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The pain and agony of war are difficult to capture on film, but many movies have come close.
For a look at the worst and most heroic of humanity, I’ve created a list of the best war movies of all time.
So strap on your army boots and helmet, hang the dog tag around your neck, duck deep into the trenches, and look at some of the best war movies ever made.
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
“I like the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like…victory.”
Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore
Genre: psychological war
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Screenwriters: Francis Ford Coppola, John Milius
Starring: Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen
Description: During the Vietnam War, rogue Lieutenant Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) led a militia in a brutal guerrilla war against local resistance forces and civilians. The Army sends Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) to assassinate the rogue colonel. Willard must make it to the base, enlisting Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore’s (Robert Duvall’s) aid while the horrors of war rage around them.
I love this movie; the awesome performances by all the actors and the cinematography and sound design are still amazing. Watch the director’s cut (Apocalypse Now Redux), and catch a glimpse of a very young Harrison Ford.
Also, check out the Best Quotes from Apocalypse Now here.
2. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
“We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth—with guns.”
Crazy Earl
Genre: war drama
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriters: Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford
Starring: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Ermey
Description: Slow, unintelligent Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his clownish friend J.T. “Joker” Davis (Matthew Modine) are among the latest recruits in the Marines. They have to survive hazing from other soldiers, their brutal drill instructor Hartman (Lee Ermey), and the fragility of their minds before getting shipped out to an even worse hell—Vietnam during the worst of the Vietnam War.
Full Metal Jacket is a great movie, and what I love the most about it is the psychological transformation of Private Gomer Pyle. Terrifying and excellent at the same time!
3. Black Hawk Down (2001)
“Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that shit just goes right out the window.”
Hoot
Genre: war
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Ken Nolan
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and more.
Description: The U.S. army deploys a task force of Rangers to Mogadishu, Somalia, as a warlord named Mohamed Farrah Aidid seizes control and starts capturing Red Cross food shipments to capture some of Aidid’s closest allies. The Rangers, including desk clerk Grimes (Ewan McGregor), fresh commander Matthew Eversmann (Josh Hartnett), and Delta Force Sergeant Hoot (Eric Bana), are in danger when the mission goes badly and a helicopter gets shot down.
Black Hawk Down is based on true events during the U.S. military’s 1993 raid in Mogadishu. It features a large and great ensemble cast, and many young actors moved on to become big movie stars. See if you can spot a young Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, and a young Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
4. 1917 (2019)
“Hope is a dangerous thing.”
Colonel MacKenzie
Genre: War Drama, Action, Historical Drama
Director: Sam Mendes
Screenwriters: Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch
Description: In April 1917, on a battlefield in Northern France during World War I, two British soldiers — Lance Corporal Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal Will Schofield (George MacKay) – are given seemingly impossible orders: they must cross over into enemy territory to deliver a vital message that could help save 1,600 of their fellow comrades — including Private Blake’s own brother.
The movie is beautifully filmed to look like an intense one-take, which landed cinematographer Roger Deakins a well-deserved Oscar.
5. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
“I will find you! And when I do—to the moon, Alice, to the moon!”
Hawkeye
Genre: historical drama
Director: Michael Mann
Screenwriters: Michael Mann, Christopher Crowe
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means
Description: The daughters of a British officer, Cora (Madeleine Stowe) and Alice (Jodhi May), are rescued from a Huron ambush by the Mohican Chingachgook (Rusell Means) and his adopted white son Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis). The group gets caught up in the fierce fighting of the French and Indian war, which pits rival colonial powers and native tribes against each other.
The Last of the Mohicans is based on James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 and George B. Seitz’s 1936 film adaptation, but resembles the film the most.
Actor Wes Studi does a fantastic job as the scary villain Magua. Make sure to watch the Director’s Cut!
6. Three Kings (1999)
“It’s a soldier’s honor.”
Major Archie Gates
Genre: black comedy
Director: David O. Russell
Screenwriter: David O. Russell
Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
Description: During the end of the Gulf War, bored, disillusioned soldiers Major Archie Gates (George Clooney), Sergeant Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg), Staff Sergeant Elgin (Ice Cube), and Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) find a map on an Iraqi prisoner that they believe leads to a cache of gold stolen from Kuwait. However, their mission gets complicated when they stumble upon a group of captive Iraqi rebels.
7. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
“We’ll show them what the British soldier is capable of doing.”
Colonel Nicholson
Genre: epic war
Director: David Lean
Screenwriters: Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins
Description: A group of British POWs arrives at a notorious Japanese prison camp in Burma during World War Two, where they are ordered to build a bridge for the Japanese army. Their leader, Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), clashes with American Major Shears (William Holden), who wants to organize an escape attempt, and slowly, the mission to build the bridge consumes the Brit as much as it does his Japanese captor.
That torture scene in the tiny tin shed gets me every time!
8. Che (2008)
“A real revolutionary goes where he is needed.”
Cuban Diplomat
Genre: biographical
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriters: Peter Buchman, Benjamin A. van der Veen, Terrence Malick
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Demian Bechir, Rodrigo Santoro
Description: A young Argentine, Che Guevara (Benicio del Toro), meets the charismatic Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir) in Mexico and joins the Cuban Revolution. As the revolution grows in strength, Che becomes an inspiration to leftists across the world, attracting powerful enemies. His rise and fall are detailed in this two-part biopic.
Che is a two-part biographical film about Argentine Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Part 1 follows the younger Che Guevara and his meetings with Fidel Castro and the beginning of the revolution. Part 2 shows the guerrilla warfare in Bolivia. Che is a great account of important moments in Guevara’s life.
9. Army of Shadows (1969)
“I can still have comrades.”
Philippe Gerbier
Genre: suspense drama
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Screenwriter: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse
Description: Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) is captured by Vichy police and transported to the Gestapo but manages to escape this time. He rejoins fellow Resistance members in Marseille, including Mathilde (Simone Signoret) and secretive philosopher Luc Jardie (Paul Meurisse). Still, their missions are more and more dangerous as the Gestapo closes in and there are spies in their ranks.
10. The Killing Fields (1984)
“The winds whisper of fear and hate. The war has killed love.”
Dith Pran
Genre: biographical drama
Director: Roland Joffe
Screenwriter: Bruce Robinson
Starring: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich
Description: Two Americans, journalist Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and photographer Al Rockoff (John Malkovich), are in Cambodia to investigate the war that has been caused in part by U.S. policy in Vietnam. They develop a bond with a local journalist and interpreter, Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), but their work and their very lives are tested when the Khmer Rouge sweeps through the country.
The Killing Fields gave me one of the worst nightmares of my entire life! Though that wasn’t exactly fun, in retrospect, I think it’s because it’s such a good movie that it’s been burned into my memory.
11. The Deer Hunter (1978)
“A deer’s gotta be taken with one shot.”
Michael
Genre: epic war drama
Director: Michael Cimino
Screenwriter: Deric Washburn
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Christopher Walken, John Savage, Meryl Streep
Description: Three best friends and Pennsylvania steelworkers, Mike (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage), and Nick (Christopher Walken), are drafted into the Vietnam War. When they get to Vietnam, they are captured and tortured by the opposing Viet Cong forces. Their experiences in Vietnam will irrevocably change the young men and their families back home, including their girlfriends and wives.
The Deer Hunter is a three-part movie that follows the three friends and their psychological and physical transformation before, during, and after the Vietnam War. It’s a must-watch for any war movie fans.
12. Dunkirk (2017)
“Survival’s not fair.”
Alex
Genre: War, Drama, Historical Fiction
Director: Christopher Nolan
Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy
Description: During the retreat from France, a group of Allied soldiers, including lone survivor Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) and Alex (Harry Styles), await rescue on the beach of Dunkirk. The soldiers must hold out against the Germans and their fraying nerves as every man fights for his survival. As the Germans close in, the British frantically organize a rescue operation that includes civilian vessels and fishermen such as Dawson (Mark Rylance) to rescue thousands left behind.
13. The Hurt Locker (2008)
“You realize every time you suit up, it’s life or death.”
