Being somewhat older than most folks here and a film buff for all those years, I figured a thread on Favorite War Films would do. There are many fine war films that have never been seen by those born past 1970, so I have put as many as I could remember. Just cut & paste the film's title into IMDb search mode and click away. IMDb is at http://us.imdb.com/
There are so many genres of films, television series and mini-series about warfare: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, The War Between the States, Indian Wars, Pre-World War One, World War One, Pre-WW2, World War Two (Made 1939 - 1946 & Made After 1946), Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, Gulf Wars, The Homefront, War Bios, Service Comedies and Foreign Wars...
Here are my favorites:
Revolutionary War:
1. The Patriot (2000)
2. Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
3. The Scarlet Coat (1955)
4. The Devil's Disciple (1959)
5. Revolution (1985)
War of 1812:
The President's Lady (1953) & The Buccaneer (1958) were the only two I could recall and both have Chuck Heston as General Andy Jackson.
Mexican War:
Tom Berenger's One Man's Hero (1999) is the only one I could remember.
The War Between the States:
1. Gettysburg (1993)
2. Gone with the Wind (1939)
3. Glory (1989)
4. Rocky Mountain (1950) Great Errol Flynn film with the Rebels out west.
5. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
6. The Raid (1954) The Rebs invade the US from Canada.
7. Cold Mountain (2003)
8. Gods and Generals (2003)
9. The Red Badge of Courage (1951) John Huston directs Audie Murphy & Bill Mauldin in Stephen Crane's epic of cowardice and courage.
10. Band of Angels (1957) Surprisingly frank film on race relations.
Honorable Mention:
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Two Flags West (1950)
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Virginia City (1940)
The Siege at Red River (1954)
Alvarez Kelly (1966)
Escape from Fort Bravo (1954)
Indian Wars:
1. Tie between Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) & Rio Grande (1950) as these were John Ford's triple tribulate to the US Calvary.
2. Searchers, The (1956)
3. "Geronimo" (1993) (TV)
4. Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
Honorable Mention:
They Died with Their Boots On (1942)
Two Rode Together (1961)
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Major Dundee (1965)
Apache (1954)
The Unforgiven (1960)
Red Sun (1972) Quirky film of Jap warrior in old west.
Pre-World War One:
1. Wind and the Lion, The (1975)
2. The Wild Bunch (1969)
3. Professionals, The (1966)
4. "Rough Riders" (1997) (TV)
5. 55 Days at Peking (1963)
6. They Came to Cordura (1959)
World War One:
1. Sergeant York (1941)
2. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
3. Dawn Patrol, The (1938)
4. African Queen, The (1951)
5. Hell Below (1933) Robert Montgomery & Walter Huston - Surprisingly good World War I Submarine yarn.
6. Blue Max, The (1966)
7. Paths of Glory (1957)
8. What Price Glory (1952)
Honorable Mention:
Lost Patrol, The (1934)
Shout at the Devil (1976)
Pre-WW2:
The Sand Pebbles (1966) only fit here.
World War Two:
Made 1939 - 1946:
First, let me say if there was ever a mini series made about the Doolittle Raid from films made during WW2, it should be Destination Tokyo (1943), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and The Purple Heart (1944) edited together. I put them in a place of honor all by themselves
.
1. They Were Expendable (1945)
2. Guadalcanal Diary (1943)
3. Bataan (1943)
4. In Which We Serve (1942)
5. Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
6. Uncertain Glory (1944) Errol Flynn as crook who becomes war hero.
7. Battle of Midway, The (1942) John Ford Documentry - The Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942, filmed as it happened.
8. Gung Ho! (1943)
9. Passage to Marseille (1944) A Bogart film that showed there may have been heroic Frenchmen afterall.
10. Flying Tigers (1942)
Honorable Mention:
Back to Bataan (1945)
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
Dive Bomber (1941) Errol Flynn & Fred MacMurray in a film that has stunning color footage of Naval Aviation just before the war.
Desperate Journey (1942) Errol Flynn & Ronald Reagan as downed RAF flyers fighting Nazis.
Northern Pursuit (1943) Mounty Errol Flynn hunts Nazis.
Edge of Darkness (1943) Errol Flynn in Norway.
