Friendly Fire

“War movies: One of the core genres of the cinema. From the earliest days of the form, filmmakers have been trying to capture and comment on war. Do these films accurately represent the battles they depict? And are they more useful as depictions of history, or as artifacts from the eras in which they were made? Do enough of them have Brian Dennehy? Join Adam Pranica (network page), Ben Harrison, and John Roderick for Friendly Fire, the war movie podcast that answers all these questions and more!”

This show was produced and edited by Rob Schulte and was released on the Maximum Fun podcast network.
After the BeanDad incident in January of 2021 the show was cancelled on behalf of Adam and Ben.
The intro music is War by Edwin Starr.
The logo art is by Nick Ditmore.

Episode Release date Movie Year Plot Intro by
2018
1 2018-01-12 Saving Private Ryan 1998 World War II, Invasion of Normandy John *
2 2018-01-19 Run Silent, Run Deep 1958 World War II, submarine warfare John *
3 2018-01-26 Flying Lethernecks 1951 World War II, US Marine Corps aviators John *
4 2018-02-02 First Blood 1982 Vietnam War veteran John Rambo John *
5 2018-02-09 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2003 Napoleonic Wars John *
6 2018-02-16 Stalag 17 1953 World War II, Luftwaffe POW-camp John *
7 2018-02-23 Braveheart 1995 Scotland year 1280 Ben *
8 2018-03-02 Zulu 1964 Anglo-Zulu War, Battle of Rorke's Drift Ben *
9 2018-03-08 Fires on the Plain 1959 World War II, Battle of Leyte John *
BONUS 2018-03-13 7 Days in Entebbe 2018 Operation Entebbe year 1976 John *
10 2018-03-16 Fury 2014 World War II, US tank crews John *
11 2018-03-23 Enemy at the Gates 2001 World War II, Battle of Stalingrad John *
12 2018-03-30 MASH 1970 Korean War, Mobile Army Surgical Hospital John *
13 2018-04-06 Three Kings 1999 Gulf War, Gold heist John *
14 2018-04-13 Force 10 from Navarone 1978 British-American War John *
15 2018-04-20 Red Dawn 1984 World War III, invasion by Nicaragua John
16 2018-04-27 Red Dawn 2012 World War III, invasion by North Korea John
17 2018-05-04 Glory 1989 American Civil War John
18 2018-05-11 The Battle of Algiers 1966 Algerian War John
19 2018-05-18 Rescue Dawn 2006 Vietnam War John
20 2018-05-25 From Here to Eternity 1953 World War II, Pearl Harbor John
21 2018-06-01 The African Queen 1951 World War I, novel adaption John
22 2018-06-08 Clear and Present Danger 1994 War on drugs John
23 2018-06-15 The Dirty Dozen 1967 World War II, D-Day invasion John
24 2018-06-22 Apocalypse Now 1979 Vietnam War John
25 2018-06-29 The Last of the Mohicans 1992 French and Indian War (Seven Years' War) John
26 2018-07-06 Paradise Now 2005 Palestine John
27 2018-07-13 Mongol (Монгол) 2007 Genghis Khan John
28 2018-07-20 Operation Dumbo Drop 1995 Vietnam War (Comedy) John
29 2018-07-27 The Siege 1998 War on terror John
30 2018-03-03 Platoon, w/ Chuck Bryant 1986 Vietnam War John
31 2018-08-10 The Enemy Below 1957 World War II, anti-submarine warfare Rob
32 2018-08-17 Paisan 1946 World War II, Italian Campaign John
33 2018-08-24 Star Wars 1977 Galactic Empire vs Rebel Alliance (SciFi) John
34 2018-08-31 Aliens 1986 Hostile alien creatures (SciFi) John
35 2018-09-07 Kelly's Heroes 1970 World War II (Comedy) John
36 2018-09-14 Army of Shadows (L'armée des ombres) 1969 World War II, French Resistance John
37 2018-09-21 Dr. Strangelove 1964 Cold War (Political satire) John
38 2018-09-28 Sands of Iwo Jima 1949 World War II, Battle of Iwo Jima John
39 2018-10-05 Sicario 2015 War on drugs John
40 2018-10-12 U-571 2000 World War II, submarine warfare John
41 2018-10-19 Von Ryan's Express 1965 World War II, POW-camp John
42 2018-10-26 Downfall (Der Untergang) 2004 World War II, Final Ten Days John
43 2018-11-02 Ran (乱) 1985 Sengoku-period John
44 2018-11-09 All Quiet on the West Front 1930 World War I John
45 2018-11-16 Biloxi Blues 1988 World War II John
46 2018-11-23 The Deer Hunter 1978 Vietnam War John
