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2014/05/26

Neatorama

Neatorama

The 45 Top U.S. Armed Forces Movies

Posted: 26 May 2014 05:00 AM PDT

This mega-post is a combination of several lists from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Salutes the Armed Forces, to give you ideas for new movies you can seek out and enjoy. Outside of being judged the best of their narrow genre, the movies themselves are not ranked; they are divided by branch of service and presented in chronological order.

Top Army Flicks

Given that it’s the largest branch of the armed forces, it should come as no surprise that the Army leads the services in appearances on the silver screen. Even with so many options available, some films inevitably rise to the top.

SERGEANT YORK (1941)

Gary Cooper stars as Alvin York, who initially tried to avoid World War I by applying for conscientious objector status. After his request was denied, he went on to become the most decorated soldier of the war and earned the Medal of Honor for capturing 132 German soldiers in a single attack. Sergeant York was nominated for an impressive 11 Academy Awards, winning two: Best Actor for Gary Cooper and Best Film Editing.

THE LONGEST DAY (1962)

Running just shy of three hours, the story of the D-day invasion at Normandy nearly lives up to its title. The all-star cast included Eddie Albert, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, and John Wayne. The producers used actual participants from both sides of the battle as set consultants, and the film’s characters speak their lines in their own languages (with on-screen subtitles), lending the film a sense of authenticity. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it took home awards for Best Special Effects and Best Black-and-White Cinematography.

THE GREEN BERETS (1968)


At the height of the Vietnam War, John Wayne turned down a chance to star in the ensemble film The Dirty Dozen and instead chose to create a stylized tribute to the troops fighting overseas at the time. The Green Berets is significant of rite portrayal of troops in a war without defined front lines and its stance against the antiwar movement of the 1960s. However, it was not the critics’s favorite. The film wasn’t nominated for any major awards, but it let Oliver Stone direct Platoon as a counterpoint twenty years later.

PATTON (1970)



The film tells the story of irascible General George S. Patton -famously portrayed by George C. Scott- and his legendary campaigns in World War II. “The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans,” says General Patton, standing on stage in front of a giant American flag in the memorable five-minute opening monologue. The movie won critics over, too despite the antiwar sentiment that was raging across the country due to the Vietnam War. Patton was nominated for 10 Oscars and won seven, including Best Picture and Best Director, as well as Best Actor honors for Scott -whose disapproval of competition among actors led him to refuse the award; he was the first actor to do so.

MASH (1970)



The Korean War is often referred to as “the Forgotten War,” but it’s not for Hollywood’s lack of trying. Director Robert Altman’s comedy about a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) during that conflict combined the reality of war with the dark humor that naturally accompanies troops in battle. The combination turned the film, which starred Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt, Elliot Gould, and Robert Duvall, into a runaway hit. MASH was nominated for five Academy Awards, and won for Best Screenplay. The film launched one of the most popular television shows in American history, which ran for eleven seasons.

APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

(YouTube link) 

Widely regarded by critics and industry insiders as one of the greatest movies ever made, Francis Ford Coppola’s tale of a soldier sent deep into Vietnam to track down and assassinate a rogue Special Forces colonel continues to resonate decades after its release. based on Joseph Conrad's equally brooding novel Heart of Darkness, it features Martin Sheen (who had a heart attack during filming) as Captain Benjamin Willard, who is on the hunt for Colonel Walter Kurtz, famously portrayed by Marlin Brando. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, the film earned Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. Apocalypse Now Redux was released in 2001 with nearly an hour of additional footage.

PLATOON (1986)



The film tells the gripping story of an Army platoon in Vietnam as seen from the perspective of its newest member, private Curtis Taylor, played by Charlie Sheen. Platoon’s realism and conflicted look at the war made it a sensation among aging Vietnam War veterans. This brutal honesty is generally credited to the wartime experiences of writer/director Oliver Stone, who was an infantryman in Vietnam, and resulted in eight Oscar nominations, winning for Best Director, Best Picture, Film Editing, and Best Sound.

GLORY (1989)



Glory recounts the experiences of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first all-black regiments in the Union army of the Civil War. The 54th was led by white officers, including regimental commander Captain Robert Gould Shaw, portrayed by Matthew Broderick. The film takes liberties with some of the history but does an otherwise impressive job of depicting the initial attempts at integrating the military during the Civil war. The film was Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Denzel Washington), Sound Mixing, and Cinematography.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)



Director Steven Spielberg fires every round in his magazine in this gritty World War II drama about a team of soldiers sent to find a missing paratrooper -and bring him home alive- after all three of his brothers were killed in the war. The cast is led by Tom Hanks as Captain John H. Miller and Matt Damon as Private James Francis Ryan. Generally remembered for its brutal opening scenes of the D-day landings at Omaha Beach, Saving Private Ryan was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Director.

BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001)



The 1993 Battle of Mogadishu was a brutal fight in the heart of Somalia. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film shows how a Special Operations team comprised of Delta Force soldiers and Army Rangers undertook a mission to snatch a pair of Somali men from the city; the mission devolved into brutal chaos, especially after one of the team’s Black Hawk helicopters was taken out by a rocket-propelled grenade. The film is loud and bloody, a gritty portrayal of a battle that killed as many as 1,500 people and wounded up to 4,000, Nominated for four Academy Awards, it took home Oscars for Best Editing and Best Sound.

