Greatest Navy Movie Ever Made

[Charlestonguy]

This is not a movie but pretty cool high speed turn. enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzveUz-W ... re=related

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

I love PT 109 .

[chuck]

The greatest Navy movie ever made or just the greatest movie with a navy setting ever made?

[jester63]

My top Fav's have already been said, but are as follows:

1. Tora Tora Tora
2. Sink The Bismarck
3. Run Silent, Run Deep
4. The Final Countdown
5. Top Gun

I have to agree with all the Pearl Harbor smack talk. There are several parts in that movie that made me cringe too. I never understood why with the CG as good as it is today, why they felt the need to set off explosives on the decks of very identifiable modern warships!!! They even had the USS Missouri, which was still under construction at the time, in one scene in the movie! Not too mention the fact that the two men that did get off the ground in their P-40's did not participate in the Doolittle raid! I realize that it had to happen for the plot of the movie, but come on! Hadn't they screwed up enough already! Way to many bad scenes, and historical inaccuracy. I liked the CG for the most part though.

I unfortunately have to say I did kinda liked Midway........ Ok, Ok, Take it easy guys! lol Definitely not as good as Tora Tora Tora by a long shot, but I still kinda liked it. I guess its a guilty pleasure.

[phil gollin]

.............. Not too mention the fact that the two men that did get off the ground in their P-40's did not participate in the Doolittle raid! ...........

GOSH !

I didn't know that one of them had been in the RAF, taken part in the Battle of Britain and resigned in the middle of a war and THEN went to Pearl Harbor and the Doolittle Raid !

WOW !

.

[jester63]

So very true Phil!!! I didn't even think about that too! Yea that is just absolutely ridiculous! Wow, now that I think back on that movie a little more so many more errors come to mind! AHHHH........ When will we ever see another GOOD, HISTORICAL Naval movie!? You would think that with as good as CG is nowadays they could really make a decent film! Of course it does take more then great CG to make a decent Film, but still.

I had heard awhile back that when James Cameron had gone out to film the wreck of the Bismarck, that he had had plans to make a movie of the Battle to sink the Bismarck. Maybe not, but that is what I had read on the internet. Has anybody else ever heard this?

[Filipe Ramires]

I had heard awhile back that when James Cameron had gone out to film the wreck of the Bismarck, that he had had plans to make a movie of the Battle to sink the Bismarck. Maybe not, but that is what I had read on the internet. Has anybody else ever heard this?

Nothing more then rumours so far I believe. But mark my words, if such movie comes to the theatres there will be a LOT of criticism regarding accuracy!!! I can see people with note pads taking notes if the colour of the top of Bismarck main turrets was correct or not!!!! The madness.........

[jester63]

Yea, I totally agree with you there! Especially with a Bismarck film, there will be much criticism!

[bengtsson]

What gets me is that with so many true stories that are simply amazing, the makers of movies just have to go overboard with everything! Of course they are playing to an audience that knows zip about navies, warships and history, they want to get the 12-25 year olds into the theaters and will create just about any distortion of reality to get them into the seats.
Modern warships used as props in WWII movies simply drives me bananas! Use a painted backdrop if you have to, but don't use modern warships to depict WWII warships. I hate that!

Bob B.

[G-Rider]

What gets me is that with so many true stories that are simply amazing, the makers of movies just have to go overboard with everything! Of course they are playing to an audience that knows zip about navies, warships and history, they want to get the 12-25 year olds into the theaters and will create just about any distortion of reality to get them into the seats.
Modern warships used as props in WWII movies simply drives me bananas! Use a painted backdrop if you have to, but don't use modern warships to depict WWII warships. I hate that!

Bob B.

Be patient. The time is fast approaching when computer graphics shall rule the viewing screen, both small and large. This evolution can be witnessed on The Military Channel. While coverage of the USS Enterprise (CV6) in Battle 360 still had the chunky look and feel of EGA graphics, the more modern renditions of sea battles are taking on the appearance of the movies that utilized older ships, some of which had participated in them. For comparative purposes, think back to the 1956's "Pursuit of the Graf Spee" that featured the original HMNZS Achilles, the remaining survivor of the battle off the River Plate. If only the computer artists can depict these warships and their actions more accurately. Today's computer power is making such presentations possible.

