In film War Movies can hit some varying emotions, some can be really funny and some can be so moving that they bring us t tears. Well today I'm going to bring you my Top 10 War Films of All-Time. Now this list was reader recommended and this quite possibly the hardest list I have ever had to come up with. Now this list deals with films that mainly focus on the war the main cast is fighting and not the effects that they have on the soldiers when they return home from war. So without further ado.....
10. We Were Soldiers-
This is one of the films that can easily bring me to tears. Lt Col. Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson) is commander of the first of the First Battalion, Seventh Calvary, the same regimen fatefully led by General George Custard. As part of the Pieiku Campaign of late 1965, Moore is assigned into action at Landing Zone x-Ray in the Drang Valley, an area that would come to be known as "The Valley of Death." Moore soon finds himself and his men contained to an area about the size of a football feild, surrounded by more than 2,000 enemy troops and engaged in the first major battle of the Vietnam War. Heroism becomes the order of the day as men like Moore, chopper pilot Bruce Crandall (played by Greg Kinnear) and Lt. Henry Herrick (played by Marc Blucas) refuse to yield in spite of heavy losses of life. The film also stars Madeleine Stowe, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, Sam Elliot and Berry Pepper. This film is very intense and can bring anyone to tears. We Were Soldiers has a rating of 63% on rottentomatoes.com
9. Braveheart-
I bet none of you saw this film appearing on this list, it is considered a War Film. The film tells the story of William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), a 13th Century Scottish warrior who led the Scots into the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England while also telling the story of Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. This film is absolutely amazing and eventhough it has a running time of 3 hours its still fun to sit through and watch. Braveheart was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Make-Up, Sound Editing, Original Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score, Sound Mixing, Film Editing and Costume Design while winning 5 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up and Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Full Metal Jacket-
This film comes to us from on of the greatest directors in the history of film Stanley Kubrick. The film (which is split into two parts) follows a platoon of U.S. Marines through their training and the experience of two of the platoon's in the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. The films first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (played by R. Lee Ermey). Part two takes place in Vietnam, as sen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. This film is intense and the first meeting with Sgt. Hartman is one of the most quotable scenes in film. Full Metal Jacket was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Black Hawk Down-
The saying goes women cry during The Notebook and men cry during Black Hawk Down. On October 3rd, 1993 an elite team of more than 100 Delta Force soldiers and Army Rangers, part of a larger United Nations peacekeeping force, are dropped into civil-war torn Mogadishu, Somalia, in an effort to kidnap two of crime lord Mohamed Farah Aidid's top lieutenants. Among the team: Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann (played by Josh Hartnett), Ranger Lt. Col. Danny McKnight (played by Tom Sizemore), the resourceful Delta Sgt. First Class Jeff Sanderson (played by William Fichtner) and Ranger Spec. Grimes (played by Ewan McGregor), a desk-bound clerk getting his first taste of live combat. When two of the mission's Black Hawk helicopters are shot down by enemy forces, the Americans (committed to recovering every man, dead r alive) stay in the area too long and are quickly surrounded. The ensuing firefight is a merciless 15-hour ordeal and the longest ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. This is another intense and heart-stopping film that will bring you to tears. Black Hawk Down was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Film Editing, Sound, Cinematography and Director, while winning two (Best Film Editing and Best Sound) and has a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. All Quiet on The Western Front (1979)-
If had not been for one of my high school history teachers, I may never would have seen this film or the original version of the film (which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1930). Paul Baumer (played by Richard Thomas), a teen who, at the urging of zealously patriotic teacher Kantorek (played by Donald Pleasence) enthusiastically enlists to fight for Germany in WW1, accompanied by several school chums. Aftrer training at the hands of sadistic Corporal Himmelstoss (played b Ian Holm), Paul and his friends head for the frnt, There, they discover that war is a bloody, deadly buisness, although they are heartened by the presence of their commander, wily veteran Stanislaus Katczinsky (played by Ernest Borgnine). When a French soldier jumps into the bomb crater where Paul has taken refuge one night, he is forced to stab the enemy, then must watch the man die in agony. This incident and the violent deaths of his friends convince Paul that war is a senseless exercise. I absolutely love both versions of the film and I want to thank my teacher for showing me this version in class.