Top Navy Flicks

Be sure to pack these ten Navy movies into your bag before you head off on that long sea voyage to distant shores.

THE FIGHTING SEABEES (1944)

John Wayne stars as Wedge Donovan in this dramatized retelling of the origin of the U.S. Navy’s Construction Battalions (CBs, or “Seabees”) during World War II. The Duke and his newly trained fighting Seabees work to hold off the Japanese, but will their efforts be enough? Amid all the training and fighting, Donovan develops a romantic interest in war correspondent Constance Chesley (Susan Hayward). The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music but lost to Since You Went Away, another film that used World War II as a backdrop.

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945)



Following up on the success of The Fighting Seabees, John Wayne returned the following year alongside Donna Reed and Robert Montgomery for this story of tiny torpedo patrol boats taking on the massive Japanese fleet in World War II. Considered by many to be one of the Duke’s finest performances, the film was nominated for a pair of Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Special Effects, but won no Oscars.

MISTER ROBERTS (1955)



After six years as a Broadway smash, Mister Roberts hit the big screen with Henry Fonda reprising his Tony-winning role as Lieutenant Doug Roberts, whose assignment to the USS Reluctant during World War II provides moments of both humor and drama as the ship seemingly misses out on the war. The film’s all-star cast, which includes James Cagney and Jack Lemmon, was movie gold. Mister Roberts was nominated for three Academy Awards, with Lemmon winning his first Oscar, for Best Supporting actor.

THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)



Based on Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, this movie stars Humphrey Bogart as the eccentric and disliked Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg of the fictitious destroyer/minesweeper Caine during World War II. After the unstable Queeg is relieved of his command by two of the ship’s officers, the officers are later court-martialed for mutiny on the high seas. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but didn’t win in any category -partially because of the competition, which included Marlon Brando’s classic On the Waterfront, which was named Best Picture.

TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970)

(YouTube link)

This epic retelling of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a combined effort by American and Japanese filmmakers and actors, told from both sides’ point of view. Although most of the cast were relative unknowns, a notable exception is Jason Robards, who would later win two Academy Awards. One famous line in the movie gave rise to the idea that the Japanese had “awakened a sleeping giant.” These days, historians argue over whether the statement was historical fact or an enduring Hollywood invention. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards in technical categories, and won for Best Special Visual Effects.

MIDWAY (1976)

Exactly six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese navy remained undefeated and apparently invincible. Then came the Battle of Midway, a tiny atoll situated between Hawaii and Japan, which proved to be a resounding loss for the Japanese forces. The turning point of World War II combat in the Pacific made for a great movie with an all-star cast which included Charleton Heston, Henry Fonda, and James Coburn. Critics were less impressed, however, and the film was not nominated for any major awards.

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (1982)

Richard Gere stars as Zack Mayo, a loner who ends up in the Navy’s Aviation Officer Candidate School with aspirations of becoming a pilot. But first he must survive his stern drill in structos, Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, portrayed by Louis Gossett Jr. The drama unfolds through a tale of love and loss as Mayo struggles to find his place under Foley’s relentless pressure. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, with Gossett earning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and the Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes hit “Up Where We Belong” winning for Best Original Song.

TOP GUN (1986)

(YouTube link)

Tom Cruise stars as Lieutenant Pete “Meverick” Mitchell, a hot shot fighter pilot who takes his “need for speed” to the U.S. Naval Fighter Weapons School, better known as “Top Gun,” where he falls in love with civilian instructor Charlotte Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis. Although it has often been criticized as campy and overacted, the film was such a hit with audiences that the Navy set up recruiting booths in many theaters to capitalize on the crowds. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, and won the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Take My Breath Away,” performed by Berlin.

THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990)



Author Tom Clancy may be well known these days, but it was this 1984 novel that put him on the map. Six years later, the book was turned into a film starring Sean Connery as Soviet navy Captain Marko Ramius, who attempts to defect to the United States with the USSR’s most advanced ballistic missile submarine. Alec Baldwin plays Jack Ryan, the CIA analyst determined to help Ramius succeed. Though well-received by the public, the film was panned by critics. Nevertheless, it won one the three Oscars for which it was nominated, Best Sound Effects Editing.

CRIMSON TIDE (1995)



If mutiny and nuclear submarines make epic Navy films, does that mean the story of mutiny aboard a nuclear submarine equates to an instant hit? It did for Crimson Tide, which starred Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman as officers aboard the USS Alabama who are ordered to launch their missiles in a preemptive strike on Russia. When their sub loses its communications, Washington and Hackman go toe-to-toe over whether to carry out the order or wait for further guidance. Crimson Tide was nominated for Academy Awards in three technical categories.

Top Air Force Flicks

From dogfighting in the skies over Europe to exploring the depths of space, flying films are a staple of the American cinema. Here are some classics to enjoy from your couch cockpit.

WINGS (1927)



The only silent film to ever win an Academy Award for Best Picture, Wings is the story of two fighter pilots who are in love with the same woman during World War I. The movie stars Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, and Richard Arlen, and features an appearance by rising star Gary Cooper, long before he won an Oscar for his performance in Sergeant York (1941). Despite its historical significance, the movie is not readily available on DVD in the United States, but it has been shown on television.

