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....
The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
Director: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Starring: John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, Peter Finch
'The Battle of the River Plate' is a war film from the incomparable team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Ten days before before the outbreak... Read more
The Beast (1988)
7.4/10
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin
This great war yarn is set in Afghanistan, 1981, where the Soviet Union is locked in a futile and bloody battle with the Mujahedeen guerrillas. Sepera... Read more
The Beautiful Country (2004)
7.5/10
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Starring: Damien Nguyen, Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Tim Roth, Temuera Morrison
Binh (Damien Nguyen) is an outcast in his Vietnamese village due to his mixed race. He is half American, but knows neither of his parents. Forced to... Read more
The Bedford Incident (1965)
7.5/10
Director: James B Harris
Starring: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Martin Balsam
A battle of wits aboard a US destroyer tracking Soviet submarines off Greenland during the Cold War. Richard Widmark is a skipper with an obsession to... Read more
The Big Parade (Blu-ray) (1925)
7.9/10
Director: King Vidor
Starring: John Gilbert
The Big Parade is a 1925 American silent war drama film[2][3] directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brie... Read more
The Big Red One (1980)
7.2/10
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby DiCicco, Kelly Ward, Siegfried...
Aka "The Big Red One: The Reconstruction". "The real glory of war," Samuel Fuller said, "is surviving." A decorated combatant with the famed U.S. Firs... Read more
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
6.7/10
Director: D W Griffith
Starring: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B Walthall
An epic tale of the Civil War which many consider to be the single most important film in the development of cinema as an art. It is a stunning summar... Read more
The Blue Max (1966)
7.1/10
Director: John Guillermin
Starring: Anton Diffring, George Peppard, James Mason, Jeremy Kemp, Ursula Andress, Karl M...
During WWI a young German (George Peppard) fresh out of aviation training school competes for the coveted "Blue Max" flying award with other members o... Read more
The Bomber (2011)
4.9/10
Director: Vitaliy Vorobyov
Starring: Nikita Efremov, Ekaterina Astakhova
Originally made as an 8-part Russian TV series, "The Bomber" is an action-packed adventure set during WWII, which sees a Soviet aircraft crashing in N... Read more
The Bombing (Air Strike) (2018)
7.1/10
Director: Xiao Feng
Starring: Adrien Brody, Bruce Willis, Kenny Bee, Wu Gang, Liu Ye, Rumer Willis
During World War II, five different Chinese people fight their way through Japanese Air Force attacks to protect an important military machine in Chon... Read more