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....
King Rat (1965)
7.6/10
Director: Bryan Forbes
Starring: George Segal, Tom Courtenay, James Fox, Denholm Elliott
From the exciting James Clavell novel of a WW II Japanese POW Camp, focusing on the effect of captivity on Allied prisoners. George Segal, Tom Courten... Read more
Kippur (2000)
6.4/10
Director: Amos Gitai
Starring: Liron Levo, Tomer Russo
The film takes place in 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, in which Egypt and Syria launched attacks in Sinai and the Golan Heights. Although the story... Read more
Kiss of Life (2004)
5.3/10
Director: Emily Young
Starring: David Warner, Peter Mullan, Ingeborga Dapkunaite
The BAFTA-winning first feature from writer/director Emily Young is an intimate journey into the heart of a family. Helen (Ingeborga Dapkunaite) lives... Read more
Kokoda (2005)
8.7/10
Director: Alistair Grierson
Starring: Jack Finsterer, Travis McMahon, Simon Stone, Luke Ford, Tom Budge
Papua New Guinea 1942. The battle of the track has begun. A fearsome force of Japanese fighters land on the northern coast intending to seize Port Mor... Read more
La Grande Illusion (1937)
8.1/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Jean Gabin, Erich Von Stroheim, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay
One of the very first prison escape movies, 'Grand Illusion' is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Jean Renoir's antiwar masterpiece stars... Read more
La Maison de Nina (2004)
Director: Richard Dembo
Starring: Arie Elmaleh, Katia Lewkowicz, Agnes Jaoui, Sarah Adler
Aka 'Nina's Home'. During WWII, a chateau outside of Paris is a safe-house for Jewish children where they are raised fairly ignorant of their danger a... Read more
Lacombe Lucien (1974)
7.8/10
Director: Louis Malle
Starring: Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clement, Holger Lowenadler, Gilberte Rivet
Louis Malle's film brilliantly relates the story of a young opportunist French peasant, who joins the Gestapo during the Nazi occupation. Despite bein... Read more
Land of Mine (2015)
7.8/10
Director: Martin Zandvliet
Starring: Joel Basman, Roland Moller, Louis Hofmann
After the Nazi surrender in May 1945, a unit of young Germans most barely out of their teens are put to work by their Allied captors. With minimal... Read more
Last Days in Vietnam (2014)
7.6/10
Director: Rory Kennedy
Starring: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, American servicemen and others begin the difficult mission of evacuating as many friends, family members and So... Read more
Last Flag Flying (2017)
6.9/10
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Cicely Tyson, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Yul Vazquel
Thirty years after serving together in the Vietnam War, Larry "Doc" Shepherd, Sal Nealon and the Rev. Richard Mueller reunite for a different type of... Read more