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 Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
6.8/10
Director: Mark Robson
Starring: William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney
A powerful, thoughtful drama based on the James Michener best-seller, focusing on the conflicts and exploits of lawyer William Holden after he is reca... Read more
The Bunker (1981)
7/10
Director: George Schaefer
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Richard Jordan, Piper Laurie, Cliff Gorman
In 1945, The Third Reich is in its death throes with the Allies relentlessly attacking the capital city of Berlin. Adolf Hitler retreats into his fort... Read more
The Burmese Harp (1956)
8.1/10
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Shoji Yasui, Rentaro Mikuni, Naito Taketoshi
A moving anti-war drama about a wounded Japanese soldier in British custody during the last days of World War II. Sent out into the Burmese jungle to... Read more
The Burmese Harp (Blu-ray) (1956)
8/10
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Shoji Yasui, Rentaro Mikuni, Naito Taketoshi
A moving anti-war drama about a wounded Japanese soldier in British custody during the last days of World War II. Sent out into the Burmese jungle to... Read more
The Captain (2017)
7.3/10
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Alexander Fehling
In the last moments of World War II, a young German soldier fighting for survival finds a Nazi captain's uniform. Impersonating an officer, the man qu... Read more
The Captain (Blu-ray) (2017)
7.4/10
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Alexander Fehling
In the last moments of World War II, a young German soldier fighting for survival finds a Nazi captain's uniform. Impersonating an officer, the man qu... Read more
The Cardinal (1963)
6.7/10
Director: Otto Preminger
Starring: Tom Tryon, Carol Lynley, Dorothy Gish
A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal. Read more
The Cave (2019)
7.5/10
Amidst air strikes and bombings, a group of female doctors in Ghouta, Syria struggle with systemic sexism while trying to care for the injured using l... Read more
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
7.1/10
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Nigel Bruce
Thundering action based on Tennyson's poem, with climactic charge into certain death by the British Army. The lavish production\- values accent this r... Read more
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
6.7/10
Director: Tony Richardson
Starring: John Gielgud, David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Trevor Howard
October 25, 1854: Balaclava, the Crimea; military minds blunder and six hundred gallant Britishers, sabres flashing, ride to their deaths. David Hemmi... Read more