If you love to watch movies that are related to war and battlefields, then you must have heard about Hacksaw Ridge. This movie came out in 2016 and is considered one of the best war movies of recent years. It is directed by Mel Gibson and is based on a documentary made in 2004. The movie was very well received by the critics, and it also received many awards and even got nominated for Oscar and Global Globe Awards.
The reason behind the massive success of this movie was the portrayal of the characters by an excellent cast inspired by real-life events and a powerful message that was spread to the viewers about the adverse effects of war, even if it seems to be justified.
1. Jarhead
Jarhead is a war drama film based on the memoir of US Marine Anthony Swofford. The movie is about the life story of Anthony and how they once attended a United States Marine Corps recruit training and even got stationed at Camp Pendleton. He then claimed that the reason behind his joining the military was that he got lost on the way to college.
JarheadHis time at Camp Pendleton was very difficult, and he was also not able to make any friends. In the camp, there was a lifer named Sergeant Sykes, who was able to see the potential within him and offered to train with him from that day forward; Wolford never looked back and made his career as a marine sniper and even served in the Persian Gulf War.
- Cast- Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx
- Director- Sam Mendes
- Release Date- November 4, 2005
- IMDb- 7/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
2. Captain Fantastic
The plot is about a person named Ben Cash, his wife Leslie, and their six children. They all live on a mountain, isolated from the rest of the world. The reason behind this is that they are former left-wing anarchist activists that don’t like modern-day capitalism and choose to teach and develop survival skills and instincts to their children.
They trained them to be physically fit and intelligent without relying on modern technology. Even though the children are not in touch with the world, they have read many forms of literature that are studied by college students and have been shown to have very high IQs compared to normal kids of their age. This all started to change when their mother passed away.
- Cast- Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn
- Director- Matt Ross
- Release Date- July 8, 2016
- IMDb- 7.8/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
Also Read: Erin Moriarty’s Net Worth: The Captain Fantastic Star’s Career & Earnings
3. American Sniper
American Sniper follows Chris Kyle, who learns how to shoot a rifle from his father at a young age. After a few years, he becomes a ranch hand and rodeo cowman. One day, he finds his girlfriend cheating on him, and while thinking about it, he sees news coverage about the 1998 bombings on the US embassy and decides to enroll in the Navy.
He becomes a sniper with the US Navy SEALs after receiving special training. He meets Taya at a bar and then soon marries her. But things started getting complicated after their marriage. Every time he returns from an assignment, his thoughts are distracted by the memories of the battlefield, and he slowly starts to become mentally disturbed.
- Cast- Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Kevin Lacz, Navid Negahban, Keir O’Donnell
- Director- Clint Eastwood
- Release Date- December 25, 2014
- IMDb- 7.3/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
Also Read: Where Is American Sniper Filmed? All About The Locations
4. Hell or High Water
The story takes place in West Texas, where two brothers, Toby, and Tanner Howard, have just robbed two branches of the same bank. They both manage to escape successfully, and then back at their family ranch, we saw them burying their gateway car in a pit with a backhoe.
Actually, the reason behind them doing all these robberies is that after their mother’s death due to an illness, their family ranch got in debt because of a reverse mortgage given by the Texas Midlands Bank, which would also lead to a foreclosure if it is not settled in time. Toby and Hanner want to pay off their loan and collect enough money so that their children don’t have to live their lives in poverty and debt.
- Cast- Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham
- Director- David Mackenzie
- Release Date- August 12, 2016
- IMDb- 7.6/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
Also Read: Where Is Hell Or High Water Filmed? All Locations Revealed
5. Darkest Hour
The film is set in the era of World War 2 and the 1940 War Cabinet Crises. In May 1940, the Labour Party in opposition demanded to get the resignation of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain after he was unable to deal with the Nazi onslaught properly.
Neville tells his colleagues that he wants to make Lord Halifax his successor, but Halifax refuses by saying that he doesn’t feel he is the right person for this post right now.
