There is perhaps no genre in film that is more important than war cinema. Through grueling stories of desperation and survival, such films don’t only stand as emotionally powerful and technically astounding spectacles of entertainment, but as documents of history that serve as cautionary tales of the destruction humanity is capable of at its worst. The greatest war movies, not only in the past 75 years but of all time, have excelled at exhibiting this introspective gravitas while still honoring the experiences and morality of those who fought and died in battle.
Interestingly, through no concerted act or intent, modern cinema has been largely omitted from this list, with 1998’s Saving Private Ryan the most recent release to be included, thus meaning 21st century gems like Dunkirk, Atonement, and 1917 haven’t made the cut. The films that have exemplified the true brilliance of war cinema in all its agony, laying bare the toll such conflicts exact on all humanity, from the disillusionment of the soldier to the struggles of civilians, with an appropriate sense of horror and intensity.
10
‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)
After directing such classics as The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Conversation earlier in the decade, Francis Ford Coppola closed out the 70s with a nightmarish, hallucinogenic plunge into the maddening chaos of war. Following Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) as he is assigned the task of voyaging into Cambodia to assassinate the rogue and dangerous Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), Apocalypse Now wafts through the hell that was the Vietnam War with an allure that is both hypnotic and horrifying.
Ensnaring viewers with its feverish atmosphere and its intoxicating sense of scope, Apocalypse Now remains unsurpassed as a war picture that delves into the frightful psychosis of battle, using surreal imagery, effective sound design, and precise music selections to not only capture the essence of the Vietnam War, but to redefine its haunting intensity. Blurring the lines between the horrors of war and the fragility of the human mind with its psychologically grueling descent into Cambodia, Apocalypse Now is a fiendishly traumatic movie that depicts war in a wild, inhuman, and almost otherworldly manner.
9
‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962)
One of the most esteemed and iconic titles in cinematic history, Lawrence of Arabia is a spellbinding epic of war cinema that illustrates the decisive efforts of Thomas Edward Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) in helping secure victory for the Allies. The biographical odyssey documents the British lieutenant’s incredible feat of rallying the long-warring Arab tribes to fight against the Ottoman Empire, scouring across the desert in his efforts to forge uneasy alliances and unite the warriors behind a common cause.
David Lean’s awe-inspiring scope is complemented by Freddie A. Young’s mesmerizing cinematography that captures the brutal beauty of Arabia and O’Toole’s committed and complex performance that wrestles with Lawrence’s poignant internal conflict with enticing nuance and striking power. Also laced with ideas of colonialism and cultural subterfuge, Lawrence of Arabia has endured as a timeless masterpiece of cinema with some sentiments that are even more piercing today than they were back in 1962.
8
‘Paths of Glory’ (1957)
While it is perhaps something of a forgotten gem from Stanley Kubrick—at least in mainstream circles—Paths of Glory stands as one of the most impactful and scorching antiwar films of all time. In WWI, three French battalions are given the impossible assignment of taking “the Anthill,” a position heavily defended by German troops. When the soldiers refuse to carry out their senseless assault, one man from each battalion is forced to stand trial for cowardice. Shocked by the charge, Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) uses his background in law to represent the accused, though he fears the trial’s outcome may be predetermined.
A spiteful dissection of corruption and ambition, Paths of Glory illuminates the perilous crossover between military accomplishment and political prestige with a razor-sharp focus on the human cost of such career aspirations. It savages the processes and philosophies of the military, using an impassioned performance from Douglas and every ounce of Kubrick’s trademark visual brilliance to deliver a poignant tale of injustice and wartime morality that stands not only as a great war picture, but as one of the most thematically important movies ever made.
7
‘The Human Condition’ Trilogy (1959-1961)
One of the most underrated titles in cinema as far as modern-day mainstream attention goes, The Human Condition trilogy soars as an awe-inspiring epic covering the morality of war, the intensity of battle, and the desperation of a soldier. Across three films that all surpass the three-hour mark, the monumental saga follows Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai), a conscientious objector from Japan whose humanitarian sympathy for Chinese POWs leads to him being conscripted. After enduring cruelty and injustice in the army due to his leftist sympathies, Kaji finds himself captured by the Red Army and struggling to survive the brutality of Winter in the wake of the Axis’ defeat.
Powered by Nakadai’s astounding performance and Masaki Kobayashi’s piercing direction, The Human Condition trilogy presents the grim reality of war as a means to dig deep into ideas of morality and conviction amid times of totalitarianism and complicity. It champions humanity while exhibiting how it is stampeded in hard times, while its evocative hero’s tragic decency—and how it endures and bends over the near-10-hour story—provides a stimulating and lasting exploration of idealism in times of death, despair, and destruction.
6
‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)
Propelled by what is perhaps the greatest opening sequence in war movie history, Saving Private Ryan offers a punishing and potent immersion into the combat of WWII from its opening minutes, which depict the D-Day invasion in unflinching, excruciating fashion. Then becoming a journey through war-torn Europe as Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad search for Private Ryan (Matt Damon), the film proves to be a triumph of both scale and authenticity that stands as one of the greatest feats in Steven Spielberg’s career.
