My Favorite War Movies
by Uberkills | created - 30 Dec 2014 | updated - 08 Apr 2015 | PublicA list of my favorite movies set during a war or characters affected by it.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 710,830 | Gross: $83.47M
The best war movie I have ever witnessed. A masterpiece made by Francis Ford Copolla. It was so well made that the movie looked like it was released far later than 1979 (it was shot in 1976!). Despite it's Vietnam War setting, it was never really about the war itself. But the brutality and darkness of Man. It's a clever adaptation of the 1899 novella, "Heart of Darkness".
2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, War
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
Votes: 1,497,524 | Gross: $216.54M
Steven Spielberg presents us the shocking horror of World War II with Saving Private Ryan. It is truly one of the darkest and bleakest war movies out there. Filled with extreme violence not for entertainment, but to show the audience how awful it all was. War is not fun folks.
3. We Were Soldiers (2002)
R | 138 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.
Director: Randall Wallace | Stars: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott
Votes: 151,345 | Gross: $78.12M
Based on the true account of Lt. Col Moore, We Were Soldiers is about the courage and honor of the American soldiers that fought in the first part of the Vietnam War (aka The Second Indochina War). Great performance by Mel Gibson as Moore and well choreographed battle sequences.
4. Zulu (1964)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, History, War
Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth
Votes: 42,768
Set in South Africa in the 1870's, a small company of British soldiers face off against hundred of Zulu warriors. The battle sequences are shot in such a grand scale. If you love to watch huge battles taking place, you're going to love this!
5. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A 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.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,967 | Gross: $46.36M
Simply great work by Stanley Kubrick. Despite being a favorite of mine , I must watch this film a few more times as it's been a while since I last watched it.
6. Black Hawk Down (2001)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Votes: 423,891 | Gross: $108.64M
One of the first war movies I sat down and watched as a kid, Black Hawk Down portrays US soldiers fighting in a conflict that is lesser known to the American Public. The Somali Civil War in 1993 (which technically still continues to this day). There's really not much to say that's good about this film though. I just really thought the firefights and battle scenes were well shot and has become my favorite since then. Next to Alien and Blade Runner, it's one of my favorites from Director Ridley Scott.
7. Lone Survivor (2013)
R | 121 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster
Votes: 306,864 | Gross: $125.10M
I saw this as less than a war flick and more of a story of survival. The name says it itself. Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell is that survivor. Set in Afghanistan, Lone Survivor is portrays a group of Seals fighting for their very lives from Taliban militants. What I also loved about this movie is that it doesn't resort to stereotypes and make all the Aghanis bad guys. Several scenes show the Taliban having a local conflict with a small village that does not want their presence around.
Luttrell is also the kind of soldier I'd greatly respect.
Tell Your Friends