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....
Ace of Aces (1933)
6.3/10
Director: J. Walter Ruben
Starring: Richard Dix, Elizabeth Allan, Ralph Bellamy
A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I, after he's accused of being a coward, is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the army.... Read more
A Time to Love and a Time to Die (Blu-ray) (1958)
7.7/10
Director: Douglas Sirk
Starring: Don DeFore, Keenan Wynn, John Gavin, Jock Mahoney, Lilo Pulver
Douglas Sirk's wartime romance is based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, author of the classic anti-war novel 'All Quiet On the Western Front', w... Read more
Breaker Morant (Blu-ray) (1980)
7.8/10
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Bryan Brown, Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
The film that brought world acclaim for Edward Woodward, tells the true story of Lieutenant Harry 'Breaker' Morant in the Boer War in South Africa, 19... Read more
Phantom (Blu-ray) (2013)
5.9/10
Director: Todd Robinson
Starring: Ed Harris, David Duchovny
The haunted Captain of a Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a co... Read more
Wings Of Honour (Angel of the Skies) (2013)
4/10
War is declared and Britain must take action against Nazi Germany if Europe is going to be saved from its ruthless clutches. Read more
Back Door To Hell (1964)
5.3/10
Director: Monte Hellman
Starring: Jack Nicholson
During World War II, a three man commando team places its trust in the hands of a band of Filipino resistants, as they try to knock out a Japanese com... Read more
A Time To Die (1982)
4.2/10
Starring: Rex Harrison, Rod Taylor, Edward Albert, Raf Vallone
In the final days of World War II, American spy Michael Rogan (Edward Albert Jr.) is taken prisoner, along with his wife and comrades from the French... Read more
The Four Feathers (Blu-ray) (1939)
7.5/10
Director: Zoltan Korda
Starring: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez
Four boyhood friends are about to leave their native England for war in Egypt. But one of them, deciding that love is more important than duty, stays... Read more
Mongol (Blu-ray) (2007)
7.2/10
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Sun Honglei, Khulan Chuluun
Exploring the rise of one of the world's most feared and fearless warriors, the story of Genghis Khan is still a controversial one. In the West his na... Read more
On the Double (1961)
6.5/10
Director: Melville Shavelson
Starring: Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter
At the time of the Invasion of Normandy, an American soldier is asked to impersonate a British General in order to confuse the Nazi spies and assassin... Read more