Gettysburg (1993)
Length: 261 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG for language and epic battle scenes
This four-and-one-half-hour Civil War epic chronicles the 1863 battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in which 50,000 Americans were killed or wounded. Starring Martin Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Jeff Daniels, the film was shot at Gettysburg National Park using thousands of Civil War reenactment enthusiasts. The movie gains in power as it goes along, and it deepened my appreciation of a defining moment in American history. My favorite scene is the one where a British observer remarks, "Same God, same language, same culture and history ... different dreams."
When Trumpets Fade (1998)
Length: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for graphic war carnage and strong language
Originally made for cable TV, this film is dedicated to the men who fought at the Battle of Hurtgen Forest during the latter part of World War II. More than 24,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in the huge, lengthy battle, which took place near the Belgian-German border. The movie focuses on only a few days of the fighting as experienced by the enigmatic Manning (Ron Eldard), who goes from Private to 2nd Lieutenant via battlefield promotions. I think this film is important because it reminds us of those who died in a battle that is now largely forgotten.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Tagline: "The mission is a man."
Length: 170 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence, and for language
In Steven Spielberg's tribute to the American citizen soldier of World War II, an elderly man visits a military cemetery in Normandy and his memories drift back to D-Day, June 6, 1944. Then, in the greatest combat sequences I know of, the film shows the massive landing at Omaha Beach. After surviving the landing, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) is assigned the task of leading a half-dozen men on a public relations mission to rescue a Private Ryan, whose three brothers have already been killed in combat. My favorite scene is where the soldiers talk quietly of home while listening to an Edith Piaf record in a bombed-out village.
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Tagline: "Fathers, brothers, husbands & sons."
Length: 138 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence, and for language
This emotionally engaging movie centers around a historic Vietnam War battle and preserves the elegiac tone of Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore's (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway's book. The first part of the film is set in 1964 Fort Benning, GA, where Lt. Col. Moore (Mel Gibson) trains an air cavalry unit. In the second part of the film, Moore's unit and photojournalist Joe Galloway (Barry Pepper) go in November, 1965, to the Ia Drang Valley, where they are involved in a grim battle against North Vietnamese troops. The outnumbered Americans acquit themselves well, but suffer unacceptable losses. The film is loaded with exciting combat footage, but what I like best about it is Mel Gibson's portrayal of real-life career Army officer Hal Moore.
Gunner Palace (2004)
Tagline: "Some war stories will never make the nightly news."
Length: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong language throughout, violent situations and some drug references
After major combat ended in the Iraq War, a large American military presence was needed in that Middle Eastern country to keep the fragile peace. This documentary chronicles the day-to-day lives of members of a U.S. Army unit that was based in a bombed-out Baghdad palace formerly used by Saddam Hussein's son. The situation is unstable, and American soldiers are killed by insurgent mortar attacks and improvised explosive devices. This movie showed me how much more than just combat skills is demanded of American military personnel today.
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