Great movies of all time

scoutpilot said:
Breaker Morant.
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A great movie. When I was in IOAC (more or less snoozing thru classes in Bedroom4 at Ft Benning) it was part of the curriculum on the Law of Land Warfare. I read Lt Whitton's book- "Scapegoats of Empire"- kind of a tough read, but one came away convinced that they were acting under orders promulgated by Kitchener himself. Doesn't make murder right- but they were quite clearly scapegoats sacrificed for a political purpose- something which has never happened since:rolleyes:

There were some great quotes from the Movie:
The summation of the Defense attorney is worth hearing and understanding. His defense wouldn't hold water, today- nor did it then but it does force you into some serious thought:
The fact of the matter is that war changes men's natures. The barbarities of war are seldom committed by abnormal men. The tragedy of war is that these horrors are committed by normal men in abnormal situations, situations in which the ebb and flow of everyday life have departed and have been replaced by a constant round of fear, and anger, blood, and death. Soldiers at war are not to be judged by civilian rules, as the prosecution is attempting to do, even though they commit acts which, calmly viewed afterwards, could only be seen as unchristian and brutal. And if, in every war, particularly guerrilla war, all the men who committed reprisals were to be charged and tried as murderers, court martials like this one would be in permanent session. Would they not?

I say that we cannot hope to judge such matters unless we ourselves have been submitted to the same pressures, the same provocations as these men, whose actions are on trial.
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And my favorite for drama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaAQsxAQYHg
and finally the last line:
"Well Peter, this is what comes of empire building"
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And the song sung at the end is truly evocative of the era: "Soldiers of the Queen": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7M91XGuFY

In short- GREAT NOMINATION Scoutpilot:thumb: for those who have never seen it- Breaker Morant is one of those "Must See" movies.
 
Thinking of British colonial times... The Man Who Would Be King, with Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer. Kipling's short story with the same title is a good read also.
 
bruno said:
A great movie. When I was in IOAC (more or less snoozing thru classes in Bedroom4 at Ft Benning) it was part of the curriculum on the Law of Land Warfare. I read Lt Whitton's book- "Scapegoats of Empire"- kind of a tough read, but one came away convinced that they were acting under orders promulgated by Kitchener himself. Doesn't make murder right- but they were quite clearly scapegoats sacrificed for a political purpose- something which has never happened since:rolleyes:

There were some great quotes from the Movie:
The summation of the Defense attorney is worth hearing and understanding. His defense wouldn't hold water, today- nor did it then but it does force you into some serious thought:

And my favorite for drama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaAQsxAQYHg
and finally the last line:
And the song sung at the end is truly evocative of the era: "Soldiers of the Queen": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7M91XGuFY

In short- GREAT NOMINATION Scoutpilot:thumb: for those who have never seen it- Breaker Morant is one of those "Must See" movies.
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Many thanks. I was lucky to find it on the server in Afghanistan a few trips back. Truly a fantastic movie, well-written and well-acted.

A few years ago I was pulling some rough duty at a joint special ops course in the UK (that was a rough week of TDY, just ask my liver). The "Soldiers of the Queen" poem came up as they did an excellent block of instruction on the Brits' first foray into Afghanistan. i think a lot of folks don't realize that Op Herrick is their second shot at that place.
 
"Men of Harlich" is a great scene.


"Hitch, Hitch you are alive, I saw you" "I am? Thank you very much sir"
 
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Hamburger Hill

The frontal assaults up a steep hill against a well entrenched enemy were very authentic and gritty.
 
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