A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Immortal Sergeant (1943)
Song of Russia (1943)
Back to Bataan (1945)
Made 1947 - 1967:
1. Twelve O'Clock High (1949) Greg Peck's 2nd best role as Brig. Gen. Frank Savage.
2. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
2. Battleground (1949) The Band of Brothers' Glider Battalion
4. Casablanca (1942)
5. Battle Cry (1955) Almost as good as Sands of Iwo Jima
6. Above and Beyond (1952) Robert Taylor as Col. Paul W. Tibbets, 509th Composite Group CO (pilot of Enola Gay)
7. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
8. The Train (1964) Burt Lancaster tries to keep a train of great art from the Nazis.
9. Go for Broke! (1951) Van Johnson & the story of Japanese-American soldiers who fought in Europe during World War II.
10. Command Decision (1948)
11. Darby's Rangers (1958)
12. Caine Mutiny, The (1954)
13. Five Fingers (1952) Superb Spy flic with James Mason as Ulysses Diello (Code Name: Cicero) who almost broke the D-Day secret to the Nazis.
14. Stalag 17 (1953)
15. From Here to Eternity (1953)
16. The Battle of San Pietro (1945) John Huston's story of the 36th 'Texas' Infantry Division in the fight for a small Italian village. By far the best World War Two documentry ever made.
17. 36 Hours (1965)
18. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
19. Guns of Navarone, The (1961)
20. To Have and Have Not (1944) Bogart meet Bacall and fights with French Nazis. What else do you need?
21. Homecoming (1948)
22. In Harm's Way (1965)
23. Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
24. Attack (1956)
25. Force of Arms (1951)
26. Last Blitzkrieg, The (1959) Very good film with Van Johnson leading a German commando team operating behind American lines during the Battle of the Bulge
27. The Enemy Below (1957)
28. Sahara (1943)
29. Dunkirk (1958)
30. Run Silent Run Deep (1958)
31. Behold a Pale Horse (1964) Greg Peck in Spanish Civil War.
32. The Desert Rats (1953)
33. D-Day the Sixth of June (1956)
34. Gallant Hours, The (1960)
35. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
36. The Great Escape (1963)
37. The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)
38. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
39. Hong Kong (1952)
40. Beach Red (1967)
41. The Longest Day (1962)
42. The Wings of Eagles (1957)
43. Flying Leathernecks (1951)
44. Sea Chase, The (1955)
45. Operation Pacific (1951)
46. Battle of the Bulge (1965)
47. Eight Iron Men (1952)
48. Never So Few (1959)
49. Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) Greg Peck, Angie Dickenson & Tony Curtis in drama of WW2 soldiers' mental problems.
50. American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)
51. Run Silent Run Deep (1958)
52. Kings Go Forth (1958)
53. Betrayed (1954)
54. A Walk in the Sun (1945)
55. Wing and a Prayer (1944)
56. Up Periscope (1959)
57. Tobruk (1967)
58. Notorious (1946)
59. Crash Dive (1943)
60. Fighter Squadron (1948)
Made 1968-Date:
1. Band of Brothers (TV) mini
2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
3. "Winds of War, The" (1983) (mini) & "War and Remembrance" (1988) (mini)
4. Schindler's List (1993)
5. Tora, Tora, Tora (1970)
6. The Eagle Has Landed (1976) Michael Cain and Robert Duvall
7. Where Eagles Dare (1968) Richard Burton & Clint Eastwood
8. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
9. The Big Red One (1980)
10. The Devil's Brigade (1968)
11. Anzio (1968)
12. Boot, Das (1981)
13. Hornet's Nest (1970)
14. Raid on Rommel (1971)
15. Lion of the Desert (1980)
16. Counterpoint (1968) Chuck Heston - Famous orchestra conductor is captured by the Germans in WW2, is forced to put on private concerts for the Nazi generals.
17. Midway (1976)
18. Hell in the Pacific (1968)
On the Homefront:
1. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
2. Great Santini, The (1979) Robert Duvall as Bull "Make way for a Fighter Pilot" Meechum around the Cuban Missile Crisis.
3.Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The (1956) One of Greg Peck's best roles as Tom Rath who finds the memories of his WW2 service go hand in hand with this slice of life in the 1950s.
4. Since You Went Away (1944)
5. Islands in the Stream (1977)
6. Decoration Day (1990) (TV)
7. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Honorable Mention:
Apartment for Peggy (1948)
Taps (1981)
Mr. Lucky (1943)
Tank (1984)
Korean War:
1. Pork Chop Hill (1959) Greg Peck's best war film as Lt. Joe Clemons.
2. Hunters, The (1958) Robert Mitchum as "The Ice Man" fighter pilot Major Cleve Saville
3. Battle Circus (1953) Better than MASH.
4. Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1955)
5. Battle Hymn (1957)
6. Glory Brigade, The (1953) Victor Mature & Lee Marvin as the infamous Corporal Bowman of M*A*S*H announcment fame.
7. Men of the Fighting Lady (1954)
Hoinorable Mention:
Fix Baynets (1951)
Submarine Command (1952)
This Is Korea! (1951) John Ford Documentry
Battle Zone (1952)
One Minute to Zero (1952)
MASH (1970)
Service Comedies:
1. I Was a Male War Bride (1949) That title plus Cary Grant 'in drag' makes this a must see.
2. Hallelujah Trail, The (1965) The Very Best Indian War Comedy ever made with Burt Lancaster as Col. Thaddeus Gearhart, Lee Remick as Temperance Leaguer Cora Templeton Massingale and Brian Keith as that "Good Republican" whiskey seller Frank Wallingham. Added delights are Jim Hutton's laid back Capt. Paul Slater and Martin Landau masterful comic turn as Chief Walks-Stooped-Over.
