War is a topic that no director should take lightly. Navigating violent conflict, death, and other unavoidable themes in war movies requires deft direction, and the best war movies toe the line between sentimentality and the ugly realities of combat.
The best war movies also have another key ingredient: A strong story to make the audience feel invested in the broader conflict.
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Director Francis Ford Coppola, who is arguably 1(b) to Stanley Kubrick's 1(a) in the elite director rankings of their generation, has strong source material to rely on with Apocalypse Now. Adapted loosely from the time-tested novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, this film centers around a mysterious Colonel Kurtz embedded deep in Cambodia's jungles.
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Martin Sheen's Captain Benjamin Willard must find and kill Kurtz, but the story is not so simple. With several storylines wrapped within the larger mission, Apocalypse Now is, to many, a Top-1 film of all time.
2. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Hacksaw Ridge is a film based on a true story. However, it is one of those based-on-a-true-story films where, by the end, every audience member says, "no freaking chance that is a true story."
You better believe it. The tale of Seventh-Day Adventist Desmond Doss, a man with a strong desire to serve his country but an unwavering refusal to partake in violence or bear arms, is true. Assuming that director Mel Gibson is stuck within mortar strike distance of Doss's real life, Hacksaw Ridge is a movie that will leave you slack-jawed.
3. Unbroken (2014)
The rare film written but not directed by the Coen brothers, Unbroken, does not suffer from having Angelina Jolie in the director's chair. With a story as compelling as Unbroken's, it's a movie that would be tough (but possible) to mess up. Fortunately, the producers did the source material justice.
3. Unbroken (2014)
Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini enlists in the American military during WWII, endures a plane crash, then faces life as a prisoner of war. Renowned actor Jack O'Connell puts an already captivating story over the top.
4. Spartacus (2010)
Spartacus is such an iconic film that even the occasional Millennial (or just me, maybe?) will immediately get the reference if you drop an "I'm Spartacus" in their presence.
4. Spartacus (2010)
Whether it's Gladiator or Spartacus, there is just something about a salve-turned-warrior-turned-leader that puts butts in seats.
5. Paths of Glory (1957)
Stanley Kubrick's fourth feature film, Paths of Glory, tells the story of men who refuse to charge into certain death during WWI. The film features Kirk Douglas in the lead role and vividly portrays the madness of World War I trench combat and the challenges of commanding soldiers in wartime.
6. 1917 (2019)
Sam Mendes' World War I epic follows two youthful British soldiers tasked with saving a battalion from certain death. The messengers trek through urban rubble, scenic countryside, and uncertainty after uncertainty in this visually-stunning war thriller.
6. 1917 (2019)
1917 received a Best Picture nomination and won three Oscars for its visual effects and sound mixing. However, the story is a high point, too. Despite the scarcity of dialogue as a narrative tool, Mendes demonstrates his prowess as a captivating visual storyteller.
7. Glory (1989)
Based on a true story, Glory casts Denzel Washington as an officer fighting for the Federal Army during the Civil War. Indeed, an African-American actor takes on the role of an officer in a Civil War film. The story surrounding an all-black volunteer unit is absolutely captivating, and this is even more significant when considering Denzel Washington's prominent presence in the cast.
8. All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
The 2022 German film adapted Erich Maria Remarque's timeless book of the same name. The visual account of Paul Baumer and his German lads naively signing up to serve in World War I, only to be rudely and repeatedly awakened to the horrifying realities of that conflict, makes for so-awful-you-can't-look-away cinema.
9. Dunkirk (2017)
When Christopher Nolan adapts a World War II film, you know he will do it right. Dunkirk takes an entirely original approach, weaving three stories within a single movie yet setting those stories on differing timelines. Few war films are as visually stunning or cinematically thought-provoking as Dunkirk.
10. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
An oldie but a greatie, Life Is Beautiful examines the gut-wrenching trauma of the Holocaust through an uncommonly human lens. Without making light of the historical backdrop, director Roberto Benigni examines how a parent might help a child endure such unimaginable conditions without losing their love for life.
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