Now Chamberlain only had one option to choose that the opposition parties would also gladly accept, Winston Churchill, who also predicted the danger from Adolf Hitler even before the war started. After this decision, Winston’s life takes a huge turn as he now has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and must do whatever it takes to first stop the ongoing war and then brings peace and prosperity to his country.
- Cast- Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, Ben Mendelsohn
- Director- Joe Wright
- Release Date- 22 November 2017
- IMDb- 7.4/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
6. Manchester by the Sea
This movie is about a person named Lee Chandler. He is a depressed janitor who doesn’t like to talk to people much. He lives all alone in a basement apartment in Quincy, Massachusetts. One day, he gets a call informing him that his brother Joe, has suffered cardiac arrest, but he passed away before Lee could reach the hospital.
After his brother’s death, Lee now has to take care of his nephew Patrick as Joe had already assigned him as Patrick’s legal guardian. He is hesitant to take this responsibility, as he would have to move back to Manchester, and he has some really bad memories that he is afraid will remind him of his tragic past. The movie is centered around guilt, depression, responsibility, and grief.
- Cast- Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges
- Director- Kenneth Lonergan
- Release Date- November 18, 2016
- IMDb- 7.8/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
7. Empire of the Sun
The film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard. The story started around World War II when Japan was invading China, the main protagonist, Jamie, is living a very comfortable life as he belongs to an upper-middle-class family in the Shanghai International Settlement. After Pearl Harbour got attacked, the Japanese started occupying the area.
During all this chaos, Jamie got separated from his family and then somehow managed to return back to their house and wait for his parents to return. The movie shows his struggle and determination to look for his family and how the lives of the people are affected during times of war, and how one should never give up even in the most adverse times.
- Cast- Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
- Director- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date- December 11, 1987
- IMDb- 7.7/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
8. A Man Called Ove
The protagonist, Ove Lindahl, is a 59-year-old widower who lives all alone in a townhouse where he was the chairman of the neighboring association until he is replaced by his former friend, Rune. After having a stroke, Rune becomes paralyzed and is now being taken care of by her wife. After the death of Ova’s wife Sonja due to cancer six months ago, he lost all hope in his life.
He thinks that his life has no meaning now, and after getting retired from his company, he just spends his day at home only. He has tried to kill himself many times by hanging himself but is always saved by the new Swedish family that just moved across the street, even after knowing about his grumpy and unhappy nature. They have shown that one should never lose hope in their life.
- Cast- Rolf Lassgård, Bahar Pars, Filip Berg, Ida Engvoll
- Director- Hannes Holm
- Release Date- 25 December 2015
- IMDb- 7.7/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video
9. Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down is a war action film which is based on a non-fiction book about Uthe .S. military’s 1993 raid in Mogadishu. During the Somali Civil War, the UNSC started a military operation for a peacemaking mandate. However, things didn’t turn out the way they should, and a conflict arose between the UN and a militia of Mogadishu, Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
To respond to them, US president Clinton sends a Battalion and a flight crew to arrest Aidid. They were able to capture a faction leader who sold weapons to Aidid’s militia. After this, the US decided to reach Aidid by capturing his top advisers first, and hence a team was assembled, and the mission started.
- Cast- Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard
- Director- Ridley Scott
- Release Date- December 28, 2001
- IMDb- 7.7/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
Also Read: Where Is Black Hawk Down Filmed? Filming Locations & Plot
10. Siege of Jadotville
This movie is very different from the other war movies that you might have seen or heard about. It doesn’t tell us about any famous battles or portray any renowned heroes. Instead, it informs us about a battle that was fought but was never heard about before and about the brave heroes who fought it.
The US first sent their troops for peacemaking, but it soon turned into an all-out battle between the Irish battalion Company ‘A’ and more than 3000 enemy soldiers.
Even though the odds were against them, as they were largely outnumbered, the Irish soldiers were able to hold their own against them for quite a long time after surrendering to them because of a lack of resources. After the UN got this news, they decided to cover it up as it was very shameful for Company ‘A’ to surrender like that, and around 2005 only, a full investigation was conducted that cleared the soldiers’ reputations.
