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....
Missing in Action (1984)
5.4/10
Director: Joseph Zito
Starring: Chuck Norris, M Emmet Walsh
One of a string of Rambo-esque films dashed off in the '80s. Action ace Chuck Norris stars as a former Vietnam War P.O.W. who returns to Southeast Asi... Read more
Mister Roberts (1955)
7.8/10
Director: John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney, William Powell
A classic comedy-drama about the dehumanizing aspects of war. Mister Roberts is aboard a US cargo ship, working in the Pacific during the Second World... Read more
Mongol (2007)
7.3/10
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Sun Honglei, Khulan Chuluun
Exploring the rise of one of the world's most feared and fearless warriors, the story of Genghis Khan is still a controversial one. In the West his na... Read more
Mongol (Blu-ray) (2007)
7.2/10
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Sun Honglei, Khulan Chuluun
Exploring the rise of one of the world's most feared and fearless warriors, the story of Genghis Khan is still a controversial one. In the West his na... Read more
Monos (2019)
7.3/10
Director: Alejandro Landes
Starring: Julianne Nicholson
On a remote mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow. Read more
Monsignor Renard (2000)
7.2/10
Starring: John Thaw, Cheryl Campbell
Twenty years after taking an acrimonious leave of his family and friends in order to join the Roman church, Monsignor Renard returns to his home villa... Read more
Morituri (1965)
7/10
Director: Bernhard Wicki
Starring: Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Janet Margolin, Trevor Howard, Martin Benrath
Marlon Brando is Robert Crain, a German deserter during World War II, who is blackmailed by the English into conducting an apparent suicide mission -... Read more
Morning Departure (1950)
7.5/10
Director: Roy Baker
Starring: John Mills, Nigel Patrick, Peter Hammond, Richard Attenborough, George Cole, Ber...
On a routine post-war mission, a submarine strikes a forgotten mine and sinks to the bottom. The twelve-man crew are faced with the probability of per... Read more
Mosquito Squadron (1968)
5.6/10
Director: Boris Sagal
Starring: David McCallum, Suzanne Neve, David Buck
The story of a Canadian-born RAF pilot's (David McCallum) crucial behind-the-scenes mission to embark on low-level bombing raids to destroy V3 and V4... Read more
Murphy's War (1971)
6.9/10
Director: Peter Yates
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Sian Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson
A powerhouse performance by Peter O'Toole propels this tale of a WW2 seaman determined to wreak his revenge on the German U-boat whose treacherous att... Read more