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....
Operation Valkyrie (2004)
6.8/10
Director: Jo Baier
Starring: Hardy Kruger, Ulrich Tukur, Sebastian Koch
A thrilling historical drama detailing the events leading up to one of the most prominent assassination attempts of Adolph Hitler by his own soldiers.... Read more
Orphans of the Storm (1921)
7.8/10
Director: D W Griffith
Starring: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Creighton Hale, Monte Blue
DW Griffith's epic tale of two sisters caught up in the French Revolution, played by two sisters. Henriette (Lillian Gish) brings her blind sister (D... Read more
Our Miss Fred (1972)
5.4/10
Director: Bob Kellett
Starring: Danny La Rue, Alfred Marks, Lance Percival, Frances de la Tour
Shakespearian actor Fred Wimbush's drafted during WWII. While entertaining the troops with his drag act one day, the Germans capture them. Thinking he... Read more
Out Of The Ashes (2003)
6.9/10
Director: Joseph Sargent
Starring: Christine Lahti, Richard Crenna, Beau Bridges, Bruce Davison
Based on a true story, this powerful drama stars Christine Lahti as Gisella Perl, a Jewish Hungarian doctor interned at Auschwitz in 1944. Surviving a... Read more
Outpost (2007)
5.9/10
Director: Steve Barker
Starring: Ray Stevenson, Julian Wadham, Richard Brake, Paul Blair, Brett Fancy, Enoch Fros...
Set in Eastern Europe, this white-knuckle chiller follows soldiers-for-hire as they complete a mission to guide a businessman to an abandoned military... Read more
Outside the Law ( Hors la Loi ) (2010)
6.6/10
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Starring: Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Jamel Debbouze
After losing their family home in Algeria, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud (Roschdy Zem) joins the French arm... Read more
Over There: The Complete Series (2005)
7.9/10
Director: Chris Gerolmo
Starring: Luke MacFarlane, Erik Palladino, Lizette Carrion, Keith Robinson
A provocative war drama from Steven Bochco following a squad of U.S. Army troops sent to Iraq for their first tour of duty. Enduring the challenges of... Read more
Overlord (1975)
7.2/10
Director: Stuart Cooper
Starring: Brian Stirner, Davyd Harries, Nicholas Ball, Julie Neesam, John Franklyn-Robbins
An under-appreciated masterpiece of filmmaking focusing on 18-year-old Tom, who enters the British Army in 1944. The film follows him through his rigo... Read more
Overlord (2018)
7.1/10
Director: Julius Avery
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, John Magaro, Pilou Asbaek, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob An...
On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers drop behind enemy lines to penetrate the walls of a fortified church and destroy a radio transmitter. As th... Read more
Overlord (Blu-Ray) (2018)
7.1/10
Director: Julius Avery
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, John Magaro, Pilou Asbaek, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob An...
On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers drop behind enemy lines to penetrate the walls of a fortified church and destroy a radio transmitter. As th... Read more