Sgt. J. T. Sanborn
Genre: war thriller
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenwriter: Mark Boal
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty
Description: Sergeant First Class William James (Jeremy Renner) joins a team of Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialists in Iraq during the beginning of the U.S. occupation. His maverick, adrenaline-fueled methods drive him to clashes with exhausted Sergeant J. T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). The team must navigate a landscape where they can’t tell friends from foe while internal army dynamics also plague them.
14. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
“No. I meant it. Find him. Get him home.”
Captain Hamill
Genre: war
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Robert Rodat
Starring: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
Description: During the invasion of Normandy, Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), the last surviving brother in his family, is missing. Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his unit receive orders to go behind enemy lines to find Private Ryan, who bravely defends a bridge. Can Private Ryan return to his family, and will his rescuers survive?
I remember this one in the theatre and was blown away by the opening scene, which is the best I’ve seen in any war movie.
15. Ran (1985)
“In a mad world, only the mad are sane.”
Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Genre: action drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Screenwriter: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Masato Ide
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu
Description: Aging warlord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) divides his kingdom among three sons. When his youngest son, Saburo (Daisuke Ryu), honestly tells his father that expecting the three sons to act in unity is foolish given the warlike example he set, his father exiles him. The brothers predictably descend into fighting, and their father loses his sanity as he is slowly confronted with the realities of what he has done.
16. No Man’s Land (2001)
“A pessimist thinks things can’t be worse. An optimist knows they can.”
Chiki
Genre: war
Director: Danis Tanovic
Screenwriter: Danis Tanovic
Starring: Branko Duric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic
Description: During the Bosnian War of the 1990s, two soldiers from rival sides got caught in no man’s land. Bosniak Chiki (Branko Duric) and Serbian Nino (Rene Bitorajac) build a tenuous rapport. At the same time, they are stranded. Still, their situation is further complicated when Cera (Filip Sovagovic), another stuck soldier, wakes up and realizes he is stuck on top of a landmine.
17. Da 5 Bloods (2020)
“War is about money. Money is about war.”
Stormin’ Norman
Genre: war drama
Director: Spike Lee
Screenwriters: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Wilmott, Spike Lee
Starring: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Chadwick Boseman
Description: During the Vietnam War, Paul (Delroy Lindo) and four of his army buddies are tasked by the army to guard a crashed CIA plane with a stash of gold. They plan to take the gold for themselves but cannot find it again after squad leader Stormin’ Norman (Chadwick Boseman) is killed. Decades after the war, they return to Vietnam as old men to try to find gold, along with Paul’s estranged son David (Jonathan Majors).
18. Platoon (1986)
“Hell is the impossibility of reason.”
Chris Taylor
Genre: war
Director: Oliver Stone
Screenwriter: Oliver Stone
Starring: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen
Description: Volunteer Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) arrives in Vietnam only to find that all his ideals about war are wrong. For one, his platoon is not led by the inexperienced lieutenant but by the strict Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and dreamer Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). As he gets caught up in the power struggles between the two and witnesses the inhumanity of his fellow soldiers, Chris questions his involvement in the war.
Watch this one in the evening because it is dark; it can be difficult to see what’s going on in the scenes in the jungle if you’ve got window light reflecting on the screen.
19. Schindler’s List (1993)
“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
Oskar Schindler
Genre: historical drama
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Steven Zaillian
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes
Description: Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Nazi-occupied Warsaw hoping to make his fortune. He hires a Jewish accountant, Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), who attempts to protect as many Jewish workers as possible. However, when sadistic SS officer Amon Goth (Ralph Fiennes) arrives in Warsaw and begins liquidating people, the horror of the war is brought home for Schindler, and he must choose his actions.
It’s a must-watch and one of Spielberg’s best movies.
20. The Guns of Navarone (1961)
“Well, son…your bystanding days are over!”
Capt. Keith Mallory
Genre: war
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Screenwriter: Carl Foreman
Starring: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn
Description: As the German army closes in on Greece, 2,000 British soldiers are stuck on the island of Keros, with Nazi guns on nearby Navarone Island, making any rescue impossible. Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle) builds a team of experts to dismantle the guns, including Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck). The team must evade capture by the Nazis while handling internal divisions, including feuds between Mallory and local Colonel Andrea Stavrou (Anthony Quinn).