47 2018-11-30 Valkyrie 2008 World War II, Hitler-assassination John
48 2018-12-07 Pearl Harbor 2001 World War II, Pearl Harbor John
49 2018-12-14 Courage Under Fire 1996 Gulf War John
50 2018-12-21 Black Book (Zwartboek) 2006 World War II, Resistance in the Netherlands Adam
51 2018-12-28 RoboCop 1987 War on Crime (Action Movie) John
2019
52 2019-01-04 Paths of Glory 1957 World War I Ben
53 2019-01-11 Letters from Iwo Jima (硫黄島からの手紙) 2006 World War II, Battle of Iwo Jima John
54 2019-01-18 Flags of Our Fathers 2006 World War II, Battle of Iwo Jima John
55 2019-01-25 Inglourious Basterds 2009 World War II (Alternate History Story) John
56 2019-02-01 Salvador 1986 Salvadoran Civil War John
57 2019-02-08 Behind Enemy Lines 2001 Bosnian War Ben
58 2019-02-15 Conan the Barbarian 1982 (Fantasy Adventure) Adam
59 2019-02-22 Heaven & Earth 1993 Vietnam War Rob
60 2019-03-01 Green Zone 2010 Second War in Iraq Ben
61 2019-03-08 USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage 2016 World War II, Philippine Sea John
62 2019-03-15 Memphis Belle 1990 World War II, B-17 Flying Fortress Adam
63 2019-03-22 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 World War II, Burma Railway Construction John
64 2019-03-29 Predator 1987 (Science Fiction Action Horror) John
65 2019-04-05 Operation Chromite (인천상륙작전) 2016 Korean War, Battle of Inchon Rob
66 2019-04-12 Dunkirk 2017 World War II, Dunkirk Evacuation John
67 2019-04-19 Darkest Hour 2018 World War II, Winston Churchill Adam
68 2019-04-26 The Key 1958 World War II, Battle of the Atlantic Ben
69 2019-05-03 Redbad 2018 Medieval times, Dutch heroes Rob
70 2019-05-10 Crash Dive 1943 World War II, submarine USS Corsair Adam
71 2019-05-17 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944 World War II, Pearl Harbor Ben
72 2019-05-24 Come and See 1985 World War II, Invasion of Belarus Adam
73 2019-05-31 The Promise 2016 Armenian Genocide, Ottoman Empire Ben
74 2019-06-07 The Hurt Locker 2008 Second War in Iraq Adam
75 2019-06-14 The Sum of all Fears 2002 Yom Kippur War (Spy Thriller) Ben
76 2019-06-21 Red Cliff (赤壁) 2008 Han Dynasty, Battle of Red Cliffs Adam
77 2019-06-28 The Night of the Shooting Stars 1982 World War II (Fantasy War Drama) Ben
78 2019-07-05 Raiders of the Lost Ark, live from LA 1981 World War II (Action Adventure) John
79 2019-07-12 The Great Escape, w/ Chuck Bryant 1963 World War II, POW camp Stalag Luft III Adam
80 2019-07-19 A Private War 2018 Marie Colvin (Biography) Ben
81 2019-07-26 Casualties of War 1989 Vietnam War, Incident on Hill 192 John
82 2019-08-02 The Ottoman Lieutenant 2017 Armenian Genocide, Ottoman Empire Adam
83 2019-08-09 The Patriot 2000 American Revolutionary War Ben
84 2019-08-16 Hacksaw Ridge 2016 World War II, combat medic Desmond Doss John
85 2019-08-23 Outside the Law 2010 Algerian independence movement Ben
86 2019-08-30 The Big Red One 1980 World War II (Autobiography) Adam
87 2019-09-06 Lebanon 2009 Lebanon War Ben
88 2019-09-13 Forrest Gump 1994 Vietnam War John
89 2019-09-20 Zero Dark Thirty 2012 Manhunt for Osama bin Laden Ben
90 2019-09-27 The Mouse That Roared 1959 Duchy of Grand Fenwick (Satirical Comedy) Adam
91 2019-10-04 They Were Expendable 1945 World War II, Battle of the Philippines Ben
92 2019-10-11 The Sun (Сóлнце) 2005 World War II, Japanese Emperor Adam
93 2019-10-18 Eye in the Sky 2015 Drone Warfare Ben
94 2019-10-25 The Bridge at Remagen 1969 World War II, capturing the Ludendorff Bridge Adam
95 2019-11-01 Beasts of No Nation 2015 Guerrilla wars in West Africa Ben
96 2019-11-08 Captain America: The First Avenger 2011 Marvel Universe (Superhero Movie) Adam
97 2019-11-15 Top Secret! 1984 Cold War (Action Comedy) Adam
98 2019-11-22 Alexander (The Ultimate Cut) 2004 Alexander the Great, Macedonian Greeks Ben
99 2019-11-29 Major Dundee 1965 American Civil War Adam
100 2019-12-06 Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970 World War II, Pearl Harbor John
