My Best War films of All-Time
This is a list of what I consider the best of the War genre. I will get to more foreign films (I'm in the U.S.) but alot of times I find reading subtitles to distract from the overall experience, so forgive me if there are not alot of them on here. There are a few older films, but as I am 36, I tend to stick to movies that are more recent, and the development of movies has advanced and surpassed alot of films that an older generation grew up on. Also I know great films like "Schindlers List" or "Pan's Labrynth," make alot of these lists, and although do take place DURING a war time, I tried to focus on films about war itself and not movies that are related to it. I'll try to update this list when I feel I've seen a movie that deserves to be listed, but plan on keeping this list at around 50 max. Respectful comments, or suggestions are always welcome and I will try to respond to any I can. Enjoy!
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- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.This is my best of All-time to date. This is a movie that changed a genre forever. The battle scenes, especially the Omaha Beach scenes are beyond compare. Instead of the standard feel of making the viewer feel they are watching a battle scene, this movie puts the viewer in the middle of the action and forces you to WITNESS the carnage. So far, it just doesn't get better than this.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.An all-star who's who of films elite actors give this true to history tale a worthy salute. Sure there are a few corny 70's war movie dramatized cliche moments, but the battle scenes stand up to time and the fact that it did a good job telling the true story of Allied Airbourne troops and a tragic defeat that planning estimated was just a bridge too far to succeed make this one one of the best ever.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam masterpiece. This one has it all blood, guts, action, drama, a dry wit, and a performance by R. Lee Ermy that just could not be matched by anyone ever, especially because he ad libbed alot of his dialog on the spot with the cameras rolling. If you have never watched this one than you should never call yourself a war movie fan.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.A harrowing tale of those that lurked beneath the surface. This movie was great enough that I could stomach subtitles, and captures the feared U-boat crews of the German war machine and the claustropobic fears of certain inescapable death that Allied and Axis submariners alike felt beneath the depths.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.A great look at the psychological toll of the modern IED battlefield. This one goes far to bring the sense of always being somewhat isolated, out in the open, and always being watched. Jeremy Renner's true break out performance that transformed him from a bit part, co-star to a full fledged A-list lead actor.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.Francis Ford Coppolla's trippy fictional Veitnam, Special Forces officer gone wrong and targeted by his own government masterpeice is a staple in the War genre. Be sure to see the deleted scene Redux version for an even better veiwing experience.
- StarsScott GrimesDamian LewisRon LivingstonThe story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.The true story of Easy Company, of the 101st Airbourne Division and their trek across the Battlefields of WWII Europe. I usually wouldn't list a mini-series but the story is extremely compelling, brutally honest, and puts a lot of full fledged Hollywood movies to shame. The acting is great and because of it's epic scope a big screen version would have never been possible.
- StarsJames Badge DaleJoseph MazzelloJon SedaThe Pacific Theatre of World War II, as seen through the eyes of several young Marines.Much like "Band of Brothers," but on the Pacific theater of WWII. This one is worth watching for the sheer carnage and horrible conditions the Marines somehow were able to slog through, and somehow a few actually survived. I don't think this one was quite as engaging as it's European counterpart, but still a must see Masterpiece.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.The story of probably the best American General to put on the Uniform. George C. Scott gives a great performance of a man who's own candidness and ego often put him at odds with his superiors, but whose brilliance put him indirect competition with British Field Marshall Montgomery, and led him to turn the tables and exact a Blitzkrieg of his own on the Germans. So revered is the man in American military circles that an Armored Division still wears their Division patch over thier hearts, even against military uniform regulations, just to honor him.
As a former paratrooper myself though, I do have to side with the Airbourne troops at Bastogne when they say of Patton's supposed "rescue" of them that, "They weren't rescued by Patton, they were never in need of being rescued!" - DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.A liberal dramatization of the fight for Scottish freedom led by the marytr William Wallace. OK, so this one plays very loose with the facts but the battle scenes of Medeival warfare are done in a great way, and this movie is full of great blood and guts brutality. Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but this is a great epic movie. When the seas of humanity run screaming onto the middle of the battlefield the collision of the sword, axe, and spear weilding is cinematic art and magic.