I’ve watched this many times with my dad when I was kid. A classic!
21. Where Eagles Dare (1968)
“I prefer the Gestapo to be kept out of this matter.”
Col. Kramer
Genre: action
Director: Brian G. Hutton
Screenwriter: Alistair MacLean
Starring: Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure
Description: During the height of World War Two, the Allies launched a joint spy operation to retrieve one of the planners of the Western Front battle, whom the Germans had captured. British Major John Smith (Richard Burton) and American Army Ranger Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) oversee the operation. However, what seemed like a simple rescue operation becomes complicated as the group is embedded in a web of spycraft and double agents.
Another classic! I’ve always loved the infiltration of the castle.
22. 300 (2007)
“Tonight, we dine in hell!”
King Leonidas
Genre: epic historical
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriters: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headley, David Wenham
Description: In 480 B.C., the Persians invaded Greece and marched toward the city-state of Sparta. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) is determined to defend his home, even when the city’s elders (secretly on the payroll of the Persians) work against him. He takes 300 of his best soldiers and volunteers from the rest of Greece to make one desperate stand against the numerically superior Persians at the Hot Gates.
A modern war movie masterpiece set in ancient Greece.
23. The Imitation Game (2014)
“Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.”
Alan Turing
Genre: historical drama
Director: Morten Tyldum
Screenwriter: Graham Moore
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode
Description: Misunderstood mathematical genius Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds a new purpose when World War Two starts. He travels to Bletchley Park and joins Britain’s cryptography efforts. Turing’s genius allows him to rise through the ranks as he leads the government’s code-cracking efforts with the help of Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley). However, his difficult temperament and personal secrets threaten his work.
24. Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004)
“Who do you think you are to dare disobey an order I give?”
Adolf Hitler
Genre: war drama
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Screenwriter: Bernd Eichinger
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch
Description: In 1945, as the Allies closed in on Berlin, Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) closed himself and his closest subordinates in a Berlin bunker. His secretary Traudi Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), is among the people staying behind. Traudi watches the deterioration of Hitler’s mental state as the desperate state of his army finally sets in.
25. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
“Men must be governed. Often not wisely, I will grant you, but they must be governed nonetheless.”
Jack Aubrey
Genre: historical war drama
Director: Peter Weir
Screenwriters: Peter Weir, John Collee
Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
Description: Royal Navy Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is set on his mission to intercept the French ship Acheron, plaguing the British fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. His mission is complicated by the French ship’s superior technology, turmoil among his crew, and the would-be scientific explorations of ship surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany).
Before watching this one, I had never thought much about how nasty splintered wood flying through the air from a cannonball can be.
26. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
“The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch.”
Captain Bart Mancuso
Genre: spy thriller
Director: John McTiernan
Screenwriters: Larry Ferguson, Donald E. Stewart
Starring: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn
Description: Soviet navy captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) is given command of the Red October, a new Soviet submarine that can evade sonar. When Ramius goes rogue, the CIA and the Soviets conclude that he must be trying to launch a rogue nuclear strike. It is up to CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) to intercept the submarine while investigating Ramius’s true motives.
One of the best submarine movies ever made!
27. Enemy at the Gates (2001)
“I’ve been such a fool, Vassily. Man will always be a man.”
Danilov
Genre: war
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Screenwriters: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz
Description: During the Battle of Stalingrad, soldiers Vassily Zaitsev (Jude Law) and Commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) are unexpectedly forced to rely on each other as the carnage rages. Danilov is taken with the young Vassily and uses his story to inspire the defenders but unintentionally makes him a target for the Germans.
28. Flag of Our Fathers (2006)
“Looking at it you could believe the sacrifice was not a waste.”
Dave Severance
Genre: war
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriters: William Broyles Jr., Paul Haggis
Starring: Ryan Philippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach
Description: During the end of World War Two, the U.S. Army launched a fierce attack on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. Three very different servicemen, Marine Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John Bradley (Ryan Philippe), and Corporal Ryan Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), struggle to survive and unintentionally make history.