- Cast- Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt, Jason O’Mara, Danny Sapani, Michael McElhatton, Guillaume Canet
- Director- Richie Smyth
- Release Date- 7 October 2016
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Netflix
11. Dunkirk
Just like the above film, this movie is also quite different regarding its storyline and portrayal of characters. This film is directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie depicts Dunkirk’s evaluation of World War II through the perspectives of different individuals through land, water, and air.
They have tried to show us the journey of people from different landscapes to different places and how they travel and escape to places just to keep themselves safe and away from all the war and fighting. One element that Christopher Nolan added in this film is that there is very less dialogue. Instead, he used his skills in cinematography combined with great music to portray a scene which makes it an overall better experience.
- Cast- Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
- Director- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date- 21 July 2017
- IMDb- 7.8/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
12. Fences
The movie takes place in 1the 950s at the house of Troy Maxson in Pittsburgh. The family consists of three members, Troy, his wife Rose, and their son Cory. The financial condition of the family is not very good as Troy works as a garbage collector with his best friend, Jim Bono, whom he has known for decades. Troy was once a really good baseball player but couldn’t play in Major League Basketball because of the color barrier.
This movie has shown us the struggles and hurdles of a normal lower middle-class family and the discrimination and racism that people had to face back in the day because of the color of their skin. It received positive reviews from critics and was praised for its awesome performance by Washington.
- Cast- Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley, Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Saniyya Sidney
- Director- Denzel Washington
- Release Date- December 16, 2016
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
13. The Wind Rises
This animated historical drama film is a fictionalized biography of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the aircraft Mitsubishi A5M and A6M Zero that were used in World War II. The plot starts in 1916 when a young Jiro wants to become a pilot, but his nearsightedness is preventing him from pursuing it.
One day, he sees his idol, the Italian aircraft designer Giovanni Battista Caproni, in his dreams, who tells him that he has never ever flown a plane and believes building planes is much better than flying them. After this day, Jiro never looked back and kept on studying and working to chase his dream, which is now to make planes rather than fly them.
- Cast- Hideaki Anno, Miori Takimoto, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masahiko Nishimura, Mori Kazama, Keiko Takeshita, Mirai Shida, Jun Kunimura, Shinobu Otake, Nomura Mansai
- Director- Hayao Miyazaki
- Release Date- 21 February 2014
- IMDb- 7.7/10
- Where to Watch- Netflix, Vudu
Also Read: 20 Anime Movies Like The Wind Rises: An Animated Masterpiece
14. Even the Rain
The Mexican filmmaker Sebastian and his Spanish executive producer Costa arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with all their cast and crew members. They want to create a big historical film depicting Columbus’s first voyage to the New World and some other important events.
As their budget for making the whole film is very limited, Costa decided to shoot the film in the poorest country in South America, Bolivia. Seeing this opportunity, hundreds of Bolivian citizens came to get jobs to earn some money.
Costa thinks of saving thousands of dollars by hiring people at low wages and letting them do the tasks that otherwise would have to be done by experienced engineers. This is the point where the movie then slowly starts to turn into something unexpected.
- Cast- Luis Tosar, Gael García Bernal, Juan Carlos Aduviri, Karr Elejalde, Raúl Arévalo
- Director- Icíar Bollaín
- Release Date- January5,2011
- IMDb- 7.4/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
15. Patton
Patton is a biographical war film which is about U.S. General George S. Patton and his role in World War II. The movie tells us about him as Patton is addressing an audience of American troops, instilling the importance of victorious role models in an American’s life as well as his own desire that his men need to work and fight together to defeat the enemy.
Afterward, we are shown many different battles fought by Patton with some powerful and intelligent generals, and he was able to defeat them all by using his wits and strategies. The movie was selected by the National Film Registry for preservation as being “culturally, historically or esthetically significant.”
