A good movie has the ability to transport you into another world and we have found some of the best war movies out there. Our picks are full of adrenaline, drama and stories that reflect the true nature of war and its effects on mankind.
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Our focus isn’t on big budgets and great CGI but on films which focus on telling the forgotten stories about the raw effects of war and how the scars of such a dramatic event linger behind it. Some of these will make you cry, some will make you smile and all of them will make you think.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The film is popular for a reason, from its costumes to the military tactics employed, just about everything in Saving Private Ryan is methodically thought about. The film was so realistic that many WWII vets felt emotional watching the storming of Omaha beach.
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Saving Private Ryan is a great film to watch for anyone who is just getting into the genre and while it is renowned, it still does have some plot inaccuracies. For example, the character played by Tom Hanks did not exist. The plot revolving around saving the mother’s son did not happen either.
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
Produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima brings a new perspective to the War Movie genre. The film followed Japanese soldiers during one of the biggest fights of the Second World War.
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The film is a companion piece to his other film, Flags of our Fathers which explores the American recounting of the same battle. Both movies are lauded as cinematic masterpieces and a must-watch for every fan.
Glory (1989)
Following the story of a privileged white soldier called Robert Gould Shaw, the 80s cult classic film follows his experience of being assigned as the commander of the second all-black Union regiment of the Civil War.
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The film is based on a true story and used letters that he penned in those days as the basis of most of the screenplay. This realistic element only adds more detail and intrigue to the story and is one of the few films which manages to represent the delicate race dynamics of that era.
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
It took Stanley Kubrick four years of intense research to create Full Metal Jacket and it shows! He watched old footage, read Vietnamese newspapers, and studied “hundreds of photographs.” The film follows a platoon of Marines during the Vietnam War.
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The 1987 masterpiece features a plethora of accurate costumes and fighting scenes, one of the cast members actually had been part of the Vietnam war, R. Lee Ermey was supposed to work as a technical advisor but landed the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman after trying out for the role.
We Were Soldiers (2002)
This movie was based on a book by a former U.S. Army General the name of Hal Moore. And since the screenplay heavily adopts from the book, We Were Soldiers ends up still staying true to the raw intensity of the Vietnam War.
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The plot specifically follows the three-day conflict known as the Battle of Ia Drang and even shows specific military tactics used at the time such as firing several rounds of ammunition on a bush and flushing out enemies. Apparently, the retired general complained about how “every damn Hollywood movie got it wrong.”
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Another one based on a non-fiction book, Black Hawk Down is about a journalist who was in Somalia during the Battle of Mogadishu. The film is accepted as one of the most gritty and stripped down retelling of this infamous battle.
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While the action in the film is top-notch, many critics did have issues with the screenplay shying away from digging deeper into the politics of the war and the many nuances on the subject. Overall, the movie did manage to pay tribute to the soldiers but it could have easily added more layers.
Stalingrad (1993)
We aren’t talking about the more popular 2013 Russian film of the same name but the 1993 German film that has been dubbed “one of the most accurate war films ever.” The plot follows soldiers that actually failed their one mission, to invade a Soviet city.
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Yes, Stalingrad is a War movie which shows the perspective of the losing side – a very rare occurrence in the genre. Apart from its unique plot, the film also doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war.
Lone Survivor (2013)
Another war movie based on a book! We know! We know! But it seems that all great War films seem to have their roots in literature. The book is a memoir by an Ex-Navy SEAL and recounts his experience of being posted in Afghanistan.
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If you have watched the film already, you might have assumed that parts of it were dramatized for effect but it was the exact opposite. A lot of what actually happened had to change or modified since it was too graphic!
84C MoPic (1989)
A rather underrated film that only true fans of the genre know about. The film is also sometimes called 84 Charlie MoPic and came out in 1989. This mock documentary followed a cameraman assigned to a Vietnam War LRRP team.
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An American Iraq War vet said that it was great since “there are no distracting subplots, only the immediate fight for survival.” It is known as one of the oldest “found footage” films out there and features historically accurate everything from faulty weaponry to radio communication.
Hamburger Hill (1987)
This film usually gets overshadowed by Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, with both of them being released months apart. But regardless of getting little to zero media coverage, Hamburger Hill still managed to enthral audiences.