While the film is famous for its brutality, Saving Private Ryan also finds a hidden strength in the depth and resonance of its quiet character moments, be it Private Ryan laughing as he recalls his antics with his since-deceased brothers or Medic Wade’s (Giovanni Ribisi) pained recollections about ignoring his mother. It makes for not just an epic of staggering proportions, but an emotionally nuanced and tender acknowledgment of the ordinary, loving humanity that is lost in war. With its intense battle sequences and its brilliant characters, Saving Private Ryan is comfortably among the finest war movies ever produced.
5
‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)
Another mortifying masterpiece of war cinema from Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List exchanges the brutality of the battlefield for the horrors of the Holocaust, making for one of the most sobering and culturally important movies of all time. Through its depiction of the efforts of German industrialist and Nazi Party member Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) to save as many lives as he could by recruiting prisoners to work in his factories, the grueling film is able to explore the full scale of the atrocity with traumatizing intensity and gentle though meaningful inflections of Spielberg’s trademark humanism.
Bleak yet hopeful, the film strikes a tender balance between embracing the sheer devastation of the Holocaust and accessing humanity’s desire to persevere, culminating in an emotionally exhausting immersion into one of the most heinous chapters of human history. Further bolstered by a striking use of black-and-white imagery, John Williams’ typically magnificent score, and a litany of outstanding performances, Schindler’s List sees Spielberg encompass the death and despair of the Holocaust in a manner that only he could.
4
‘Dr. Strangelove’ (1964)
When uses well, laughter and comedy can be just as horrific as bloodshed and brutality when it comes to examining the faults and failings in the human condition. Dr. Strangelove is a perfect example of this as it substitutes the horrors of the battlefield for the shocking ineptitude of politics under the pressure of war. The Cold War satire transpires as a rogue American general issues an irreversible nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. As the planes fly ever closer to their target areas, President Muffley (Peter Sellers) scrambles to find a peaceful resolution with the help of his advisors.
Bottling elements of contemporary Cold War paranoia, anxiety surrounding nuclear weaponry, and damning shortcomings in the Pentagon’s safeguard measures all while lampooning notions of where political power resides, Dr. Strangelove is one of the greatest comedy movies of all time as well as a war movie of uncommon excellence. Its enduring legacy is a testament to not only its greatness, but its disturbing accuracy as well.
3
‘Grave of the Fireflies’ (1988)
A heart-wrenching masterpiece of the coarseness of civilian life in wartime, Grave of the Fireflies is a tale of love and survival that, through its tender beauty and its gorgeous animation, presents one of the most emotionally harrowing pictures of all time. After their mother dies in an air raid, two Japanese siblings are forced to relocate to a rural community to live with a distant aunt. As that arrangement fails, however, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) sets out with his little sister, Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi), to fend for themselves.
It is one of Studio Ghibli’s most profound and powerful triumphs, a film of piercing humanity that roots its devastating and unmissable anti-war message in the tragedy of two innocent youths, their heartfelt bond, and their fight for survival. As far as war movies that focus on stories of civilians amid the turmoil of war go, there is no greater picture than Grave of the Fireflies.
2
‘Das Boot’ (1981)
Claustrophobic, bitterly intense, and entirely sympathetic to the characters it examines, Das Boot is the defining masterpiece of war cinema covering naval battles as well as a strikingly human exploration of the German experience of WWII. It follows the crew of a U-boat as they patrol the Atlantic Ocean, struggling to maintain a sense of morale and purpose as they experience extended bouts of simmering boredom which is only interrupted by the frantic and explosive pressure of combat at sea.
Even with its 150-minute runtime, Das Boot feels taut, focused, and incredibly efficient. Its tight camerawork and cranking sound design immerse viewers in the suffocating atmosphere of submarine life, while the depth and detail it realizes its characters with gives the film a powerful and profoundly humane anti-war message. It stands as one of Germany’s greatest ever films, a masterpiece of 80s cinema, and a quintessential war movie that everyone should see at least once.
1
‘Come and See’ (1985)
Another foreign classic of war cinema from the 1980s, Come and See is the definitive anti-war masterpiece, a grueling, graphic, and traumatizing tale of brutality and violence that depicts youth’s dreams of glory being shattered by the grim reality of war. It follows Belarussian teenager Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko) as he is conscripted by resistance partisans marching to stand against the invading Nazi forces. However, Flyora’s initial excitement at joining the cause quickly evaporates over the course of a brutal few days in close proximity to a rampaging SS outfit.
Exhibiting a certain poetic eloquence, particularly with its hovering interest in nature and innocence, that is often pulverized by outbursts of violence, Come and See offers a maddening descent into the furore of war that attacks audiences with a visceral assault of the senses. Its unforgettable scene depicting the SS squad’s devastation of a village is the epitome of war horror, while the then 14-year-old Kravchencko’s brilliant performance and director Elem Klimov’s masterful use of surrealism and brutal authenticity, in contrast, make for one of the most powerful and distressing war films ever made.
Come And See
- Release Date
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October 17, 1985
- Runtime
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142 Minutes
