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....
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)
7.4/10
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden
A tense submarine thriller as feuding Naval officers (Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster) find themselves going head on against a Japanese sub during WWII... Read more
The Young Lions (1958)
7.3/10
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Starring: Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin, Hope Lange, Barbara Rush, Maximili...
Fascinating WWII story parallels the lives of three individual characters: A handsome German ski instructor turned Nazi who questions his orders and t... Read more
Something Of Value (1957)
6.5/10
Director: Richard Brooks
Starring: Rock Hudson, Dana Wynter, Sidney Poitier, Wendy Hiller, Juano Hernandez, William...
In British Colonial Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, Peter and Kimani, who grew up together, find themselves on the opposite sides. Read more
Anthony Quinn Triple Pack: The River's Edge, The Visit, The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1957)
Director: Bernhard Wicki, Stanley Kramer, Allan Dwan
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Ray Milland, Debra Paget, Ingrid Bergman, Anna Magnani, Virna Lis...
The River's Edge: A murderous thief on the run with stolen loot forces a poor rancher to guide him across the desert into Mexico. Accompanying them i... Read more
China Gate (1957)
6.4/10
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Angie Dickinson, Gene Barry, Lee Van Cleef, Nat King Cole
One of the first war films to be set in Vietnam (back when it was called French Indochina), writer/director Samuel Fuller's tale of a multinational me... Read more
Paths of Glory ( Blu-ray ) (1957)
8.4/10
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou
Stanley Kubrick gives us a scathing indictment against the staff-officer mentality that cares about promotions more than the men who make those promot... Read more
Battle Hymn (1957)
6.4/10
Director: Douglas Sirk
Starring: Dan Duryea, Don DeFore, Martha Hyer, Rock Hudson
"Battle Hymn" was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during W... Read more
The Bridge on the River Kwai ( Blu-ray ) (1957)
8.2/10
Director: David Lean
Starring: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, James Donald, Sessue Hayakawa, William Holden, Ann...
Epic story of British prisoners of war held by the Japanese, combines psychological battles of will with gripping action. Winner of seven Oscars inclu... Read more
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957)
Director: Michael Anderson
Starring: Richard Todd, William Hartnell, Akim Tamiroff, Donald Houston, Keye Luke
The Royal Navy Frigate H.M.S. Amethyst (whilst on a peaceful mission) comes under fire and is run aground up the Yangtse River. After rescue attempts... Read more
Jet Pilot (1957)
5.7/10
Director: Josef Von Sternberg
Starring: John Wayne, Janet Leigh
A high-flying Cold War drama with American Air Force colonel John Wayne charged with looking after defecting Soviet pilot Janet Leigh. The pair fall i... Read more