5. The Hurt Locker-
This film is amazing is one of the best films of all-time. As an Elite Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team tactfully navigates the streets of present-day Iraq, they face the constant threat of death from the incoming bombs and sharp-shooting snipers. In Baghdad, roadside bomb are a common danger. The Army is working to make the city a safer place for Americans and Iraqis, so when it comes to dismantling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crew is always on their game. But protecting the public isn't easy when there's no room for error, and every second spent dismantling a bomb is another second spent flirting with death. Now as three fearless bomb technicians (played by Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) take on the most dangerous job in Baghdad. This is one of the most heart stopping films I have ever seen. The Hurt Locker was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Actor, Original Score and Cinematography and won six (Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing) and it also has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. The Thin Red Line-
This film has one of the best ensembles of talent to ever graze the big screen. Private Witt (played by Jim Caviezel), a deserter living in peace and harmony with the natives of a pacific island paradise. Captures by the Navy, Witt is debreifed by a senior officer (Sean Penn) and returned to an active duty unit preparing for what will be he battle of Guadalcanal. As Witt goes ashore in the company of his fellow soldiers , they meet diverse fates from exploding grenades, insanity and even a "Dear John" letter. However, as the U.S. troops advance up grassy slopes toward entrenched Japanese positions, it is is Witt's voiced-over ruminations on life, death, and nature that are the real heart and soul of the film. The film also stars Nick Nolte, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrlellson, Jared Leto, John Tarvolta and George Clooney. The Thin Red Line was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Writing, Cinematography, Film Editing, Music and sound, it also has a rating of 78% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Apocalypse Now-
This is not only one of the best War films but is one of the best films of all-time. Capt. Willard (played by Martin Sheen), already on the edge, is assigned to find and deal with AWOL Col. Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando), rumored to have set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a local, lethal godhead. Along the Way Willard encounters napalm and Wagner fan Col. Kilgore (played by Robert Duvall), draftees who prefer to surf and d drugs, USO Playboy Bunny show turned into a riot by the raucous soldiers, and a jumpy photographer (played by Dennis Hopper) telling wild, reverent tales about Kurtz. By the time Willard sees the heads mounted on stakes near Kurtz's compound, he knows Kurtz has gone over the deep, but it is uncertain whether Willard himself now agrees with Kurtz's insane dictum to "Drop the Bomb, Exterminate them all." This film is great and it also has an extended edition entitled Apocalypse Now: Redux which includes 49 minutes of cut footage. Apocalypse Now was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Sound, Picture, Supporting Actor, Art Direction, Director, Film Editing, Writing while winning only 2 (Best Cinematography and Best Sound) and has a rating of 99% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Platoon-
This film comes to us from another great director f the modern era Oliver Stone. Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen) is a college student who quits school to volunteer for the Army in the late '60s. He's shipped off to Vietnam, where he serve with a culturally diverse group of fellow soldiers under two men who lead the platoon: Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), whose facial scars are a mirror of the violence and corruption of his soul, Sgt.Elias (played by Willem Dafoe), who maintains a Zen-like calm in the jungle and fights with both personal and moral courage even though he no longer believes in the war. After a few weeks "in country," Taylor begins to see the naivete of his views of the war, especially after quick search for the enemy troops develops into a round of murder and rape. This film is pretty epic and has one of the most memorable death scenes in film history. Platoon was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Two nominees for Best Supporting Actor, Sound, Cinematography, Film Editing while winning 4 (Best Picture, Director, Sound and Film Editing) and also has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Saving Private Ryan-
This film was probably the most obvious film on the list to everyone and it comes to us fro the greatest director of all-time Stephen Spielberg. The Story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback the joins Capt. John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6th, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (played by Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt.James Ryan (played by Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the asssignment, and the chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (played by Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (played by Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (played by Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (played by Giovanni Ribsi) cynical Reiben (played by Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian -American Caparzo (played by Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (played by Berry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. This film is amazing and its 24 minute battle scene at the beginning of the film is one of the most gruesome and memorable scene in film history. Saving Private Ryan was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Director, Sound Effects Editing, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Actor, Art Direction, Make-Up, Original Dramatic Score, Picture and Original Screenplay while winning 5 (Best Cinematography, Director, Sound Effects Editing, Film Editing, Sound Mixing) and also has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the list, do you agree or disagree and what are your favorite war films? Let me know in the comments and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