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Instead of following a major battle like most films in the genre do, Hamburger Hill focused on the day to day life of being a soldier. The film was able to perfect the “grunt slang” to the point that subtitles needed to be added. A historian also said that the battle scenes were “as close as you could ask for.”
MASH (1979)
This 1970 movie was meant to be a black comedy revolving around the terrors and trials of war but somehow evolved into a culturally significant film which is known as one of the greatest war pieces out there.
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Following a medical unit posted in Korea, the realistic portrayal of what life during the Vietnam War looked like for these soldiers as they tried to stay alive is breathtakingly beautiful. The film isn’t full of action but is meant to criticise the Vietnam War and bring awareness about it effects.
Come And See (1985)
The Soviet film Come and See is about the atrocities committed by Nazis during the Belarus occupation during the Second World War. This jarring time is seen through the eyes of a young boy growing up in occupied Belarus.
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The film is a brutal portrayal of this time and at one shows the Nazis burning down an entire village and killing all the residents. Sadly, most of the events in the movie were copied straight from historic records.
Sergeant York (1941)
The 1941 flick hasn’t been on anyone’s radar for a while but if you want to enjoy an old classic without the overuse of CGI, this one is for you. Following Alvin York, a soldier in World War 1 and how he killed 25 German soldiers.
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On top of that, he also managed to capture another 132, making him one of the most decorated soldiers of the conflict. York himself was an adviser on the movie and it helped keep the movie stay grounded. Sergeant York also became the highest-grossing film of the year.
Das Boot (1981)
No other film has taken the gruesome nature of war as head-on as Das Boot. The German film takes place in 1942 and follows the crew of a German U-Boat crew during the Battle for the Atlantic.
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The movie managed to not only show what life is like living inside a submarine but showed a small but oft-forgotten community of German soldiers who try to comprehend the Nazi party and their extreme views.
Tora Tora Tora (1970)
The collaborative film is one of a few of its kind, made by both Japanese and American filmmakers and is a true biographical movie which spans over three decades following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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Showcasing the two perspectives of the same attack, the filmmakers wanted to create the most realistic and comprehensive version of Pearl Harbour. This led them to recreate real historic footage which left a lasting impact on audiences.
Enemy At The Gates (2001)
Here is another depiction of the Battle of Stalingrad, this movie focused more on the conditions that the residents and soldiers had to go through during the winter of 1942-1943 and especially focused on the female point of view.
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Like many other great war movies, this one was also based on a book although it was non-fiction and mainly focused on the love story, some elements of the film were incredibly realistic and emotionally poignant.
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003)
The 2003 film, Master and Commander is set in 1805 and follows a real friendship between a medical surgeon and a British Royal Navy captain. While the film was based on a fictional novel, the film’s writers still endeavoured to add as many historical facts as possible.
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The slow-paced film focused more on emotions but its depiction of a 19th-century naval battle has to be the most historically accurate and realistic representation seen in Hollywood ever. Not just that, it gave audiences an insight into the accepted medical practices of the time.
Act Of Valor (2012)
While the main plot of Act of Valor is completely fictionalized, the raw essence of the film is very accurate. The story follows a crew of Navy SEALs trying to rescue a CIA agent. A fun fact: Filmmakers used active SEALs to play many of their characters since they couldn’t find actors convincing enough for the role.
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And while we give them major kudos for trying their best to maintain authenticity, it did end up harming the film overall. It is known for having sub-par acting at best and one film critic described it as “a hybrid of documentary and fiction.”
The Great Escape (1963)
The Great Escape isn’t known for its historical accuracy but does manage to stay true to its characters and time period. Many characters were based on real people, with small adjustments to conceal their identities!
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While the team tried their best to make the film feel genuine, the plot does tend to have a very Americanized perspective compared to what it was in reality – it was mostly planned by Canadian and British personnel while the three escapees were Dutch and Norwegian as well.
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Adapted from a documentary, Rescue Dawn follows the story of Dieter Dengler, a German-American pilot who was captured during the Vietnam War. It tells the story of his imprisonment, torture, and eventually escape.
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Since the film is based on a real story, each detail has a weight of realism from the daily struggles in camp to subtle changes such as accent. Though, it is well-known that most of the worst torture that Dengler faced, never made it to the film to make sure it stayed PG-13.