101 2019-12-13 Hamburger Hill 1987 Vietnam War, Battle of Hamburger Hill Adam
102 2019-12-20 Anthropoid 2016 World War II, Czechoslovakia Ben
103 2019-12-27 Das Boot 1981 World War II, submarine warfare Adam
2020
104 2020-01-03 A Bridge Too Far 1977 World War II, Operation Market Garden Ben
105 2020-01-10 North West Frontier 1959 British India Adam
106 2020-01-17 Behold a Pale Horse 1964 Spanish Civil War Ben
107 2020-01-24 Stalingrad 2013 World War II, attack on Stalingrad Adam
108 2020-01-31 K-19: The Widowmaker 2002 Cold War, submarine warfare Ben
109 2020-02-07 1917 2019 World War I, Operation Alberich Adam
110 2020-02-14 Air Force 1943 World War II, Pearl Harbor Adam
111 2020-02-21 The English Patient 1996 World War II, Italian Campaign Adam
112 2020-02-28 Gallipoli 1981 World War I, Gallipoli Campaign Ben
113 2020-03-06 Action in the North Atlantic 1943 World War II, U.S. Merchant Marine Adam
114 2020-03-13 War Witch (Rebelle) 2012 Child soldiers, Civil War in Africa Ben
115 2020-03-20 Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) 2006 Spanish Civil War (Fantasy Drama) John
116 2020-03-27 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 World War I, Ottoman Empire John
117 2020-04-03 The Adventures of Gerard 1970 Napoleonic Wars (Comedy) John
118 2020-04-10 The Guns of Navarone 1961 World War II, Battle of Leros Adam
119 2020-04-17 Black Hawk Down 2001 Mogadishu-raid Ben
120 2020-04-24 Cross of Iron 1977 World War II, Eastern Front Adam
121 2020-05-01 Good Morning, Vietnam 1987 Vietnam War (Comedy) John
122 2020-05-08 The Steel Helmet 1951 Korean War John
123 2020-05-15 Fixed Bayonets! 1951 Korean War John
124 2020-05-22 The Night of the Generals 1967 World War II, Warsaw Adam
125 2020-05-29 The Final Countdown 1980 World War II, Pearl Harbor (Alternate History) John
126 2020-06-05 Their Finest 2016 World War II, London Blitz (Comedy Drama) John
127 2020-06-12 Megan Leavey 2017 Second War in Iraq (Biography) John
128 2020-06-19 Operation Pacific 1951 World War II, submarine warfare Ben
129 2020-06-26 Da 5 Bloods 2020 Vietnam War, CIA airplane crash Adam
130 2020-07-03 Carter's Army (aka Black Brigade) 1970 World War II, African-American soldiers John
131 2020-07-10 In Which We Serve 1942 World War II, Battle of Crete Adam
132 2020-07-17 Gladiator 2000 Roman Empire (Historical Drama) John
133 2020-07-24 Good Kill 2014 War on terror, drone warfare John
134 2020-07-31 The Admiral: Roaring Currents (명량) 2014 Battle of Myeongnyang Ben
135 2020-08-07 War Games 1983 Cold War (Pork Chop teaser) John
136 2020-08-14 The Great Raid 2005 World War II, Philippines, Cabanatuan Raid John
137 2020-08-21 Greyhound 2020 World War II, Battle of the Atlantic Ben
138 2020-08-28 Mulan 1998 China, Northern Wei era John
139 2020-09-04 Path to War 2002 Vietnam War Ben
140 2020-09-11 Dead Presidents 1995 Vietnam War (Crime Thriller) Adam
141 2020-09-18 Lone Survivor 2013 War in Afghanistan, Operation Red Wings John
142 2020-09-25 Jakob the Liar 1999 World War II, Poland (Comedy Drama) John
143 2020-10-02 Flight of the Intruder 1991 Vietnam War, Grumman A-6 Intruder Adam
144 2020-10-09 Thirteen Days 2000 Cuban Missile Crisis John
145 2020-10-16 The Devil's Own 1997 Terrorism in Ireland John
146 2020-10-23 The Secret Invasion 1964 World War II, Cairo (fiction) Ben
147 2020-10-30 The Sea Wolves 1980 World War II, Operation Creek, India John
148 2020-11-06 Exodus 1960 State of Israel John
149 2020-11-13 Age of Heroes 2011 World War II, 30 Commando Unit Adam
150 2020-11-20 Battleship Potemkin 1925 Battleship Potemkin mutiny Ben
151 2020-11-27 In the Army Now 1994 (War Comedy Film) John
152 2020-12-04 Troy 2004 Trojan War (Epic Historical War Film) Adam
153 2020-12-11 Attack! 1956 World War II, fictive mission John
154 2020-12-18 A Midnight Clear 1992 World War II, Battle of the Bulge Ben
155 2020-12-25 Operation Amsterdam 1959 World War II, Invasion of the Netherlands Adam
156 2021-01-01 Duck Soup 1933 Freedonia (Comedy) Adam

