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....
Escape to Athena (1979)
5.7/10
Director: George Pan Cosmatos
Starring: Richard Roundtree, Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Cla...
Outlandish WWII adventure has P.O.W.s planning an escape and art heist at the same time! Allied prisoners join forces with cultured Nazi Roger Moore a... Read more
Escape to Athena ( Blu-ray ) (1979)
5.7/10
Director: George Pan Cosmatos
Starring: Claudia Cardinale, David Niven, Elliott Gould, Richard Roundtree, Roger Moore, S...
Outlandish WWII adventure has P.O.W.s planning an escape and art heist at the same time! Allied prisoners join forces with cultured Nazi Roger Moore a... Read more
Europa Europa (1990)
7.6/10
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Starring: Julie Delpy, Marco Hofschneider
A riveting and moving fact-based WWII Holocaust drama about a German-Jewish teenage boy who flees the Nazis and conceals his identity - only to find h... Read more
Eva (2009)
4.7/10
Director: Adrian Popovici
Starring: Michael Ironside, Patrick Bergin, Amy Hayes, Vincent Regan
On the eve of World War II, young Eva (Amy Hayes) meets and falls in love with the enigmatic, older Tudor (Vincent Regan), who vanishes as quickly as... Read more
Everyman's War (2009)
5.1/10
Director: Thad Smith
Starring: Michael J Prosser, Cole Carson
As the Battle of the Bulge draws to a close in early 1945, the men of the 94th Infantry Division find themselves outmanned and battling both blizzard... Read more
Eye in the Sky (2015)
7.3/10
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Iain Glen, Jeremy Northam, Aaron Paul, Barkhad Abdi
A military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an... Read more
Fail Safe (1964)
8/10
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Dan O'Herlihy, Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman, Walter Matthau
One of the greatest anti-war thrillers ever. This tense Cold War offering is about a squad of American bombers that are accidentally sent to deliver a... Read more
Fail Safe (blu-ray) (1964)
8/10
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Dan O'Herlihy, Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman, Walter Matthau
One of the greatest anti-war thrillers ever. This tense Cold War offering is about a squad of American bombers that are accidentally sent to deliver a... Read more
Fantasy Mission Force (1984)
Director: Chu Yen-ping
Starring: Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin, Jimmy Wang Yu
A truly off-the-wall WW2 actioner with Jackie Chan as part of an elite commando team sent to rescue a group of Allied Generals kidnapped by the Japane... Read more
Farewell to the King (1989)
6.3/10
Director: John Milius
Starring: Nick Nolte, Nigel Havers, Marius Weyers, Frank McRae
A visually stunning adventure epic of a WWII army deserter (Nick Nolte) who faces a crisis of conscience when the island paradise he has ruled in peac... Read more