From: boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com (Two days and a wake-up...)
Subject: Re: Best War Movies?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 09:37:52 GMT

In article <1992Aug22.023132.5100@cos.com>, cooper@cos.com (Gary Cooper) writes...

}} Full Metal Jacket.

} definately - does anyone know if this was a widescreen movie, if not,
} is the LD version any good? 

Virtually every movie made since the early-to-mid-50s is a "widescreen"
The question is whether is a matted, flat widescreen film or an anamorphic
widescreen film. To this day, Kubrick has only made two anamorphic films:
SPARTACUS and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Every other film of his has been
matted.

From the laserdisc releases, most of which have been supervised by him,
Kubrick appears to prefer a full-aperture composition. The "widescreen"
disc releases of LOLITA, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and BARRY LYNDON are all
very minimally matted; Criterion's DR. STRANGELOVE is a mixture of full-
screen and hard-matted scenes; and THE SHINING and FULL METAL JACKET were
released open-matte per Kubrick's wishes.

Yes, the full-screen laserdisc of FMJ is worth getting.

In article <1992Aug22.021237.4764@cos.com>, cooper@cos.com (Gary Cooper) writes...

} Maybe I shouldn't have said "ten best" - it was more like, ten very
} good war movies, representing, hopefully, differing areas of history.....
} (I tried to include, middle ages, naval, modern, etc. periods )

A change in definition which changes the picture considerably. One of the
problems with "Best" lists: instead of listing what they think are actually
the best, most people tend to go "Oh, and here's another good one that no
one's mentioned yet..."

}} THE KILLING FIELDS

} A good one, but I don't know if I'd classify this as, technically, a
} "war movie" (nit picky I know :>

It's as much a "war movie" as a number of the suggestions that have been made.

}} THE BIG RED ONE

} Very effective - Jerry, is a good LD version out (and, is it listed
} in "wide screen movies"?)

As far as I know, it's a matted widescreen film. I don't have the LD, so
I can't say what it's like, but I assume it's open-matte.

}} ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

} I'm assuming you don't mean the Richard Thomas version :>

I won't even dignify that with a response.

In article <1992Aug23.193337.9591@cos.com>, cooper@cos.com (Gary Cooper) writes...

} Another good "arctic" war movie is _49th Parallel_ with sir Larry
} (nazi spy in the great white north....)

It's certainly not "arctic" in the same sense as THE BEDFORD INCIDENT or
ICE STATION ZEBRA. The Nazis come ashore in the northern end of Hudson's
Bay, but they quickly make their way to more...hospitable climes. The
bulk of the film takes place in southern Canada, not the arctic.

Secondly, the way you phrased it makes it sound like Oliver *plays* a
Nazi spy. He doesn't. He has a relatively brief scene as a Canuck trapper
wit' zee outrageous acCENT. Me, I greatly prefer the scenes with Leslie
Howard as the writer "roughing it" (complete with a Matisse in his tent!)
in the woods.

-- 

	"She's my radiation baby.
	 She's my teenage fallout girl."

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, "The Mill", Maynard, MA)

    boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com