- Cast- George C. Scott, Karl Malden
- Director- Franklin J. Schaffner
- Release Date- April 2, 1970
- IMDb- 7.9/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video
Also Read: Where Is Patton Filmed? Locations & Plot
16. The Imitation Game
The movie starts in 1951, when two policemen, Nock and Staehl, come to investigate the mathematician Alan Turing after they get a report about an apparent break-in at his home. During his interrogation, Turing tells them about his time working at Bletchley Park during World War II.
The rest of the movie is all about his life story and how he picks an interest in Cryptography after his friend, Christopher Morcom, introduced it to him.
His life is a roller coaster that is full of surprises and experiences, from helping decode messages from Germany, creating a machine of his own, which would later become the stepping stone to creating the modern computer, getting betrayed multiple times, and finally fulfilling his mission in helping his country.
- Cast- Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Mark Strong
- Director- Morten Tyldum
- Release Date- November 28, 2014
- IMDb- 8/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
17. Lion
This story is about a five-year-old boy named Saroo, who lives in Khandwa, India, with his mother, elder brother Guddu, and baby sister. Saroo and Guddu used to steal coal from freight trains to trade it for food and milk. One day, after working overnight, Saroo falls asleep on a bench but is unable to find Guddu after waking up.
This movie shows us the journey of Saroo as he is trying to get back to his village but doesn’t remember the name properly. After meeting some people with ill intentions and escaping from them, he finally meets an Australian couple that adopts him and takes him to Tasmania. After more than twenty years, he gets reminded about his parents, and he sets on a journey to find his biological mother.
- Cast- Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, David Wenham
- Director- Garth Davis
- Release Date- 25 November 2016
- IMDb- 8/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
Also Read: What Happened To Guddu In The Lion?
18. Sing street
During the 1980s, in the inner-city of South Dublin, Robert Lawlor is struggling with his job and his marriage, which forces him to drink a lot and smoke to excess. One day, he announces that his youngest son, Conor, will now go to a Christian Brothers school instead of his current expensive one. Conor’s older brother Brendan teases him about the change and the current state of the family.
In the school, Conor meets a bully, Barry, an aspiring Entrepreneur, Darren, and a beautiful girl named Raphina. He creates his own band just to recruit Raphina for a music video and impress her. We have been shown Conor’s journey in making and establishing his band, his relationship with Raphina, and his distress with the family and his wife.
- Cast- Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton
- Director- John Carney
- Release Date- 15 April 2016
- IMDb- 7.9/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
19. The Pianist
Around September 1939, Wladyslaw Szpilman, the main protagonist and a pianist, is playing live on the radio in his hometown when suddenly the station is bombed during the Nazi German Invasion of Poland. After hearing the news about the war between Britain and France attacking Germany together, Szpilman and his family were happy, hoping that the war would end soon, but what they were hoping for didn’t happen.
The war lasted for more than a month, and Warsaw became a part of the Nazi-controlled General Government. The film was able to show the struggles and hardships that people faced during wartime and how it affected their personal and professional life, and what is the atmosphere at that time when bullets were being fired everywhere and bombs were being shelled at houses and buildings.
- Cast- Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer
- Director- Roman Polanski
- Release Date- 6 September 2002
- IMDb- 8.5/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
20. The Deer Hunter
In 1968, three friends, Mike Vronsky, Steven Pushkov, and Nick Chevotarevich, in Western Pennsylvania, work in a steel mill and go hunting deers with their co-workers Axel and Stan and bartender friend John.
After some time, Mike, Steven, and Nick are all preparing to leave for military service in the Vietnam war. Before leaving their friends and family behind, all three of them go hunting for a final time. Mike successfully kills a deer in a single shot.
After they went to participate in the Vietnam war, their lives and the lives of their loved ones all completely changed now. They had to suffer a lot of torture and punishment after getting captured, and even after escaping from there, their lives didn’t improve much. They kept on running and suffering until the very end.