AIR FORCE (1943)

Directed by Howard Hawks, who served with the Army Air Corps during World War II, Air Force tells the story of the crew of the Mary Ann, a B-17 Flying Fortress sent to Hawaii on a routine training flight. When they arrive, they find the aftermath of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Released just 15 months after the actual attack, the film’s patriotic tone often leads today’s critics to call it a “propaganda movie.” But Air Force managed to garner four Academy Award nominations, and won for Best Film Editing.

TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH (1949)



“A story of twelve men as their women never knew them,” according to the movie posters,  Twelve O’Clock High stars Gregory Peck as Brigadier General Frank Savage, who must whip the men of his new bomber unit into shape for combat operations during World War II. One of a spate of war films that focused on the exploits of U.S. aircrews, the film made use of actual combat footage to add to the intensity of its story. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and won for Best Supporting Actor and Best Sound.

STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (1955)



James Stewart stars as Lieutenant Colonel Robert “Dutch” Holland of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and June Allyson plays his wife Sally. The film begins in 1951 when Dutch, who has served with the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, is now a star baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals However, Dutch’s athletic career is out on hold when he is recalled for active duty in the Air Force, which is now a separate branch of the U.S. armed forces. As Dutch and Sally adjust to their new life in the military, which has changed considerably since the end of World War II, Dutch’s love of flying is rekindled and his life plans are transformed. Strategic Air Command has been praised for its realistic portrayal of the SAC, which can be attributed to Stewart’s own experience as a combat pilot in World War II. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing.

NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS (1958)

(YouTube link)

In one of his earlier films, Andy Griffith stars as Private Will Stockdale, a country bumpkin who is drafted into the U.S. Air Force and goes on to have one comedic misadventure after another as he tries to adjust to military life. Originally written as a book and set in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Forces, the movie was updated to reflect the peacetime status of the U.S. military in the late 1950s and the Air Force as a separate branch. Don Knotts has a small role in the movie, which was the beginning of a long professional relationship with Griffith.

A GATHERING OF EAGLES (1963)

U.S. Air Force Colonel Jim Caldwell (Rock Hudson) is given the assignment of improving the performance of a B-52 bomber wing that has fallen into a state of disarray. With a newfound sternness that soon alienates those who are under his command -including his wife and best friend- Caldwell shapes the bomber wing into  the unit he envisioned when he accepted the assignment. The timing of the film’s release, when the military was falling out of favor with the public, may have influenced its less-than-stellar performance at the box office,. but it has since come to be noted for its authentic depiction of the Strategic Air Command. General Curtis LeMay of the U.S. Air Force provided full cooperation with the film’s producers in the hopes that it would rekindle the public’s confidence in the SAC’s ability to effectively manage the country’s nuclear stockpiles. A Gathering of Eagles was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects.

DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)

(YouTube link)

In director Stanley Kubrick’s satirical comedy of the Cold War, delusional Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is intent on attacking the Soviet Union by ordering B-52 bombers to drop their nuclear weapons in retaliation for an attack on the United States. The story of the attack, however, was completely fabricated by Ripper, and the people around him soon realize they’ve been super -and they need to get the B-52s to abort their mission. Also starring Peter Sellers in three separate roles) and George C. Scott, Dr. Strangelove is widely regarded as on of the best comedies in film history. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but didn’t take home any Oscars.

THE RIGHT STUFF (1983)



Based on the book by Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff contrasts the efforts of military test pilots working to field cutting-edge jets with the work of those selected to launch the United States’ early efforts at space exploration. While Air Force hero Chuck Yeager -played by Sam Shepard- breaks the sound barrier and sets new altitude records and yet is excluded from NASA’s program because he has no college degree, the “Mercury Seven” progress through their grueling, competitive, and often dangerous training as they prepare for the space race. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning on four of the six technical categories for which it was nominated.

THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN (1995)



Who says a made-for-television movie can’t go on the must-see list? The ensemble cast and superb production of HBO’s The Tuskegee Airmen is better than many Hollywood films with twice the budget. The story follows the first African American combat pilots as they train and deploy for World War II, eventually earning the respect of their white peers. The cast includes stars such as Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding, Jr, and Andre Braugher. The film was nominated for ten Emmy Wards, and took home three.

Top Marine Flicks

Hollywood has done its part to cement the role of the U.S. Marines as an almost indestructible fighting force -always willing, always able, and always faithful.

TELL IT TO THE MARINES (1926)



In this silent movie that was the first to be produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Marine Corps, Lon Chaney stars as Sergeant Frank O’Hara, who leads his leathernecks on a tour of the Philippines. William Haynes plays Private “Skeet” Burns, an undisciplined recruit looking for a good time and loose women rather than devoting himself to the rigors of the Marine Corps. General Smedley D. Butler served as technical consultant for the film, and the scenes at sea were shot aboard the battleship USS California. Lon Chaney was named an honorary Marine for his performance -the first actor to be given that distinction.

GUNG HO! (1943)

Based on the actual events surrounding the August 1942 raid of Makin Island (now called Butaritari Island) in the Pacific, the film’s plot follows a mishmash group of Marine Corps volunteers as they prepare for and execute their daring mission. Lieutenant Colonel Thorwald (Randolph Scott) worked with Chinese guerrillas prior to the outset of World War II, and now attempts to use the Chinese concept of gung ho, or “work together,” to get all of his Marines on the same page. Although the film has many violent scenes, it provides an example of how Marine Corps soldiers are trained to put the success of their mission above all else.

