Liking the film Zulu getting a lot of mentions. One of my personal favorites. There are a few facts about this film that you may not be aware of- When the troops see the zulus on the hillside for the first time it what was quite a sight however for every 12 zulus you thought you saw only 2 were actual people as the director used a trick of hammering 10 zulu shields on a long length of wood with one guy stood at each end (but the fact there was no CGI available at this time makes it a more real movie anyway) The zulus in the film were depicted as young men when in reality they were guys in their 40s/50s who were farmers by trade and not full time warriors. Sergeant Bourne in the film was depicted as a middle aged chap when in reality he was only in his early 20s and would have been the equivalent of someone coming straight out of Sandhurst and in to battle. Henry Hook was depicted as a lazy rude alcoholic when in real life his character was the absolute opposite and after service he worked in a library and would wear his medals at work. The two sets of soldiers never sang to each other. This was just used for effect in the film. There was no final big charge by the zulus the following morning of the initial battle that you see in the film. Around 3 am the skirmishes eventually petered out over night when the zulus got word that Chelmsford and his troops were heading that way after viewing the massacre at Islandwana. Sorry for being an anorak.
Really surprised The Martian isn't in anyone's list so far. And none for Daydream Believers.... outrageous! ;-)
1: The Dark Knight 2: Goodfellas 3: American Gangster 4: Inglorious Basterds 5: Wolf of Wall Street Special Mentions Step Brothers Shazam Jurassic park The Departed Shawshank Django unchained Avengers infinity war Up Snatch Forgetting Sarah Marshall Four lions
So many top notch films. It's only through reading a thread like this you realise how many you've actually seen.
In no particular order after much consideration The Martian The Matrix Layer Cake Skyfall 12 Years a Slave
Just remembered one from my childhood that used to terrify me but couldn't help but watch. Trollenberg Terror.
The Grinch Kpax Life of Brian Knight's Tale My Cousin Vinny Almost there.... Shawshank Ice Cold in A!ex Snatch High Fidelity Dead Poets Goodwill Hunting
Joining the anorak brigade, Colour Sergeant Bourne unlike Nigel Green who portrayed him in the film as the epitome of a sergeant major, was only something like 5ft 4” tall and hadn’t been in the army very long. He’d had a meteoric rise to Colour Sergeant passing over many other longer serving sergeants to the resentment of many of them. There were only around 17 Welshmen serving at Rorkes Drift, the regiment recruited from the West Midlands at that time. Private Hook was a professional soldier nothing like the malingerer in the film. At the premier of the film, his descendants walked out in disgust. One of my favourite films.
Forgot that one. I bought the book for an ex girlfriend when it came out, in the hope she would understand me better. She read it & dumped me shortly afterwards. Film was excellent.