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The Best World War II Movies Tournament

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jkag89
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11:05a, 2/1/21
137 films (plus 8 miniseries) categorized into 18 brackets. The winners of each bracket will be seeded by total votes received. The winners of the 8/11 seed and 9/10 seed matchups will then faceoff against each other to make it to the Elite Eight. I don't think there is any major omissions expect for the late Soviet Era Russian film Come and See which made almost every list of best WWII films that I came across. I had originally planned to have an Eastern Front bracket but there really are not many films on this aspect of the war outside of those made by the Russians. Considering few here have likely seen it, including myself, I opted to leave it out. Seeding differs for each bracket, sometimes done upon personal favorites, sometimes on IMDb rating and . sometimes on what made interesting match-ups Please note if one of your favorites is not included in a particular bracket there is a good chance it will be in another. Please go through all the brackets before voicing your complaints.

VOTE HERE!

The Battles
Also considered: Guadalcanal Diary, Battle of the Bulge (not a bad popcorn flick but horribly inaccurate), Pearl Harbor Decided to include both Midway films as a single entry since both have their strengths and flaws.

The Ground War
Also considered: The Story of G.I. Joe, A Walk in the Sun, Overlord (1975) Attack

The War on the High Seas
Also considered: The Cruel Sea, PT109

The Air War
Also considered: . Sole Survivor (1970), Dive Bomber (Meh plot but great Technicolor footage of US Naval aircraft in service just prior to the American entrance into the war), Red Tails, Reach for the Sky, Yank in the RAF, The Wind Rises, Above and Beyond

Mini-Series
Also considered: Liberator, Pearl

WWII Biopics
Also considered: The Fighting Sullivans, (The Sullivan Brothers), Pride of the Marines (Al Schmid), Hell to Eternity(Guy Gabaldon), MacArthur (Douglas MacArthur)

John Wayne Movies
Others considered: The Fighting Seabees, The Wings of Eagles, The Sea Chase

Commando Movies

POW Movies
Others considered: Victory, A Man Escaped,, Slaughterhouse-Five, Hart's War

The Resistance
Also considered: This Land Is Mine, Hangmen Also Die!, Army of Crime, Soldier of Orange, The Scarlet and the Black, A Man Escaped, Is Paris Burning?, The Book Thief

Spy/Espionage Films
Also considered: O.S.S., All Through the Night, Charlotte Gray

Holocaust Related Films
Also considered: Son of Saul, Au Revoir les Enfants, Julia, The Zookeeper's Wife, Jakob the Liar, The Book Thief

The War from the German, Japanese and Italian Perspective
Also considered: The Tin Drum, Lore, Blind Spot. Hitler's Secretary, Fires on the Plain (1959), The Burmese Harp, El Alamein - The Line of Fire, Paisan

The Homefront
Also considered: I'll Be Seeing You, The Major and the Minor, 1941

Dark Comedies

Light Hearted Comedies
Also Considered:: The Secret War of Harry Frigg, 1941 (Face it folks, except for the first scene it is not very funny), The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Biloxi Blues, McHale's Navy, Hail the Conquering Hero, I Was a Male War Bride

Sci-Fi / Comic Book / Horror / Fantasy (Seeding for this bracket: two films from each of the four categories are pitted against each other, will randomize matchups after the first round)
Also considered: The Philadelphia Experiment, The Bunker. Apt Pupil, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Book Thief

Miscellaneous (Hodgepodge of films that don't fit neatly in any of the categories)
Also considered: The Mortal Storm. Emperor (2012), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

VOTE HERE!
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Fenrir
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11:45a, 2/1/21
Kelly's Heroes is considered a dark comedy?
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jkag89
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In reply to Fenrir • 11:53a, 2/1/21
It certainly not a typical WWII movie. What bracket would you have put it in?
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Zombie Jon Snow
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12:06p, 2/1/21
AG

A little perplexed about the snub for "Conspiracy" especially considering some of the borderline movies listed here and it is not even listed as a "considered" film.

Was mentioned a few times in the thread on fav WWII movies.

Huge cast, historically accurate and important (imho).

Won several awards both Golden Globes and Emmy's with several more noms.


Should have either been in Holocaust (it involved the planning of the "Final solution") or in German perspective as it was the inside story of the entire Nazi leadership and how they came to adopt the plan at the Wannsee Conference. Or in Misc at least.

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One Eyed Reveille
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12:13p, 2/1/21
AG
Kelly's Heroes is a Anti-War Comedy.
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Fat Bib Fortuna
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12:14p, 2/1/21
Quote:
The Final Countdown
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jkag89
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In reply to Zombie Jon Snow • 12:18p, 2/1/21
Admit it should have been at least mentioned, but what films included in those concerning the Holocaust do you consider "boarderline.?" That is a pretty strong list including those that did not make the cut.

