5 Favorites #27: 5 Favorite Memorial Day Films

Posted

May 24, 2011

Wesley Lovell

Tags:

Every week, we’ll pose a new “five favorites” question. You just list your five favorites that fit in that category (preferably in preference order) and you’re welcome to discuss and debate the selections and see just how much you do or do not have in common with others. If you want to take a look back at our past articles to comment or enjoy, here is a post set aside to track all of our articles.

This week’s topic might be a bit difficult to qualify, but in honor of Memorial Day this coming weekend, feel free to share with us your 5 favorite films that best embody the spirit of or celebration of Memorial Day.

What are your 5 Favorite Memorial Day Films?

Comments

3 responses to “5 Favorites #27: 5 Favorite Memorial Day Films”

Peter J Patrick

May 25, 2011

I don’t know of any movies about Memorial Day, but since the day is meant to commerorate the lives of thsoe who died in war, I’ll mention:

Wings (1927)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
The Longest Day (1962)
Platoon (1986)
The Tillman Story (2010)

Special mention: In Country (1989) about a young girl who never knew her father who was killed in Vietnam before her birth, ends with a moving scene at Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I’m glad peole are still discovering Go for Broke! which I first discovered in a revival in the 1970s on a double bill with Battleground.

Log in to Reply
Todd Smith

May 24, 2011

I’ll do something similar to Mike, only I will pick some of my favorite films that pay tribute to American soldiers, other than the excellent ones Mike chose:

Platoon (1986)

Seargent York (1941) One of my favorite American male lead performances.

Go For Broke! (1951) First heard of it and saw it earlier this year. A TV documentary led me to imdb.com, where I found a link to the complete film. It is about the 442nd Regiment that fought with great distinction in Italy and France in WWII. They were made up entirely of Americans of Japanese descent. Their commanding officer, played by Van Johnson, undergoes the expected change from bigotry and skepticism to admiration and respect but it is not preachy. Oscar nominated for Story And Screenplay but lost to An American In Paris.

Patton (1970)

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Log in to Reply
Mike Kelly

May 24, 2011

I’ll just pick five films from different wars:

Glory
Paths of Glory
Saving Private Ryan
Apocalypse Now
The Hurt Locker

Log in to Reply