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Apocalypse Now (1979)

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning… Smells like victory”

Carrying on the trend of morbidly fascinating war clips, here is the infamous helicopter attack scene from Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.

Not being a war vet, I wouldn’t know how realistic this all really is, but I would imagine it’s pretty close to the mark. Wagner’s ride of the valkyrie’s putting a bizarre bravado twist to it all, but actually the American army did blast out various tunes like that just to confuse and intimidate the people they were attacking.

Suggested by Grumbledook.

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Full Metal Jacket (1987)

This excellent movie directed by Stanley Kubrick has some incredibly visceral moments in it. This scene introduces the legendary drill sergeant Gny. Sgt. Hartman, played, in my opinion, perfectly by Lee Ermey.

At times the scene is quite comical, but if you think about actually being on the receiving end of the verbal slaughter, the comedy suddenly takes on a sharp edge.

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Blade Runner (1982)

The incredible moment of Roy Batty’s retribution, played wonderfully by Rutger Hauer. Just as you think he is about to finish off the battered and hanging Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), he saves the blade runner’s life and sits down to give a sublime and legendary farewell ode to life. The lines were completely unscripted, and probably weren’t supposed to make much sense, but the words always conjure up magical images for me, mixed with heartfelt pain at the truth of them.

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One of the most touching moments in any war movie… Platoon (1986): Thinking that Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe) had already been killed in action, the platoon took off in their choppers with whoever they could manage to rescue in time. As they fly away, numerous enemy soldiers are seen chasing a lone figure, who turns out to be Sgt. Elias. In a rare moment of complete despair, Sgt. Elias reaches for the helicopter as it flies overhead, knowing the bullets riddling his body will never allow him to leave the vietnamese jungle. Sgt. Bob Barnes (Tom Berenger), who had left Sgt. Elias for dead during an earlier personal clash, overlooks the execution with a cold eye.

With Barber’s Adagio for Strings mounting steadily in the background, this one will definitely jerk a few tears.