PRIDE OF THE MARINES (1945)



This well-received film recounts the experiences of U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Al Schmid (John Garfield), a hero of the 1942-43 Battle of Guadalcanal. Schmid had been manning a machine gun against the Japanese for several hours when a grenade exploded nearby, blinding him. Even without his sight, Schmid managed to continue firing his machine gun with the help of an injured comrade who served as his “eyes.” Although the battle scenes take up only a small portion of the film’s length, the portrayal of Schmid as a relentless hero helped give the Marine Corps a public identity as a force that never quit under any circumstance. Pride of the Marines was nominated for one Academy Award, for Best Screenplay.

SANDS OF IWO JIMA (1949)

This video contains spoilers. (YouTube link)

John Wayne stars as grizzled Marine Sergeant John Stryker, whose training methods are universally despised by his troops until the bullets begin the fly. By the time the man get to the small island known as Iwo Jima, where Japanese forces are dug in and waiting, the reasons for Stryker’s relentlessness become clear. Arguably the most well-known movie to feature the Marine Corps, Sands of Iwo Jima was nominated for four Academy Awards, including a Best Actor nod for the Duke.

HEARTBREAK RIDGE (1986)



This film stars Clint Eastwood as quick-tempered and battle-hardened Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway, whose years in the military have left his life in disarray as he nears the end of his career. Assigned to whip a recon platoon into shape, “Gunny” finds himself doing what he does best -leading Marines in combat during the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada. Though many questioned the accuracy of the events portrayed in the film, Eastwood’s solid performance has kept it on the fan list almost 30 years later. Heartbreak Ridge was nominated for one Academy Award, for Best Sound.

FULL METAL JACKET (1987)



Stanley Kubrick’s vulgar and gritty film about Marines preparing for war and deploying to Vietnam is still a classic. The film catapulted R. Lee Ermey to stardom for his role as loud and unforgiving Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, whose harsh physical and psychological treatment of recruits has become legendary. The Marine Corps wasn’t so impressed, however. The service offered no support for the making of the film, which was shot on location in England. Full Metal Jacket received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, and Ermey received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989)

(YouTube link)

Tom Cruise stars as real-life Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, whose traumatic experiences in the war have left him paralyzed and struggling with his place in the world. In the end, he becomes an outspoken critic of the conflict and the treatment of returning veterans. Directed by Oliver Stone (himself a Vietnam veteran), whose 1986 film Platoon earned an Oscar, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards -including Best Picture and a Best Actor for Cruise- and took home the awards for Best Director and Best Film Editing.

A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)

“You can’t handle the truth!” Colonel Nathan Jessup screams during the famous courtroom scene in this military legal drama that centers on the trial of two Marines charged with killing one of their own in a hazing incident gone bad. Jack Nicholson plays Jessup, a salty Marine officer who is believed to have ordered the attack, while Tom Cruise stars as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, the inexperienced Navy lawyer assigned to defend the Marines. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a Best Supporting Actor for Nicholson.

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS AND LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (2006)

When taken together, this pair of films from director Clint eastwood show one of the bloodiest battles of World War II from all angles.  In Flags of Our Fathers, Eastwood explores the history surrounding the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the American flag being raised on Mount Suribachi and the man who became national icons for plating it. In Letters from Iwo Jima, Eastwood attacks the subject again, but this time from the perspective of the Japanese fighters who took heavy losses and they attempted to defend the small island. Flags of Our Fathers was nominated for two Academy Awards and won for Sound Editing, while Letters from Iwo Jima was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, but did not take home any Oscars.

Top Coast Guard Flicks

The smallest branch of the armed forces is also the most overlooked when it comes to movies. That’s not to say that the U.S. Coast Guard isn’t still active in Hollywood. On the contrary, the service plays a primary role in many movies and television shows, but often not as the star. Consider I Am Legend, a 2007 film starring Will Smith as possibly the last man on earth. A Coast Guard aircrew spent nearly a week filming an evacuation scene on the Brooklyn Bridge even as other units worked to ensure that real-life maritime operations were not disrupted during filming. With the Coast Guard playing an active role in everything from from Hurricane Katrina to Operation Iraqi Freedom, there’s bound to be some love left for the service in Hollywood. Until then, here are a handful of the good (and perhaps, not-so-good) to keep your boat afloat.

RUGGED WATER (1925)



Between 1902 and 1943, writer Joseph C. Lincoln penned nearly four dozen works of fiction and poetry, most of them showcasing the stories and people of Cape Cod. One of the most famous for its time was Rugged Water, the story pif a life-saving station on the coast and the people who dared to brave the often rugged sea. Written in 1924, it was turned into a silent film the following year, one of six books by Lincoln that made it to the silver screen.

SEA SPOILERS (1936)



Among the seven films John wayne made in 1936 is Sea Spoilers, in which he stars as the commander of a patrol boat in the waters off Alaska. Nothing to find up there, you say? Tell that to the smugglers and poachers Wayne and company take head-on.

SEA DEVILS (1937)



Ah, those were the days. In its review, the New York Times reported that ushers “tricked out in chief petty officers uniforms” seated guests for the premiere of Sea Devils, a story of iceberg patrols, sea rescues, and a tough old Coastie (Victor McLaglen) who tries to prevent his daughter from falling for a brash coastguardsman (Preston Foster) by pushing her toward a more respectable candidate.

