The war film as a genre has endured throughout the history of cinema because of its ability to examine the darkest reaches of the human mind and spirit. Great filmmakers often return to war movies to make their statements about the nature of war and the effects it has on those subjected to its horrors. The characters in these films sometimes respond by clinging to their humanity, while others are content to slide further into darkness.
Some of the best war movies ever made can be considered masterpieces both of the genre and of cinema in general for their expert use of storytelling and cinematic devices. From Francis Ford Coppola’s often surreal and perversely comedic Apocalypse Now to the gritty combat realism found in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, these films represent some of the finest filmmaking the art form has ever seen.
10
Platoon (1986)
Directed By Oliver Stone
With its iconic use of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” throughout the film, Platoon paints a tragic and haunting portrait of war. Charlie Sheen’s Chris Taylor states, “Hell is the impossibility of reason,” and he soon finds the statement to be true. Indeed, “war is hell,” as the saying goes, and in Chris’s hell, he witnesses a breakdown of all logical thought as his comrades regress toward more animalistic instincts and urges. The platoon begins to faction off, and those fighting to keep hold of some sense of morality seem to be on the losing side.
Praised for its gritty realism and disquietingly immersive experience, Platoon earned eight Oscar nominations and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director for Oliver Stone. It’s one of only a handful of war movies to win Best Picture at the Oscars. The film stands as one of the best cinematic explorations of the Vietnam War, or any war for that matter, an unflinching examination of the human spirit’s will to survive amidst the most harrowing of circumstances.
9
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Directed By Francis Ford Coppola
A loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now is not only a war movie masterpiece, it is arguably director Francis Ford Coppola’s best movie as well. As depicted in the documentary on the making of Apocalypse Now, Hearts of Darkness, Coppola put his very soul into the film, and the experience nearly cost him his life. This serious dedication to the craft is evident in every frame of the film, showing how suffering can sometimes lead to great art.
Apocalypse Now features some of cinema’s most unforgettable images, stunningly pH๏τographed by Oscar-winner Vittorio Storaro and played against The Doors’ chilling “The End.” The film is a bleak, sometimes darkly comic exploration of war as a surreal landscape populated by depravity, where godlike status and madness go hand in hand. Apocalypse Now set the template for every Vietnam film to follow, and its influence on pop culture and cinema is immeasurable.
8
Ravenous (1999)
Directed By Antonia Bird
Ravenous may not feature intense battle scenes or emphasis on camaraderie on and off the battlefield — aspects typically seen in a war movie — but it is undoubtedly about war and its consequences. The film is a dark horror comedy that uses cannibalism to critique manifest destiny and capitalism, demonstrating how colonialism is a blight on society and a curse for those with their moral compᴀsses still intact.
While not a critical success at the time of its release, Ravenous went on to become a cult hit, and for good reason. The lead performances by Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle are top-notch, the satire is on point, and the horror elements stick with the viewer long after the credits have rolled. It is easily one of the finest films to come out of the mythical cinematic year of 1999 and serves as a testament to the uglier side of America’s ongoing war efforts.
7
M*A*S*H (1970)
Directed By Robert Altman
Set during the Korean War as a thinly veiled critique of America’s involvement in Vietnam, Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H gives viewers a seriocomic look inside a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. The doctors and nurses there use humor and hijinks to cope with the bloody injuries and loss of life they experience firsthand daily. The movie shows that, in a world full of death and destruction, all a person can do is laugh or otherwise lose their mind.
M*A*S*H was a critical and box office success upon its release. It spawned a hit television series of the same name, though the show was arguably not as great as using comedy to point out the absurdity of war as its big-screen counterpart. The series also lacks Altman’s trademark use of overlapping dialogue, used in the film to great effect during the surgery scenes to heighten the disorienting effect of these fast-paced and grisly scenes. M*A*S*H is easily one of Altman’s best films, a true testament to the debilitating effects war can have on the human psyche.
6
Ran (1985)
Directed By Akira Kurosawa
Featuring sumptuous cinematography, Oscar-winning costumes, and overall stunning art direction, Ran is a veritable feast for the senses. The epic film, set in the 16th century, is loosely based on Shakespeare’s King Lear, combining elements of Noh theatre and the Samurai film to create a unique examination of modern warfare, especially the threat of nuclear annihilation in post-Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan.
