Top 10 War Movies of All Time
We’ve combed through the internet to find the best lists of war movies and came up with a list that is sure to suit every war movie fan in the world. The criteria was pretty straightforward; there had to be actual acts of war involved in the story line (in other words; soldiers’ stories) and the movies had to be based on true historical events. Once we found 10 candidates they were ordered by gross theater sales, post theater sales, critical reviews and cultural relevance. If that’s not scientific enough we also had an explode-o-meter that Kurt Geiger keeps in his garage for some unknown reason.
10. Platoon
Crazy that the list STARTS with Oliver Stone’s Platoon. This began the whole practice of training actors to toughen them up for roles as soldiers. Stone’s Vietnam story brought realism to the screen and touched millions of Vietnam veterans in ways that no other movie had at that time.
9. Braveheart
Though not as thought provoking as Platoon- Braveheart still stands as a cinematic masterpiece and could be considered one of the best “period” movies of all time. Mel Gibson might or might not be a whack-job (hell, I like him) but he can make a movie.
8. Tora! Tora! Tora!
This Japanese-American movie made in the 1970′s has an air of authenticity that few war movies can match. Interviews were painstakingly collected and written down then used as the foundation of a book. Later the book was converted to a screenplay which was made into a film. This is how we do it Tarantino… making up history is just stupid. While the term “Epic Film” is often overused, when referring to Tora! Tora! Tora! the title is wholly deserved.
7. Full Metal Jacket
This is a real guy’s movie if there ever was one. The put downs by R. Lee Ermey as Gny. Sgt. Hartman, the action and the “Me love you long time” will forever be remembered in the minds of us macho types. I have no idea if it helped recruit any Marines, but I do know Hollywood recruited Ermey and for that we at TT10 are thankful.
6. Inglorious Basterds
I am posting this one under protest. While entertaining and “period accurate” let’s be honest… the history was way off… they freakin’ KILLED HITLER! I have a long standing, one-sided argument with Quintin Tarantino (he won’t return my calls) as to how he wastes my $8.95 repeatedly. Still, it met the criteria for this countdown… marginally.
5. The Bridge Over the River Kwai
This movie starring William Holden and Obi Wan Ken-obi… cough cough.. I mean Alec Guinness is nearly 60 years old and still holds up as entertaining and a little informative. One of the greatest movies of all time, this movie is an icon of the genre unto itself.
4. Das Boot
This international blockbuster dispelled the idea of the clean cut, mechanical German u-boat captain meticulously and ruthlessly torpedoing crying babies in the water. This movie gave a much more realistic view of WW2 sea battle. Under the uniform soldiers are soldiers and sailors are sailors despite creed and doctrine. Das Boot put a face to the faceless and gave us all a peek into a unique and terrifying world.
3. Saving Private Ryan
Steven Spielberg directed an all-star cast in this 1998 World War 2 movie starring Tom Hanks. The opening sequence is enough to make anyone blanch at the prospect of ever reliving something as fraught with peril as the Normandy invasion. Until this time a majority of all WW2 movies ran like propaganda with brass bands playing John Philip Sousa in the background and the heroes barely getting flesh wounds (unless they started talking about their “girl”- then they’re toast). Ryan put us all firmly into the knowledge that war IS hell and all the men who wage it deserve our respect.
2. Lawrence of Arabia
What does this movie have that the others are generally lacking? Thomas Edward Lawrence- or as close to him as anyone could portray. This was Peter O’Toole’s first starring role and he would forever be associated with Lawrence, one of British military history’s most enigmatic figures. Yes, the movie is long, but you can’t accurately call yourself a “war movie buff” until you have seen it.
1. Apocalypse Now
This movie kind of freaks me out in a whole lot of different directions… and at times confused the hell out of me. Still, if that is what Francis Ford Coppola was going for when he directed this film with Marin Sheen and Marlon Brando, it works. This is one dark, dark movie that really sums up a lot of feelings that most Vietnam vets were coping with long after coming home from the war. Some of the “facts” and practices in the movie were outlandish making this more of a “feeling I get” kind of movie than anything else, but that’s the point; it caused intended emotion. The helicopter scenes were great too!
A Bridge Too Far!!
Don’t bother, the guy don´t have a clue about war movies.
Inglorious Basterds?
Saving Private Ryan??
Lawrence of Arabia???