This is one of the films that can easily bring me to tears. Lt Col. Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson) is commander of the first of the First Battalion, Seventh Calvary, the same regimen fatefully led by General George Custard. As part of the Pieiku Campaign of late 1965, Moore is assigned into action at Landing Zone x-Ray in the Drang Valley, an area that would come to be known as "The Valley of Death." Moore soon finds himself and his men contained to an area about the size of a football feild, surrounded by more than 2,000 enemy troops and engaged in the first major battle of the Vietnam War. Heroism becomes the order of the day as men like Moore, chopper pilot Bruce Crandall (played by Greg Kinnear) and Lt. Henry Herrick (played by Marc Blucas) refuse to yield in spite of heavy losses of life. The film also stars Madeleine Stowe, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, Sam Elliot and Berry Pepper. This film is very intense and can bring anyone to tears. We Were Soldiers has a rating of 63% on rottentomatoes.com
9. Braveheart-
I bet none of you saw this film appearing on this list, it is considered a War Film. The film tells the story of William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), a 13th Century Scottish warrior who led the Scots into the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England while also telling the story of Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. This film is absolutely amazing and eventhough it has a running time of 3 hours its still fun to sit through and watch. Braveheart was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Make-Up, Sound Editing, Original Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score, Sound Mixing, Film Editing and Costume Design while winning 5 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up and Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Full Metal Jacket-
This film comes to us from on of the greatest directors in the history of film Stanley Kubrick. The film (which is split into two parts) follows a platoon of U.S. Marines through their training and the experience of two of the platoon's in the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. The films first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (played by R. Lee Ermey). Part two takes place in Vietnam, as sen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. This film is intense and the first meeting with Sgt. Hartman is one of the most quotable scenes in film. Full Metal Jacket was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Black Hawk Down-
The saying goes women cry during The Notebook and men cry during Black Hawk Down. On October 3rd, 1993 an elite team of more than 100 Delta Force soldiers and Army Rangers, part of a larger United Nations peacekeeping force, are dropped into civil-war torn Mogadishu, Somalia, in an effort to kidnap two of crime lord Mohamed Farah Aidid's top lieutenants. Among the team: Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann (played by Josh Hartnett), Ranger Lt. Col. Danny McKnight (played by Tom Sizemore), the resourceful Delta Sgt. First Class Jeff Sanderson (played by William Fichtner) and Ranger Spec. Grimes (played by Ewan McGregor), a desk-bound clerk getting his first taste of live combat. When two of the mission's Black Hawk helicopters are shot down by enemy forces, the Americans (committed to recovering every man, dead r alive) stay in the area too long and are quickly surrounded. The ensuing firefight is a merciless 15-hour ordeal and the longest ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. This is another intense and heart-stopping film that will bring you to tears. Black Hawk Down was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Film Editing, Sound, Cinematography and Director, while winning two (Best Film Editing and Best Sound) and has a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. All Quiet on The Western Front (1979)-
If had not been for one of my high school history teachers, I may never would have seen this film or the original version of the film (which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1930). Paul Baumer (played by Richard Thomas), a teen who, at the urging of zealously patriotic teacher Kantorek (played by Donald Pleasence) enthusiastically enlists to fight for Germany in WW1, accompanied by several school chums. Aftrer training at the hands of sadistic Corporal Himmelstoss (played b Ian Holm), Paul and his friends head for the frnt, There, they discover that war is a bloody, deadly buisness, although they are heartened by the presence of their commander, wily veteran Stanislaus Katczinsky (played by Ernest Borgnine). When a French soldier jumps into the bomb crater where Paul has taken refuge one night, he is forced to stab the enemy, then must watch the man die in agony. This incident and the violent deaths of his friends convince Paul that war is a senseless exercise. I absolutely love both versions of the film and I want to thank my teacher for showing me this version in class.
