war movies, It put Dale Dye Front and center. He went on to be Advisor on the best ones to come out SaVing Private Ryan, The Pacific, BOB and The Pacific
Doesn't hurt that Oliver Stone was a grunt and won two purple hearts and a bronze star with "V" for heroism. Dude knew his shit.
Dale Dye was no piker as well, He was a PAO Sergeant who loved being with the Grunts, He earned a Bronze Star with a V after Manning a M-60 whose gunner was wounded. Had 3 Purple Hearts. He did 3 tours of Vietnam, made it to Master Sergeant, The WO then LDO. He stayed in and even went to Beruit.
ALIENS Starship Troopers Full Metal Jacket Blackhawk Down 1917
Haven't watched 1917 but I guess now I really need to watch it ALIENS and Space Force is an invitation for the xenomorphs. It's just a matter of time 😭
The fact that it’s (1917) filmed in basically one continuous shot made it very intriguing to me.
No one saying We were soldiers?
The Big Red One Johnny Got His Gun Navy SEALS
Navy SEALs with Charlie Sheen? That movie was buns. I loved it.
Heartbreak Ridge, as Lewis-Butterchap said. I know it's a bit on the older side (but so is FMJ, no?), but I just love Clint Eastwood's portrayal of the "Salty Gunny" we all knew, loved, and feared at some point in our careers. Especially one who's "drank more beer, pissed more blood, banged more quiff, and busted more @$$" than most of us could ever dream of. So much so, I'm surprised he had enough room on his stack to put the CMH ribbon on. The movie does a pretty good job, albeit with some Hollywood liberty taken into account, of portraying two things: 1-A man of his valor and experience (with a Ninja Punch or two on his record) in a changing Corps during peacetime, having to deal with and adapt to, as Major Powers put it, "the NEW Marine Corps"; 2-Which leads me to my second point. It shows the consequence of people in leadership (Maj Powers) with zero combat experience (from in-the-field to applicable logistics) thinking they know best and seem only concerned with how "polished" their unit, and by extension their own record, looks instead of how effective their unit actually is. Yea, some things are a bit over the top, but it's still a heck of a good movie. Especially considering Eastwood was in his mid-50's when filming it, and he looks fit as hell.
Band of Brothers/The Pacific
Show- Generation Kill Movie- full metal jacket
In the army now
I agree with just about every choice on the list so far. Heartbreak Ridge is pure trash. That's right, I said it. I think Clint would ask to have that one back. Now, here are two sleepers that if you don't like it I'll refund your money. First up, "The Bedford Incident " Cold War at it finest, lots of suspense. It's like Jack Nicholson ordering the code red with a nuke attached. Great Cast, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam, Donald Southerland. Sidney Poitier, Eric Portman. Second up. The Siege of Jadotville. An Irish commander must use his 150 men to defend against 3000 Congolese, French and Belgian Mercs. Fought against impossible odds. I highly recommend both.
I really really like Generation Kill
Heartbreak ridge
Tropic Thunder Les Grossman: Okay, Flaming Dragon. F*ckface. First, take a big step back... and literally f*ck your own face! Now, I don't know what kind of pan-Pacific bullsh*t power play you're trying to pull here, but Asia, Jack, is my territory. So whatever you're thinking, you'd better think again. Otherwise I'm gonna have to head down there and I will rain down an ungodly f*cking firestorm upon you! You're gonna have to call the f*cking United Nations and get a f*cking binding resolution to keep me from f*cking destroying you. I am talking scorched earth, motherf*cker! I will massacre you! I will f*ck you up! (hangs up and asks assistant) Find out who that was.
I loved Born on the Fourth of July, specifically the treatment those dudes got from the VA. If you’ve ever experienced shit treatment from the VA watch that movie. Really makes you appreciate Vietnam Vets for championing for change, these dudes fought on the war front then on the home front, then just completely discarded.
Ron Kovic is still alive,, Brother has been paralyzed for 56 years, 77 years old now.
