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....
There Be Dragons/Blood & Country (Blu-ray) (2011)
5.8/10
Director: Roland Joffe
Starring: Dougray Scott, Wes Bentley, Charlie Cox, Olga Kurylenko
An action adventure set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War, "There Be Dragons" traces the lives of two young men, childhood friends who becom... Read more
Oh! What A Lovely War (1969)
7.1/10
Director: Richard Attenborough
The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the three boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warf... Read more
What Did You Do In The War Daddy? (1966)
6.8/10
Director: Blake Edwards
Starring: James Coburn, Dick Shawn, Sergio Fantoni, Giovanna Ralli, Harry Morgan
In World War II, a strategic Italian village agrees to surrender to the Allies only if it's allowed to organize a celebratory festival while giving ae... 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
The Chess Player (1927)
6.9/10
Director: Raymond Bernard
Starring: Pierre Batcheff
In 1776, an inventor conceals a Polish nobleman in his chess-playing automaton, a machine whose fame leads it to the court of the Russian empress. Read more
Fires On The Plain (Blu-ray) (2014)
6.4/10
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Starring: Shinya Tsukamoto, Lily Franky
A Japanese soldier endures illness, starvation and brutality in the Philippines at the tail end of WW2. Read more
The Big Parade (Blu-ray) (1925)
7.9/10
Director: King Vidor
Starring: John Gilbert
The Big Parade is a 1925 American silent war drama film[2][3] directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brie... Read more
Day Of The Siege (2012)
4.3/10
Director: Renzo Martinelli
Starring: F Murray Abraham, Enrico Lo Verso, Alicja Bachleda, Piotr Adamczyk, Claire Bloom
n the summer of 1683, 300,000 warriors of the Ottoman Empire began the siege of Vienna. The fall of the city would have opened the way to conquer Euro... Read more
Fantasy Mission Force (1984)
Director: Chu Yen-ping
Starring: Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin, Jimmy Wang Yu
A truly off-the-wall WW2 actioner with Jackie Chan as part of an elite commando team sent to rescue a group of Allied Generals kidnapped by the Japane... Read more
The Thin Red Line (Blu-Ray) (1998)
7.6/10
Director: Terrence Malick
Starring: Ben Chaplin, Elias Koteas, George Clooney, Jared Leto, Jim Caviezel, John C Reil...
In 1942, Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) is a U.S. Army absconder living peacefully with the locals of a small South Pacific island. Discovered by his com... Read more