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....
Unbroken: Path to Redemption (2014)
7.2/10
Starring: Samuel Hunt, Merritt Patterson, Vincenzo Amato
Haunted by nightmares of his horrific experiences, World War II hero Louis Zamperini meets Cynthia Applewhite, a young woman who becomes his wife. Zam... Read more
Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) (Blu-ray) (2017)
7/10
Starring: Johannes Holopainen
A film adaptation of Väinö Linna's best selling novel The Unknown Soldier (1954) and the novel's unedited manuscript version, Sotaromaani. 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
Hart's War ( Blu-ray ) (2002)
6.3/10
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Starring: Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Linus Roache, Colin Farrell, Marcel Iures, Terrence H...
Moody and powerful WWII drama starring Colin Farrell as a young US lieutenant and senator's son who is captured in 1944 and sent to a German POW camp.... Read more
The Warlords ( Blu-ray ) (2007)
7.1/10
Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Starring: Andy Lau, Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu
Far from the stylistic martial arts pics of recent times, this unrelentingly violent historical epic set during the Qing Dynasty of the late 19th cent... Read more
1911 Revolution (Blu-ray) (2011)
Director: Jackie Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Li Bingbing
A historical drama based on the founding of the Republic of China when nationalist forces led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Read more
Pearl Harbor (Blu-ray) (2001)
6.2/10
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr, Alec Baldwin, Jon Voight, Josh Ha...
Titanic wartime adventure from Michael Bay ("Armageddon") stars Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett as flying obsessed childhood friends who enlist in the A... Read more
Gettysburg (1993)
7.6/10
Director: Ronald F Maxwell
Starring: Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, Richard Jordan, Stephen Lang
The bloody, three day Civil War battle that took place in July of 1863 that saw 53,000 lives lost is depicted in spectacular style in this epic film m... Read more
Man Down (2019)
6/10
Director: Dito Montiel
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Jai Courtney, Gary Oldman, Kate Mara, Tory Kittles, Clifton Collin...
In a post-apocalyptic America, former U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer searches desperately for the whereabouts of his son, accompanied by his best friend... Read more
Home Fires: Series One (2015)
8.2/10
Starring: Samantha Bond, Ruth Gemmell, Claire Price, Claire Rushbrook
A drama following a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community during World War II. Read more