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 Purple Heart (1944)
6.8/10
Director: Lewis Milestone
Starring: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Farley Granger, Sam Levene
A WW2 flight crew bail out over Chile after an aerial attack on the Japanese mainland. Now they have been captured and charged with murder, they will... Read more
Army in the Shadows ( aka Army of Shadows ) (1969)
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret
A.k.a. 'Army of Shadows'. Based on Joseph Kessel's novel, this war drama follows several months in the life of French Resistance fighter Philippe Gerb... Read more
Let George Do It! (1940)
Director: Marcel Varnel
Starring: George Formby, Phyllis Calvert, Garry Marsh, Romney Brent, Bernard Lee, Coral Br...
One of British comedian George Formby's most successful films, in this war-time musical he plays ukelele-ist George Hepplewhite who gets on a boat thi... Read more
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
7/10
Director: Otto Preminger
Starring: Charles Bickford, Elizabeth Montgomery, Gary Cooper, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger
Gary Cooper (High Noon) portrays a controversial American hero in this electrifying, true story of one of the most sensational military trials in U.S.... Read more
Rikyu (1989)
7.3/10
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Starring: Kyoko Kishida, Rentaro Mikuni, Tsutomu Yamakazi, Yoshiko Mita
Breaking a self-imposed silence in the cinema for seventeen years, Teshigahara Hiroshi made this brilliant comeback with this striking film. Late in t... Read more
Das Boot ( aka The Boat ) ( Blu-ray ) (1981)
8.4/10
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Herbert Gronemeyer, Jurgen Prochnow, Klaus Wennemann
A.k.a. 'The Boat.' Totally restored and with over an hour of never-before-seen footage, Das Boot: The Director's Cut is Wolfgang Petersen's acclaimed... Read more
Last Days in Vietnam (2014)
7.6/10
Director: Rory Kennedy
Starring: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, American servicemen and others begin the difficult mission of evacuating as many friends, family members and So... Read more
Downfall (Blu-ray) (2005)
8.2/10
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Thomas Kretschmann, Ulrich Matthers, Heino Ferch, Ulrich Noethen, Ju...
Bruno Ganz is rivetting as the mad dictator during his final days in the Berlin Bunker. But director Hirschbiegel understands that evil does not exis... Read more
Aces High (1976)
6.6/10
Director: Jack Gold
Starring: Christopher Plummer, John Gielgud, Malcolm McDowell, Peter Firth, Ray Milland, R...
An excellent cast heads this solid old-fashioned war drama recounting the adventures of a crack group of WWI airmen. Exciting aerial dogfight sequence... Read more
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008)
6.2/10
Director: Daniel Lee
Starring: Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Maggie Q, Vanness Wu
Set in ancient China at a time when the Empire was divided between three powers, the Kingdom of Wei, the Kingdom of Shu, and the Kingdom of Wu, "Three... Read more