- Cast- Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken
- Director- Michael Cimino
- Release Date- February 23, 1979
- IMDb- 8.1/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
Also Read: The Deer Hunter Filming Locations: The Famous War Drama Movie
21. Come and See
The director of the film, Elem Klimov, had to fight for eight years before he could get censorship by the Soviet authorities to produce this film in its entirety. The plot takes place in 1943 when two Belarusian boys are digging in a trench filled with sand, looking to get some abandoned rifles so that they will be able to join the Soviet partisan forces.
They are already warned once by the village elder that by digging up the weapons, they can raise suspicions of the Germans. One of the boys, Flyora, is able to find a rifle, and their activities are noticed by a reconnaissance aircraft. The next day, two soldiers arrive at his house, and they make him a low-rank militiamen. His journey started now, and who knows what he will face next in his career.
- Cast- Aleksei Kravchenko,Olga Mironova
- Director- Elem Klimov
- Release Date- 9 July 1985
- IMDb- 8.4/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
22. Braveheart
The plot takes place around the 13th century. King Edward invaded and conquered Scotland after the death of Alexander III, who didn’t have any family member or relative to take his throne after him. The protagonist, William Wallace, witnesses Edward’s execution of several Scottish nobles and the death of his father and brother fighting against the English. He is sent abroad by his uncle to get an education.
He had already suffered many losses because of the kingdom and just needed a spark to ignite the fire of hatred and revenge within him, which happened when her lover, Murron, got publicly executed by the soldiers.
After this, he started a rebellion against the kingdom, whose roars spread across the country, which inspired many people, and it became a big revolution that helped the Scots to get their freedom from English rule.
- Cast- Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack
- Director- Mel Gibson
- Release Date- May 24, 1995
- IMDb- 8.4/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
Also Read: 40 Movies Like Braveheart That You Must Watch
23. Full Metal Jacket
During the Vietnam War, a group of recruits arrives at Paris Island to get training to become Marines. The Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman always uses very cruel and harsh methods to make the rookies into combat-ready Marines. Among the new recruits, Leonard Lawrence is an overweight and stupid one who even gets a nickname from Hartman, who calls him “Gomer Pyle.”
And another one is J.T. Davis, who always cracks jokes and thus gets the nickname “Joker” after he tried to interrupt Hartman’s introductory speech with an impression of John Wayne. The movie shows us the struggles that recruits have to go through during a war to complete their training as soon as possible and then go serve their country.
- Cast- Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood, Arliss Howard, Kevyn Major Howard, Ed O’Ross
- Director- Stanley Kubrick
- Release Date- June 26, 1987
- IMDb- 8.3/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video
Also Read: Where Was The Movie “Full Metal Jacket” Filmed?
24. The King
The movie is based on several plays from William Shakespeare’s Henriad. The protagonist of the movie is Henry, Prince of Wales, also called Hal, the eldest son of King Henry IV of England. He doesn’t have any interest in his father’s throne and spends his days drinking and whoring with his friend John Falstaff.
After Henry IV passed away, Hal is now appointed as King Henry V, as his younger brother died in a battle. Hal hopes to bring peace and conciliation to the kingdom, despite having a lot of enemies with his father. Now he has to prove himself that he is a suitable king and worthy of his father’s throne and also gain the trust and respect of the people of his kingdom, and show his enemies that he is not just a talk show.
- Cast- Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Robert Pattinson, Lily-Rose Depp, Sean Harris, Ben Mendelsohn, Andrew Havill
- Director- David Michôd
- Release Date- 11 October 2019
- IMDb- 7.3/10
- Where to Watch- Netflix
25. Apocalypse Now
The setting of the movie has changed from 19th century Congo to the Vietnam War, as it is based on the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
During the Vietnam War, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, who belongs to the Army Special Forces, has apparently gone rogue and insane and is fighting a guerrilla war against NVA and PLAF forces without even taking permission from his higher-up officers or commanders. He currently commands American and Montagnard troops under his army.
