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: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
War films: Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
War films: Forbidden Games (1952)
War films: Air Force (1943)
War films: Ivan's Childhood (1962)
War films: Battleground (1949)
War films: Platoon (1986)
War films: Kanal (1957)
War films: Patton (1970)
War films: Attack (1956)

War films: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

To audience members in love with the sea, this movie, taken from three of Patrick O'Brian's popular Napoleonic War novels, will rank much higher. At its heart is the Kirk-Spock relationship between Russell Crowe's fearless captain and Paul Bettany's thoughtful doctor. The naval battles are an action fan's wet dream.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Taking Tom Cruise seriously has always been a dicey proposition. But you can't fault him for this open-throated effort, portraying real-life Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, who returned home to Long Island paralyzed from the chest down yet unencumbered mentally and ready to rage. Only three years after Top Gun, here was a real actor.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Forbidden Games (1952)

This French heartbreaker popularized a storyline that would appear forever in war films: the strength of children to find a way through the muck. An orphaned five-year-old girl is befriended by a boy who helps her bury her dog. They tend to other dead animals in their small, makeshift cemetery, a poetic image that still wrecks.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Air Force (1943)

A master of all genres, Howard Hawks tried his hand at everything from screwball zaniness (Bringing Up Baby) to alien terror (ghost-directing The Thing from Another World). When he made his war picture, he embraced the patriotism of the moment, but brought along William Faulkner to pen a killer deathbed speech.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Andrei Tarkovsky's devastating debut follows a vengeful Russian boy who takes on reconnaissance missions for the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Idyllic flashbacks of Ivan's early years are deftly interwoven with his stark adventures on the front. It's impossible to be unmoved by this unsparing depiction of lost innocence.—Keith Uhlich

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Battleground (1949)

If war movies have become sophisticated, critical responses to the illusion of the gung-ho supersoldier, we have this Hollywood drama to thank. Taking WWII's pivotal Battle of the Bulge as its subject, director William Wellman's chronicle found room for then-bold notes of uncertainty and fear—even a hint of desertion.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Platoon (1986)

Much of the cult of Oliver Stone rests upon this film, an impassioned and corrective countermyth to the official version of the Vietnam War. Released at a moment when America was finally ready to reexamine its involvement, Stone's grimy drama—marked by complex motivations among the troops—wrung an emotional catharsis from Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings."—Joshua Rothkopf

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Kanal (1957)

No proper war-movie list would be complete without an entry from the revered Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, who produced a masterful trilogy that included A Generation (1955) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958), along with this Cannes prize-winner. It's the first film to (brutally) portray the sewer-based Warsaw Uprising against the the Nazis.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Patton (1970)

Famously, this was Richard Nixon's favorite film, a potent counterbalance to the voices of the protesters and a manly peptalk of righteousness. (It wasn't enough to help the President with his problems.) George C. Scott is magnificent in the title role, railing iconically against "Hun bastards" in his opening monologue before a huge American flag.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Attack (1956)

"Not every gun is pointed at the enemy!" read a title card in the trailer, and there was truth in advertising: Robert Aldrich's WWII psychodrama concerns the breakdown of order between a captain losing his nerve (Eddie Albert) and a mouthy lieutenant (Jack Palance) rising to the occasion. The military refused to cooperate with the production, yet the low-budget filmmakers prevailed.—Joshua Rothkopf

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50–41
40–31
30–21
20–11
10–1

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Comments & ratings

(25 ratings)

This really has to be the worst list ive ever seen in my life..... Why on earth isnt saving private ryan on there, it surely should be in the top 10 if not at number 1!!!! I think full metal jacket which is third on your list is a great film but I dont think I could find anybody on this planet apart from the imbecile that created this list that would say that film is better than saving private ryan. Once again WORST LIST EVER!

james About 18 hours ago
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I find strange not to see a classic war film like "Glory" in this list. I guess is not as moving or important as Starship Troopers. LOL

Mimo About 3 days ago
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Wtf no saving private Ryan what a joke for a list

Kyle About 4 days ago
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It is easy to condemn “fascist impulses”, but it isn’t so easy to portray war as it is really is--a natural development of human behavior that has been with us since we displaced the Neaderthals. I find such critiques of war like “Troopers” to be simple regurgitations of beliefs that are ignorant of history. They also are hypocritical. Th director would not have been able to make such a film if not for the sacrifices men willing to fight and die so we may have the freedom to make films like “Starship Troopers”. While I do agree that glorifying war and its accoutrements is repugnant we also must be aware that our freedoms and rights were earned on the field of strife, not in the peaceful fields of Elysium. Give me nuanced depictions of war like “Letters from Iwo Jima” any day over pseudo-intellectual bilge like “Starship Troopers”.

ryan About 5 days ago
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The Longest Day, Breaker Morant, In Harm's Way, The Battle of Britain Red Badge of Courage. All better than Starship Troopers Also Enemy at the Gates,

Joe O'Donnell About 9 days ago
Rated as: 3/5
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I Think Saving Privet Ryan Should be in the top 10 if not #1

Dylan About 12 days ago
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I agree w/ several of the comments below. To put Starship Trooper even on this list over the Victors, They Came To Cordura, For Whom the Bells Toll, Sand Pebbles, 55 Days in Peking, Seven Samari, the Big Parade, Gettysburg, and probably at least 50 more.

Gunnar W About 13 days ago
Rated as: 2/5
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This list is bonkers. Hurt Locker and Star Ship Trooper in the Top 10 but no Lawrence of Arabia, Schindlers List, Bridge Too Far, We Were Soldiers, Full Matal Jacket, Letters from Iwo Jima, Downfall? Had the author been drinking or is this meant to be controversial? And I think Twelve O'cloch High Warrants a place in the top 10.

Jonathan Bywater Wed May 1
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Is Schindler's list not considered a war film? Along that same line, how bout The Counterfeiters?

Ronnie D. Mon Apr 29
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Most of the list was accurate but alot of listed "greatest movies" were not so great. Starship troopers? Seriously? Why happened to wind talkers, we were soldiers, the patriot, brave heart ?

Sean Army Veteran Sun Apr 28
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