What movies, books, etc., are there where enemies are forced to work side by side against a common threat? Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Posted Aug 28, 2011, 6:31 PM UTC
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The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
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I've never been a fan of westerns -- not that I can't watch them, there just always seems to be something I'd rather watch in another genre -- and I recognize that this has probably led me to miss some great movies. I'll try starting with this one.
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Once Upon a Time in the West is probably my favorite western (admittedly, I haven't seen many) and I recommend that to anyone that likes movies.
I recommend the whole trilogy (Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and TG,TB,TU). I also recommend Kurosawa's Sanjuro and Yojimbo and the Korean film "The Good, The Bad and The Weird."
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Thanks for the recommendations -- much appreciated.
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The Killer (movie) - Hitman, Cop who is after him Vs. Crime Lord
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Thanks, I will look for this. Is this the Chow Yun Fat one?
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There's the tragically underrated Frank Sinatra film None But the Brave, about a platoon of American soldiers and a platoon of Japanese soldiers are both marooned on a not-very-hospitable island in the South Pacific. The Japanese have water; the Americans have a medic. Both groups have to work together to survive... until the Americans get their radio repaired.
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This sounds like exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for and I've never even heard of it, much less seen it, so thanks very much for bringing it to my attention. Plus, you know, Frank Sinatra -- how can I not win? I'll have a look for this immediately.
Also, I'm always happy to find a way to get to know actors from other cultures and I just had a quick look at this movie's cast on IMDB -- they have a list of credits that spans everything from Kurosawa to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, so that's a bonus.
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The Defiant Ones, "Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture."
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Sounds like Stir Crazy, but probably better.
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Thanks. I've meant to see this for, well, decades actually. Maybe now I'll actually get to it.
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Alien Vs. Predator
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I was kind of put off this movie by bad reviews, but I'll put all that aside and give it a try. Thanks.
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Don't get me wrong, this is a shitty movie. You asked for stories where enemies work together. This movie satisfies that criteria, but will satisfy little else.
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Ah, thanks for the clarification. Still, maybe I can spare 90 minutes or whatever the running time is just to see how it fits into the paradigm. Don't worry, I take full responsibility for my viewing of this movie -- no litigation will be forthcoming accusing you of ruining my life and crushing my imagination.
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If anything, it should inspire you.
"THAT was able to be made into a movie. Surely I can do better than THAT."
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Blade two
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I kind of lost track of this series after the first one, but not because it was bad or I wasn't interested -- more just life getting in the way -- so I'll try giving this a watch.
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Lawrence of Arabia
Flash Gordon
The third Twilight movie (I get the names confused)
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Lawrence, my favourite movie ever and I totally overlooked it as fitting with this theme. Thanks for putting that in perspective.
I've never seen Flash Gordon, so I'll give it a try. I've seen the first two Twilight movie and have been meaning to get to the third one, so this will move it up the list.
Thanks for the suggestions.
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Great, glad to help. Lawrence is one of my favorites too.
Disclaimer on Flash Gordon, it's a total cheesefest. But if you look at it the right way, it's actually really unique. I actually think of it as one of the best bad movies ever made. Not in the Ed Wood sense... it was big budget. It was very bold for its time, tried to bring a bizarre comic book world to life, at a time when about the only big budget screen adaptation of a superhero was Superman the Movie. Also, FG's soundtrack (by Queen) is really awesome and still holds up. It alone is worth the price of admission, IMO, to a real connoisseur of the genre.
Also, I'm not sure whether it will provide help for exactly what you're looking for, but you never know.
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Thanks for the head's up. I can handle a cheesefest, especially if it has an awesome Queen soundtrack (I've seen comments about the soundtrack elsewhere too). And if it really was created when the only other major studio picture based on a comic was the first Superman then I'm interested to see it for that reason alone -- I think any picture in that position really had its work cut out for it. I remember Superman coming out and what a game changer that was.
As for whether it will provide what I'm looking for, I guess we'll see. I really just want to find as many possible permutations of the "enemies forced to work together against a common foe" trope because I'm planning a story in that vein.
Thanks again.
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Welcomes. If you watch it, would love it if you reply here with your thoughts. I saw it in 7th grade and maybe a couple times on late-night HBO (Cinemax actually) in high school... so it's possible my views are whacked. (I'm 43 now.) Would be interesting to hear what it looks to fresh eyes and somebody who's open to the idea (for historical cinematic reasons) but otherwise used to contemporary blockbusters.
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There was this great Pirates of Dark water episode. The protagonist and antagonist where chained together on an obsticle course thing. I think it was in season two.
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Thanks, I'll take a look for this.
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The Hero From Otherwhere (excellent young adult fantasy--though looking at the price, I'd find a library copy....)
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This looks great -- thanks very much for pointing it out.
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The Mighty Ducks.
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Never did get around to seeing this -- thanks for putting it on the list.
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Assault on precinct 13... I liked the original but I tend to have a soft spot for movies from the seventies with little plot and a great deal of bloodshed. Now they did remake it in 2005 so if you don't like old b movies you can always watch a bigger budget remake staring cowboy Curtis.
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Oh, no -- no remake for me. Sign me up for the original for sure. I love 70s B movies. I will definitely look around for a copy of this.
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Invader Zim! hah
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Had never heard of this, but I enjoy a good toon. Just looked it up on IMDB and it looks interesting -- thanks.
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Invader Zim is a childrens show sort of but not really. It's hilarious and sometimes makes you think. It's on netflix but im sure you can find it around the internet somewhere as well
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Much appreciated.
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Pulp Fiction -- Butch and Marcellus Wallace team up against the pawn store guys.
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I had forgotten that part -- thanks.
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Isn't the "The Bridge on the River Kwai" ( 1957 ) a bit like that? The Japanese officers are given a near impossible mandate by their high command of building a railroad in the jungle and would have to commit ritual suicide if they failed. So some how the allied POWs leader come to an agreement to build a bridge.
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That may be -- I don't know because this is one of those classics I've always meant to see but still haven't. And I love David Lean too, so I guess I'd better check it out. Thanks for the tip.
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X2: X-Men United Pitch Black (to an extent)
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Try The Tale of Zatoichi, the first Blind Swordsman movie (I think)... he becomes friends with the guy he's going to have to fight at the end of the movie... they just have to wait for the war to officially begin before they can start trying to kill each other. The kicker is, they're the only people who understand each other. Although, if you don't like westerns, you might not like this one, either.
Also: there's Hell In The Pacific, which I haven't seen since I was a kid, so I can't recommend it or not, but you might look into it. James Bond movies and all the Indiana Jones films usually have the good guys and bad guys getting casual at one time or another. The Departed and Gangs of New York both give DiCaprio lots of screen time with the villains.
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The Zatoichi movie sounds excellent -- thanks for the tip.
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Enemy Mine (movie)
Yup. Great movie.
Daah-whidge
Zammis get four, five?
Thanks for this -- I actually saw this years ago and enjoyed it, but forgot about it in the meantime.