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....
In Darkness (2011)
7.3/10
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Starring: Herbert Knaup, Benno Furmann, Maria Schrader, Agnieszka Grochowska, Robert Wieck...
From acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland ("Europa Europa"), "In Darkness" is based on a true story. Leopold Socha, a sewer worker and petty thief in... Read more
In Love And War (1987)
5.8/10
Director: Paul Aaron
Starring: James Woods, Jane Alexander, Haing S Ngor
Based on the true story of Navy pilot James B Stockdale who endured eight years as a Vietnam POW while his wife Sybil worked for his release back in t... Read more
In the Fog (2012)
6.8/10
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
In 1942, Belarus is in the hands of Nazis and the local militia. Sushenya is taken from his house in the middle of the night by Burov and his sidekick... Read more
In the Loop (2009)
7.5/10
Director: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Tom Hollander, David Rasche, Gina McKee, Anna C...
This razor-sharp political satire is the debut feature from Armando Iannucci, long-time BBC writer/producer behind such classics as 'I'm Alan Partridg... Read more
In the Valley of Elah (2007)
7.2/10
Director: Paul Haggis
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, Ba...
An engrossing anti-war mystery from writer/director Paul Haggis ('Crash') with Tommy Lee Jones as the father of a recently returned Iraq vet who seems... Read more
In This Corner of the World (Kono sekai no katasumi ni) (2016)
7.9/10
Director: Sunao Katabuchi
As she combats her daily struggles In Hiroshima during World War II, an 18-year-old woman gets married and has to maintain the will to live. Read more
In Tranzit (2008)
5.8/10
Director: Tom Roberts
Starring: John Malkovich, Thomas Kretschmann, Vera Farmiga, Daniel Bruhl
In the chaotic aftermath of WWII, a group of German POWs are accidentally sent to a female-run Soviet prison camp. When the guards are given the task... Read more
In Which We Serve (1942)
7.3/10
Director: David Lean, Noel Coward
Starring: Noel Coward, Bernard Miles, John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Celia Johnson, Kay...
A magnificent documentary-like war drama produced, co-directed, written by, and starring Noel Coward as the captain of a crew of brave, young soldiers... Read more
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
8.3/10
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane...
Quentin Tarantino spent 10 years developing this characteristically over-the-top war movie that stars Brad Pitt as Lt Aldo Raine, a seasoned war veter... Read more
Inglourious Basterds ( Blu-ray ) (2009)
8.3/10
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Til Schweiger, Julie Dreyfus, Daniel Bruhl, D...
Quentin Tarantino spent 10 years developing this characteristically over-the-top war movie that stars Brad Pitt as Lt Aldo Raine, a seasoned war veter... Read more