29. We Were Soldiers (2002)
“We who have seen war, will never stop seeing it.”
Joseph L. Galloway
Genre: war
Director: Randall Wallace
Screenwriter: Randall Wallace
Starring: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear
Description: During the Vietnam War, U.S. Army Lieutenant Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) must take a battalion of 400 men to eliminate a North Vietnamese base of undetermined strength. Faulty intelligence leads him to a base of several thousand North Vietnamese men, and Moore must get his men to safety against all odds.
30. They Were Expendable (1945)
“I used to skipper a cake of soap in the bathtub, too.”
Lt. Rusty Ryan
Genre: war
Director: John Ford
Screenwriter: Frank Wead
Starring: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed
Description: Friends in the Navy, Lt. Brick Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (John Wayne), are frustrated when the Navy does not use their PT boats stationed in the Philippines. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, they get their wish to see more action, but as the Japanese close in on Pearl Harbor, their fates hang in the balance.
31. From Here to Eternity (1953)
“A man don’t go his own way, he’s nothing.”
“Prew” Prewitt
Genre: war drama
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenwriter: Daniel Taradash
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra
Description: On the eve of World War 2, Private Robert E. Lee “Prew” Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is transferred to Hawaii, where he earns the ire of Captain Holmes (Philip Ober) and First Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) for refusing to join the company boxing team. Prew’s only ally is Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra), and even as the threat of a Japanese invasion looms, the soldiers are their biggest enemies during the army’s complicated romantic entanglements and power struggles.
32. Gallipoli (1981)
“Not joining anything.”
Frank Dunne
Genre: war drama
Director: Peter Weir
Screenwriter: David Williamson
Starring: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee
Description: Teenage athlete Archy Hamilton (Mark Lee) is determined to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force and fight for the British Empire during World War One. His friend Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson) is far less convinced but joins the teenager traveling from Western Australia to enlist. However, as they learn the boredom and depravity of soldiers at war, their ideals are tested and ruined even more when they reach Gallipoli.
33. Patton (1970)
“Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”
Patton
Genre: biographical
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Screenwriters: Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North
Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden
Description: Tough-talking General Patton (George C. Scott) is put in charge of the American war effort against the Germans in the European theater of war. Although he must face petty rivalries with other allied commanders, the undisciplined troops, and the wiles of General Rommel on the German side, Patton’s formidable strength steers the Americans to victory.
34. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
“Give us your bombers, and you can have our baskets.”
Ben M’Hidi
Genre: historical war
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Screenwriters: Gillo Pontecorvo, Franco Solinas
Starring: Jean Martin, Saadi Yacef, Brahim Haggiag
Description: Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) is a petty criminal in French-occupied Algeria. When he goes to prison, he is radicalized by a commander in the FLN Algerian nationalist military, El-Hadi Jafar (Saadi Yacef, a real-life FLN commander). He joins the battle to liberate the capital Algiers), fighting a battle of wits against French Colonel Philippe Mathieu (Jean Martin).
35. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
“It’s judgment day, sinners!”
Archer Maggott
Genre: war
Director: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriters: Nunnally Johnson, Lukas Heller
Starring: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes
Description: Toward the end of World War Two, Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) is given the impossible mission of training a group of Army prisoners into top commandos to attack a castle in France where the German brass is headquartered. He assembles a motley group, including the gangster Victor R. Franko (John Cassavetes) and Robert T. Jefferson (Jim Brown), who must learn to work together before they can carry out the mission.
36. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
“Everything happens in Threes.”
General Kuribayashi
Genre: war
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Iris Yamashita
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara
Description: On the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) attempts to prepare the island defenses while fighting his subordinate officers and their traditional ideas about honor. Meanwhile, disillusioned Private Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) is just looking for a way to survive a war he no longer believes in.
37. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
“When it comes to dying for country, it’s better not to die at all.”
