Title/Series

Date

Notes

Chronos Videos

1990s-

A great series of documentary videos from the UK. Mostly Germanic in nature (series on Luftwaffe A/C, Panzers, and U-Boats), there are a few titles on other topics. My favourite: From Remagen to the Elbe, one hour of all-colour footage of US armour at the end of the war. Superb!

Great Planes

1980s-

An Australian series of one-hour documentaries on a variety of planes, including such esoteric types as the XB-70A and the B-36. Full of rare footage, these are highly recommended.

Sahara

1943

Humphrey Bogart takes on the Afrika Korps! The real star of the film is Lulubelle, an M3 Lee that you get to see inside and out.

Kellys Heroes

1970

Who cares if the Tigers are T-34s? Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland give us a cool tank movie. This is a great film for armour-spotting: loads of real German artillery and softskins, and some very cool Shermans, all filmed on location in Yugoslavia. Thanks to Warriors, we've even got figures of Kelly, Oddball, and company. Woof! Woof!

The Longest Day

1962

Hollywood invades Normandy, Take 1. Excellent uniform and vehicle sequences, and some brilliant set-piece scenes.

A Bridge Too Far

1977

An all-star cast still fails to take the bridge at Arnhem. A magnificent collection of Allied armour spearheads XXX Corps' push up the corridor, and real German tanks (okay, so they're Leopards) try to stop them. Excellent reference for uniforms, and good history, too.

Red Dawn

1984

The Commies are coming, and only the Brat Pack (and 600 million screaming Chinamen) can stop them! Although much of the Soviet armour is mocked-up, they are quite convincing, and the small arms, uniforms, and equipment are very accurate.

The Big Red One

1980

Samuel Fuller's autobiographical movie about a rifle company in World War II from Torch to the Bulge is well-written, and also interesting because the "German" tanks in the film are not the usual M47s and M48s, but Israeli M51 Ishermans.

The Final Countdown

1981

Forget Top Gun! The Nimitz and CVW-8 in its colourful heyday try to stop the Japanese from attacking Pearl Harbor. Tomcats vs. Zeroes - does it get any better?

Top Gun

1986

Okay, so don't forget Top Gun. Problems with technical content notwithstanding, the cinematography is breathtaking, and makes the F-14 look like the sexiest plane on Earth (like it isn't!).

The Right Stuff

1984

My favourite film. Bring on the X-planes! If you don't want to build an X-1 after watching Sam Shephard break the sound barrier, then check for a pulse. Also check out the gorgeous F-104 at the end of the movie.

Twelve O'Clock High

1949

12 B-17s were brought together for this, one of the greatest films about the nature of leadership ever made. They actually belly-landed a real B-17 for the opening sequence! Most of the combat footage is real WWII stuff, but still engrossing.

The Rocketeer

1992

A really fun movie about the Golden Age of Flight. Watch for Wedell-Williams, Gee Bees, and Curtiss Jennys, among other neat planes that never usually make it on screen, as well as a Nazi Zeppelin.

The Bridges at Toko-Ri

1954

William Holden, Grace Kelly, the USS Oriskany, and VF-192's F9F-5 Panthers combine to make one of the best aviation movies ever. Superb flying sequences of Panthers, Skyraiders, Sikorsky H-51s, and more. You can even see glimpses of silver Banshees and Cougars on Oriskany's flight deck.

Strategic Air Command

1955

Jimmy Stewart leaves a baseball career to fly for SAC (thank heavens!). One of the best of this genre of film, you get to see B-36s and B-47s, inside and out, in glorious Technicolor. Some excellent scenes with C-124s and KC-97s, too.