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 Fighting Sullivans (1944)
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Anne Baxter
This patriotic, emotional true story was the basis for Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan", and focuses on five close knit brothers who served to... Read more
The First of the Few (1942)
Director: Leslie Howard
Starring: Leslie Howard, David Niven
The story of R.J. Mitchell (Leslie Howard), the man who designed the Spitfire. Told in flashback by Mitchell's philandering test pilot, Jeffrey Quill... Read more
The Flemish Farm (1943)
5.9/10
Director: Jeffrey Dell
Starring: Clive Brook, Clifford Evans, Philip Friend, Jane Baxter
Based on a true story, this classic war drama poignantly conveys the pain of war. During WWII a squadron of Belgian pilots uses a Flemish farm as a la... Read more
The Flowers of War (2011)
7.6/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Christian Bale, Ni Ni
In 1937 China, an American mortician (Christian Bale) come to Nanking to deal with a monk's burial finds himself trapped by the Japanese occupation of... Read more
The Forgotten (2003)
6.6/10
Director: Vincente Stasolla
Starring: Malcolm Barrett, Randy Ryan, David McMahan
During the Korean War, an idealistic corporal (Randy Ryan) finds the burden of command thrust upon him after the suicide of a superior officer. As unp... Read more
The Four Feathers (1939)
7.6/10
Director: Zoltan Korda
Starring: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez
Four boyhood friends are about to leave their native England for war in Egypt. But one of them, deciding that love is more important than duty, stays... Read more
The Four Feathers (Blu-ray) (1939)
7.5/10
Director: Zoltan Korda
Starring: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez
Four boyhood friends are about to leave their native England for war in Egypt. But one of them, deciding that love is more important than duty, stays... Read more
The Fourth War (1990)
5.7/10
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Jurgen Prochnow, Roy Scheider, Tim Reid, Lara Harris
Posted on each side of the Czech-West German border, US colonel Jack Knowles (Roy Scheider) and his Soviet counterpart Colonel Valachev (Jurgen Prochn... Read more
The Frogmen (1951)
6.7/10
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews, Gary Merrill, Jeffrey Hunter
This thrilling WW2 adventure stars Richard Widmark as a cold Navy commander who takes over a team of frogmen following the death of their beloved lead... Read more
The Front Line (2011)
7.4/10
Director: Jang Hun
Starring: Ha-kyun Shin, Go Soo, Seung-su Ryu
The battle for a strategic stronghold heats up as the Korean War winds to a bloody close in this war drama from director Jang Hun. Korea is in crisis... Read more