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 Day Will Dawn (1942)
Director: Harold French
Starring: Hugh Williams, Deborah Kerr, Ralph Richardson
The story of Colin, a journalist who becomes an important tool against the Nazis. Sent to Norway as a foreign correspondent, he becomes caught up in r... Read more
Secret Mission (1942)
5.4/10
Director: Harold French
Starring: Michael Wilding, James Mason, Hugh Williams
During World War II, four British intelligence men are sent to assess the strength of German defences in occupied France. They require forged papers,... Read more
In Which We Serve (1942)
7.3/10
Director: David Lean, Noel Coward
Starring: Noel Coward, Bernard Miles, John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Celia Johnson, Kay...
A magnificent documentary-like war drama produced, co-directed, written by, and starring Noel Coward as the captain of a crew of brave, young soldiers... Read more
One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
7.1/10
Director: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Starring: Eric Portman, Godfrey Tearle, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles
Stunning British wartime saga from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger follows the plight of six RAF airmen as they endeavor to get back to England... Read more
Went the Day Well? (1942)
7.6/10
Director: Alberto Cavalcanti
Starring: Leslie Banks, Elizabeth Allan, Frank Lawton
Based on a short story by Graham Greene, this classic wartime thriller tells of the inhabitants of a sleepy English village welcoming a platoon of tir... Read more
Sundown (1941)
5.8/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, George Sanders
Englishmen fighting Nazis in Africa discover an exotic mystery woman living among the natives and enlist her aid in overcoming the Germans. Read more
Sergeant York (1941)
7.8/10
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Gary Cooper, George Tobias, Joan Leslie, Walter Brennan
Torn between religious pacifism and patriotism, Alvin York of Tennessee went on to become World War I's most acclaimed hero. As the simple backwoods f... Read more
Sky Raiders (1941)
7.3/10
Director: Ray Taylor, Ford Beebe
Starring: Robert Armstrong, Donald Woods, Billy Halop
Dastardly spy Felix Lynx attacks our hero Robert Dayton through twelve thrilling chapters of high-flying action! Felix wants to steal Robert's amazing... Read more
49th Parallel (1941)
7.4/10
Director: Michael Powell
Starring: Leslie Howard, Eric Portman, Anton Walbrook, Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey
A powerful and important piece of World War 2 propaganda, which controversially was filmed from the point of view of a group of German soldiers. Asked... Read more
Dive Bomber (1941)
6.6/10
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy
A fascinating World War II era film about the experiments of military flight surgeons to correct pilot "blackout" during strategic flight missions. Br... Read more