5. The Hurt Locker-
This film is amazing is one of the best films of all-time. As an Elite Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team tactfully navigates the streets of present-day Iraq, they face the constant threat of death from the incoming bombs and sharp-shooting snipers. In Baghdad, roadside bomb are a common danger. The Army is working to make the city a safer place for Americans and Iraqis, so when it comes to dismantling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crew is always on their game. But protecting the public isn't easy when there's no room for error, and every second spent dismantling a bomb is another second spent flirting with death. Now as three fearless bomb technicians (played by Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) take on the most dangerous job in Baghdad. This is one of the most heart stopping films I have ever seen. The Hurt Locker was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Actor, Original Score and Cinematography and won six (Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing) and it also has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. The Thin Red Line-
This film has one of the best ensembles of talent to ever graze the big screen. Private Witt (played by Jim Caviezel), a deserter living in peace and harmony with the natives of a pacific island paradise. Captures by the Navy, Witt is debreifed by a senior officer (Sean Penn) and returned to an active duty unit preparing for what will be he battle of Guadalcanal. As Witt goes ashore in the company of his fellow soldiers , they meet diverse fates from exploding grenades, insanity and even a "Dear John" letter. However, as the U.S. troops advance up grassy slopes toward entrenched Japanese positions, it is is Witt's voiced-over ruminations on life, death, and nature that are the real heart and soul of the film. The film also stars Nick Nolte, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrlellson, Jared Leto, John Tarvolta and George Clooney. The Thin Red Line was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Writing, Cinematography, Film Editing, Music and sound, it also has a rating of 78% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Apocalypse Now-
This is not only one of the best War films but is one of the best films of all-time. Capt. Willard (played by Martin Sheen), already on the edge, is assigned to find and deal with AWOL Col. Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando), rumored to have set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a local, lethal godhead. Along the Way Willard encounters napalm and Wagner fan Col. Kilgore (played by Robert Duvall), draftees who prefer to surf and d drugs, USO Playboy Bunny show turned into a riot by the raucous soldiers, and a jumpy photographer (played by Dennis Hopper) telling wild, reverent tales about Kurtz. By the time Willard sees the heads mounted on stakes near Kurtz's compound, he knows Kurtz has gone over the deep, but it is uncertain whether Willard himself now agrees with Kurtz's insane dictum to "Drop the Bomb, Exterminate them all." This film is great and it also has an extended edition entitled Apocalypse Now: Redux which includes 49 minutes of cut footage. Apocalypse Now was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Sound, Picture, Supporting Actor, Art Direction, Director, Film Editing, Writing while winning only 2 (Best Cinematography and Best Sound) and has a rating of 99% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Platoon-
This film comes to us from another great director f the modern era Oliver Stone. Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen) is a college student who quits school to volunteer for the Army in the late '60s. He's shipped off to Vietnam, where he serve with a culturally diverse group of fellow soldiers under two men who lead the platoon: Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), whose facial scars are a mirror of the violence and corruption of his soul, Sgt.Elias (played by Willem Dafoe), who maintains a Zen-like calm in the jungle and fights with both personal and moral courage even though he no longer believes in the war. After a few weeks "in country," Taylor begins to see the naivete of his views of the war, especially after quick search for the enemy troops develops into a round of murder and rape. This film is pretty epic and has one of the most memorable death scenes in film history. Platoon was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Two nominees for Best Supporting Actor, Sound, Cinematography, Film Editing while winning 4 (Best Picture, Director, Sound and Film Editing) and also has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Saving Private Ryan-
This film was probably the most obvious film on the list to everyone and it comes to us fro the greatest director of all-time Stephen Spielberg. The Story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback the joins Capt. John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6th, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (played by Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt.James Ryan (played by Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the asssignment, and the chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (played by Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (played by Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (played by Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (played by Giovanni Ribsi) cynical Reiben (played by Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian -American Caparzo (played by Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (played by Berry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. This film is amazing and its 24 minute battle scene at the beginning of the film is one of the most gruesome and memorable scene in film history. Saving Private Ryan was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Director, Sound Effects Editing, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Actor, Art Direction, Make-Up, Original Dramatic Score, Picture and Original Screenplay while winning 5 (Best Cinematography, Director, Sound Effects Editing, Film Editing, Sound Mixing) and also has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the list, do you agree or disagree and what are your favorite war films? Let me know in the comments and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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