Great movie… I particularly like the scene with the boy on the bicycle. He’s flown over my a P-51, which then turns into a spitfire when it banks around only to become a P-51 again as it waggled it wings and flies back to England. And that’s why the Allies won the war: Transformers.
Seriously though, good flick, not enough Connery or Redford in it… Hackman was OUTSTANDING as Gen.bryg. Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski which underlied some of the real life turbulence between the two after Market Garden.
~Bunker Bustin Bill
c’mon!!! are you telling me “blackhawk down” didnt make the list? this is an outrage i say! it should at least be in the top 2 or 3!
AGREE!!!!! Balckhawk Down.
I agree.. black hawk down is a given part to this list.. a realy good movie ..
what stuck on my mind otherwise is NR1 “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” lol
And the reason Patton is not included on this list is because—–I have no clue!
Leaving Zulu off this list is downright criminal…
While not a movie, I think Band of Brothers is the best WWII series out there. I bought the CD’s and look
at it every year or so
Navy Guy: Agreed! Movie or not, BoB is the best. Just finished The Pacific and while also good, it didn’t reach my expectations.
Apocalypse Now as #1? Get real. What a loser movie. And, ANY Oliver Stone movie is pretty worthless. Platoon is a crock of S*it. How about “We Were Soldiers.” There’s a Vietnam era movie with some truth to it. How about BAT21 or Uncommon Valor? There’s another couple of Vietnam era movie that don’t suck like Platoon and Apocalypse Now. Your list is ridiculous. A Bridge to Far should definitely be on the list, but Inglorius Basterds and Braveheart wouldn’t even make honorable mention as far as I’m concerned. Good flicks, but not top 10 war movies.
A top ten list of war movies and ‘The Longest Day’ isn’t included?
Heresy!
No “The Longest day”? “The Sands of Iwo Jima”??? Who picked this shit? Even F’ing “Midway” rates above a couple of these. This is pathetic, and a real isservice. Half the movies picked either denigrate service or make a mockery of it.
Hardly. Are you on you PTSD meds Gerry or do you need a bit of powder for your bottom?
Kelly’s Heroes
Wind and the Lion
Sand Pebbles
Cross of Iron
sand pebbles excellent outlaw josey wales … ran …..bat 21
You put INGLORIOUS BASTERDS as one of the top 10??? Seriously?? I could name a dozen better easy. Patton? The Longest Day??? lame.
Apocalypse Now #1? You have to be kidding me.
“Glory” was damn good too. It should be on here.
#2 through #5 are solid.
Full-Metal Jacket makes it.
Patton.
Second the comment about A Bridge Too Far, also written by probably the single-greatest chronicler of the Second World War, Cornelius Ryan. So many others from that war could be added: The Thin Red Line for psychodrama, Hamburger Hill for intensity. But how on earth could we leave in such rabble as Inglorius Basterds and leave out Patton? That is madness!
Bridges at Toko-Ri is another great one with Michener in the lead role, but that’s from Korea of course.
What about All Quiet on the Western Front for godssakes? Henry V, adapted by Kenneth Brannaugh, who also played Hank Cinque. Oh dear, I’m forgetting a Kurosawa. Well that screws it all right there: Ran is the most beautifully filmed war movie ever without a doubt. You’ve got the History Channel movie, Hannibal (shown on Hulu–go watch it if you have 90 minutes).
Anyway, it’s interesting to think about, but I think you could name 10 just about WWII alone.
Does anyone ever actually read these things or just look at the pictures? LeTune. You should hire a professional photo stealer, no one actually reads these movie lists…. the movie crowd as snobby as it is- can’t read.
Uhhh,
0. The Outlaw Josey Wales
‘Nuff said.
Wow, nice email address. We don’t normally let obviously fake email addresses post like this, but you were so stupid we couldn’t pass it up.
Band of Brothers certainly was a movie — a 10-hour extravaganza — and has to be #1 on any list. It’s an incredible bit of storytelling and manages to hold up even as its replayed on basic cable every month here in Korea where I live.
How about 12 O’Clock High? This list sucks wind.
They Were Expendable is one of the better WWII movies. but this list seems to be made by someone who rarely watches anything from after 1970. Sad.
If Basterds is creative with history, then Braveheart is off the scale. In fact it’s nothing more than anti-English xenophobia that was designed to stir up even more hatred among Scots (and succeeded)
The goal of any “good” top ten list is to piss people off by leaving off good choices and including pieces of crap in order to promote commentary and friction. Good job. This list is pretty awful.