- DirectorHarald ZwartStarsThomas GullestadJonathan Rhys MeyersMarie BlokhusThey were 12 saboteurs. The Nazis killed 11 of them. This is the true story of the one that got away.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsRon EldardZak OrthFrank WhaleyA private in the latter days of WWII on the German front struggles between his will to survive and what his superiors perceive as a battlefield instinct.Originally a HBO movie, it showed why that network always recieves such praise. It is an interesting story of an American soldier that through luck and just looking out for himself has survived where others parished, and because of it he is considered a model soldier. Yet instead of the regular cliche American hero, he is just a regular guy that wants no responsibilty, no promotion, no friends or praise. He could care less about winning the war or completing any kind of objective and just wants to be done with it. He just wants to survive so he can go home. It's a great story that bears true human feeling and instincts for survival mixed with the brutality and violence of war.
- DirectorSaul DibbStarsPaul BettanySam ClaflinStephen GrahamSet in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, it is the story of a group of British officers, led by mentally-disintegrating young Officer Stanhope, as they await their fate.There are not a lot of modern movies about WWI. Which also means there are not a lot of good ones about WWI. Journey's End is a good one. I would have liked to see a little more action in this one but, as far as war goes, it has always been a case of minutes/hours of fury followed by long boring suffering. This movie illustrates that fairly well, with an eerie sense of impending doom. I recommend checking it out.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsFionn WhiteheadBarry KeoghanMark RylanceAllied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.This one was highly anticipated, but I have to say, I was a little let down. It is a good movie but I felt the action on the beach was a little lacking and sanitary for the gritty movie it was trying to be and the screwy timeline left me a little underwhelmed and disappointed. I also would have liked to see more of the action leading up to the beach head. On a good note, it has a grim sense of anticipation through out and the music was well used to set that desperate tone. It also has the cold crisp dreary feeling that can only be British. Still a good war, but the hype was much more than what was delivered.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.The story is compelling, and had a long hard effect on Bill Clinton's policies. The movie sticks to the real story, the cinematography is good, and the action is realistic and continues throughout. Most importantly it tells the story (although admittedly a bit part) of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients Randall D. Shughart and Gary I Gordon, who lost their lives to protect a comrade even against all recomendations and knowing full well they would probably not come back.
I do have some issues with this one. Ewan McGregor, and Josh Harnett woudn't be my first choice for their roles. Secondly, I am always a bit confused as to why there are so many foreign actors playing the role of American heros. Regardless, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, and William Fitchner give great performances in this one. - DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsGeorge DzundzaJason PatricSteven BauerA Soviet tank and its warring crew become separated from their patrol and lost in an Afghan valley with a group of vengeance-seeking rebels on their tracks.A pretty good tale of a Soviet tank crew that gets cut off from the rest of their unit and is pursued into an ambush during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The solitude of their tank in a foriegn, barren land makes for an interesting film, and if not for the technology advances of the U.S. Military now, it could be just as relevant today.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsStan ShawAndrew StevensJames CanningIn 1967, five young men undergo boot camp training before being shipped out to Vietnam. Once they get there, the experience proves worse than they could have imagined.A very honest harsh portrayal of the tribulations of those who go off to war. This movie is much like "Full Metal Jacket," but doesn't have the artistic swagger that Stanley Kubrick gave to that movie. This is a more stripped down and dirty movie that shows the true horror of war by showing the sheer uncontrollable circumstances that accompany those that serve.
- DirectorKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard BurtonThe events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.This is a nostaglic pick. I really am not a huge John Wayne fan, but this movie does a great job presenting the actual events of arguably if not one of, the most important days of the 20th century. Also as a former member of the 82nd Airbourne Division myself, the scene of a paratrooper hanging from the church steeple at Saint Mere Aglise, is not only an iconic scene, but a factual one from 82nd history.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJude LawEd HarrisJoseph FiennesA Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.An underrated war movie about a legendary Russian Sniper in the sad carnage of Word War II's true hellish nightmare of Stalingrad. It does tell the story in a Russian propaganda style, but it is worthy of more attention than it ever recieved.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldStarsMatthew KnollElliot RuizEric MehalacopoulosAn investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb.I can't stand the Director's politics, and I think it is abhorent to film this movie in such a documentary way, and come out and say it's the whole, and totally true account of the incident, especially when he gives almost all credence to the Iraqi point of view. There are several sides to the story but he chooses to believe just 1.
On the other hand it is well created ,edited, and has a very realistic feel to it, pretty good acting and deserves to be seen on those points alone. So watch it for its overall film crafting and try to stay out of the politics BS that this movie tries to sink you into.