War is hell, and it’s simply a reality of the world we live in. From the earliest days of cinema, filmmakers have explored violent conflict from all kinds of angles with different intentions. On screen, depictions of war can serve as cautionary tales, tributes to those who served, pure spectacle—or some combination of all of these. The best of these films remain relevant, studied, rewatched, and sometimes controversial.
Even lesser war movies can serve as respectable entertainment, even as history lessons, but the following intends to single out and praise exceptional motion pictures that explore history and humanity to unforgettable effect. These are all among the greatest war movies ever made, each pretty much perfect from beginning to end.
Key Insights
- War Films: They often depict the harsh realities of conflict and its impact on humanity.
- Exceptional Movies: The selected films are recognized for their artistic merit and storytelling.
- Cultural Relevance: These films continue to resonate with audiences and provoke discussions about war.
- Historical Context: Many films serve as both entertainment and educational tools regarding past conflicts.
13
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Mired in controversy even before it was released, and artistically resplendent all-around, director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal‘s follow-up to Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker (also one of the greatest of all war films), Zero Dark Thirty is a gripping, lengthy and intensely personal examination of the manhunt for Osama bin Laden. In the role that garnered her first Academy Award nod, Jessica Chastain plays CIA analyst Maya, a composite character based on multiple women who were largely responsible for tracking down the leader of Al-Qaeda.
Over two hours of absorbing procedural leads up to a breathless, muscular, intensely realistic reenactment of the successful Navy SEAL mission that took out the most wanted man in the world in May 2011. It’s important to note Zero Dark Thirty has always been highly controversial for its depiction of torture. It’s also been widely acclaimed and even favorably compared to Bigelow’s much-lauded Hurt Locker; which pair to form an uncommonly psychological double bill of the war genre.
12
‘Come and See’ (1985)
Directed by Elem Klimov
Image via Sovexportfilm
From its poetic early stretches to a finale that’s perhaps the most notoriously intense and disturbing in all of film, Elem Klimov‘s Come and See sees the Nazi occupation of Belarus through the eyes of teen Florya (Aleksey Kravchenko, in world film’s most effective loss-of-innocence performance). This darkest of all coming-of-age movies follows the boy as he recesses from a naïve, wide-eyed patriot who dreams of the resistance to a shell of a young man, all within a matter of hours.
In the final scenes of Come and See, the Nazis burn a packed, locked church to the ground. It isn’t seen so much as heard. It’s a scene that probably should be accompanied by a surgeon general’s warning. That’s not to in any way not recommend the movie; it’s a European cinema landmark that every cinephile should watch once, if only once. Sometimes it’s the movies that remind us of what evil looks like and is capable of. Come and See becomes the rarest of things: an exploration of the ugliest parts of humanity that is breathtakingly beautiful in its artistry.
11
‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ (1946)
Directed by William Wyler
An ensemble cast including Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo , and perhaps most notably non-actor and real-life vet Harold Russell, former U.S. Army operative William Wyler‘s critically revered box-office hit (this was the most-attended film in North America post-Gone With the Wind) explores the lives of three U.S. servicemen of varying ranks returning to their homes of varying social stature. This is an essential American drama, and one of the first movies about the social aftermath of the Second Great War.
The ironic titleThe Best Years of Our Lives is frankly about as captivating as the film itself. This is a picture that explored the intergenerational cost of war in a way that was ahead of its time. It’s still a highly potent work enlivened by terrific performances. Along with the more escapist and purely entertaining<em>C Casablanca</em>, thisrepresents the greatest of the Greatest Generation.
10
‘Black Hawk Down’ (2001)
Directed by Ridley Scott
