Top 10 Greatest War Movies of All Time

at ease soldier he's moving he's moving he's moving to the building problem you got him welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top ten war movies of all time for this list we're ranking the all-time best movies that take place during a major war [Music] battles must be a main priority of these films however so stories that take place during wartime and don't directly focus on combat will be omitted for another time because my dear Ricky I suspect that under that cynical shell you're at heart a sentimentalist we also won't be taking into consideration films like Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds which takes place during an alternate timeline of history as a special drug inheres of people who waste good scotch seeing as I may be rapping on the door momentarily number 10 platoon somebody once wrote hell is the impossibility of reason that's what this place feels like hell war is hell and very few films captured the realism of frantic combat better than Oliver Stone's platoon Charlie Sheen Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe stars soldiers stationed during the Vietnam conflict in a platoon full of widely varied personalities and levels of morality stones purpose in writing the film was to offer a stark contrast to the Vietnam portrayed in 1968 the Green Berets starring John Wayne is too precious out here due process as a bullet in fact platoon utilized the directors own first-hand experiences as an infantryman for inspiration the results are harrowing and haunting making platoon one of the finest war movies ever made number nine a bridge too far you don't look at him right now he's gonna die this world war ii era film follows the failed allied military campaign known as Operation Market Garden a tactical maneuver that was originally designed to end the war quickly before Christmas of 1944 they both film as I do but when the field marshals plan succeeded which paired to end the war by Christmas in less than 100 days a bridge too far stars James Caan Sean Connery Michael Caine and more as they form a very impressive ensemble cast and features some splendid performances from everyone involved quite frankly this kind of things that have been attempted before this makes the film a captivating watch even for those well aware of how the original operation Market Garden watched its attempts to take over key bridge points in the German occupied Netherlands fine even better but an apology number 8 the Bridge on the River Kwai this British American co-production has not only garnered praise for more film buffs since its original release back in 1957 but also from the National Film registry which selected The Bridge on the River Kwai for preservation for its cultural significance in the Library of Congress in 1997 director David Lean Helms a story of British prisoners of war who are assigned to a Japanese prison camp in Burma and are put to work constructing a bridge connecting Bangkok and Rangoon with Reeves and Hughes and we're not going to finish the bridge on time we're just having the manpower that's all I've asked the officers to lend a hand and they've agreed but even that won't do it this despite Geneva Convention stating that officers are exempt from such work I suppose if I were you I'd have to kill myself the result is a film full of world-class acting and memorable set pieces number seven All Quiet on the Western Front when it comes to dying for your country it's better not to die at all the late 70s television adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque Snite 28th novel was successful in depicting many of its source materials themes we remember the awful sights in the hospital the gas patients proved suffocating Koff up their burnt lungs in clots however it in no way compares to the 1930 pre-code effort from director Lewis milestone this black and white epic was considered quite faithful to what the First World War was like but also didn't shy away from putting any disturbing or traumatic experiences on the big screen [Music] the story of how joining the army affects a group of young recruits on the battlefield and at home was also the first movie to win Oscars for both Best Director and outstanding production number six The Hurt Locker were you going we'll be back up kathryn bigelow became the first woman ever to win a Best Director Oscar thanks to her efforts on the war film The Hurt Locker there wasn't an insurgent here the hell is now Bigelow's action thriller follows a bomb disposal unit stationed in Iraq during the Iraq war and the smoldering tensions that arise between new squad leader William James and his crew we don't have time we got to get out of here jeremy renner leads the cast as james and it's the performances of Renner and his co-stars Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty that really make the Hurt Locker shine as one of the best war films in recent memory this box is full of stuff that almost killed me number 5 The Great Escape even if you've never seen 1963 is the Great Escape it's more than likely you've heard or hummed the movie's main theme a jaunty and infectious March composed by Elmer Bernstein [Music] Steve McQueen stars as the leader of a group of World War two POWs who are intent on digging an escape tunnel from their German concentration camp prison bended McQueen's charisma is undeniable here as is the impressive stunt work on display in the film particularly during a death-defying motorcycle scene [Music] this sequence has gone on to become the stuff of war movie legend and has earned the Great Escape a spot on our list I know the exact information you need going out tonight number four das boat fans might remember seeing this film as either a theatrical release or a TV mini-series depending on where they lived but das boat has continued to earn fans on home video over the years the film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and follows the crew of a German u-boat during World War two das boat was notable for capturing not only the thrill in danger of battle but also the dullness that can come to define the often long stretches of downtime in between sporadic conflict it's by the avidity add to this a memorable score by Klaus dole dinger and you have one unique war film for the ages number three halves of glory ready to kill more Germans filmmaker Stanley Kubrick may be known among his fans for his infamous 1987 Vietnam era picture Full Metal Jacket but the director actually worked in the war movie genre much earlier with this 1957 tale of a French battalion during World War one or the 75 s to commence flowering in our own positions captain do you fail to comprehend the meaning of my order Kirk Douglas stars as the troops commanding officer who attempts to defend his men against charges of cowardice due to their failure in what was essentially a suicide mission revealing my true feelings I apologize sir for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate sadistic old man and you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again Stanley Kubrick's filmography is crowded with classics but the anti-war flick paths of glory maybe one of the directors more underrated efforts ok toe tags your men died very well number 2 Apocalypse Now the word epic doesn't even begin to describe this massive film from director Francis Ford Coppola and Co screenwriter John Milius [Music] Apocalypse Now is a dark and violent thrill ride that follows Martin Sheen as Captain Benjamin Willard a detached military man in search of a mission I'm still in Saigon that mission turns out to be an assassination attempt on a reclusive renegade colonel by the name of Kurtz a Marlon Brando's magnetic performance as the mentally unhinged Kurtz may not appear until the film's final sequences but its immense power continues to haunt viewers to this day as one of the best war film performances ever committed to celluloid before we unveil our number one pick here are a few honorably discharged mentions you know we'll get close your nose only must americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser americans play to win all the time i wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed number one Saving Private Ryan realistic violence is a staple of war films but not everyone was ready for the astonishing level of grit director Steven Spielberg put on-screen in Saving Private Ryan the Films opening sequence alone which details the invasion of Normandy on June 6th 1944 is a visceral gut check that places the audience directly in the middle of combat Spielberg's film also focuses on people however specifically a squad whose mission is to find private James Ryan whose three brothers have perished during the conflict you know if coming to Ramallah and finding him so he can go home if that burns me the right to get back to my wife well then then that's my mission this balance of action and emotion along with its immense critical and commercial success more than justifies saving private Ryan's top position as the greatest war movie ever your brothers were killed in combat which ones all do you agree with our list what's your all-time favorite war movie [Applause] for more brave and bold top 10s published every day be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com man what l is everybody to getting high that's what you

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Rating: 4.620719 out of 5

Keywords: Top 10, List, Top 5, War, Movies, Film, Combat, Battle, Fighting, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Soldiers, Death, Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, D Day, Beach, Omaha, Apocalypse Now, Francis

Id: g7uM3wXkgPE

Length: 14min 10sec (850 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 10 2016