Must Watch War Movies
Personal favorite war movies. Basically in the order that I liked them, except for The Civil War mini-series (which was awesome) because I couldn't really decide whether it belonged on a list that was, otherwise, historical fiction.
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- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god."I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like ... victory". My favorite war/anti-war movie. The original cut IS the best version: don't get sucked into the "Redux" alternative.
10/10 - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Just great. I've rated thousands of movies and anything getting a 9 or 10 means that it's in my top 5%. This one makes the cut.
9/10 - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.Defining role for George C. Scott.
9/10 - DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.Great "pure" war movie. Believable, intense, solid characters.
8/10 - DirectorKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard BurtonThe events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.Old school classic.
8/10 - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.Basically an anti-war movie comedy. Still great.
8/10 - DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.Really well done.
8/10 - DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.Good all the way around.
8/10 - DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.Like Black Hawk Down - Straight up & well done.
8/10 - DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.Pure emotion, great acting.
8/10 - DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.Good, solid, entertainment. Plus, we got Chicken Run out of it.
8/10 - DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.Good action flick.
8/10 - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKen WatanabeKazunari NinomiyaTsuyoshi IharaThe story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.Solid, but not top notch.
7/10 - DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.Solid movie, if a little too preachy.
7/10 - DirectorRobert AldrichStarsLee MarvinErnest BorgnineCharles BronsonDuring World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.Not very realistic but a fun ride. Need to keep the movie date in mind while watching.
7/10 - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsBradley CooperSienna MillerKyle GallnerNavy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.Solid realism; for better & worse.
7/10 - StarsDavid McCulloughSam WaterstonJulie HarrisA comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.Absolutely amazing. Be patient and learn.
10/10 - StarsScott GrimesDamian LewisRon LivingstonThe story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.Like "The Civil War", not a movie, so should it go here? It's too good not to.
8/10