* = short intro
= full transcript available

Official website: Friendly Fire, also on Maximum Fun and on Art19
Official Twitter-feeds: Friendly Fire Podcast, Adam, Ben, John, Robs, #friendlyfire
Official Facebook group (soon to be archived): Friendly Fire
Official Subreddit: Friendly Fire Podcast Appreciation Society. There is also a thread for each episode on the Maximum Fun subreddit.
There is a timeline of all the war movies maintained by Michael Ahr.
There is a spreadsheet with episode information, notably a compilation of all the ratings, and some graphs maintained by Ian.

Further information

John gave an interview about this show on Episode 13 of the Who Shot Ya? podcast.
John and Ben have also been on Alison Rosen is your new best friend in the episode from 2018-02-26.

The next movie to watch is chosen by John picking a random number at the end of each episode. From episode 40 on, John is using a 100-sided die that was sent to him by listener Guy Yedwab. The number then corresponds to an entry on Ben's randomized list of movies. That way they are getting a good mix of very well known films and smaller pictures, even in foreign languages. If they pick three movies about the same war in a row, that war is then removed for the next pick.

Episode 44 was not picked at random, but was chosen deliberately for the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of World War I. Episode 48 was not picked at random, but was chosen for the 77th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Episode 67 was not picked at random, but was thematically related to episode 66, both being about Winston Churchill. Episodes 78 and 79 were not picked at random and were a live show and a collaboration that were inserted into the feed. Episode 100 was not picked at random, but was chosen for the 78th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. From episode 80 on Adam has acquired a 120-sided die because John couldn't find his 100-sided die after having sold his house and packed up all his things.

The first 25 episodes were prerecorded before the preview was released on December 20th 2017.

Episode 13, 53, 54, 79 and one other have been recorded face-to-face. Episode 103 has been recorded on Ben's birthday.

In Episodes 97 and 103 John mentions that they often record two episodes per week.

From episode 14 on (plus the out-of-time Bonus-episode), they started to review the movie on a scale of 1-5 "things" picked by Adam. The podcast itself is rated by Adam and Ben at 5 bathtubs, which is the location that John records from each and every time. John only gives it 4,5 bathtubs because it is a show by three white guys talking about war movies.

Episodes 30 and 79 were a collaboration with Movie Crush, guested by Chuck Bryant.

From Episode 40 on, Adam is recording together with John at John's house in his podcasting studio he built for The Omnibus. John and Adam recorded Episode 65 from John's uncle's house in Hawaii. From episode 67 on John recorded at Adam's house because he sold his house. This continued probably until episode 84. Later they record in John's daughter's mother's basement where John records all his other shows until his new house is ready. John recorded Episode 110 together with Ben in Los Angeles.