TARS AND SPARS (1946)

Loosely based on the theater production of the same name, which toured across the country to rave reviews, this musical centers on a coastguardsman who has never been to sea. Where does the name come from? “Tar” is a nickname for a sailor, while “SPAR” was a term for a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, one of many such groups created to free men from duty at home during World War II.  Sid Caesar, a former Coastie, makes his film debut.

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953)

(YouTube link)

In this film based on a story by Ray Bradbury, the beast is a dinosaur freed from a block of ice by an atomic blast. The Coast Guard does all it can to stop the beast, but it’s an Army weapon that brings it down. If it sounds a lot like Godzilla, there’s a reason. Taking a cue from this film, Japanese filmmakers released their movie the next year and the rampaging lizard became a cult hit.

ONIONHEAD (1958)



It’s hard to believe a film with Andy Griffith and Walter Matthau could be poorly received, but critics still poke fun today. Perhaps fans of The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock should be happy that Andy’s portrayal of a Coastie wasn’t more popular. It;s been said that the stink of Onionhead is what drove Griffith into television.

THE GUARDIAN (2006)



Borrowing a page from the Japanese, Hollywood tried to recreate a blockbuster from Asia that showcased rescue diver trainees from Japan’s Coast Guard. They ended up with The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner as the salty senior chief petty officer and Ashton Kutcher as the youngster trying to get started. It didn’t get much love from the critics, but fans of military movies might be surprised.  

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coverThe article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Salutes the Armed Forces.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!

Class Of '86 - A Scary Good Senior Year

Posted: 26 May 2014 04:00 AM PDT


Class of '86 by Hillary White

The graduates from Hollywood class of '86 are a pretty diverse and scary bunch, but no class member was more misunderstood than poor Xenia the xenomorph. She was the sweetest girl on campus, yet something about her face sent the boys running!

Take your wardrobe way, way back with this stylin' Class of '86 t-shirt by Hillary White and keep your wardrobe totally rad to the max!

Visit Hillary White's official website, Facebook and Tumblr, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more totally gnarly designs:

FlowerflyStormthulhuDead PondShe Read

View more designs by Hillary White | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Freaky Early Concept Versions Of E.T. By Rick Baker

Posted: 26 May 2014 04:00 AM PDT

The little Reese’s Pieces addict known as E.T. is pretty cute, in a turtle without a shell kinda way, but the version presented on the silver screen is a far cry from the original concepts which were being kicked around by special effects mastermind Rick Baker.

As it turns out E.T.'s signature look sprang from concept art being created for another alien themed Spielberg project called Night Skies, which would have featured 11 distinctly different aliens, and with a little softening around the edges and some smoothing to the overall texture our little friend E.T. was born.

Rick’s early concept art/sculptures consisted of alien designs ranged from far more sinister looking to creepy cute enough to give Mac from Mac & Me nightmares, and something tells me these aliens would have phoned home to order up a whole lot more than just a ride!

-Via io9

Blind Football Player Signs with Top College Team

Posted: 26 May 2014 03:00 AM PDT

(Image: CBS)

Aaron Golub is legally blind. But that hasn't stopped him from being highly successful on the football field. He convinced Coach Ted Dalicandro of Newtown South High School in Newton, Massachusetts to let him on the team. He plays a role that doesn't require precise vision: long snapper. That means that he throws the ball backward between his legs to the quarterback.

Aaron has been training extensively under Chris Rubio, a professional coach who specializes in long snapping. He practices every morning and on weekends with a net. Aaron has done so well that Tulane University's Green Wave, a Division 1 team, has signed him.


(Video Link)

-via Huffington Post

The 15 Stupidest Comic Book Superpowers

Posted: 26 May 2014 02:00 AM PDT

The creative conferences and the pressure to come up with ever more new superheroes in the comic book publishing industry must be intense, or maybe writers get just plain desperate. For some comic book characters, booth superheroes and super villains, you’d think their creators must have just pulled something out of a hat and decided there’s a upper power there somewhere. The fellow shown here is “Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man”! But that’s just the beginning. There’s a hero who is designed around disco music, a crime fighter who throws sparkles from her fingers, and a character who can control squirrels, among others, in a list at Flavorwire.

Man Spent Ten Years Transforming Massive Hedge Into A Dragon

Posted: 26 May 2014 01:00 AM PDT

(Image Via Damien McFadden)

There are many things you can do in the space of a decade- age some fine wine, complete the schooling necessary to become a doctor, serve a prison sentence for insurance fraud or watch your cute little child turn into an ornery teenager.

However, there is an even better way to spend a decade, especially if you happen to have a 100 foot long hedge on your property- turn the hedge into a massive plant sculpture of a dragon.

John Brooker of Norfolk spent a few hours a day over a decade transforming a hedge on his Frizzleton Farm property into an awesome looking dragon, and now he no longer has to worry about solicitors dropping by unannounced!

-Via Nerd Approved

Kids React to Old Computers

Posted: 26 May 2014 12:00 AM PDT

(YouTube link)

The Fine Brothers pull out the confusing stuff for kids again, this time exposing them to obsolete computers, the kind we used just a few years years ago. Oh, it’s an Apple II from the ‘80s. With floppy drives, no mouse, and it’s text-based on a black background. And no internet! When I had one of those, I thought it was the neatest thing ever, even though you practically had to know how to program just to use the thing. -Thanks, Benny!

