War what is it good for?..absolutely nothing.. Review on Five Best Hollywood War Movies

''How many times must the cannonballs fly , before they are forever banned....?'' . The rhetorical question asked by Bob Dylan in his classic songBlowing in the Wind . It has been years and still there isn't a day when we don't ask ourselves the same question . And it seems that the world is yet again ready to undergo the umpteenth experience of war . Villages have been swept away , civilisations destroyed , education systems ruined and some countries are still giving birth to generations and generations of disabled and crippled babies . What more needs to happen before there is an end to this monstrosity ?

Over the years , musicians , poets , writers and practitioners of almost all forms of art have asked this question through their respective mediums . Filmmakers couldn't have had lagged behind . A huge number of movies have been made under this genre . The best of which was able to portray the pity of war and its horror , rather than glorifying it . I must admit , I am not as big a war movie freak as some guys I know .But the movies that I'm going to tell you about are not just war movies but few of the classics who have and will stand the test of time in Hollywood .

5)From Here to Eternity:Directed by Fred Zinnemann , this movie was released way back in 1953 and went on to receive 8 Oscars .The illustrious cast featured names like Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift , Deborah Kerr , Frank Sinatra , Jack Warden etc . Based on the best-selling novel by James Jones, the plot is based in 1941 when America was still out of war . Some of you might say this movie didn't have a lot of war sequences and the events took a turn only midway into the film , when the Pearl Harbour incident occurs . But the war like ambience was well captured through the stories of the people of the regiment . I just wish this movie was made in colour , which would have done justice to the beautiful visuals and great locational shoots in Hawaii. But that lack of attraction won't prevent From Here To Eternity to remain true classic and very high standard for all future films dealing with Pearl Harbour .

4)The Longest Day:Based upon the book by Cornelius Ryan, The Longest Day is a tribute to , and the story of , the D-Day Invasion in World War II. Filmed gloriously in black and white and with an assemblage of international actors including names like John Wayne , Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, William Shatner, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, George Segal, Robert Wagner etc . Accurate in its facts , the movie portrays the ground battle for Normandy through the eyes of both sides. One gets an omniscient point of view in this movie with the thoughts of the German high command as well as an insight into the Allied force's thoughts and split decision-makings . The valiant portrayal of this crucial battle of World War II is a great introduction to anyone who is interested in learning about the invasion of Normandy . A masterpiece with class written all over it .

3)Bridge on The River Kwai :The 1957 David Lean classic that is regarded as the best anti-war movie ever made . The movie boasted a cast made up of names like William Holden , Alec Guiness , Jack Hawkins etc. The plot of this film is based on the novel by French author Pierre Boulle . The novel, as well and the film, found its basis in one often forgotten but ghastly episode of World War II .A battalion of British prisoners, commanded by Colonel Nicholson (played by Alec Guiness), refuse to take part in manual labour, which is, according to Geneva Convention, forbidden for officers. Of course, that leads to dramatic confrontation and inhuman torture . War as madness in this film is shown through four memorable characters, each of them displaying different levels of sanity, as well as different ways in which such madness manifests itself. Thank god this film was made in technicolour .

2)Saving Private Ryan:The film revolves around Captain John Miller and his troop who have survived the carnage of the D-day assault and have been ordered a new mission.......to find and retrieve Private James Ryan . Steven Spielberg directs this spectacular and breathtaking movie which deals with a whole lot of moral and intellectual dilemmas .You can say that the plot is pure Hollywood - risking the lives of seven men to save one. But it is extremely effective as it displays the meaningless of war itself . I cannot begin to count the pros as that would make this article neverending . But in a nutshell this movie boasts of breathtaking and award worthy visuals , spectacular historical-art direction which is immensely detailed , awesome sound effects .. you feel bullets around you , and an exceptional performance from the cast featuring Tom Hanks , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Matt Damon etc .

1)Apocalypse Now :The best that I've seen in the genre . The movie is directed by Francis Ford Coppola , my favourite director of all times . It features Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando , Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford etc . As the story opens, we meet Captain Benjamin L. Willard(played by Martin Sheen), a man way past his breaking point .Sheen's intimate, diary-like narration is the best part of the movie. The film's script is by John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola, inspired by Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness. Willard is given assignment to terminate Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando).But as the movie progresses Willard begins to admire him . With sweeping vistas, incredible sound effects and dramatic music and with soldiers seen frequently in mud, blood, sweat and war paint, Coppola paints a surrealistic view of the war from realistic parts .This hell on earth is best described by one of the men deep in the jungle who tells Willard, ''You're in the a**hole of the world.'' Willard keeps encountering leaderless troops, which can be viewed as a metaphor for the Vietnam War itself . Overall this movie is a classic of magnanimous proportions .

That sort of wraps it up and as usual I have a million movies which I should tell you about .So here's a short list of a few that I left out .

Pearl Harbour

etc.