"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....
7.7/10
The talented Fred Zinnemann ('A Man for All Seasons') perfectly captures the static isolation and boredom that envelops the military personnel in peac... Read more
7.1/10
During an archaeological dig in Nazi-occupied Poland, Greek national, Athos finds a frightened 7-year-old boy hiding near the site. He smuggles him ho... Read more
8.3/10
Stanley Kubrick visits Vietnam. Follow a few Marines from training on Paris Island to fighting in the Tet Offensive. With Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin... Read more
8.3/10
Stanley Kubrick's first film for seven years details the dehumanizing effect of military combat, as experienced by a bunch of Vietnam conscripts under... Read more
7.6/10
April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named 'Wardaddy' (Brad Pitt) commands a Sher... Read more
7.6/10
April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named 'Wardaddy' (Brad Pitt) commands a Sher... Read more
A squadron of Japanese soldiers find themselves transported through time to Japan's feudal period... 400 years in the past, where rival samurai clans... Read more
7.5/10
A visually striking and emotionally jarring war drama focusing on the camaraderie of two young Australians who naively enlist in the army only to meet... Read more
7.5/10
A visually striking and emotionally jarring war drama focusing on the camaraderie of two young Australians who naively enlist in the army only to meet... Read more
7.5/10
17-year-old Thomas "Tolly" Johnson exaggerates his age so he may enlist with his brother Bevan (Harry Greenwood) and ends up fighting at Gallipoli in... Read more