Ran is widely considered to be one of Akira Kurosawa’s finest works. Particular praise has been given to the film’s expertly crafted battle sequences, which often utilize wide sH๏τs to diminish individuals, making them insignificant figures lined up and scuttled off to die. It also shows how the ruthless actions of a warlord come back to haunt him via his even more ruthless sons, demonstrating how power seized and fostered in blood only leads to more bloodshed.
5
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Directed By Steven Spielberg
The opening battle of Saving Private Ryan, set on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, is in and of itself a masterclass in action filmmaking, and its inclusion makes the film one of the best movies about D-Day. The scene shows the devastating effects of combat on not only the body but also the mind. Perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching aspects of the scene is the dying soldiers calling out for their mothers, showing audiences how these warriors were really just young boys unprepared for the horrors of war.
As iconic as this early scene is, though, the rest of the film lives up to its intensity and unsettling nature. The violence in the film is decidedly graphic, but never gratuitous, as it realistically situates the viewer within the hellish world of World War II. The suffering and grisly ends experienced by the soldiers raise questions of whether their mission — to rescue the last remaining son of a family virtually annihilated by the war — is actually worth it, revealing a darker, more pessimistic viewpoint that you don’t always find in Spielberg movies.
4
Paths of Glory (1957)
Directed By Stanley Kubrick
One of the most potent anti-war films ever made, Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory tells the story of French soldiers during World War I who are sentenced to death for perceived cowardice on the battlefield. It’s based on a true story that occurred during the Great War, in which four corporals in the French Army were executed as an example to the other men in the company. The film is a somber and ultimately grim contemplation of the politics and bureaucracy of war.
Much has been written about the use of colloquial English dialogue in the film, with many critics complaining that the distinctly American accents of the actors, particularly star Kirk Douglas, distract from the gritty realism of the French locale and scenes set in the trenches. But this is part of what makes Paths of Glory so brilliant. By taking a real event from French history and Americanizing it, Kubrick points a finger at the United States as a perpetrator of blind allegiance to the inhumanity of war.
3
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Directed By Guillermo del Toro
In Pan’s Labyrinth, writer-director Guillermo del Toro utilizes the fairy tale narrative to make a straightforward and beautiful allegory about the horrors of fascism. Set in 1944 at the end of the Spanish Civil War, the film centers on Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a ten-year-old girl who escapes into a fantasy world to avoid her authoritarian stepfather Captain Vidal (Sergi López) and his brutal campaign against rebel forces. Of all the nightmares Ofelia encounters within her fantasy realm, they all pale in comparison to the sinister and ruthless Vidal.
For many, it remains del Toro’s best film, as it is the ultimate culmination of the director’s interests, influences, and sensibilities.
Pan’s Labyrinth was almost universally praised upon its release, and its popularity has only increased in subsequent years. For many, it remains del Toro’s best film, as it is the ultimate culmination of the director’s interests, influences, and sensibilities. It is undoubtedly one of the finest pieces of cinema to come out of the early 21st century, if not of all time.
2
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Directed By Stanley Kubrick
Full Metal Jacket is often praised for its realism in depicting the lives of young Marines during the Vietnam War, particularly the first half of the film, which focuses on their experiences in boot camp. The torment these mere boys suffer at the hands of their profane and sadistic drill instructor — played to perfection by R. Lee Ermey — is difficult to watch, and yet one cannot look away as the recruits slowly become desensitized to the abuse. It’s all part of the Marine Corps plan to tear these boys down to their core, then build them back up as men without fear.
Brimming with arresting imagery, intense combat sequences, and the biting social commentary for which Stanley Kubrick is known, Full Metal Jacket is the filmmaker’s ultimate statement on the mechanics of war, how it’s justified, and how it’s perpetuated ad nauseam both in theory and in practice.
1
Schindler’s List (1993)
Directed By Steven Spielberg
One of the most grueling but important cinematic experiences ever made, the cultural impact and historical significance of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List cannot be overstated. It is a monumental piece of filmmaking that explores, with an almost documentary-like objectivity, the true horrors of the Holocaust. The haunting black and white cinematography from Janusz Kamiński enhances this documentary feel, creating a fictional narrative that feels like newsreel footage.
It was at or near the top of best of the year lists at the time of its release and is still considered to be one of the greatest films ever made.
Schindler’s List won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. It was at or near the top of best of the year lists at the time of its release and is still considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. The war film proved that Spielberg, who was mostly known for his blockbusters at the time, could craft an emotionally devastating yet still hopeful period drama, one that will continue to be talked about for years and years to come.
