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....
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Innocent Voices (2004)
7.9/10
Director: Luis Mandoki
Starring: Leonor Varela, Carlos Padilla, Xuna Primus, Gustavo Munoz, Jose Maria Yazpik, Of...
Based on the autobiography of Oscar Orlando Torres this is the incredible and harrowing story of a young boy caught up in the vicious El Salvadoran ci... Read more
Into the Storm (2009)
7.1/10
Director: Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Iain Glen, Janet McTeer, Len Cariou, James D'Arcy
This extraordinary production from HBO follows on from their previous Churchill story "The Gathering Storm". In this installment, Churchill is facing... Read more
Into the White (2012)
7.2/10
Director: Petter Naess
Starring: Rupert Grint, Florian Lukas, David Kross, Lachlan Nieboer, Stig Henrik Hoff
A.k.a. "Cross of Honour". At the beginning of World War II a hostile chance encounter in the skies above the harsh Norwegian wilderness leaves two air... Read more
Iron Eagle (1986)
5.5/10
Director: Sidney J Furie
Starring: Louis Gossett Jr, Jason Gedrick, David Suchet
A young pilot plans a rescue mission when his father, an Air Force Colonel, is shot down over enemy territory and captured. Read more
Iron Eagle II (1988)
5.5/10
Director: Sidney J Furie
Starring: Louis Gossett Jr
A young pilot plans a rescue mission when his father, an Air Force Colonel, is shot down over enemy territory and captured. Read more
Iron Fury (T-34) (2018)
6.5/10
The Great Patriotic War is going on. Junior Lieutenant Nikolay Ivushkin in a small truck, along with the driver Vasya, barely survived, break away fro... Read more
Is Paris Burning? (1966)
6.9/10
Director: Rene Clement
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, George Chak...
Star-heavy WWII epic set in the closing days of the Nazis' rule of Paris. The allied advance is almost upon the capital of France. The French Resistan... Read more
Island at War (2004)
7.7/10
Director: Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Starring: Clare Holman, James Wilby, Saskia Reeves, Philip Glenister, Owen Teale, Julian W...
'Island at War' is set in Saint Gregory, a fictitious island in the Channel Islands, during the Second World War. It tells the harrowing story of how... Read more
It Ain't Half Hot Mum: Series 1 (1974)
7.1/10
Director: Bob Spiers, John Kilby, Ray Butt, Paul Bishop
Starring: Windsor Davies, Don Estelle, Melvyn Hayes, Michael Bates, George Layton, Donald...
Following the success of 'Dad's Army', co-creator Jimmy Perry adapted some more of his war-time memories into this award-winning sit-com. Featuring t... Read more
It Happened Here (1965)
6.8/10
Director: Andrew Mollo, Kevin Brownlow
Starring: Pauline Murray, Sebastian Shaw
Shot over an eight-year period on a shoestring budget by British film historian Kevin Brownlow and colleague Andrew Mollo, this acclaimed, harrowing s... Read more