Paul Baumer
Genre: war epic, anti-war movie
Director: Lewis Milestone
Screenwriters: Maxwell Anderson, George Abbott, Del Andrews, C. Gardner Sullivan
Starring: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim
Description: After an impassioned speech by their school teacher, teenager Paul Baumer (Lew Ayres) and all his classmates join the German army in World War One. However, their lofty ideals about war are quickly shattered when they reach the trenches. Paul makes it through with the help of veteran soldier Kat (Louis Wolheim), but can the two survive the crushing machine of trench warfare?
This is almost more of an anti-war movie than a war movie.
38. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
“We ain’t in the prison-takin’ business; we’re in the killin’ Nazi business.”
Lt. Aldo Raine
Genre: war
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Screenwriter: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender
Description: A young movie theater owner hiding her Jewish identity, Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), is planning an assassination plot to kill top Nazi officers in Nazi-occupied France, including Hitler and Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who killed her family. Separately, a group of Jewish-American soldiers that strike fear into Nazi hearts, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), are also planning an assassination attempt.
39. Das Boot (1981)
“The only thing I feel is afraid.”
Lt. Werner
Genre: war
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriter: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Klaus Wennemann
Description: The war correspondent Lt. Werner (Herbert Gronemeyer) joins the crew of a German submarine U-boat to get pictures of their exploits. However, the crew, led by Kapitanleutnant (Jurgen Prochnow), quickly teaches Werner about the realities of life at war as they fight for survival at sea and see the difference between their living standards and that of higher-ranking Nazi brass.
One of the classic submarine movies you need to watch.
40. The Burmese Harp (1956)
“Why must the world suffer such misery?”
Captain Inouye
Genre: drama
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Screenwriter: Natto Wada
Starring: Rentaro Mikuni, Shoji Yasui, Jun Hamamura
Description: An exhausted group of soldiers led by Captain Inouye (Rentaro Mikuni) is almost relieved to find out they must surrender to the British army in Burma because the war is over. One of the soldiers, Private Mitzushima (Shoji Yasui), is tasked by the British to convince the remaining platoons to surrender. Still, his goals change when he is separated from his platoon and realizes the full extent of the war’s destruction for the first time.
41. Casablanca (1942)
“We’ll always have Paris.”
Rick
Genre: romantic drama
Director: Michael Curtiz
Screenwriters: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Description: During World War II, American Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) owned a club in Casablanca that attracted everyone from Vichy French officers to European refugees. At the same time, he stubbornly maintains his neutrality, even when he comes into possession of precious letters of transit. However, Rick’s life is complicated when his former lover, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), walks into his club with her husband, desperate for a way out of Casablanca.
It’s a classic and one every filmmaker in spe needs to study.
42. Grand Illusion (1938)
“Frontiers are an invention of men. Nature doesn’t give a hoot.”
Rosenthal
Genre: war
Director: Jean Renoir
Screenwriters: Jean Renoir, Charles Spaak
Starring: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay
Description: Two French pilots, wealthy de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and working-class Lieutenant Marechal (Jean Gabin), are captured by German forces during World War One. During their time at the POW camp, they undertake a series of absurd experiences as they try to escape, exposing the futility of war.
43. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
“Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines.”
Gen. “Buck” Turgidson
Genre: black comedy
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriters: Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
Description: During the tense Cold War, General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) ordered an attack with H-bombs on the Soviet Union against the orders of his commander. As time is ticking, President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) and other army brass try to stop nuclear armageddon, especially once they learn that the Soviets have a doomsday machine that could kill all life on Earth.
Another classic must-watch. It’s also in the top 10 in my end-of-the-world movies curated list.
44. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
“You’re the most extraordinary man I’ve ever met.”
Gen. Allenby
Genre: epic drama
Director: David Lean
Screenwriters: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness
Description: A rebellious British Army Lieutenant, T. E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), plagues his commanders in World War One with insubordination. They send him to Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness), a British ally in the Middle East, to provide advice. Lawrence winds up joining the Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire and fighting alongside new friends, including Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif).
45. War Horse (2011)
“Maybe there are different ways to be brave.”
Grandfather
Genre: war
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriters: Lee Hall, Richard Curtis
Starring: Emily Watson, Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan
Description: When his father buys an Irish Hunter horse, young Albert (Jeremy Irvine) forms an unbreakable bond with the horse. However, when the farm fails on the eve of World War One, Father (Peter Mullan) must sell the boy to the British Army. Across a war-ravaged Europe where horses and men are just pawns in the eyes of superiors, horse and boy try to find their way back to each other.