3. Operation Petticoat (1959)
4. Americanization of Emily, The (1964)
5. Comrade X (1940) Clark Gable and the most beautiful woman ever in film, Hedy Lamarr, star in this view of Stalin's Russia just after his pact with Hitler. The tank chase is a special effects wonder in this pre-computer era.
6. Mister Roberts (1955)
7. To Be or Not to Be (1942) Jack Benny takes on the Nazis.
8. Cabaret (1972)
Honorable Mention:
The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)
The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961)
Operation Mad Ball (1957)
Up Front (1951) & Back at the Front (1952) Based on Bill Mauldin's famed W.W.II cartoons: Lowbrow G.I.s Willie and Joe.
Private War of Major Benson, The (1955)
Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966)
Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965)
Vietnam War:
I dismiss Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986) & Casualties of War (1989) as the Hollywood Left's version of the war. However I rank Robert Duvall acting in Acrocofshinola the best thing in it...
1. Green Berets, The (1968)
2. Go Tell the Spartans (1978) Burt Lancaster & Craig Wasson as American military advisors in Vietnam prior to the major U.S. involvement.
3. The Boys in Company C (1978)
4. A Rumour of War (1980)
5. Fly Away Home (1981) (TV)
6. The Quiet American (1958) - I like Audie Murphy's version much better than 2002 version, but the Michael Caine film is more faithful to the book.
7. Lost Command (1966) Tony Quinn leads French Foreign Legion Paras from IndoChina to Algeria.
Cold War:
1. Seven Days in May (1964)
2. On the Beach (1959) Greg Peck as. Cmdr. Dwight Lionel Towers, the last Captain of the USS Sawfish.
3. Fail-Safe (1964)
4. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
5. A Gathering of Eagles (1963) Excellent Rock Hudson-Rod Taylor story on the B-52s of Strategic Air Command
6. Ice Station Zebra (1968)
7. Jet Pilot (1957)
8. The Dogs of War (1981)
9. Spy Who Came In from the Cold, The (1965) Richard Burton
10. North by Northwest (1959)
Honorable Mentions:
Blood Alley (1955)
Big Jim McLain (1952)
Satan Never Sleeps (1962)
Sergeant Ryker (1968)
The Chairman (1969)
Telefon (1977)
Soldier of Fortune (1955)
War Bios:
MacArthur (1977) Greg Peck as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Stalin (1992) (TV) Robert Duvall as Josef Stalin
"Ike - The War years" (1979) (mini) Robert Duvall as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004) (TV) Tom Selleck delivers a strong performance as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during the months and days leading up to the 1944 D-Day invasion, when, as Supreme Allied Commander, he oversaw the historic assault.
Patton (1970) & Last Days of Patton, The (1986) (TV) George C. Scott as Old Blood & Guts and Karl Malden as Gen. Omar Bradley
"Mussolini: The Untold Story" (1985) (mini) As a liberal, Scott decided to be fair, so he played Benito Mussolini.
The Desert Fox (1951) James Mason as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
To Hell and Back (1955) Audie Murphey's Bio.
Foreign Wars:
Khartoum (1966) Chuck heston as. Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) Greg Peck as Capt. Horatio Hornblower
Zulu (1964)
You Can't Win 'Em All (1970) Tony Curtis & Charlie Bronson join a band of Turkish mercenaries in 1922.
Wild Geese, The (1978) Great Mecernary film with Richard Burton as Col. Allen Faulkner
Dark of the Sun (1968) Action Mercernary yarn with Rod Taylor and Jim Brown fighting in the Congo.
The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) (TV)
Zulu Dawn (1979)
Raid on Entebbe (1977) (TV)
The Left Hand of God (1955)
Something of Value (1957) Rock Hudson & Sidney Poitier star as the Mau Mau uprisings begin in Kenya.
Guns at Batasi (1964)
Wow. Talk about a post chock-full of good information! We just received The World at War documentary on WWII and hope to watch it over the coming weeks. Seems to be highly acclaimed.