Edit: The Misc. bracket was meant for those films that didn't neatly fit into any of the other categories, IMO the only film that is not a quality film is We've Never Been Licked and I'm fairly certain you understand why the film is not that much of a stretch to include on TexAgs.
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G Martin 87
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12:18p, 2/1/21
AG
Wow, that's an insane amount of work to come up with this. Deserves kudos, applause, and mad respect just for that alone.
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Zombie Jon Snow
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In reply to jkag89 • 12:32p, 2/1/21
AG
jkag89 said:
Admit it should have been at least mentioned, but what films included in those concerning the Holocaust do you consider "boarderline.?" That is a pretty strong list including those that did not make the cut.

For borderline I meant in the entire list of 137 movies - some that are even borderline being bout WWII (Raiders for example) but it wouldn't fit in that category which is why I included German Perspective and even Misc as possible areas for it to reside.

It is not a typical WWII movie - it is basically about a meeting and there is no fighting or battles of any kind represented so it is certainly different. But there were few more important subjects in the planning of WWI basically every single holocaust story (unfortunately) owes its origin to what happened at the Wannsee Conference.

But to give you a few instead of:

Holocaust:
- The Reader is also really just about a trial so similar in some respects to me Conspiracy is at least comparable to that

Perspective:
- Two Women a foreign movie very few probably even know that does not even have subtitles.

Misc:
- So Proudly We Hail is obscure at best and very old, not that "important" in the context of the war but certainly personal


Anyway - not that I think it would win this contest and I do respect the lengths you went to to put this together it is impressive. I'm just gonna chalk it up to an oversight.

But anyone that hasn't seen it - if you have an interest in holocaust history at all - highly recommended.



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et98
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12:36p, 2/1/21
AG
That is a very thorough list. I consider myself a history buff, but the number of movies I haven't seen is a little eye opening. Thank you for all the hard work!
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jokershady
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12:39p, 2/1/21
AG
Awesome job! However.....

Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds

Please do us all a favor and find a place for this under the Fantasy category you made
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Zombie Jon Snow
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In reply to jokershady • 12:41p, 2/1/21
AG
jokershady said:
Awesome job! However.....

Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds

Please do us all a favor and find a place for this under the Fantasy category you made

It's under Dark Comedies - it is misspelled in the title (intentionally)

Listed as Inglourious Basterds.

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Hey Nav
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12:52p, 2/1/21
AG
Great list. Appreciate all the thought put into this.

Next time you do this, please consider adding When Trumpets Fade (it's an HBO film). Great cast. The backdrop is the Hurtgen Forest campaign - what a mess that was. One of my favorites. (and I think Battle of the Bulge is pretty bad).
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jkag89
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In reply to Zombie Jon Snow • 12:52p, 2/1/21
Zombie Jon Snow said:
jokershady said:
Awesome job! However.....

Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds

Please do us all a favor and find a place for this under the Fantasy category you made

It's under Dark Comedies - it is misspelled though if you did search for it

Listed as Inglourious Basterds.

an extra "u" in Inglorious.

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Claude!
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1:15p, 2/1/21
Raiders and Last Crusade head to head in the first round - that one was tough.

Band of Brothers has to be the odds-on favorite to win the whole thing, doesn't it?
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jkag89
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In reply to Zombie Jon Snow • 1:21p, 2/1/21
As stated,, the Holocaust bracket is full of excellent films. I opted for The Reader over Son of Saul, Au Revoir les Enfants & Julia (all highly praised films) due to the fact I believed it was better known.

The Perspective bracket was mostly intended to include films from the nations in question and all but Letters from Iwo Jima meet that requirement. As it is the Italian perspective has only two films. You argue for Conspiracy based upon awards, Two Women also has its own list Accolades, including Sophia Loren's Best Actress Oscar. I agree that today it is somewhat obscure, still it it worth a watch. I am sorry I could not find a link to a video that included English subtitles, they do exist.
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Chipotlemonger
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In reply to jkag89 • 1:31p, 2/1/21
AG
This is great, thanks for putting it together!
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jkag89
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In reply to Fat Bib Fortuna • 1:44p, 2/1/21
IMO, as fun a scene as any in Top Gun
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jm94
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1:46p, 2/1/21
AG
I like how Pearl Harbor didn't even make the bracket.
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Zombie Jon Snow
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In reply to jkag89 • 1:50p, 2/1/21
AG
ha

always knew Basterds was misspelled i literally never noticed the Inglourious part
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jokershady
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In reply to Zombie Jon Snow • 1:54p, 2/1/21
AG
Zombie Jon Snow said:
ha

always knew Basterds was misspelled i literally never noticed the Inglourious part
holy crap same here
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Zombie Jon Snow
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In reply to jkag89 • 1:54p, 2/1/21
AG
to be fair I argue for Conspiracy based on more than awards:


cast
importance to the (true) story of the Final Solution
insight into the Nazi justification and political influence to adopt it
relevance to the criteria of this poll
others also nominating it
recency
production quality
and yes awards

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bluefire579
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1:56p, 2/1/21
AG
A lot that were easy choices in this round are going to be very difficult in coming rounds.