Douglas Munro, The Only US Coast Guardsman to Receive the Medal of Honor

Posted: 25 May 2014 11:00 PM PDT

The United States Coast Guard, an amalgamation of the Revenue Cutter Service, Life-Saving Service, and Lighthouse Service, was established in 1915. Though modest in size and resources, it committed ferverently to action during World War I, suffering a greater proportion of casualties than any other branch of the US Armed Forces.

When World War II came, the Coast Guard fought the enemies of the United States in every theater. It was noted for one particular speciality: the operation of small craft inshore. Many Coast Guardsmen operated amphibuous landing craft, such as the famous Higgins boats. Among them was Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro. Munro fearlessly piloted his Higgins boat through enemy fire during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific. Tragically, he died while doing so. His courage was exceptional, and for his actions he was postumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He is the only Coast Guardsman to have been honored in this manner.


(USCG)

Douglas Munro (1919-1942) was born in Vancouver, Canada, as the son of American parents. His family moved to South Cle Um, Washington when he was young. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1939 and did well, earning a promotion. On September 27, 1942, he was operating a Higgins boat as part of the Guadalcanal Campaign. His unit inserted Marines led by the legendary Lt. Col. "Chesty" Puller onto a section of the island of Guadalcanal.

Unfortunately, the Japanese force present in that area was much larger than expected. The Marines were badly outnumbered and under devastating fire. They had to be evacuated. Munro immediately volunteered to lead several boats to the beach to rescue the trapped Marines.


(Bernard D'Andrea/USCG)

The Higgins boats were made of plywood. They had no armor and were thus highly vulnerable to the Japanese machine guns on the beach. But under Munro's leadership, all of those Marines, included the wounded, made it back to sea.

Alas, Munro was hit by a machine gun bullet as his boat left the beach. Historian Stanley Coleman Jersey describes Munro's death:

When they were out of range, Munro momentarily regained consciousness. He asked just one question: “Did we get them off?” Assured that the marines were out of harm’s way, Doug Munro smiled, then he died.


(USCG)

For his actions, Signalman First Class Douglas Munro was awarded the Medal of Honor. Here is the citation:

For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry m action above and beyond the call of duty as Petty Officer in Charge of a group of 24 Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a battalion of marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz Guadalcanal, on 27 September 1942. After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered marines, Munro, under constant strafing by enemy machineguns on the island, and at great risk of his life, daringly led 5 of his small craft toward the shore. As he closed the beach, he signaled the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy's fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its 2 small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese. When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was instantly killed by enemy fire, but his crew, 2 of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach. By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

(USGC)

The modern Coast Guard remembers Munro well and has named ships, buildings, and other facilities in his honor, including the high endurance cutter Munro.

One Angry Bird

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:00 PM PDT

Redditor jofried posted this picture and titled it “My last picture from the bird show.” The most I looked at it, the more possible captions came.

1. I said no pictures!
2. That’s one Angry Bird.
3. Why aren’t you at Hogwarts where I sent you?
4. And all we ever found was the camera.

Those are the best, but maybe you could come up with something better.

Eye-Catching Murals Transform Train Routes Into Outdoor Art Shows

Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 PM PDT

To street art enthusiasts riding the train means getting to see some colorful graffiti during your commute, and the time is spent watching and waiting for the next mural to pop up, but where’s the train line art for those who aren’t interested in graffiti?

Apparently those art pieces are in Philadelphia, created by Berlin-based artist Katharina Grosse who has teamed up with the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program to create “real-time landscape painting, where the ever-evolving city is the canvas and your window is the frame”.

The massive eye-catching murals in her series psychylustro will change over time as the urban environment, and other artists, reclaim the space and transform Katharina's colorful works into something new and interesting for commuters to see as they ride the train across town.

-Via Wired

Johnny Cash Has Been EVERYWHERE (Man)!

Posted: 25 May 2014 08:00 PM PDT

Johnny Cash has been everywhere, and he even sang a song about it (although he was far from the only one). The song lists places, so it was only a matter of time before someone married the song to Google Maps. Iain Mullan did just that. At the site Johnny Cash Has Been EVERYWHERE (Man)! you can listen to the song while the map tracks all the places -and they are far flung, believe me! Meanwhile, the distance between each is tracked on the left side. You can pause and rewind if necessary. The intro says it works best in Chrome or Safari, but I had no trouble with Firefox. -via Metafilter

Grace Ciao Makes Fashion Sketches with Flowers

Posted: 25 May 2014 06:00 PM PDT

Grace Ciao is a fashion illustrator and business student in Singapore. The women in her fashion sketches wear dresses made of flowers as though they are tiny sprites from fairy tales. Her project has a very romantic origin. She was attempting to preserve a red rose that a boy give her:

I remembered how beautiful it used to be and wanted to ‘preserve’ this beauty. So I made fashion illustrations out of them.

-via Fubiz

AnchorMinion - Keep It Classy...Banana!

Posted: 25 May 2014 05:00 PM PDT


AnchorMinion by Matt Sinor

They made the minion news network what it is today, keeping it classy by reporting news in an unintelligible language few humans can understand. They reported the latest breaking news the way they saw it- yellow, pill shaped and about two feet tall.

A unique blend of journalism and minionism can be found on this AnchorMinion t-shirt by Matt Sinor, it's the silliest way to keep it classy, and adds just the right amount of color, specifically yellow, to your wardrobe.

