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....
Shining Through (1992)
6.4/10
Director: David Seltzer
Starring: Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson, John Gielgud
Sweeping WWII romance-drama stars Melanie Griffith as a secretary who falls in love with her mysterious new boss (Michael Douglas). She soon discovers... Read more
Silmido (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Kang Woo-Suk
Starring: Sung-kee Ahn, Kyung-gu Sol, Jun-ho Heo, Jae-yeong Joeng, Seong-jin Kang
In 1968, a group of North Korean commandos crossed the border in a failed attempt to assassinate South-Korean president Park Chung-hee. Outraged, Sou... Read more
Silver Screen Collection: The Battle of the River Plate / Above Us the Waves / 49th Parallel (1956)
Director: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Ralph Thomas
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, John Gregson, Peter Finch, John Mills, Anton Wa...
A triple feature set. 'The Battle of the River Plate' (1956) - Ten days before the outbreak of WWII, a powerful German battleship sails around the Sou... Read more
Sink The Bismarck! (1960)
7.2/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Carl Mohner
One of the finest war dramas ever made, showing the true story of how the British Navy planned and executed the destruction of the mighty German WWII... Read more
Sirocco (1951)
6.3/10
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Marta Toren, Lee J Cobb, Zero Mostel
Humphrey Bogart is a gun-runner in 1920s Syria in this action-filled drama of war, exotic action and romance. Read more
Six Minutes To Midnight (2020)
5.7/10
Director: Andy Goddard
Starring: Nigel Lindsay, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Jim Broadbent
UK, Aug. 15, 1939: 17 days before WWII, an English teacher and his camera disappear on a coastal boarding school with 20 German teen girls. Miller get... Read more
Sky Raiders (1941)
7.3/10
Director: Ray Taylor, Ford Beebe
Starring: Robert Armstrong, Donald Woods, Billy Halop
Dastardly spy Felix Lynx attacks our hero Robert Dayton through twelve thrilling chapters of high-flying action! Felix wants to steal Robert's amazing... Read more
Something Of Value (1957)
6.5/10
Director: Richard Brooks
Starring: Rock Hudson, Dana Wynter, Sidney Poitier, Wendy Hiller, Juano Hernandez, William...
In British Colonial Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, Peter and Kimani, who grew up together, find themselves on the opposite sides. Read more
Sometimes in April (2005)
7.9/10
Director: Raoul Peck
Starring: Idris Elba, Debra Winger, Carole Karemara, Pamela Nomvete, Michelle Rugema
In April 1994 a violent uprising between the Hutus and Tutsis of Rwanda led to one of the darkest periods in African history, and over the next 100 da... Read more
Son of Saul (2015)
7.5/10
Director: Laszlo Nemes
Starring: Geza Rohrig, Levente Molnar, Urs Rechn
Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in th... Read more