The good folks at Command Post have a list covering the TOP MILITARY BOOKS TO FILMS. Never having been so proud as I won’t steal borrow from others, here are their top choices:
A FAREWELL TO ARMS
ALL’S QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
BLACK HAWK DOWN
BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER
There are many others but those were the first five listed. What are yours?
As five is the standard number around this place mine in no particular order are as follows:
Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker
We Were Soldiers Once…and Young by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway
Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy
Screw five, go 10!
I’m with your non-numbered 1, 3 and 4, adding Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and Rescue Dawn. Does “Escape from Laos” count as a military book?
Thin Red Line, Both versions.
The movie by that name had to be one of the most painful things I have ever sat through.
A few of the battle scenes were well-done, but the movie as a whole was a talky, pretentious mess. The scenes with Nick Nolte and Elias Koteas were the only compelling ones- if the film had focused on the conflict between those two characters and dumped the rest of them, it would have been great.
As I’ve said on here before, Terrence Malick should forget directing and just be a cinematographer. His films are incredibly beautiful to look at, but they’re so long, slow and self-indulgent that they’re a chore to sit through. If he wants to keep making movies, he either needs to hire a decent editor, or watch some David Lean movies to figure out how to make epic films that are worth watching.
Jones’ book was more a comedy. The names and nicknames of a lot of the soldiers were feminine names like Doll, Big Queen, etc.
Days of Heaven was a beautiful film,Texas Panhandle.Short,too.
1) Twelve O’Clock High
2) Path’s of Glory
3) Command Decision
Called my Pop and these were 3 that he thought of, we didn’t think of any more because we got to discussing them…
Sorry, it is: Paths of Glory
Books to film…
300
We Were Soldiers
All Quiet on the Western Front — one of the few movies ever that captures the book perfectly (the other is To Kill A Mockingbird)
Band of Brothers
The Longest Day
I FINALLY saw and now own “We Were Soldiers.” It was great to see a lot of what we covered in there – the 11th Air Assault patches – even saw a 7th ID patch on Lt. Col. Moore – which was the Division my Dad served in. I’ll definitely have to read the book!
We Were Soldiers was a hard book to get through for me, it just wasn’t an easy read, much better on the screen IMHO. You should get and read it, just don’t expect what you saw in the film.
This isn’t definitively military, but I would love a movie based on the Bowden book “Killing Pablo.”
Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284236/combined
I have heard about this being made for some time now (some time meaning many years)…I’ll believe it when I see it.
Yeah. It has been in development hell for a decade.
I should add Ladislas Farago’s Patton which was Francis Ford Coppola’s source material for his Patton screenplay for the film.
Great book — GREAT film.
+1944
From Here to Eternity
The Young Lions
The Thin Red Line
Band of Brothers (and Dick Winters’ book Beyond Band of Brothers)
The Killer Angels (Gettysburg)
Was Bridge on the River Kwai from a book?
Yes, the same guy wrote the story Planet of the Apes was based on.
How about Once an Eagle?I watched a TV version in the early 70s which starred a young Sam Elliot…recall it was very good(didn’t read the book till long after).
Yes it’s a book by Anton Myrer, it’s on many military reading lists.
One of the best parts of the book and film was about the inter World War era,1919-1942,the dusty forts of the Plains.
All of mine are here. Even if Band of Brothers isn’t a movie, it — and Black Hawk Down — the first two that came to mind. Not only great books, but great onscreen.
Would “Star Wars” fall into the military category? Just asking. Please don’t snark! I’m just being me!
“Star Wars” isn’t based on a book. There was a novelization later after they made the movie.
“Starship Troopers” would qualify, but the film bears little resemblance to the awesome book.
My personal favorite is “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” from the James Michener book.
I liked that film a lot, too. The story and actors are great – and we see the beginnings of those rotary-winged aviators – who hang it all on the line for the guys on the ground (or ditched at sea.) (Great “in-camera” miniature work, too.)
I remember watching it as a pre-teen and I couldn’t get past Mickey Rooney and the top hat. It is an awesome movie. A couple others from the Korean War based on books were “The Hunters” and “Pork Chop Hill”.
I agree Kenn. Some great special effects way before the advent of CGI!
You all may want to wake up! I’m on a run for the elusive 10-peat here!
I’m here!
Oops! Mine was accidentally stuck in spam
As well it should have been…along with mine!
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