Check out Matt's Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more amazing designs. Not a trap, we promise:

Regular BrosWe Meet AgainLegendPoker Wars

View more designs by Matt Sinor | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

The World’s Prettiest Tarantula

Posted: 25 May 2014 05:00 PM PDT

Prettiest tarantula? Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the spider you see here won the Best in Show title at the 29th Annual Exhibition of the British Tarantula Society. It’s like the Westminster Dog Show, except for tarantulas.

The winner of this year's Best in Show was a Socotra Island Blue Baboon spider owned by Mike Dawkins, a relative newcomer to the tarantula-keeping community who had entered the competition for the first time.

"It was my first entry," said a delighted Dawkins, who started keeping tarantulas in 2011 and has already built up a menagerie of about 60. "I was very surprised to win Best African Species, let alone the Best in Show. That really shocked me."

The folks who belong to the British Tarantula Society are serious about their pets, which you can tell because they’ve had these competitions 28 times in the past. Contestants travel from as far as America and Hong Kong to compete and show off their prize tarantulas. Find out more about the event and the organization behind it at National Geographic News. See a slideshow of the top finishers at Wired. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Peter Kirk, British Tarantula Society)

Limzy's Enchanting Floral Art

Posted: 25 May 2014 04:00 PM PDT

Maleficent

For Labour Day

Lim Zhi Wei is a Malaysian artist in Singapore who goes by the name Limzy. While working as an art teacher, she found that she had little time to create her own work. She made do as best she could by arranging small objects that she found around her home, such as flowers, food, and cotton balls. Limsy's floral work is particularly stunning.

-via Gardens in Unexpected Places

Banksy Makes Entertaining Video to Accept Webby Award

Posted: 25 May 2014 03:00 PM PDT


YouTube Link

Instead of appearing in person to accept a Webby Award for Person of the Year, camera-shy street artist Banksy submitted this acceptance video to be played at the ceremony of their 18th annual awards. The UK-based artist's video humorously describes his artist residency in New York City in 2013, which "became less an art show than a citywide, full-contact game of hide and seek."

Conviently Reusable: Toilet Paper Wedding Dress

Posted: 25 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT

The problem with buying a wedding dress is that usually, you can wear it only once. But Olivia Mears has found a great solution.

We've previously seen her dress that was literally made of just paint, one made of Taco Bell taco wrappers, and her dress inspired by the image hosting site Imgur. Now she turns her inventive mind and considerable artistic skill to a wedding dress.

Mears made it for a contest by Charmin, the toilet paper brand. The contest invited crafty people to make dresses from any product in Charmin's toilet paper line. Mears made her dress from 11 rolls of toilet paper, tape, and glue.

Once you're done with the wedding and reception, head to the bathroom. This dress is ready for a secondary purpose.

Herring Communicate by Farting

Posted: 25 May 2014 01:00 PM PDT

Herring fish signal each other by what scientists call FRTs. Believe it or not, this stands for Fast Repetitive Tick Sounds. But only recently have they found out what else FRTs mean.

It’s been known for quite some time that these fish make unusual sounds, but it wasn’t until these scientists captured wild herring and observed them in captivity that they realized these fish produce the sounds by expelling air through their anuses. Herring are more likely to make these “Fast Repetitive Tick Sounds” (abbreviated FRTs… we assume the pun is intended) when other fish are present, suggesting that FRTs are used for social communication. Now if only I could use my farts for communicating anything else besides “Retreat!”

There are more details on the science of herring farts at Discover. -via Not Exactly Rocket Science

Brain Smash's Wondrous 3D Paintings Jump off the Walls

Posted: 25 May 2014 12:00 PM PDT

Brain Smash, an art studio in Novosibirsk, Russia, held an exhibition of its 3D work. You can see more photos from the show here. The work is amazing! The images seem to come alive and leap into the gallery. The artists also produce striking indoor murals.

-via Lustik

The 94 Most Badass Soldiers Who Ever Lived

Posted: 25 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT

Cracked has given us lists of heroic wartime figures quite a few times in the past, and now they’ve put together a mega-list compiled from earlier posts, ranking 94 amazing stories of military exploits, all in the colorful language you expect from Cracked. The accounts come from varied times and places, and involve more than the standard valor-in-battle narrative, although there’s plenty of that, too. There are no duds in this list. At #81, Benjamin F. Wilson, who had been a WWII officer, re-enlisted as a private in time for the Korean War. At Hell Hill, he killed seven enemy soldiers and was shot in the leg. But he escaped from his stretcher and went back to the fight -alone, because his unit was retreating.

As everyone knows, a real-life situation where a lone wounded soldier stands against overwhelming odds never ends well for the soldier.

Unless, of course, said soldier features in a Cracked article, in which case he promptly charges the enemy ranks with his rifle, kills three enemy soldiers and scares the shit out of the others. When the enemy physically wrestled the rifle from his hands, he took his goddamn entrenching shovel and annihilated four more enemies.

At this point, the Chinese soldiers decided that Wilson could just keep the damn hill and retreated.

Wilson, in turn, finally allowed the medics to patch him up. Although he did rip his wounds open again the very next day, when he killed 33 enemy soldiers in another one-man assault. At that point, the Army actually had to remind Wilson's wildly medal-recommending superiors that no one is awarded more than one Medal of Honor.

And that story is ranked at #81. In a list this long, there are heroes that you’re familiar with, but there are also a lot of battlefield stories you’ve never heard of that deserve to be remembered this Memorial Day weekend. Read them all (and not all of them are human) at Cracked.