Captain Benjamin L. Willard is called to I Field Force headquarters and is given very clear orders to terminate Kurtz’s command, and it should be treated as an urgent matter. The film follows the journey of Willian through hardships and a tough environment as he keeps moving forward to fulfill his important mission to eliminate Kurtz and bring back stability.
- Cast- Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Larry Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford
- Director- Francis Ford Coppola
- Release Date- August 15, 1979
- IMDb- 8.5/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
Also Read: Apocalypse Now Ending Explained: The Horrifying Conclusion
26. Downfall
The movie takes place in 1942, where on November 12, at Hitler’s Lair in East Prussia. Hitler invited a few young women to interview for the position of his personal secretary them. Traudl Junge got selected. Candice s overjoyed after hearing the news. About two and a half years later, the Red Army has drawn German forces and also has surrounded Berlin.
On Hitler’s birthday, the Red Army begins shelling the city center of Berlin. The movie story is about Adolf Hitler, who refused to leave the battlefield and run away. His final secretary, Junge, depicts the tale of his life when Nazis are on the verge of defeating fbyBerlin’s forces and portray his final days in his bunker at the end of World War II.
- Cast- Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Alexander Held, Matthias Habich, Thomas Kretschmann
- Director- Oliver Hirschbiege
- Release Date- 8April2005
- IMDb- 8.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
27. Grave of the Fireflies
In June 1945, a group of American Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombarded and mostly destroyed Kobe. Even though Seita and Setsuko are able to survive the shelling, their mother gets badly injured and later dies. Seita tries to hide the fact about their mother’s death from Setsuko in order to keep her happy, but she eventually finds out about it.
Grave of the Flies shows us the journey of struggle and challenges that the two war orphans had to face, who just want to live a normal life, just like other kids of their age. This film has been giving tanking as one of the greatest war films of all time and is considered major work of Japanese animation.
- Cast- Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi
- Director- Isao Takahata
- Release Date- 16 April 1988
- IMDb- 8.5/10
- Where to Watch- Vudu
Also Read: 50 Anime Movies Like Grave Of The Fireflies To Watch
28. The Post
The story is about Katherine Graham, who has been the owner and publisher of The Washington Post for 8 years since the death of its former publisher and owner, who were his husband and father. She has very high hopes that she will be able to financially stabilize the post by taking it on the stock market.
One day, somehow, she is able to get over 4,000 pages worth of highly classified documents that show the dark side of the government and military and their participation in the Vietnam War and French Indochina back to the 1940s. Now she must find a way to publish all the documents and articles, but as they are related to govt. It won’t be an easy task.
- Cast- Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys
- Director- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date- December 22, 2017
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
29. Saving Private Ryan
On June 6, 1944, the US Army landed at Omaha beach as part of the Normandy Invasion and incurred many losses against the mortar and artillery. Captain John H. Miller takes charge of a surviving group and leads a successful infiltration to secure victory. The US Department of War received information that three of four-brother died during the battle.
Only James Ryan is alive, but he is still missing. General of the Army George C. Marshall orders that Ryan should be found and sent to his family, as the family has already lost three of their children. Miller is given the task of recovering Ryan, and after assembling a team, they set on a mission to find the whereabouts of Ryan and take him back with him.
- Cast- Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
- Director- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date- July 24, 1998
- IMDb- 8.6/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
Also Read: 10 Movies To Watch If You Love ‘Saving Private Ryan’: OtakuKart Recommends
30. Unbroken
Louis” Louie” Zamperini is an Olympics runner who set a new record in the final lap for a 5a,900-meter race. In his early youth, he was a very misbehaved child who used to steal money, drinks alcohol, and does smoking. His brother saw how fast Loui ran and encouraged him to become a runner. During his career, he earned the nickname “The Torrance Tornado.”
During a 1943 bombing mission against the island of Nauru, helped by Japan, Louie is flying as a bombardier. Still, his plane gets hit during the combat, and several crew members get injured, but the pilot is able to stop the plane on the runway only.
With the surviving crew, Louie goes on a search-and-rescue mission with an old plan, but this time, the aircraft’s one engine fails, and it crashes into the ocean. Louie and two other survivors now have to find a way to contact someone for help or find a place to sustain themselves.