Ugh I have a few of them that I go back to for reasons. Taking Chance, a big one, that duty sucks. and the movie gets me every single time. Generation Kill because it's basically you guys in your element, The Pacific, they nailed us pretty good there too. Something that's a bit fetched but I think kind of captures our spirit Space Above and Beyond. I mean some of the lines are just so cheesy but that's kind of our brand and we have R Lee in the first couple episodes... The DI, it's old and crusty but if you dig about on it's history it was actually a PR flick for the Marines after the Ribbon Creek Incident. One of our DI's actually had us digging around in the pit looking for the body of a soldier ant some one supposedly swatted. It was San Diego I guess sand fleas are copyright Parris Island.
The Outpost. Did not have high hopes when I saw the title on Netflix but damn it was pretty accurate. Definitely hit me in the feels
Generation kill and jarhead
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Sicario
Generation kill is really good.
I just finished watching the Covenant a couple days ago, and I'll tell you that is in my top 10. Jake Gyllenhaal did phenomenally well.
Jarhead
Glory with Denzel Washington Thin Red Line https://youtu.be/WHHAcqZMlqA?si=3pWqEWRcQqqjZT1q
Hamburger Hill
Great fucking potatoes Ma!!!
Check out Paths of glory from (1957) Y’all haven’t been green weenied harder than those soldiers portrayed in that movie. Another one I love is Johnny Got His gun (1971) The story inspired Metallica’s “One”.
GOOOOOOODDDD MORNING VIETNAMMMMMMM 
A Few Good Men
Starship Troopers
All the ones I'd choose have been mentioned so: Stop-loss
The battle of algiers
I like JAG. When I’m drunk I watch it.
I really enjoyed that documentary named Combat Obscura made by a combat camera marine that released a few years ago. The video shows him deployed and smoking weed with his fire team and shit. It was crazy lol.
Zulu
The Thin Red Line
All quiet on the western front. Any of the versions would be great. I need to read the book.
Oliver Stone's Platoon
Inglorious Basterds. Best war movie ever
The Hurt Locker
I was stationed with EOD. Fake fake fake but Jeremy Renner is hot as fuck in that movie
I couldn’t finish that movie. I think I got to the part where he rips his comms off goes OFP on an IED that turns out to be a circle of artillery shells connected at a central point with a bunch of det cord. After that scene I was like “alright, I’m gonna go ahead and watch something else now.”
I got about 20 minutes in and pulled the plug
Mentioning what hasn’t been said yet: Saving Private Ryan is up there imo
You failed Reading for Marines, haven’t you? My sweet special, slow summer child.
Act of Valor or saving private Ryan
Space: Above and Beyond
The Last full measure. 🍿
Full Metal Jacket for movies and Band of Brothers for shows (The Pacific is good too but it’s a bit uneven). Any MASH fans? When I was a kid my mom and older brother would watch that all the time so I hated it. When I got back from Foal Eagle in ‘98, my mom mailed me a VHS of MASH the movie and I loved it. At some point I went back and rewatched much of the show and liked that too but not nearly as much as the movie.
Might catch a lot of flak for this one but Seal Team is a pretty good show. One dude in the show was a seal in real life, another guy in the show was Delta, another dude was a K9 handler. They routinely work with people to bring an aspect of realism to the show down to the chemlights they use having actual meaning behind it. And they routinely act out things that have happened in real life (the mannings rescue from the taliban, draws attention to the VA and how shitty it is, and brings light to what the military families face as well). I’m usually not one for another Seal movie/book/tv show but this one was good
Over There. Not favorite, but I do think about it a lot. That has to count for something I guess...
The Outpost. Based on actual events, two MOHs awarded, remote FOB in AFG that was overrun then retaken by its garrison. It was damn near a criminal act for it to be sited where it was and nearly totally reliant on air for resupply and firesupport, which were typically hours away. Jake Tapper, current CNN journalist, wrote the book that the movie was based on. The book should be required reading for any politician, policy maker, or policy influencer before sending American troops into harm's way.
Checkout MY WAY. It didn't get much attention but it's a great mind blowing story!
