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....
Raid on Rommel (1971)
5.6/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: Richard Burton, John Colicos, Clinton Greyn
Richard Burton stars as a lone British officer who leads a rag tag group on a mission to knock out Rommel's fortress at Tobruk, taking on German Panze... Read more
Reach for the Sky (1956)
7.3/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Alexander Knox
A well told account of British pilot Douglas Bader (Kenneth More) who overcame the loss of both legs, to become one of the most remarkable fighter ace... Read more
Red Angel (Blu-ray) (1966)
7.8/10
Starring: Ayako Wakao
During the Sino-Japanese War, a young army nurse gives sympathy to her patients and falls in love with an impotent doctor who's addicted to morphine. Read more
Red Dawn (1984)
6.4/10
Director: John Milius
Starring: Patrick Swayze, C Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton,...
It's gung-ho action all the way as a troop of small-town teenagers take on the Commies when the U.S. of A. gets invaded. Opening with a truly memorabl... Read more
Red Dawn ( Blu-ray ) (1984)
6.4/10
Director: John Milius
Starring: Ben Johnson, C Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen, Harry Dean Stanton, Jennifer Grey,...
It's gung-ho action all the way as a troop of small-town teenagers take on the Commies when the U.S. of A. gets invaded. Opening with a truly memorabl... Read more
Red Tails (Blu-ray) (2012)
5.9/10
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo
Three African-American pilots, who were mostly kept on the ground, are given a chance to be a part of the Tuskegee training programme. Read more
Redacted (2007)
6.1/10
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Rob Devaney, Patrick Carroll, Izzy Diaz, Mike Figueroa, Ty Jones, Kel O'Neill, B...
Brian De Palma makes a strong anti-war statement with this chilling documentary-style drama about a group of soldiers who commit a devastating atrocit... Read more
Remembrance (2011)
7.2/10
Director: Anna Justice
Starring: David Rasche, Dagmar Manzel, Shantel VanSanten, Alice Dwyer, Mateusz Damiecki
"Remembrance" depicts a remarkable love story that blossomed against the unlikely background of a German concentration camp in 1944 Poland. This impos... Read more
Rescue Dawn (2007)
7.8/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Pat Healy
Revisiting the subject he covered in the engrossing documentary 'Little Dieter Needs to Fly', director Werner Herzog's compelling drama boasts a stirr... Read more
Rescue Dawn (Blu-ray) (2006)
7.3/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Christian Bale, Jeremy Davies, Steve Zahn
During the Vietnam War, Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a U.S. fighter pilot, is shot down over Laos and taken captive by enemy soldiers. Interned in... Read more