For WWII from a historical perspective, I'd go with The Longest Day over Private Ryan. It gives a fairly even handed treatment for all of the combantants, not just USA. Tora, Tora, Tora is similar for Pearl Harbor.
Book: I am a Shepherd. Folks like a man of God. Mal: No, they don't. Men of God make everyone feel guilty and judged.
'Safe'
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A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
DXMachina - May 25, 2016 10:25:21 am PDT #49 of 3455
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
Jesse - May 25, 2016 10:34:41 am PDT #50 of 3455
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
Why not just go with Pearl Harbor ????
DXMachina - May 25, 2016 10:47:20 am PDT #51 of 3455
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
She wanted world history, not fantasy.
SailAweigh - May 25, 2016 11:09:44 am PDT #52 of 3455
Nana korobi, ya oki. (Fall down seven times, stand up eight.) ~Yuzuru Hanyu/Japanese proverb
Also a bit grim, but it shows the aftermath of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there's a Japanese film (subtitled in English) called August Rain. If it helps, it has Richard Gere in it.
Beverly - May 25, 2016 11:52:50 am PDT #53 of 3455
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Would he be too young, or too bored by, Band of Brothers? It covers a lot of WW2 european locations and battle conditions, for all that it's primarily a character study of the men of Easy Company.
Likewise, From the Earth to the Moon (1998--I have no input on more recent versions) is more recent history, but if you're doing The Right Stuff, the miniseries hits a lot of that time period, too.
EpicTangent - May 25, 2016 11:57:20 am PDT #54 of 3455
Why isn't everyone pelting me with JOY, dammit? - Zenkitty
Kind of a very specific WWII topic, but I really enjoyed The Monuments Men.
megan walker - May 25, 2016 2:50:18 pm PDT #55 of 3455
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
Isn't World History going to be less about the 20th century and more about "ancient civilizations" around the world? What are the good movies about Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, China? How about the rise of Islam/Christianity? Medieval Europe and the Renaissance? Why can I not come up with titles for these topics?
-t - May 25, 2016 2:55:33 pm PDT #56 of 3455
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Ooh, Mongol, I forget who it's by I think it's Russian. About Genghis Khan, very good. I honestly don't remember if it was subtitled or what.
SailAweigh - May 25, 2016 3:36:27 pm PDT #57 of 3455
Nana korobi, ya oki. (Fall down seven times, stand up eight.) ~Yuzuru Hanyu/Japanese proverb
Ooh, I don't think Spartacus has been mentioned, yet; or Cleopatra.
Vonnie K - May 25, 2016 3:40:03 pm PDT #58 of 3455
Kiss me, my girl, before I'm sick.
What are the good movies about Ancient Egypt
Unfortunately, all we seem to have are terrible flicks with white actors in brown-face with the background of video game violence. Or they are all about mummies and Egyptian curses, etc. The animated movie about Moses from the 1990s, "Prince of Egypt", was quite good, if I recall.
I think the best filmed material about antiquities are in TV series form. The HBO series "Rome" is fantastic but way too mature for a 15-year-old. And there is the splendid "I, Claudius" -- it's been ages since I watched it, but it's like 12-episode long and might be a bit dry for a high-schooler.