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....
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
7.4/10
Director: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, James Caan, Edward Fo...
In September 1944, flush with the success after the Normandy invasion, the Allies confidently launched Operation Market Garden, a bold plan to drop 35... Read more
A Courageous Heart (2009)
Director: John Kent Harrison
Starring: Anna Paquin, Marcia Gay Harden, Goran Visnjic
Aka 'The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler'. Anna Paquin stars in this inspiring true story as Irena Sendler who was one of the most remarkable, and u... Read more
A Farewell to Arms (1932)
6.5/10
Director: Frank Borzage
Starring: Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou
The first Hemingway novel to reach the screen, nominated for four Oscars, with riveting performances by Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper as the sweet Engli... Read more
A Generation (1955)
7.6/10
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Roman Polanski
Master Polish director Andrzej Wajda received an Honorary Academy Award for five decades of work, beginning with this film about the Polish resistance... Read more
A Hero's Choice (A Farewell to Fools) (2013)
5.4/10
Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel, Laura Morante
Once upon a time, during World War II, somewhere in Nazi occupied Romania, a night of comic misadventures ensues when a boy discovers a dead soldier. Read more
A Horseman Riding By (1978)
7.5/10
Director: Paul Ciapessoni, Philip Dudley, Alan Grint
Starring: Nigel Havers, Glyn Houston, Fiona Gaunt, Prunella Ransome, Gillian McCutcheon
A 13-part BBC adaptation of RF Delderfield's novel, features Nigel Havers, in an early starring role, as young Boer War vet, Paul Craddock, who is inv... Read more
A Perfect Day (2015)
6.8/10
Director: Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins, Melanie Thierry, Olga Kurylenko
Commanded by an impressive roster of talent, including Benicio Del Toro, Olga Kurylenko and Tim Robbins, this ensemble tragicomedy strikes just the ri... Read more
A Private War (2018)
6.7/10
Director: Matthew Heineman
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hollander, Faye Marsay, Nikki Am...
In a world where journalism is under attack, Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) is one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. Colvin is an u... Read more
A Separate Peace (2004)
5.4/10
Director: Peter Yates
Starring: J Barton, Jacob Pitts, Aaron Ashmore, Sean McCann, Alison Pill, Hume Cronyn
Strong friendship between students slowly turns into bitter rivalry with fatal consequences. Read more