Topical movies?

January 2, 2007 2:49 PM

I am looking for movies about summer camp, movies about people lost at sea, movies about private school, and movies about World War I. Thanks for any suggestions.
posted by hampton to media & arts (40 comments total)

Meaballs
Joe Vs. The Volcano
All Quiet On The Western Front
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:50 PM on January 2, 2007

Also, White Squall covers 2.5 of those (I realized I missed the private school one).
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:52 PM on January 2, 2007

Seconding Meatballs as a great summer camp movie.
posted by amyms at 2:52 PM on January 2, 2007

WWI- "All Quiet on Western Front", Summer Camp- "Little Darlings", Lost at Sea- "Life Boat"
posted by bkeene12 at 2:54 PM on January 2, 2007

WWI: Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front, Gallopoli
posted by mauglir at 2:54 PM on January 2, 2007

Private school: Dead Poets Society
posted by SisterHavana at 2:55 PM on January 2, 2007

Holy cow, this is going to be a long thread.

Summer camp:

The Parent Trap
Heavyweights

Movies about Private School:

Is Dead Poets Society set at a private school?
posted by LoriFLA at 2:59 PM on January 2, 2007

Private school: Rushmore
Lost at Sea: Cast Away
Summer Camp: Jesus Camp
posted by mattbucher at 3:00 PM on January 2, 2007

oops, sisterhavana already mentioned Dead Poets...
posted by LoriFLA at 3:00 PM on January 2, 2007

You might try allmovie.com's keyword search.
posted by box at 3:01 PM on January 2, 2007

Try browsing IMDB keywords. I had a quick look and found about 200 for World War One (see under WW1), and about 100 for "summer camp".

Not sure what type of films you're looking for, but Renoir's Le Grande Illusion (WW1) is apparently very highly thought of.
posted by Infinite Jest at 3:02 PM on January 2, 2007

Open Water
posted by Science! at 3:02 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer Camp Nightmare freaked me out when I was younger. It is basically Lord of the Flies meets Meatballs with some corny amateur night schtick thrown in.
posted by Slap Factory at 3:07 PM on January 2, 2007

Taps is set in a military school rather than a private school, but it does have kids with machine guns.
posted by Burhanistan at 3:09 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer camp: Wet Hot American Summer
Lost at sea: Open Water
Private School: Battle Royale
WWI: Paths of Glory
posted by box at 3:10 PM on January 2, 2007

Private school: Emperor's Club, The Happy Years
posted by daviss at 3:12 PM on January 2, 2007

Camp: Camp.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:39 PM on January 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Private School: Taps
posted by mrbob at 3:49 PM on January 2, 2007

Unfortunately, Battle Royal is about kids from a public school in Japan.

Try Toy Soldiers though.
posted by utsutsu at 3:52 PM on January 2, 2007

Holy cow, this is going to be a long thread.

Maybe this is some kind of viral marketing contest, and the first person to find a movie that meets all four criteria wins a prize. A case of Diet Vanilla Cherry Dr. Pepper, or something.
posted by jbickers at 3:57 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer Camp: Little Darlings
posted by FlamingBore at 3:57 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer Camp: Happy Campers
Private School: Saved
Lost at sea: PT 109, Mutiny on the Bounty
posted by blaneyphoto at 4:00 PM on January 2, 2007

WWI: Un long dimanche de fiançailles(A Very Long Engagement)
posted by shoesfullofdust at 4:02 PM on January 2, 2007

If (private school: note that "public school" in the UK means that the school is private.)
posted by alasdair at 4:07 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer Camp: Indian Summer
posted by lalex at 4:17 PM on January 2, 2007

If you're a Bill Murray fan:

Summer Camp: Meatballs
Private School: Rushmore
WWI: The Razor's Edge
Lost at Sea: The Life Aquatic (OK, this one's a stretch)
posted by forrest at 4:32 PM on January 2, 2007

Boarding and Private Day School Films: A Separate Peace, Finding Forrester, If, Igby Goes Down, Outside Providence, School Ties, The Power of One, The World According to Garp.
posted by ericb at 4:47 PM on January 2, 2007

Lost at Sea: Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT

Summer Camp: ERNEST GOES TO CAMP
posted by cinemafiend at 5:09 PM on January 2, 2007

WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER!
posted by hermitosis at 5:14 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer Camp:
Sleepaway Camp

Lost at Sea:
Castaway (1986)
The Blue Lagoon
Shackleton

Private School:
Private School

WWI:
Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas)
Johnny Got His Gun
Legends of the Fall
posted by Yorrick at 5:21 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer Camp: Camp No Where
Private School: Cruel Intentions
posted by nataliecay at 5:22 PM on January 2, 2007

Not a movie, but a really great radio show about summer camp at this american life.
posted by bigmusic at 5:31 PM on January 2, 2007

The best private school movie I ever saw was If... by Lindsay Anderson.

Unfortunately, Amazon says it's only available on VHS, but this is a truly great film. It stars Malcolm McDowell and has one of the most memorable film endings I've ever seen (not to mention some great corporal punishment).
posted by dhammond at 5:33 PM on January 2, 2007

Public (private) school in the UK: The History Boys; Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

Lost at sea: Lord of the Flies; Robinson Crusoe

Summer camp: Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown
posted by hydrophonic at 6:05 PM on January 2, 2007

Private school: Lost and Delirious
Highly recommended.
posted by loiseau at 6:25 PM on January 2, 2007

World War One: GRAND ILLUSION

Private School: ZERO FOR CONDUCT

These are two of the best films ever made (in the minds of many serious film critics) so of course they should be ripped off at every opportunity....
posted by cinemafiend at 8:53 PM on January 2, 2007

Lost at sea: the first half of The Black Stallion
posted by platinum at 9:34 PM on January 2, 2007

WW1: Regeneration

Summer camp: Summercamp! (this was a special one-night screening at the IFC center in NY; I don't know when or if it will be in general release.)
posted by brujita at 11:33 PM on January 2, 2007

Re: Lord of the Flies
The original is best, although black-and-white.

This list makes me resent the fact I live in a place where mail-order video rental is not available.
posted by Goofyy at 11:46 PM on January 2, 2007

Summer camp: Addams Family Values
posted by martinrebas at 3:57 AM on January 3, 2007