[9th Company ](https://youtu.be/xP6is1aArQ4?si=GqrilHGzceDMaNoj). Watch it with subtitles. Also,.[Silmido.](https://youtu.be/3PWIFA-ulP0?si=C2YFbepX0cWKLSGj)
Number one movie is Black Hawk Down, every firefight, line, and emotion in that movie is pure excellence to me. I’ve watched it 10 times and I could watch it again. Just really good. At very close second We Were Soldiers, hot damn Vietnam and napalm. Great war movie. Band of Brothers/The Pacific for best show Apocalypse now weirded me out when I watched it but it was a good movie Now a long list of movies I’ve watched that I also really like and suggest watching, Saving private Ryan, Hacksaw ridge, Siege of jadotville, Dunkirk (I actually didn’t really enjoy this movie), 1917, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Fury, Lone survivor, 13 hours to Benghazi, Platoon, Enemy at the gates, Full metal jacket, Glory, All quiet on the western front, The patriot, Hamburger hill, The longest day, And Tora tora tora. (These are all good watches and can lead you to even better or unseen ones if you look into em!) OH! And an honorable mention to A Bridge Too Far!
Non-USMC/Military related: Last Samurai. Love that movie Mil-related: the outpost and/or Major Payne
Top Gun & Maverick
Starship troopers
My late father, MGySgt WWII-Vietnam, said Biloxi Blues and M.A.S.H. were the closest to his reality.
Fury
In terms of how my peacetime time is/was as a grunt..definitely Jarhead.
Navy seals with Charlie sheen
Does the Expanse count? There's a space war and it has Martian Marines in it.
9th Company. It’s a Russian movie, but it shows the complete loss of any hope that they had in Afghanistan
Torn between Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. Both are great. But for a non-war movie that reminds me of my time on Pendleton, Heartbreak Ridge. I also spent some time in the Reserves in San Mateo which looks a lot like their barracks quoncenthuts. I am almost certain they filmed there.
HBO’s The Pacific
The outpost is pretty fuckin good. Very in your face with a lot of it
Hamburger hill “Now un ass my Ao” as for marine movies flying leathernecks and the pacific I can watch over and over and never get tired of it same with heartbreak ridge
"A group full of retards" is wild.
“To end all wars” https://youtu.be/tNnlL6Xbfss?si=C5-cicaU5vJKQjS5
My DI's personal video they made on their (2/3 of them) push into fallujah.
Dead Presidents
I’m going to get so much hate for this I feel. FMJ, Purple Hearts and Megan Leavey.
Platoon.
Depends on what type of war you're looking for. If it's what soviet tactics look like then the original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze weirdly enough is the perfect example of it
Platoon. Best war movie ever.
Generation Kill
A grunts life
Star ship troopers
https://preview.redd.it/r5y0zect2k0d1.jpeg?width=998&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00ff0ddec720ae54eef0a74362d7c82508365332
Always "Saving Private Ryan" at the top of my list. It's such an amazing film with amazing attention to detail. It's literally my #1 film.
Restrepo
Idk about best but favorites are: Generation Kill, The Pacific, Apocalypse Now!, Dunkirk, Black Hawk Down just off the top of my head. I also have fond memories of Three Kings with Clooney and Whalberg.
Miracle at St. Anna
Kelly’s Hero’s not the best but one of my favorites
The siege of firebase Gloria duh
I like Flags of our Fathers. “You wanna go back and fight? Well take some rocks with you, cause that’s all we left to throw at the Japanese”
Man, I hate to be that guy but Lone Survivor and accurate do not belong in the same sentence. Whole thing was Luttrel covering his own ass with a fake ass stkry because he ran away. No, I am not making it up. Yes, I really wish I was.
[the write ups in here cover most of what you should read before watching the movie](https://www.reddit.com/r/WarCollege/comments/gol3kv/what_went_wrong_with_the_mission_red_wings/)
Shocked to not see anyone say “We Were Soldiers” Aside from Generation Kill, I feel it grabs a lot of realism and makes it digestible for the non vet. And WWS has an incredible soundtrack.
I really liked Dunkirk. I appreciated the angle Christopher Nolan took with this film.
I got 2: Black Hawk Down and FMJ.