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....
Fires On The Plain (Blu-ray) (2014)
6.4/10
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Starring: Shinya Tsukamoto, Lily Franky
A Japanese soldier endures illness, starvation and brutality in the Philippines at the tail end of WW2. Read more
First Light (2010)
7/10
Director: Matthew Whiteman
Starring: Sam Heughan, Gary Lewis
In May 1940 eighteen-year old Geoffrey Wellum joins the 92 squadron of the Royal Air Force and is taken to the pub,where pilots who have seen action s... Read more
Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
7.4/10
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff, Erich Von Stroheim, Peter Van Eyck
Filmed almost concurrently with events in North Africa during WWII, Billy Wilder's take on the propaganda genre is adapted from WWI play, 'Hotel Imper... Read more
Fixed Bayonets (1951)
7/10
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Gene Evans, Richard Basehart, Skip Homeier
Samuel Fuller's compelling Korean War epic stars Richard Basehart as a U.S. Army corporal who must reluctantly assume command of his platoon when his... Read more
Flags of our Fathers (2006)
7.1/10
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Slattery, Barry Pepper, John Be...
Clint Eastwood's World War II film offers a brutal grunts-eye-view of the battle on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. It centres on the lives of three... Read more
Flags of our Fathers ( Blu-ray ) (2006)
7.1/10
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Slattery, Barry Pepper, John Be...
Clint Eastwood's World War II film offers a brutal grunts-eye-view of the battle on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. It centres on the lives of three... Read more
Flyboys (2006)
6.5/10
Director: Tony Bill
Starring: James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, David Ellison, Tyler...
Inspired by the true story of American volunteers who, before the US became involved in World War I, went to fly with the French airforce in a squadro... Read more
Flyboys (Blu-ray) (2006)
6.5/10
Director: Tony Bill
Starring: Jean Reno, Tim Pigott-Smith, James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jennifer Decker, Ty...
Inspired by the true story of American volunteers who, before the US became involved in World War I, went to fly with the French airforce in a squadro... Read more
Flying Leathernecks (1951)
6.5/10
Director: Micholas Ray
Starring: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Don Taylor, Janis Carter
A leadership battle tug-of-war during the Battle of Guadalcanal, featuring squadron leaders John Wayne and Robert Ryan. Produced by Howard Hughes and... Read more
Flying the Secret Sky: The Story of the RAF Ferry Command (2008)
6.3/10
In 1940 Nazi air strikes had Britain on her knees. The RAF was desperate for aircraft - losing hundreds of planes in air battles over Europe. Their es... Read more