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 Bombing (Air Strike) (Blu-ray) (2018)
8.1/10
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
The Book Thief (2013)
7.6/10
Director: Brian Percival
Starring: Emily Watson, Geoffrey Rush, Sophie Nelisse
"The Book Thief" tells the inspirational story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. When her mother ca... Read more
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Director: Mark Herman
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Richa...
A wrenching and deeply moving holocaust story, based on the novel by John Boyne, about two boys living on opposite sides of a concentration camp fence... Read more
The Boys in Company C (1978)
7/10
Director: Sidney J Furie
Starring: Andrew Stevens, James Canning, Stan Shaw, Craig Wasson
Follows the lives of five naive young Marine inductees from their training in boot camp through a tour in Vietnam that quickly devolves into a hellish... Read more
The BRD Trilogy ( The Marriage of Maria Braun / Lola / Veronika Voss ) (1979)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Barbara Sukowa, Gottfried John, Hanna Schygulla, Hilmar Tha...
RW Fassbinder's Bundesrepublik Deutschland trilogy comprises three of his most celebrated films which chart West Germany's post-war economic miracle t... Read more
The Bridge (aka Die Brücke) (2008)
8.6/10
Director: Wolfgang Panzer
Starring: Franka Potente, Daniel Axt, Francois Goeske, Lars Steinhofel
Just a few weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany to the allies, young recruit Albert is drafted along with a cadre of soldiers to defend The Brid... Read more
The Bridge (Die Brucke) (1959)
8.6/10
Director: Bernhard Wicki
Starring: Fritz Wepper, Folker Bohnet, Michael Hinz, Frank Glaubrecht
Bernhard Wicki's Oscar-nominated directorial debut, this is an excellent little film with no known names on the roster. In the final days of World War... Read more
The Bridge At Remagen (1969)
6.7/10
Director: John Guillermin
Starring: Ben Gazzara, George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Bradford Dillman, E G Marshall
For the Americans, the bridge at Remagen is the link to the heart of the Third Reich; for the retreating Germans, it's the last hope. Starring Robert... Read more
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
8.2/10
Director: David Lean
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Ann...
Epic story of British prisoners of war held by the Japanese, combines psychological battles of will with gripping action. Winner of seven Oscars inclu... Read more
The Bridge on the River Kwai ( Blu-ray ) (1957)
8.2/10
Director: David Lean
Starring: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, James Donald, Sessue Hayakawa, William Holden, Ann...
Epic story of British prisoners of war held by the Japanese, combines psychological battles of will with gripping action. Winner of seven Oscars inclu... Read more