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....
Above and Beyond (2006)
6.5/10
Director: Sturla Gunnarsson
Starring: Richard E Grant, Liane Balaban, Jason Priestley, Joss Ackland, Jonathan Scarfe,...
This Canadian mini-series tells the story of Ferry Command, a civilian effort to escort bombers across the Atlantic Ocean to the UK during the darkest... Read more
Above Us the Waves (1955)
6.7/10
Director: Ralph Thomas
Starring: John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden
Based on a true-life 1943 incident, with most of the film is set in a British midget submarine, commandeered by John Mills. The sub's mission (togethe... Read more
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
Aces High (1976)
6.6/10
Director: Jack Gold
Starring: Christopher Plummer, John Gielgud, Malcolm McDowell, Peter Firth, Ray Milland, R...
An excellent cast heads this solid old-fashioned war drama recounting the adventures of a crack group of WWI airmen. Exciting aerial dogfight sequence... Read more
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
7/10
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Dane Clark, Alan Hale, Raymond Massey, Julie Bishop
Humphrey Bogart and freighter captain Raymond Massey head the crew of the S.S. Seawitch as they match tactics with U-boats and the Luftwaffe. A tense... Read more
Adam Resurrected (2008)
6.3/10
Director: Paul Schrader
Starring: Derek Jacobi, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Ayelet Zurer
A German Jew (Jeff Goldblum) once imprisoned in a Nazi death camp uses his comic skills to entertain fellow Holocaust survivors while institutionalize... Read more
Against the Sun (2014)
6.5/10
Director: Brian Falk
Starring: Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel
Three men. One raft. 100 million square miles of ocean. In one of the most harrowing true stories of World War II, three US Navy airmen crash land... Read more
Against the Sun (Blu-ray) (2014)
6.2/10
Director: Brian Falk
Starring: Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel
Three men. One raft. 100 million square miles of ocean. In one of the most harrowing true stories of World War II, three US Navy airmen crash land... Read more
Age Of Heroes (Blu-ray) (2011)
5.6/10
Starring: Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Aksel Hennie
The true story of the formation of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K. Read more
Air America (1990)
5.7/10
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr, Nancy Travis
Two pilots (Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr.) fly the unfriendly skies over Cambodia during the Vietnamese war. The Thai locations are beautiful, the... Read more