It would be worthwhile to the movie producer and the audience. Personally, I would like nothing better than to see a remake of a movie such as "Sink the Bismarck", with all of the action sequences under computer graphics, especially the major battles. Or in the case of the "Graf Spee", it would have been delightful to have seen HMS Ajax and HMS Exeter as the Leander-class and York-class cruisers that they respectively were instead of using Town/Colony class substitutes. Or, for that matter, a real-looking Panzerschiffe instead of the USS Salem. The contribution to historical accuracy might well be enough to keep the 12-25 year-olds interested and enthralled because if true fact is not shown, then it might as well be fiction, i.e., unbelievable slam-bang fiction.

GR

[jester63]

I would love to see a remake of Sink the Bismarck! The Military channels show "Dogfights" had an episode that explained the whole Bismarck engagement with the Hood! It was really good. The CG was amazing in it IMO. I certainly hope to see movies like this in the near future!

[Lesforan]

I think the worst misrepresentations in "Sink the Bismarck!" are personal. Adm. Lutjens is portrayed as an idiotic, fire-breathing Nazi. And Capt. Lindemann is portrayed as a wimpy yes man.

The character representing Lindemann simply follows Lutjens around with a pained look on his face, doing everything Lutjens wants without question. Lutjens, for his part, micromanages the ship to the point of giving helm orders while Lindemann stands silent.

In the real battle, it was Lindemann who demanded Lutjens allow him to return fire on the British ships. He protested, "I will not allow my ship to be shot out from under my ass!"

Lutjens was reluctant to return fire even while being fired upon. He was under strict orders not to engage British capital ships.

[bengtsson]

German large surface warships get a bum rap because they were under orders not to engage the Royal Navy on anything other than superior terms. You can see the logic behind it as British commerce was the target. There is no way the German Navy had the ships to get into attrition warfare with the Royal Navy. You also have the wartime bias that creeps into nearly all movies. Victor's history is especially true when it comes to movies. I almost got ill watching the Pearl Harbor movie. It's nuts to see characters displaying attitudes of a young person in 2000 as against the young men who actually served in the military 1939-45. But you have to relate to the audience, and that is the 12-25 year olds.

Bob B.

[Admiral John Byng]

I agree, Sink the Bismarck is a pretty bad film and a new film (if it was well done) would be nice.
I enjoy the performace by Kenneth More but I agree with Lesforan that the Germans are not portrayed well at all.

I think the tragedy of Hood and Bismarck is one of the most interesting naval stories.

[ingura]

....

[MichelB]

Remember the Enigma stuff?

Peter.

Yes, pretty bad, but it had Her Kateness . Redeems everything.

[Lesforan]

Yeah. A little Kate goes a long way.

Perhaps a better plot twist would be for Bismarck to somehow escape from USCGC Modoc, and run into the big guns of USS Texas.

The Captian of the Texas then must make a tough decision: violate US neutrality by engaging Bismarck, or stand by and watch Bismarck decimate the convoy of helpless nuns.

By the way, what are the nuns doing there anyway? Bait for Gibson?

[chuck]

What do you expect. Think about a large part of the audience that a Big budget Hollywood film must sell itself to in order to make money, the only things about the world outside of their Mega Church community that they've ever learned they've learned through snippets that could easily pass for advertisements for action figures. Not only do they not know many specifics about the real world, they lack rudimentary intellectual framework on which specific facts can slot into position even if given to them.

[Dave Wooley]

For me "The Bedford Incident" whilst just a story was made at the time of the Cuba missile crisis which gave added plausibility to the story line . A classic ASW Cold War thriller .
Dave Wooley

[Lesforan]

While I don't think any one movie stands out in this catagory, I think "The Hunt for Red Oktober" is as good as any.
"Flight of the Intruder" and "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" are also very good, although more aviation-orientated.

The naval warfare scenes from "Red Storm Rising" would make a great naval movie by themselves.