25 Best War Films
- Battleship Potemkin (1925)
- Casablanca (1942)
- High Noon (1952)
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- The Caine Mutiny (1954)
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
- Patton (1970)
- Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
- Midway (1976)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- Kagemusha (1980)
- Boot, Das (1981)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- The Hunt for Red October (1990)
- Courage Under Fire (1996)
- The Thin Red Line (1998)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
25? You only posted 16!
You are missing "The Battle of Britain", "The Cruel Sea", "Tora Tora Tora", "Midway", "The Great Escape", "A Bridge To Far", "Twelve O'Clock High" and I could go on but last but not least "The Longest Day".
Posted by Chris Gerhard on August 25, 2008 at 05:00 AM HKT #
I learned from my last experience to leave some buffer space!
"Tora Tora Tora" and "Midway" should've been on the list. I'll add them. Either it's been too long since I've seen the other ones or didn't see them. I'll put them on my "too watch list".
Hey, at least you didn't say that some needed to be dropped. :)
Posted by Robs on August 25, 2008 at 07:27 AM HKT #
I've not seen Kagemusha & The Stunt Man (1980) and question whether "The Hunt for Red October" is really a war film, if it is then it easily gets replaced by "Where Eagles Dare". Others you have missed:
Catch 22
The Battle of the Bulge
Mr Roberts
Good Morning Vietnam
Saving Private Ryan
Schindler's List
MacArthur
There are still more that could be on that list.... "The Guns of Navarone", "The Desert Rats", "Tobruk" & "Dunkirk" but given that you have this in the USA category they may be a bit to British.
Posted by Chris Gerhard on August 25, 2008 at 04:53 PM HKT #
You definitely should see Kagemusha (and Ran whilst your at it). I thought The Stunt Man was a lot of fun. Peter O'Toole playing Peter O'Toole like nobody else can.
Didn't much care for Catch 22 (book was better), Good Morning Vietnam (thought it was okay), or Saving Private Ryan (too overblown). Did like Mr Roberts. Haven't seen The Battle of the Bulge or Schindler's List... don't remember seeing MacArthur.
Red October is one of my favorite movies regardless of genre... call it a "cold" war film. I thought Where Eagles Dare was okay.
I think I'm gonna create a Movies category. You've given me at least five movies that I need to watch... very cool.
Posted by robs on August 25, 2008 at 05:05 PM HKT #
I agree Catch 22 the book was better but I still thought the film has something. Saving Private Ryan get in simply for the visual spectical and that it forced you to see the horror in a way few other films do.
Posted by Chris |Gerhard on August 25, 2008 at 07:54 PM HKT #
I'll put a vote in for Gallipoli.
Posted by James McPherson on August 26, 2008 at 05:16 PM HKT #
Glory (my personal favorite)
Platoon
We Were Soldiers
Full Metal Jacket
All Quiet on the Western Front
Memphis Belle
M*A*S*H
Dirty Dozen
Ken Burn’s The Civil War
John Adams (HBO miniseries)
Worth mentioning
Pork Chop Hill
Bridges at Toko Ri
War and Peace
You scared me when you listed Red October because the book was extremely political and I thought The Green Berets was going to follow next on the list. But since you listed fictional titles I also liked
The Last Samurai
Star Wars
The Patriot
Posted by Don Rash on August 27, 2008 at 06:36 AM HKT #
Cool. One of the reasons that I had Red October was that it was political. I remember reading that Gorbachev actually visited the set. I think it was sometime around when they filmed the scene involving the Alpha.
I think that one of the things that makes a war movie spectacular is the political climate around when it was filmed. For example, High Noon.
Don't need to worry about Green Berets showing-up on the list.
I've got a lot more movies to watch... thanks for the additions.
Posted by Robs on August 27, 2008 at 06:59 AM HKT #
I would like to add, "Thin Red Line" which I saw on Robert's huge HDTV about 4 years ago. Amazing.
Posted by Aram Sohigian on August 27, 2008 at 11:56 AM HKT #
OI, where's Grave of Fireflies, don't underestimate this movie just because it's an Anime/Cartoon, watch it, for me it's the best war movie evar!!
Posted by halloween13th on September 12, 2008 at 05:02 PM HKT #
HI
I've been wracking my brains on this trivia question.
" Which war film has the final line bejesus?"
An answer if you know it would be great.
Thankyou
Mitchell
Posted by mitchell hall on November 16, 2008 at 04:53 PM HKT #
Ha!
Do a search for:
bejesus war film
and you'll find it soon enough.
Posted by robs on November 16, 2008 at 05:18 PM HKT #
Hi Robs.
It's not there. Well the right answer anyway.
I know it's not Catch 22, Platoon, Gods and Generals, Tropic Thunder, The green Berets, Mash, Full Metal Jacket.
This is a tough find. Have you got another clue?
Posted by Mitchell Hall on November 18, 2008 at 08:00 PM HKT #
Well, the search I did said Gods and Generals. Sorry. Guess it was a bogus answer.
Now you've got me interested!
Posted by Robert Sohigian on November 18, 2008 at 09:11 PM HKT #
Hi RobS.
Yes Gods and Generals is wrong. I checked the script online.
It's a very tough question. Seems easy yet isn't. I need an experts help. That's why I came to you RobS. Alot of people are putting fake answers on the internet.
Posted by Mitchell Hall on November 19, 2008 at 04:16 AM HKT #
where the f is platoon its the best war movie out there and tears of the sun that should be on here to
Posted by ryan grenier on March 02, 2009 at 05:01 AM HKT #
I've actually never watched platoon all the way through. I'll take care of that this week. I think that Tears of the Sun was a bit too formulaic. I will check it out again, though.
Posted by robs on March 02, 2009 at 12:01 PM HKT #
Buy the paperback book "War and Film" by James Chapman, and you'll be introduced to scores of wonderful war films not mentioned above. Required reading.
Posted by Glenn on April 24, 2009 at 08:16 AM HKT #
How could you leave off either Battleground (1949) or Attack (1956)and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)? Memorable actors like James Whitmore, Jack Palance, John Wayne and Lee Marvin made these films great with acting instead of special effects.
Posted by John on June 11, 2009 at 02:08 PM HKT #
You've managed to grab a few decent movies there but what about the great movies?
The Dambusters
The first of the few
Appointment in London
Angels one five
Ice cold in Alex
We dive at dawn
Above us the waves
Submarine X1
I could go on and on but these are the very best war movies as they were made either during or just after WW2 - apart from submarine X1 with James caan that is ;)
Posted by warmonger on June 26, 2009 at 01:23 AM HKT #