Posted on Jun 12, 2017
What film best captures what being in the military is truly like?
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Good or bad, what film accurately portrays life in uniform?
Posted in these groups: 
Film
Military Life
Film Military Life
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 197
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My grandfather who served in WWII, battle of the bulge, said Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers were the most realistic movies of WWII he had ever seen. He had a lot of trouble getting through the Band of Brothers episode “Bastogne”., but finished watching every episode. Man the stories he told and I believe everyone of them! After all he had 9 bronze stars that proved what he did
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CAPT Hiram Patterson
One of my uncles was part of Patton's relief forces at Bastogne and was awarded a bronze star.
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PO3 Dawn Holman Brown
Every time this movie comes on, my children (and now my grand daughter) point to the "green shirts" on the flight deck and yell, "THERE'S MOM" (or Nana) and start scream-singing "Danger Zone" at me....but yeah, flight deck life was pretty accurate in that one.
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Airborne Bill Hale Carolyn Byrd Robert Christian Mekel Angel movie
A group of young Americans have adventures as they advance through training to become paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division. The 82nd Airborne sergeants...
Airborne (a film from 1962)
Filmed at Fort Bragg, NC and included soldiers and NCOs of the 82nd. If you have been at Fort Bragg before the current billets construction you should recognize parts of the Old Division area and the area around the NCO Academy and the Golden Knights HQs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiGWTjhZUP4
Filmed at Fort Bragg, NC and included soldiers and NCOs of the 82nd. If you have been at Fort Bragg before the current billets construction you should recognize parts of the Old Division area and the area around the NCO Academy and the Golden Knights HQs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiGWTjhZUP4
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Lt Gen. Hal Moores' We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, was filmed as We Were Soldiers w/ Mel Gibson. The film is good, the book is better. The background just can't be developed fully in a two hour movie.
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CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025
One of the last military movies I watched was, “We were Soldiers Once and Young” that and “Blackhawk Down” were just too much for this old Soldier.
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Sailor movies; "The Finest Hours" recreation of a real life rescue. "Onion Head" - Andy Griffin as a CG cook. "Boatniks" - great movie about a patrol boat in Marina del Ray. "The Defection of Simas Kudirka" - true story about Russian sailor jumping aboard a cutter at sea during a political conference on the 200 mile fishing limit. One of my CO's was a junior officer when this incident occurred. He was the first officer to meet Kudirka and hid him from the Russians. "Master and Commander" - never get tired of watch this sea story set during the Napoleonic Wars.
But #1 realistic naval movie has got to be "Mister Roberts". I can relate to every character. Never was the laundry officer, but as Ensigns, my roommate and I pulled a lot of pranks.
But #1 realistic naval movie has got to be "Mister Roberts". I can relate to every character. Never was the laundry officer, but as Ensigns, my roommate and I pulled a lot of pranks.
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One would almost have to say it depends on the genre and personal taste/view of the viewer of movie(s)
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Well, it depends on what you're looking for. As weird as it sounds, based on my experience, M*A*S*H* (1970) is oddly close. Not in a literal sense, but the whole moments of intense activity interspersed with mind-numbing boredom sums up my service pretty well.
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CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025
CPL Eric Waters The first time I saw M*A*S*H was as a double feature with the first movie being Patton. I walked out on M*A*S*H, it was just too dumb for me. Now that I am much older, I can watch it!
I most enjoy the ‘Painless Parker’ segment about the dentist losing his “it”.
I most enjoy the ‘Painless Parker’ segment about the dentist losing his “it”.
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CPL Eric Waters
CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 - Yeah, that scene gets me. I need to watch it again, though; it's been like six years lol.
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Well, this is a hard one you can say pretty much all them, but Sands of Iwo Jima, Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge, The Last Detail, Midway (Old), Full Metal Jacket for Boot Camp, Fire Base Gloria (Before R. Lee Emery was Famous),
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