Add “We were Soldiers” and “Black Hawk Down”, then drop “Inglorious Basterds” and probably “Apocalypse Now”. AN had some good war scenes in it, but there were just as many parts that were complete wastes of film.
Platoon and Apocalypse Now do not belong on this list. They are ANTI-war movies. They should be replaced by “The Longest Day” and “Der Untergang”.
Back that up
What about “84 Charlie Mopic”, The Boys in Company C, Sands of Iwo Jima, Gung Ho, Shindlers List, Guadacanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill? This list is made by pussies. Get real or get out
Wow, what about being smart enough to read the criteria?
Schindler’s List? Really? Can we count that as a war movie? I mean the battle scenes were super-realistic. Oh yeah, the director leaving us firmly on the battlefield? I am amazed at the amount of people who skim the lists without reading the intro. There were certain criteria that had to be made to keep the list from become my personal favorites list (None of your bubble gum B-flicks made my personal list.) No one has really whined about the Thin Red Line either, or the Windtalkers either. How could any list of favorties be right without either of those two?
Get real? Get some reading comprehension skills and come back when you’ve seen more than 5 war movies.
The Caine Mutiny, for its contrast of the diff between an honest soldier and a faux intellectual. Wouk was ahead of his time in anticipating how important that distinction was to become.
Great moral story in the ending as well.
Hamburger Hill
You left off the best–Patton. The six minutes in which he says he will lead them with honor anytime, anywhere are worth the whole movie!
It’s an incredible movie and wholly accurate as well. George C. Scott won an Oscar for his role as Patton and turned it down- which is kind of interesting.
I thought The Big Red One with Lee Marvin as the sergeant could have been on the list as well rahter than the Stone movies.
Breaker Morant
1. Battleground
2. They Were Expendable
3. A Bridge Too Far
4. Das Boot (in German)
5. Twelve O’clock High
6. 30 Seconds over tokyo
7. Hamburger Hill (Apocalpse Now and “Spitoon” were phony)
8. Tora Tora Tora
9. The Battle of Britain
10. All Quiet on the Western Front
Two of those had enough gross sales to make the criteria. Did you know that one of the scenes in Tora Tora Tora was real? As one of the planes was blowing up on the tarmac and the crew is running for their life.. they were really running for their lives.
Cross of Iron…………Enemy at the Gates………….
who made up this list. the more I think about it the more it sucked.
Saving Private Ryan was pathetic after the first 15 minutes. You never bunch up, you never walk on a ridgeline and never in the middle of an open field. What garbage. after you see the “actors” get directed this way…its all about setting you, the viewer, up for some statement. GARBAGE. right down to Skip Holm’s airshow gleaming P-51 dropping bombs from empty bomb racks. SUCKED
Apocolypse Now was drug-induced and drug-directed.
Lawrence Of Arabia was a showcase for Peter O’Toole.
psycho-drama POW stuff is not a war movie.
Full Metal Jacket….first half Great…after that directed with a complete lack of knowledge.
Inglorious basterds…get real why not Murphy’s War, then? same fantasy crap.
Who pays you for this incompetence?????
Apparently this list was created by people with chronological snobbery. In addition to the great movies you commenters posted, they also forgot Seargent York and To Hell and Back.
How does “We Were Soldiers” – perhaps the greatest war movie of all time and based on a true accounting of a pivotal moment of history – not get placed on this list?
wmmattler must be a Hollywood liberal, lookingh for a free ticket from ole Ollie. Patton, A Bridge tooo Far, they were expendable, , Air Force, Sahara (Bogart) , just to mention a few. To even have IG in the mix, what a bafoon.
Lenny must be one of those uninformed, spoon-fed right wing types incapable of reading or understanding criteria.
In Harm’s Way is an incredibly good, and realistic, depiction of WWII’s naval war in the pacific. It has an incredible cast, John Wayne, Kirk Douglass, Henry Fonda, and Burgess Meredith in an Oscar worthy performance. Virtually every scene in it is based on some actual event. No one has mentioned Gettysburg. I wholeheartedly agree with Zulu, They Were Expendable and The Longest Day. No such list can be complete without those.
