War and Anti-War Films
"War and Anti-War Films" often acknowledge the horror and heartbreak of war, letting the actual combat fighting or conflict (against nations or humankind) provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. Typical elements in the action-oriented war plots include POW camp experiences and escapes, submarine warfare, espionage, personal heroism, "war is hell" brutalities, air dogfights, tough trench/infantry experiences, or male-bonding buddy adventures during wartime. Themes explored in war films include combat, survivor and escape stories, tales of gallant sacrifice and struggle, studies of the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and intelligent and profound explorations of the moral and human issues.
Listed below are all the very best of this genre. Scroll yer heart out....
Barefoot Gen / Barefoot Gen 2 (1983)
Director: Kazuo Oga
The powerful and tragic autobiographical story of manga artist Keiji Nakazawa, just six years old when an atomic bomb was dropped on his hometown of H... Read more
Bat 21 (1988)
6.4/10
Director: Peter Markle
Starring: Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed
A good actioner about an Airforce Colonel (Gene Hackman), used to being behind a desk, who is shot down behind enemy lines in dangerous territory, and... Read more
Battle at Bloody Beach (1961)
5.5/10
Director: Herbert Coleman
Starring: Audie Murphy, Gary Crosby, Dolores Moran
In his second WWII film after the autobiographical "To Hell and Back" Audie Murphy plays a civilian working for the Navy helping supply guerilla insur... Read more
Battle Cry (1954)
6.6/10
Director: Raoul Walsh
Starring: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson
Based on the novel by Leon Uris, a group of servicemen through boot camp then on to New Zealand where even more training takes place (and a romance be... Read more
Battle for Haditha (2007)
7/10
Director: Nick Broomfield
Starring: Elliot Ruiz, Falah Abraheem Flayeh, Yasmine Hanani, Andrew McClaren, Eric Mehala...
On November 19, 2005, a convoy of U.S. Marines was targeted by insurgents, resulting in the death of one of their soldiers. In retaliation, they went... Read more
Battle Hymn (1957)
6.4/10
Director: Douglas Sirk
Starring: Dan Duryea, Don DeFore, Martha Hyer, Rock Hudson
"Battle Hymn" was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during W... Read more
Battle Of Britain (1969)
7/10
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, Trevor Howard...
Featuring a stellar cast, including Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Robert Shaw and Susannah Yo... Read more
Battle of the Brave (2004)
5.4/10
Director: Jean Beaudin
Starring: Irene Jacob, Jason Isaacs, Colm Meaney, Tim Roth, Gerard Depardieu, Noemie Godin...
AKA 'New France'. Gerard Depardieu, Vincent Perez, and Jason Isaacs star in this sweeping historical account of the mid-18th century battle waged betw... Read more
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
6.8/10
Director: Ken Annakin
Starring: Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson
Spectacular battle sequences highlight this all-star WW II epic. It's the Allied troops vs the Nazi Panzers in the Ardennes, with some of the greatest... Read more
Battle of the Bulge ( Blu-ray ) (1965)
6.8/10
Director: Ken Annakin
Starring: Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson
Spectacular battle sequences and an all-star cast highlight this WWII epic that chronicles one of the war's most crucial conflicts. It's the Allied tr... Read more