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....
Dunkirk (Blu-Ray) (1958)
7/10
Director: Leslie Norman
Starring: Bernard Lee, John Mills, Meredith Edwards, Richard Attenborough, Robert Urquhart
A group of soldiers lead by Corporal "Tubby" Bins (John Mills), stranded in France, must make their way to the shores of Dunkirk in hopes of a rescue.... Read more
Eagle Shadow Fist (1973)
Director: Zhu Wu
Starring: Jackie Chan, Wang Qing
In 1937, Japanese Imperial Forces invaded and occupied areas of mainland China. With their occupation came oppression and brutality. Jackie Chan is a... Read more
Edges of the Lord (2004)
7/10
Director: Yurek Bogayevicz
Starring: Haley Joel Osment, Willem Dafoe
As Nazi troops invade Poland, a young boy named Romek (Haley Joel Osment) is smuggled out of town by family friends. He's taken to a largely Catholic... Read more
Eichmann (2007)
5.9/10
Director: Robert Young
Starring: Franka Potente, Stephen Fry, Thomas Kretschmann, Troy Garity
Historical drama based on the final confession of one of the main architects of the Nazi holocaust, prior to his execution in Israel in 1962. After be... Read more
Emperor (2012)
6.5/10
Director: Peter Webber
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Toshiyuki Nishida, Matthew Fox, Kaori Momoi, Eriko Hatsune, Mas...
Immediately after Emperor Hirohito's World War II surrender, General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of... Read more
Empire of the Sun (1987)
7.8/10
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Epic "coming of age" war drama from director Steven Spielberg, and based on the autobiographical novel by J. G. Ballard, follows a young British boy's... Read more
Empire of the Sun ( Blu-ray ) (1987)
7.8/10
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Epic "coming of age" war drama from director Steven Spielberg, and based on the autobiographical novel by J. G. Ballard, follows a young British boy's... Read more
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
7.6/10
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins, Ed Harris
Stalingrad, 1942. Against this vivid and sprawling backdrop a personal war is being played out by two opponents. Vassili (Jude Law), an expert Russian... Read more
Escadrille Lafayette (1958)
Director: William A Wellman
Starring: Tab Hunter, Etchika Choureau, Marcel Dalio, David Janssen, Clint Eastwood, Paul...
Thad Walker (Tab Hunter) is a young man from a good Boston family, but he's spoiled, rebellious, and always at odds with his strict father. When Thad... Read more
Escape From Sobibor (1987)
7.5/10
Director: Jack Gold
Starring: Alan Arkin, Rutger Hauer, Joanna Pacula
This powerful, true-life saga details the efforts of a Russian Army officer leading a group of prisoners in a daring escape from a Nazi extermination... Read more