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 Wild Geese (1978)
6.8/10
Director: Andrew V McLaglen
Starring: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger, Stewart Granger
Their home is the battlefield. Their calling is war. Their only loyalty is to each other. They are the Wild Geese, fifty crack mercenary paratroops co... Read more
The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006)
7.5/10
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald, Mary Riordan,...
Ken Loach takes on the Irish-English conflict through a story of two brothers who wind up on differing sides of a philosophical divide after joining i... Read more
The Winds of War (1983)
8.2/10
Director: Dan Curtis
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Jan-Michael Vincent, Victoria Tennant, John Housema...
The Emmy-winning TV mini-series, bringing to life Herman Wouk's tale of a Navy family's devotion to duty and to each other in the days shortly before... Read more
The Wipers Times (2013)
7.1/10
Director: Andy De Emmony
Starring: Ben Chaplin, Michael Palin, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Steve Oram, Patrick Fitzsymons
In dark times, they chose to make light. Based on the remarkable true story of a satirical newspaper published on the front lines of World War One,... Read more
The Woman King (2022)
6.7/10
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Starring: Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega
The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with s... Read more
The Wooden Horse (1950)
7/10
Director: Jack Lee
Starring: Leo Genn, David Tomlinson, Anthony Steel
An exciting WWII drama about POW's determined to tunnel their way out of a prison camp using an exercise vaulting horse for cover. Stars Leo Genn, Dav... Read more
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
7.2/10
Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Bill Kerr, Linda Hunt, Mel Gibson, Michael Murphy, Sigourney Weaver
Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver begin an impassioned love affair intensified by the uncertainties of life in Indonesia on the eve of revolution. Linda... Read more
The Young Lions (1958)
7.3/10
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Starring: Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin, Hope Lange, Barbara Rush, Maximili...
Fascinating WWII story parallels the lives of three individual characters: A handsome German ski instructor turned Nazi who questions his orders and t... Read more
The Zone Of Interest (2024)
7.5/10
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Sandra Huller, Christian Friedel
In 1943, the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house right next to the co... Read more
The Zone Of Interest (Blu-ray) (2024)
7.5/10
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Sandra Huller, Christian Friedel
In 1943, the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house right next to the co... Read more