- Cast- Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock
- Director- Angelina Jolie
- Release Date- December 25, 2014
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
31. Schindler’s List
The movie is about a German industrialist named Oskar Schindler. During World War II, the Nazis used to force local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Krakow Ghetto. Oskar Schindler is a German Nari party member who arrives in the city in hopes of making some fortune. He bribes the officials and acquires a factory to produce enamelware.
The Nazis used to build concentration camps to keep their prisoners, slaves, or laborers. When one such camp was built in Plaszow, around two thousand Jews were transported to Plaszow, and the est two thousand were killed in the streets. After seeing this cruelty and brutality, Schindler’s focus shifts from making money to try help and save as many people as possible.
- Cast- Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle, Embeth Davidtz
- Director- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date- December 15, 1993
- IMDb- 9/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
Also Read: Schindler’s List Ending Explained: The Classic War Drama
32. Alexander
This historical drama film is about. The movie’s theme is around 285 BC when Alexander grows up with his mother Olympias and his tutor Aristotle, where he picks interest in music, poetry, love, and military combat. The relationship between Alexander and his father, Philip II of Macedon, is destroyed when Philip marries Attalus’s niece, Eurydice.
Alexander insults his father and orders him to be banished from his palace. After some time, Philip is assassinated, and Alexander becomes the new King of Macedonia. Now the actual journey starts for Alexander as he now has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, and he needs to do whatever it takes to become a better king than his father.
- Cast- Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Hopkins
- Director- Oliver Stone
- Release Date- 24 November 2004
- IMDb- 5.6/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
33. Land of Mine
The movies start after the end of World War II in Europe. In May 1945, the Wehrmacht occupiers were made prisoners of war. A group of young German prisoners is handed over to the commanding officer of Rasmussen, Captain Ebbe Jensen, and they all were sent to the West coast, where they are given training on how to use their bare hands to find and remove landmines that the Germans had buried in the sand.
The film is inspired by real-life events, and it is estimated that more than 2,000 soldiers, under the command of German officers, removed mines. During the process, 189 lost their lives, 165 were severely injured, and 167 were lightly wounded. The movie has shown us one of the horrors and the aftermath of a bloody war.
- Cast- Roland Møller, Mikkel Følsgaard
- Director- Martin Zandvliet
- Release Date- 3 December 2015
- IMDb- 7.8/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
34. Hotel Rwanda
In April 1984, tensions between the government were controlled by Hutu and Tutsi rebels, leading to genocide in Rwanda, where corruption is bribery was common daily thing. The manager of Hotel des Mille Collines, Paul Rusesabagina, is Hutu, but his wife, Tatiana, is Tutsu. Their marriage is also a source of friction with Hutu extremists.
After the death of the president, a Hutu, Paul, and his family started to see the early stages of genocide as they saw their neighbors getting killed. After civil war erupts, he is threatened by a Rwandan Army Captain, but Paul Is able to negotiate and bring his family to the hotel. After this, slowly and gradually, more and more refugees started coming into the hotel to hide and take shelter.
- Cast- Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte
- Director- Terry George
- Release Date- 22 December 2004
- IMDb- 8.1/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
Also Read: Is Hotel Rwanda Based On True Story?
35. The Patriot
In 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, Captain Benjamin Martin, a veteran of the French and Indian War and alone father of seven children, is called to vote in the South Carolina General Assembly on a levy supporting the Continental Army, but he refuses. Still, nonetheless, the vote is passed, and Benjamin’s eldest son Gabriel is forced to join the army.
After two years, the war is over now, and an injured Gabriel returns home. Martin takes good care of him, but British Dragoons arrive there and try to arrest Gabriel with the intention of hanging him as a spy.
When Thomas tries to oppose them, he is shot and killed by Tavington, and the soldiers even burn down their houses. Seeing all this made Benjamin so much angry and enraged that he decided to take revenge and destroy the British military.
