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 Red Baron (2008)
6.4/10
Director: Nikolai Mullerschon
Starring: Matthias Schweighofer, Lena Headey, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes
Baron Manfred von Richthofen (Matthias Schweighofer) is the most feared and celebrated pilot of the German air force during World War I, eventually ra... Read more
The Red Baron (Blu-ray) (2008)
6.4/10
Director: Nikolai Mullerschon
Starring: Matthias Schweighofer, Lena Headey, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes
Baron Manfred von Richthofen (Matthias Schweighofer) is the most feared and celebrated pilot of the German air force during World War I, eventually ra... Read more
The Resting Place (1986)
Director: John Korty
Starring: John Lithgow, Morgan Freeman, CCH Pounder, Frances Sternhagen
An impressive list of issues are raised about the American military and small town living in this made-for-TV special. John Lithgow stars as an army... Read more
The Revolt of Mamie Stover (Blu-ray) (1956)
6.4/10
Director: Raoul Walsh
Starring: Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, Michael Pate
Set in the early '40s, a San Francisco prostitute is run out of town just as the second World War has begun to intensify. Mamie settles down in Hawaii... Read more
The Rhinemann Exchange (1977)
6.5/10
Director: Burt Kennedy
Starring: Claude Akins, John Huston, Jose Ferrer, Larry Hagman, Lauren Hutton, Rene Auberj...
Based on Robert Ludlum's ("The Bourne Identity") gripping novel of wartime espionage and double-dealing, this TV mini-series follows U.S. intelligence... Read more
The Riddle of the Sands (1979)
6.5/10
Director: Tony Maylam
Starring: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Simon MacCorkindale, Alan Badel
This adaptation of Erskine Childer's novel is set in the early years of the 20th Century, with two British yachtsmen (Michael York and Simon MacCorkin... Read more
The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)
6.5/10
Director: Ketan Mehta
Starring: Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Toby Stephens, Coral Beed, Amisha Patel
A valour-drenched historical epic, recalling the 1857 Indian rebellion against British rule, led by Mangal Pandey (played by the charismatic Aamir Kha... Read more
The Round Up (2011)
Director: Rose Bosch
Starring: Jean Reno, Melanie Laurent, Gad Elmaleh
Throws a powerful light on one of the most disturbing episodes in recent French history - the few weeks in July 1942 when the French police, at the di... Read more
The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
7.7/10
Director: Jerry London
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Gregory Peck, John Gielgud
Gregory Peck plays Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a real-life cleric who, during World War II, rescued thousands of escaped POWs from the Gestapo. Christo... Read more
The Sea Chase (1955)
6.5/10
Director: John Farrow
Starring: John Wayne, Lana Turner, David Farrar, Tab Hunter
John Wayne is a German Hitler-loathing captain of a decrepit freighter with an unusual cargo who faces danger and romance during WWII. Lana Turner is... Read more