During the first year the intros to each episode were narrated by John. They became more elaborate since episode 15 and are done round-robin style by all hosts since Episode 50. Transcripts can be found on each episode page. The show opener after the intro is spoken by Ben and a collection of those one-liners can be found here.

After episode 156 was released the production of the show has been suspended because of John being cancelled on Twitter and subjecting everybody involved to a lot of anger from people on the Internet.

Support the show, live shows

This podcast was supported by its listeners and memberships were available here. There were yearly bonus episodes for MaxFun members:

Episode Year Movie Year Plot Intro by
FunDrive 18 2018 Rambo: First Blood Part II, recorded LIVE at SF Sketchfest 2018 1985 Vietnam War veteran John Rambo John *
FunDrive 19 2019 Starship Troopers 1997 Hostile Insectoid Species, "Bugs" John

See also John's Reddit AMA in connection with the 2019 MaxFunDrive.

In 2019 the goal of the MaxFunDrive to acquire 2000 new or upgrading members has been reached. As a perk the hosts were able to do a short US tour with live shows and there is now a "pork chop" feed with war-adjacent movies. Tickets for the live shows could be purchased here. Complete itinerary:

Episode Date Location Movie Year Plot Released as
Live 1 2019-05-20 Brooklyn, NY Top Gun 1985 USS Enterprise, F-14A Tomcat (Recording lost)
Live 2 2019-05-21 Chicago, IL Broken Arrow 1996 US Air Force, B-3 Stealth Bomber (unreleased)
Live 3 2019-06-03 Seattle, WA Commando 1985 Schwarzenegger, Special Forces PorkChop 3
Live 4 2019-06-04 San Francisco, CA The Rock 1996 Alcatraz, US Marines (unreleased)
Live 5 2019-06-11 Los Angeles, CA Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 WWII, Indiana Jones 78

The "Pork Chop" feed contains some of the live shows and some shows recorded in studio:

Episode Date Movie Year Plot Intro by
PorkChop 1 2019-04-30 Wonder Woman 2017 World War I (Superhero Movie) Ben
PorkChop 2 2019-05-31 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 Schwarzenegger, Skynet Adam
PorkChop 3 2019-06-29 Commando, live from Seattle 1985 Schwarzenegger, Special Forces John
PorkChop 4 2019-07-29 Triple Frontier 2019 Action Adventure, Heist Ben
PorkChop 5 2019-08-31 Edge of Tomorrow 2014 Alien Invasion Ben
PorkChop 6 2019-09-30 Spy Game 2001 Trade Agreement US/China (Spy Film) Ben
PorkChop 7 2019-11-02 Lord of War 2005 Weapon Dealers (Crime Drama) Ben
PorkChop 8 2019-12-01 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016 (SciFi Action Adventure) Ben
PorkChop 9 2019-12-31 Rocky IV 1985 Rocky Balboa (Sports Drama) Ben
PorkChop 10 2020-02-02 Rambo III, live from SF Sketchfest 2019 1988 John Rambo in Thailand John
PorkChop 11 2020-03-01 Outbreak 1995 fictional Ebola-like virus Motaba Ben
PorkChop 12 2020-04-02 War of the Worlds 2005 Alien invasion (SciFi Action Thriller) Ben
PorkChop 13 2020-05-03 Patriot Games 1992 CIA action thriller Ben
PorkChop 14 2020-06-10 - - Q&A Episode -
PorkChop 15 2020-07-04 Independence Day 1996 Alien Invasion Ben
PorkChop 16 2020-08-02 War Games 1983 Cold War, Hacking John
PorkChop 17 2020-09-02 Syriana 2005 Oil Industry (Geopolitical Thriller) Ben
PorkChop 18 2020-10-04 Dune 1984 Desert planet Arrakis (SciFi Epic) Ben
PorkChop 19 2020-10-31 Overlord 2018 World War II, D-Day (Horror Film) Ben
PorkChop 20 2020-11-29 Ronin 1998 Heist (Action Thriller) Ben

All members-only episodes were part of the Maximum Fun members-only feed (password required).

John's Personal Stories

John told some personal stories on this podcast that are relevant for this Wiki. Expand section below to see them.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License