- Cast- Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper, Tchéky Karyo, René Auberjonois, Tom Wilkinson
- Director-Roland Emmerich
- Release Date- June 30, 2000
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
36. The Water Diviner
The film is loosely based on the book of the same name, which is written by Andrew Anastasios and Dr. Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios. Just after World War I ended, the protagonist Joshua Connor is an Australian farmer and water diviner. His three sons, Arthur, Edward, and Henry, were serving under the ANZAC four years ago and are presumed dead.
In the grief of his son’s death, his wife Eliza commits suicide. Joshua now decides that he will bring back the bodies of their sons and bury them with their mother. His journey begins as he takes the first step and travels to Turkey to start investigating his sons, but his journey wouldn’t be an easy one.
- Cast- Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Yılmaz Erdoğan, Cem Yılmaz, Jai Courtney, Ryan Corr, James Fraser, Ben O’Toole, Isabel Lucas
- Director- Russell Crowe
- Release Date- 24 April 2015
- IMDb- 7/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
37. The Keeper
In 1945, Bert Trautmann, a German paratrooper, is captured while fighting in the forests near Kleve. He and his comrades are transferred to a British POW Camp and are kept under strict conditions and made to work to repair the damage caused by their country.
A local tradesman and manager of the non-league side St Helens Town, Jack Friar, sees Trautmann keeping goal against other POWs during a trip to deliver treats to the camp commander. Jack then decides to bribe the commander to allow Trautmann to go out of the camp, and he then recruits him as a goalkeeper to play with them. This was the turning point of his life which wrote a new course the path for him to go.
- Cast- David Kross, Freya Mavor
- Director- Marcus H. Rosenmüller
- Release Date- 5 April 2019
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video
38. The Great Raid
In 1945, American forces were closing in on the Philippines, which was currently under Japan’s control. They have kept around 500 American prisoners who had survived the Bataan Death March in a POW camp at Cabanatuan. They all are subjected to brutal torture and summary execution, as the Japanese code of conduct views surrender as a disgrace.
The 6th Ranger Battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Mucci is ordered to save all the POWs at the Cabanatuan prison camp before they are massacred by the Japanese. Throughout the film, we are shown the efforts and struggles of the Rangers in saving those prisoners of war.
- Cast- Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Marton Csokas, Joseph Fiennes
- Director- John Dahl
- Release Date- August 12, 2005
- IMDb- 6.6/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu
39. The RailwayMan
During the Second World War, a British officer named Eric Lomax was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and sent to a Japanese POW camp. Lomax is tortured very brutally because he builds a radio receiver out of spare parts. They think that he is a spy and is using the radio to send information about their forces to his country. Eventually, they all are rescued by the British Army.
Thirty years have passed, and Lomax is still suffering from the psychological trauma from his past memories of wartime. One day, his best friend and ex-POW Finlay brings some evidence about the person who had tortured them back in the day. After hearing this information, Lomax decides to go and meet him face-to-face in an attempt to let go of a lifetime of bitterness and hate.
- Cast- Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada
- Director- Jonathan Teplitzky
- Release Date- 26 December 2013
- IMDb- 7.1/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
40. Anthropoid
In December 1941, Germany nearly occupied Europe. From the Czechoslovak exile government, two agents, Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis had just landed in their occupied country. But Jozef got injured after crashing through a tree while landing. Both men set out to search for their contact in the resistance movement.
They are discovered by fake resistance fighters who are actually traitors, and they barely manage to escape from them. After some time, they were able to meet other resistance members, and then they revealed that they were on a secret mission named “Operation Anthropoid,” the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the main person responsible for the Final Solution. Jozef and Jan now have to find a way to complete their mission which they hope will change the face of Europe.
- Cast- Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan, Charlotte Le Bon, Anna Geislerová, Harry Lloyd, Toby Jones
- Director- Sean Ellis
- Release Date- 9 September 2016
- IMDb- 7.2/10
- Where to Watch- Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
Also read:50 Best Movies To Watch on Shudder