I started to watch Apocalypse Now once. A few minutes into the movie I realized it was based on Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and ran, screaming, from the room. I hate that book with a purple passion. And, this huy’s opinion notwithstanding, neither it nor platoon represent the feelings of “most” Vietnam veterans.
Only the first half of “Full Metal Jacket” was worthwhile. The rest was crap.
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I don’t think you can limit a list to the top ten war movies. There are too many excellent-to-outstanding movies to pick just ten.
War movies, Foreign, based upon actual events:
“Joyeux Noel” based upon the true story of the unofficial Christmas armistice between the Scot, French, and German soldiers in the trenches.
“Das Boot” was outstanding! — and based upon the book.
“Breaker Morant” based upon the true story.
“Dark Blue Sky” inspired by the actual events.
“Gallipoli” inspired by the actual events.
“Zulu” based upon the actual events.
Hollywood even did a respectable 1950s version of Col Tibbetts and the “Enola Gay”.
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War movies, Domestic, based upon actual events:
In addition to the previously mentioned
“Paths of Glory” inspired by the court martial.
“Gods and Generals”
“Gettysburg”
Hemingway’s movies.
“Raid on Entebbe”
“Darby’s Rangers”
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War movies, Domestic, Fiction
The original script for “Sniper” was phemon — and Hollywood ruined it.
“In Harm’s Way”
“Stalag 17″
Michener’s movies (“Exodus”, in particular)
read a book called” the forever war” i bet you would enjoy it … great list
The Longest Day is not a “war’ movie. It all happens before the war starts. Think about it. Yes, I’m right. But a great “right before the war” movie. Great movie. But best “war” movie ever must be “Midway.” All your picks are great war movies, but leaving out Midway? It is the bestest war movie evah.
OMG. I’m an idiot. Yes, the Longestest Day counts. I was thinking of From Here to Eternity. That’s the best “almost a war movie” evah. Longestest Day is definitely in the category. Here to Eternity is bestest for “Best almost a war movie with a great role by Mr. Sinatra.” But Midway is bestest evah for sure.
I second the nomination for “Gettysburg”. Jeff Daniels and Sam Elliott were brilliant in that movie. Also not mentioned was “A Midnight Clear”. Very under-rated movie. And the ommission of “Patton” and “The Longest Day” is absolutely inexcusable. What were you thinking?
Jack Says – I agree with you on “Gettysburg”, but “Gods and Generals” sucked. How long can it take Stonewall Jackson to die?
lol. apparently and entire movie?
To the many great movies listed I would add The Blue Max. Any list of war movies that does not have Gettysburg in the top five is a waste.
What about Stalag 17 and The Great Escape?
Both great movies.
Thanks for the “Ultimate list (right here in the comments) of War Movies” as posted by real men!!
wow! paths of glory is not in top 10? that’s really stupid
—That list sounds set-up.
BTW —-isn’t ANYONE ELSE noticing that even Korea era draftee
‘daring maverick’ Clint Eastwood, along with RED China sellout
Hollywood have, yet again, ‘mysteriously and completely overlooked’
the staggeringly relevant 60th Anniversary of the KOREAN WAR
—EVEN AS people continue to suffer and die imprisoned and
ignored —BY—-THE —–MILLION.
$$$$$oooo funny!
I noticed. It seems like the Korean War is a called that by choice and a LOT of people are doing their best to keep it that way.
You can´t put Terrintino in line with Stone, Coppola or Kubrick. Or with movies like Lawrence of Arabia.
Also, Braveheart falls out of line. All in all a bad compilation. Ever heart of “The thin red line” for example?
Kelly’s Heroes instead of that crap of Inglorious Basterds.
Not mentioned by anyone:
THE BLUE MAX
THE ENEMY BELOW
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
mentioned by some
THE LONGEST DAY
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN (If ve looos now Heinie, ve need our arses kicking! – Goring, looking at Dover from France)
Inglorious Basterds better then Patton and All Quiet on the Western Front? Dude……
Quite disappointing list that suggests the author hasn’t bothered about watching much besides Hollywood. Only one non-anglophone movie on the list?!?
I personally think Hollywood’s pretty poor at doing war movies. They’re usually steeped in a clichéd way of doing em.
This is totally a great list. Can’t wait to see all of them. Lately I have been going off a top war list like http://www.filmcrave.com/list_genre_movie.php?genre=War which does include some of the best ones out there and some obscure movies that I will probably skip.
Hamburger Hill