I think Letter from Iwo Jima vs Grave of the Fireflies was the matchup that gave me the most pause, that was a tough choice for me.
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Silky Johnston
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1:58p, 2/1/21
This made me realize that there are A LOT of WWII movies that I have never seen.
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cbr
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2:03p, 2/1/21
AG
i'd love to add a few but thats a great list. this should be fun.
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jkag89
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In reply to Zombie Jon Snow • 2:33p, 2/1/21
Zombie Jon Snow said:
relevance to the criteria of this poll
I admit my oversight in at least not mentioning in others films considered but since I'm the one who took the time and effort to put the tournament together shouldn't I have the final say which films meet the criteria of the poll? I understand it is a film you believe belongs, I also think I adequately responded to why it did not make the cut in the bracket it best fit and also why I did not include it in the other brackets you felt it could have been included.
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cbr
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2:35p, 2/1/21
AG
so how do we track results and ridicule people making dumb choices? After all this is texags....

jk.
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G Martin 87
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In reply to Silky Johnston • 2:43p, 2/1/21
AG
Silky Johnston said:
This made me realize that there are A LOT of WWII movies that I have never seen.
Yes, there were several matchups that I couldn't vote because I hadn't seen both movies. Need to correct that and come back to vote on those.
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Cinco Ranch Aggie
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3:42p, 2/1/21
AG
Some real tough calls in there. Heck of a lot of work putting this together, and it does paint a picture of just how many movies have been made about WWII.

As for 1941 ... I'd have included it somewhere, but that's IMO. I look at that movie and say, it has John Belushi flying a Flying Tiger, what's not to like?
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jkag89
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3:45p, 2/1/21
50 votes in not a single match-up has a 100% response rate. Three however have received 100% of the vote of those opting to vote on the match-up. Two are predictable, one a complete surprise. Anyone willing to hazard a guess on those "films" currently receiving all the votes cast in their match-up?
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Ferg
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3:57p, 2/1/21
After seeing all the categories my first thought was of Ballantine Books, and their WW 2 Series.
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jkag89
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In reply to Cinco Ranch Aggie • 3:57p, 2/1/21
Cinco Ranch Aggie said:
Some real tough calls in there. Heck of a lot of work putting this together, and it does paint a picture of just how many movies have been made about WWII.

As for 1941 ... I'd have included it somewhere, but that's IMO. I look at that movie and say, it has John Belushi flying a Flying Tiger, what's not to like?
It is not included because it failed miserably at what it was trying to accomplish. I did come so very close to including in the Homefront bracket. If it tried less at trying to be outrageously funny, used more subtle forms humor, it might have worked. It certainly is a great looking film that did a pretty good job at capturing the mood and concerns of the country albeit in a very exaggerated manner following the attack of Pearl Harbor.
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PDEMDHC
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In reply to Claude! • 4:07p, 2/1/21
AG
Claude! said:
Raiders and Last Crusade head to head in the first round - that one was tough.

Band of Brothers has to be the odds-on favorite to win the whole thing, doesn't it?
I know they deal with Nazis, but I honestly don't consider either of these to be WW2 movies as it occurs a few years before war breaks out. I'm a literal person in that at least part of the movie, to me, has to be during the war itself.

Raiders is 1936
Temple of Doom is 1933 (odd right -it's a sequel feel but really a prequel)
Last Crusade is 1938... you would have thought someone on the Nazi side knew of Dr. Jones... guess they did Nazi see it coming

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Zombie Jon Snow
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In reply to jkag89 • 4:21p, 2/1/21
AG
jkag89 said:
Zombie Jon Snow said:
relevance to the criteria of this poll
I admit my oversight in at least not mentioning in others films considered but since I'm the one who took the time and effort to put the tournament together shouldn't I have the final say which films meet the criteria of the poll? I understand it is a film you believe belongs, I also think I adequately responded to why it did not make the cut in the bracket it best fit and also why I did not include it in the other brackets you felt it could have been included.

Relevance to the criteria of a WWII movie - which is stretched to a comical degree in some of these films.

The idea that it is not among the top 144 actual WWII movies is absurd. Sorry.

I suppose I have a problem with giving equal weight by representation to each category - such that movies like Hellboy, A League of their Own, The Producers, The Rocketeer, Top Secret, etc. etc. etc. are included - when there are much more deserving movies that are actually about WWII.

It might not be among the top 8 holocaust movies - which is why I suggested other categories - but it's not lower than some of those movies which are in some cases a farce or fictional but happen to be set against the backdrop of WWII and not actually a WWII movie.

But it's your poll.

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investorAg83
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4:23p, 2/1/21
AG
Love this post.. and, as complete as your listing is you have one very notable omission; 'The Eagle Has Landed' (Commando)
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