46. Eye in the Sky (2015)
“Don’t ever tell a soldier that he doesn’t know the cost of war.”
Lt. Gen. Frank Benson
Genre: thriller
Director: Gavin Hood
Screenwriter: Guy Hibbert
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman
Description: British colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is in charge of a mission to capture high-profile leaders of the militia group Al-Shabaab using a combination of aerial surveillance, drones, and crews on the ground. However, the mission is complicated by the presence of civilians, including children, which creates an ethical dilemma for Powell and fellow soldier, Lt. General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman).
47. Zero Dark Thirty (2013)
“I’m gonna smoke everybody involved in this op and then I’m gonna kill bin Laden.”
Maya
Genre: thriller
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenwriter: Mark Boal
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton
Description: CIA analyst Maya (Jessica Chastain) is in charge of the mission to find Osama Bin Laden. Along with CIA officer Dan Fuller (Jason Clarke), she unravels a complicated intelligence network. She leads to try and catch the terrorist leader, all while navigating the complicated ethical implications of the CIA’s interrogation methods.
48. Spartacus (1960)
“But I do know that, as long as we live, we must remain true to ourselves.”
Spartacus
Genre: historical epic
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Dalton Trumbo
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Description: The proud slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is purchased by a gladiatorial school owner, where he is further humiliated. When would-be dictator Crassus (Laurence Olivier) orders Spartacus to fight to the death with other gladiators, they escape and begin a slave revolt that threatens to shake the decadent Roman republic, with the beautiful Varinia (Jean Simmons) by his side.
49. Son of Saul (2015)
“We are dead already.”
Saul Auslander
Genre: drama
Director: Laszlo Nemes
Screenwriters: Laszlo Nemes, Clara Royer
Starring: Geza Rohrig, Levente Molnar, Urs Rechn
Description: Saul Auslander (Geza Rohrig) is shaken out of his numbness as a Sonderkommando in Auschwitz when he sees a boy die and wants to create a proper Jewish burial for him. On his quest, Saul unintentionally falls into a plot organized by another Sonderkommando, Abraham (Levente Molnar), who wants to escape the camp and take evidence of the atrocities with them.
50. Waltz With Bashir (2008)
“Pray and shoot.”
Ari Folman
Genre: animated war
Director: Ari Folman
Screenwriter: Ari Folman
Starring: Ari Folman, Miki Leon, Ori Sivan
Description: Two older men, Ari (Ari Folman) and Boaz (Miki Leon) meet up and share the nightmares they’ve been having about their time as teenage soldiers during the IDF invasion of Lebanon. As Folman realizes that his memories are incomplete, he is advised by a therapist to continue meeting with others who were in Lebanon to try and reconstruct his role in the war, including the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre.
51. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
“This time you’re fighting for your very existence against the most devilish idea ever created by a human brain: Nazism.”
Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff
Genre: war drama
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Screenwriters: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Starring: Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook, Deborah Kerr
Description: Home Guard commander Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) helps the British war effort in World War Two. Through a series of flashbacks, the causes of the war are outlined as Candy witnesses the rise in nationalism, World War One, and the deteriorating conditions in Germany during the interwar years.
52. Ivan’s Childhood (1962)
“If a well is really deep, you can see a star down there even in the middle of a sunny day.”
Ivan’s Mother
Genre: war drama
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Screenwriters: Vladimir Bogomolov, Andrei Konchalovsky, Mikhail Papava
Starring: Nikolai Burlyayev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeny Zharikov
Description: Young Ivan Bondarev (Nikolai Burlyayev) grows up on the Soviet front during World War Two. After his family is killed by invading Germans, determined Ivan becomes part of the partisans, then the Russian army where the soldiers, including Lieutenant Galtsev (Evgeny Zharikov) grow fond of the boy.
53. M*A*S*H (1970)
“I’m kind of partial to blonde myself.”
