The 50 greatest war films of all time

Fall in for TONY's list of mighty military movies.

By David Fear, Joshua Rothkopf and Keith Uhlich Thu May 26 2011

War films: Click to the next image to see our 50 greatest war films of all time
War films: Inglourious Basterds (2009)
War films: Ride with the Devil (1999)
War films: Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
War films: Hell in the Pacific (1968)
War films: In Which We Serve (1942)
War films: Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
War films: Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
War films: The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
War films: The Great Escape (1963)
War films: The Sun (2005)

War films: Click to the next image to see our 50 greatest war films of all time

What better way to honor the sacrifice of Memorial Day than with a ranked list of cinematic greatness? TONY Film has slogged through its own basic training to arrive at the 50 ultimate war movies—and not merely the ones with the biggest battle scenes (though expect plenty of ammo). Rather, here are the most profound statements, pointed and patriotic alike, on the distinctly human condition of fighting. We offer the list to you, our readers, along with our sharpest salute. Why not put on your war face and sound off, in the comments section below?

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Quentin Tarantino makes the WWII film his own: violent, verbose and endlessly entertaining. There's plenty of bloodshed, but this gloriously demented pulp fiction is more about the destructive power of words. In QT's universe, the right turn of phrase—especially when tripping from the malevolently multilingual tongue of Nazi commandant Hans Landa—can kill both body and spirit.—Keith Uhlich

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Ride with the Devil (1999)

You wouldn't expect anything less complex from director Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain), whose oblique take on the Civil War—specifically guerrilla fighting in Missouri—thrilled critics and mystified crowds. A pre-Spidey Tobey Maguire anchors the movie in sympathy, while Jeffrey Wright electrifies as a liberated slave.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Gregory Peck had already arrived as a magnetic onscreen presence by the time this minutely detailed WWII Air Force drama gave him his most ambitious role to date, as a stern disciplinarian whose leadership transforms a bomber unit into a well-oiled machine. The ultimate praise: The movie was required viewing at military-service academies for decades—Joshua Rothkopf

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Hell in the Pacific (1968)

Two soldiers—one American, the other Japanese—are marooned on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean during the height of WWII and must work together to survive. Director John Boorman crafts a potent existential parable out of their plight (Jean-Paul Sartre would be proud) while also allowing the great Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune to rage with crowd-pleasing gusto.—Keith Uhlich

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In Which We Serve (1942)

Let's give it up for wit-of-all-trades Nol Coward, who wrote, codirected (with David Lean), starred in and even composed the score for this veddy British WWII naval tale, about a shipwrecked crew and their valiant efforts to carry on with stiff upper lips.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

John Wayne was born to the swagger of a certain kind of war film, neither especially negative nor devoid of a soldier's vulnerability. This celebratory recreation of the title's WWII Allied triumph accommodates plenty of heart-thumping jingoism but also the fatalism of sniper fire.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Ballad of a Soldier (1959)

A delicate Russian-made tribute to that nation's staggering sacrifice during WWII, Grigori Chukhrai's drama concerns a teenage infantryman's journey back home for a six-day break, a reward for taking out two German tanks. He marvels at the rape of the land—and also connects with a beautiful girl. It's a film about the value of the fight.—Joshua Rothkopf

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The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

The verdict is still out what could have been the full edit of this Civil War picture, which was drastically cut to under 70 minutes after poor test screenings. Given the talent of the director—John Huston, whose next film was The African Queen—we're inclined to believe he was onto something special with Stephen Crane's classic. Enough of Huston's noirish vision remains.—Joshua Rothkopf

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The Great Escape (1963)

Made at the peak of Hollywood's studio system and a flawless example of robust mainstream entertainment, John Sturgess's protoblockbuster turned Steve McQueen into a marquee idol—he gobbles up the lens even before he jumps the barbed-wire fence of his WWII POW camp on a motorcycle. Amazingly, the story is a real-life one.—Joshua Rothkopf

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The Sun (2005)

In the final days of WWII, twitchy Japanese Emperor Hirohito (Issei Ogata in a spectacularly oddball performance) holes himself up in an underground bunker while Douglas MacArthur and his troops inch closer to the palace. Russian director Alexander Sokurov's haunting character study is a dreamy and disquieting look at an enigmatic man sliding from power.—Keith Uhlich

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Comments & ratings

(25 ratings)

Loved it. Just one thing. as a veteran of Iraq i got a few words for hurt locker, $#%& that $#!$ing movie. remove it from the list please.

ace Sat Jun 30 2012
Rated as: 4/5
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ive seen a few internet lists claiming to have the best war movies and neither had the band of brothers series or pacific HBO series another good two part min series was rough riders pretty good war movie with tom berrenger as playing a memorable teddy Roosevelt. ironically another two part series with tom berrenger that should be on the list is Gettysburg the one where martin sheen played Robert E. Lee and yea last but not least where is Lawrence of Arabia and Gunga Din on these lists

tanner Thu Jun 28 2012
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"The Longest Day". is THE war movie. And "A Bridge Too Far". is THE runnerup. This is not a very good list IMHO

Jodene Perrin Tue Jun 26 2012
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Enemy at the gates?

Scott Sun Jun 24 2012
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Very poor list! The authors have no idea of what constitutes a Great war movie. Dirty Dozen a "Great" war movie? What a joke! (Ever hear of Hunt for Red October?). There are a number of others mentioned in comments below. The authors should be pursuing other occupations....

Robert Ramon Mon Jun 18 2012
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Boooooo!!!! There is some stupid stuff on the internet and this list just made my worst 50 list

Obama Sun Jun 17 2012
Rated as: 1/5
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Whoever wrote this sucks. You have no idea what a good war movie is and you should kill yourself

Greg Sun Jun 17 2012
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Weak list!! Where's "The Band of brothers" , "the longest day", "We were Soldiers", " Enemy at the gates", " Behind the enemy lines"??? Defntly weak list SMH

Wizmili Sat Jun 16 2012
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Battle of Britain

David Sat Jun 9 2012
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Clearly, this author's point is that a good movie is about making you think a lot about some message portrayed through artistic style. Sorry, bud, but a good war movie is made from a good, entertaining storyline, characters that you get attached to and root for, and some nail-biting action sequences. Your "message movie" list puts me to sleep. Top 5 on my list are: 1. The Great Escape, 2. In Harm's Way, 3. Run Silent, Run Deep, 4. Midway, and 5. The Dirty Dozen. Best mini-series goes to Band of Brothers, and for tv., Tour of Duty.

Joe Sun Jun 3 2012
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