The Science Behind Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT


(Game of Death t-shirt now on sale at the NeatoShop)

The famous martial artist and actor Bruce Lee could knock a man flat with a fist that traveled only one inch. How? William Herkewitz of Popular Mechanics decided to find out.

Lee was successful in part because he had mastered his body in such a way that he could use every muscle optimally in order to bring the greatest possible force to bear under that distance constraint. Herkewitz talked to Jessica Rose, a biomechanical researcher at Stanford University:

By the time the one-inch punch has made contact with its target, Lee has combined the power of some of the biggest muscles in his body into a tiny area of force. But while the one-inch punch is built upon the explosive power of multiple muscles, Rose insists that Bruce Lee’s muscles are actually not the most important engine behind the blow.

"Muscle fibers do not dictate coordination," Rose says, "and coordination and timing are essential factors behind movements like this one-inch punch."

Because the punch happens over such a short amount of time, Lee has to synchronize each segment of the jab—his twisting hip, extending knees, and thrusting shoulder, elbow, and wrist—with incredible accuracy. Furthermore, each joint in Lee’s body has a single moment of peak acceleration, and to get maximum juice out of the move, Lee must layer his movements so that each period of peak acceleration follows the last one instantly.


(Video Link)

And that coordination takes us into the field of neuroscience. Ed Roberts, a neuroscientist at Imperial College London, studied how the brains of martial arts practitioners behaved during physical feats. He found that the activity of the white matter in the brain was decisive:

And when Roberts took brain scans of his study’s participants, he also found that the force and coordination of each participant’s two-inch punch was directly related to the microstructure of white matter—the substance that manages communication between brain cells—in a part of the brain called the supplementary motor cortex. This is important, because this brain region handles the coordination between the muscles of the limbs, which close-range punches rely on. The altered white matter allows for more abundant or complex cell connections in that brain region, Roberts says, which could increase the puncher’s ability to synchronize his or her movements.

So Bruce Lee owes his master feat in part to a beefed-up glob of white matter. But that doesn’t diminish the grandeur of the one-inch punch one bit. Like his muscles, Lee earned his brainpower the hard way, with many years of practice. Roberts says the white matter changes in his study’s participants can be traced to the concept of neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to fundamentally rewire itself to cope with new demands. The more karate experts practiced these coordinated moves, the more the white matter in their supplementary motor cortex adapts.

-via Glenn Reynolds

Tolkien Reveals True Meaning Of Lord Of The Rings In Unearthed Recordings

Posted: 25 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT

(Video Link)

A recently unearthed audio recording from the "Hobbit Dinner", which took place in Rotterdam in 1958, finds Tolkien reading excerpts from The Hobbit as Bilbo, reading a poem in Elvish, and celebrating the love his fans have for Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth. And if that isn't enough to make Tolkien fans go squee he also set the records straight on the true meaning of The Lord Of The Rings.

Here's how this amazing audio recording came to see the light of day:

This reel-to-reel tape was discovered in 1993 by a Dutchman named René van Rossenberg, a Tolkien expert who owns a shop in the Netherlands devoted to all things Middle-earth (TolkienShop.com). Why didn't van Rossenberg show it to anybody until now?

"Like Smaug I am guarding my treasure, hissing at any collector who comes near," he recently stated in response to my email query. Fortunately, a Middle-earth maven named Jay Johnstone, one of the founders of the fantasy/sci-fi site Legendarium.me, sleuthed that van Rossenberg had the recording in his possession, and persuaded him to open his dragon hoard.

Read more about this amazing Tolkien audio treasure over at Huffington Post.

Fox Freed from Cricket Net

Posted: 25 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT

(YouTube link)

When a fox kit got caught in a cricket net, a call went in to the Wildlife Aid Foundation. A guy from their rescue team responded wearing a GoPro camera, so we get an up close and personal look at the process. Since the fox was in good condition, he was released to go find his mother. He’s awfully cute, even in his distress. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Super Green - The Elements Of Intergalactic Super Stardom

Posted: 25 May 2014 07:00 AM PDT


Super Green by Amanda Flagg

The most important element to being an intergalactic celebrity is your own personal sense of style, and when you've got it you gotta flaunt it baby, 'cause super green is hot hot hot!

Keeping your wardrobe fresh is easy when you're wearing this Super Green t-shirt by Amanda Flagg, it's the perfect attire for a first time trip to a music festival or your fifth time touring the cosmos.

Be sure to visit Amanda's Facebook and Twitter, then head over to her NeatoShop for more far out designs:

HYUK!Free HugsChocolate ChipsterYOLO - You Obviously Love Owls

View more designs by Amanda Flagg | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Artist Makes the Photoreal Surreal

Posted: 25 May 2014 07:00 AM PDT

 
Iranian artist Hossein Zare uses Photoshop as his medium in these alluring photographs that are reminiscent of iconic French surrealist painter René Magritte. More of Zare's work can be seen on Facebook and at his 500px site. 

Images Credit: Hossein Zare.
Via: Laughing Squid 

   




 

   

  

Aug(De)Mented Reality

Posted: 25 May 2014 06:00 AM PDT

(YouTube link)

Storyboard artist Marty Cooper uses animation cels with a Sharpie and White-Out to add characters and funny details to real-life backgrounds. We saw his art a couple of months ago in still images. Now we see his imaginative additions in animated form on video! See more doodles at Cooper's blog. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

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