Duke
Genre: black comedy
Director: Robert Altman
Screenwriter: Ring Lardner Jr.
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt
Description: Two new surgeons, Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and Duke (Tom Skerritt), join a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Their womanizing, rule-breaking ways bring them into conflict with the Army brass.
54. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
“With the world set on tearing itself apart, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to me to want to put a little bit of it back together.”
Desmond Doss
Genre: biographical war
Director: Mel Gibson
Screenwriters: Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey
Description: Young Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a religious Seventh-Day Adventist, joins the U.S. Army as a combat medic during World War Two despite his strict beliefs against killing. His refusal to kill or even handle a rifle attracts the ire of other soldiers, including Captain Glover (Sam Worthington).
55. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
“Do people improve with age?”
Pasha Strelnikov
Genre: drama
Director: David Lean
Screenwriter: Robert Bolt
Starring: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin
Description: Young Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), taken in by the Gromeko family after he was orphaned, serves as an army doctor for the Russian army during World War One. After the Soviets overthrow the monarchy, Zhivago goes into hiding because his poetry is deemed subversive. However, his escape is complicated by his passions for his wife Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin) and Lara (Julie Christie), who is married to a Bolshevik.
56. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2007)
“Strange creatures we are, even to ourselves.”
Damien
Genre: war drama
Director: Ken Loach
Screenwriter: Paul Laverty
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Liam Cunningham, Padraic Delaney
Description: During the Irish War of Independence, young Damien O’Donovan (Cillian Murphy) decides not to go to London to study as a doctor and joins the IRA with his brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney). Along with committed socialist Dan (Liam Cunningham), Damien’s commitment to an independent Ireland is shaken as he witnesses the brutality of war that threatens to turn brother against brother.
57. Alexandra (2007)
“Strength doesn’t lie in guns and one’s hands.”
Alexandra Nikolaevna
Genre: war
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Screenwriter: Aleksandr Sokurov
Starring: Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov
Description: Alexandra Nikolaevna (Galina Vishnevskaya), an old Russian woman, travels through no man’s land to visit her grandson, Denis (Vasily Shevtsov), on the frontlines of the Chechen War. The gentle, upbeat Alexandra livens the spirits of the soldiers. The unstoppable Alexandra also befriends local Chechen civilians and gets to know the cost of war from all sides.
58. Braveheart (1995)
“Your heart is free. Learn to follow it.”
William Wallace
Genre: historical war
Director: Mel Gibson
Screenwriter: Randall Wallace
Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan
Description: Young William Wallace (Mel Gibson), upon his return to occupied Scotland, leads a rebellion against the English occupiers following the murder of his wife. Wily King Edward Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan) is not about to let go of his new territory without a start, and Wallace must rally the squabbling Scottish forces to save his home.
I think it’s one of Mel Gibson’s best movies, although I didn’t have the stomach (pun intended) to watch it more than two times.
59. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
“We’re like you, but human.”
Elsa
Genre: Comedy-drama
Director: Taika Waititi
Screenwriter: Taika Waititi
Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson
Description: Toward the end of World War Two, young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) becomes completely indoctrinated by the Hitler Youth to the point that he views Hitler (Taika Waititi) as his imaginary friend. However, his black-and-white worldview is challenged when he finds out that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
It’s a fresh take on the WWII war genre, and I must admit I was surprised at how well it worked.
60. Come and See (1985)
“To love…to have children…”
Flyora
Genre: war
Director: Elem Klimov
Screenwriters: Elem Klimov, Ales Adamovich
Starring: Aleksei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova
Description: Young Belarusian teenager Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko) is desperate to join the partisans after the Nazis occupy his home. However, his idealism and belief in the fight are shattered as he does not achieve the results he wanted with his partisans and when he witnesses the brutality of Nazi retaliation.
Conclusion
It was hard to come up with this list because there are so many good war movies! And ranking them was even harder!
Some war movies feature great action scenes, some are more psychologically interesting, and some are interesting because they realistically portray the horrors of war.
But these are some of the best war movies ever made.
Do you agree with this list? Am I missing any important ones? What are your top 10 best war movies of all time?
Let me know in the comments below.
