12 O'clock High.
This is a superb movie, 1949 with Gregory Peck in black and white. The protagonist commander takes control of the squadron and through harsh discipline, molds them into a more affective fighting unit. The underlying theme is how hard it is for that commander to send so many young men into death. In the end the pressure of it becomes too much for him.
I'd vote for Gary Sinise as commander. Just think with special affects now adays what an epic war movie it could be.
As for the rest....well I am usually disappointed by war movies though I watch them all. Mostly I find them trite, full of cliché's and with implausible plots.
IMO Spielberg and Bigelow have set the bar by which all other war movies are compared in modern times.
A movie such as this does not have to be remade. As it is, it is excellent, and one of my favorites. The acting is top notch, plot line is solid, and there is no "let's wave the flag" that is seamingly the norm of war films these days.
I fear that if they were to redo this film... they would infuse masive amounts of CG which is a problem in all things hollywood. I want to be entertained and drawn into the story by the characters.....with the action augmenting the story. Not sitting there looking at all the eye candy with what they can do and then having the characters augment the action.
I started the thread because I thought that somebody could do a better job of "the battle of the Bulge" than the one that was out there.
Valkyrie....sorry....I just can't get my head around Tom Cruise being in the role he played.