davidh's - Top 10 - Korean War Films List
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Brotherhood (2004)Taegukgi / Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo / Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
Early, one Sunday morning, in late June of 1950, began a bloody conflict that would tear a people apart. A world, weary from war, looked in on desperation. Thousands were killed or wounded, but the greatest casualty was the unity of a nation. Korea, still haunted by ghosts from a guilty past, remains divided to this day...Told through the eyes of two brothers, who have seen their family torn apart by the Korean war, 'Brotherhood' is an epic and heart-wrenching story, which heralds the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of overwhelming suffering and sacrifice. Truly epic battle sequences, on the scale of Saving Private Ryan, and cinematography that echoes the brilliance of David Lean and Ridley Scott, all combine to deliver one of the most accomplished, poignant and uncompromising cinematic visions of the year. - Director:
- Je-kyu Kang
- Cast:
- Dong-gun Jang, Joe Cappelletti, D.C. Douglas
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The Front Line (2011)Go-ji-jeon
In the final decisive battles of The Korean War, the battle-worn armies of North and South Korea face a brutal deadlock on the rugged Aerok Hills. Fears of treachery and collusion with enemy forces trigger an investigation into the men of the South Korean Alligator Company. A veteran intelligence officer accepts the assignment and discovers mysterious and tragic occurrences surrounding a former comrade he had long thought dead. In the epic battle for survival that follows, the two men become locked in a deadly battle of wills. One will sacrifice his humanity for the sake of his 'brothers', the other will discover compassion in the agonies of war. Ultimately, both will be forced to fight side-by-side, so their loved ones can enjoy freedom for just one more day... - Director:
- Hun Jang
- Cast:
- Ha-kyun Shin, Soo Go, Seung-su Ryu
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Hailed as one of the best comedies ever made and nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, the story focuses on army surgeons who develop a lunatic life-style in order to handle every day horrors encountered in Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean war. Though highly skilled and deeply dedicated, this irreverent mob of madcaps is equally adept at making a shambles of army bureaucracy. - Director:
- Robert Altman
- Cast:
- Donald Sutherland, Ted Knight, Elliott Gould
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71: Into the Fire (2010)Pohwasogeuro
On August 11th, 1950, 71 boy soldiers of the South Korean army singlehandedly held back the elite North Korean 766 Commando Brigade for a full 11 hours. Most were still in their school uniforms and had only fired a single bullet in training! Their astonishing bravery under fire enabled allied forces to hold a strategic bridgehead at the Nakdong River and gain a tactical advantage that would help turn the tide of the entire war. Nothing less than the freedom of their nation was at stake. Their ingenuity, tenacity and brotherhood helped them to achieve the impossible. This is their remarkable true story... Now, discover one of the greatest events in modern military history and re-live the day when courage came of age. - Director:
- John H. Lee
- Cast:
- Seung-won Cha, Sang-woo Kwon, Seung Hyun Choi
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The Sacrifice (2020)Jin Gang Chuan
In 1953, the Korean War is entering the final stage. The People's Volunteer Army of China has launched the last major battle in Kumsong. In order to arrive at the battleground on time and deliver enough force to the Kumsong front line, the soldiers have to defend themselves against the never ending bombing of enemy bombers and race with time to repair bridges, all under the circumstance of supply shortages and inferior equipment. The rarely told history slowly unfolds. - Director:
- Hu Guan
- Cast:
- Yi Zhang, Wu Jing, Jiuxiao Li
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General Douglas MacArthur (Gregory Peck), one of the most controversial public figures of our time, is the subject of this superb biographical drama which traces his outstanding career. In 1942, with his position in the Philippines made hopeless by Japans destruction of more than half the planes in his Far East Command, MacArthur leaves pledging "I shall return!" MacArthur does return, with riveting victories in the Pacific and the deft handling of the democratisation of Japan; he is also armed with Presidential aspirations. While serving in Korea, it is there that his colossal ego and insubordination results in dismissal by Truman in 1951. 'MacArthur' is a compelling story which explores the many facets of his ambitious character. It clearly demonstrates his brilliance as a strategist; his lust for publicity and flair for dramatics. - Director:
- Joseph Sargent
- Cast:
- Gregory Peck, Dan O'Herlihy, Ed Flanders
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The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021)Zhang jin hu
From three master filmmakers comes one of the most epic and ambitious war movies ever made. During the winter of 1950, in the freezing cold Lake Changjin region, a bloody battle ensues between the United States and China. Faced with the harshest conditions of extreme cold, a lack of rations and vast differences in weaponry, the Chinese troops forge ahead in what was to become the most critical battle of the Korean war. Co-directed by Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China franchise), Dante Lam (Operation Fled Sea), and starring international superstar Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior 1 and 2), 'The Battle at Lake Changjin' cemented its place as the highest grossing war film ever made. - Director:
- Kaige Chen
- Cast:
- Wu Jing, Jackson Yee, Yihong Duan
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Battle of Jangsari (2019)Jangsa-ri 9.15
During the Korean War, a small group of student soldiers are charged with freeing Incheon. To do this, they must divert the attention of invading North Koreans by convincing them that will be an attack at Jangsari Beach. Despite interference from a caring American news correspondent (Megan Fox), the inexperienced soldiers look for a special landing spot. However, they soon realise that they're outnumbered, under-trained and low on food supplies. Can they find a way off the beach alive before the enemy troops get to them? - Director:
- Tae-Yong Kim
- Cast:
- Megan Fox, George Eads, Myung-min Kim
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Operation Chromite (2016)In-cheon sang-ryuk jak-jeon / Battle for Incheon: Operation Chromite
June 25,1950, North Korea invades the South with the support of the Soviet Union. UN Command's Supreme Commander, General MacArthur (Liam Neeson), plans a covert landing operation at harbor city Incheon, codenamed 'Operation Chromite', which has a success chance of 5,000:1... "Operation Chromite" is an epic action-war film based on a real-life operation, which, along with Normandy, is regarded as one of history's greatest landing operations. The film captures this crucial historical episode and recounts the untold story of men who sacrificed their lives for South Korea's freedom. - Director:
- John H. Lee
- Cast:
- Liam Neeson, Jung-Jae Lee, Beom-su Lee
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Lt. Joe Clemons (Gregory Peck) has been given the order: take Pork Chop Hill. If it's taken by the Chinese, U.S. negotiators at the Panmunjom peace conference would lose face with their Communist adversaries - an unthinkable outcome. And so, Clemons leads his troops into combat, to fight for an objective that they know to be strategically pointless. But they also know that an order is an order and they must take Pork Chop Hill - or die trying - so that millions can live in freedom tomorrow for what Clemons and his men will sacrifice today. - Director:
- Lewis Milestone
- Cast:
- Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn
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