So often this important holiday is viewed as the beginning of summer and we forget the true meaning behind remembering those who have served our country and those who have perished doing so. So, to honor them we have decided to share with you a special list of our favorite films about war. These films reflect different aspects of war throughout the years and we hope if you haven't seen them you will check them out (in alphabetical order). Of course, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the brilliance of HBO's Band of Brothers and The Pacific, two essential miniseries about World War II (WWII). However, since those are series, we'll stick with these films:
Jay's Picks
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Lawrence Fishburne and Dennis Hopper
The madness of war has never been more fully realized than in Coppola's masterpiece, Apocalypse Now. The film takes place during the Vietnam era, but it really could have been any conflict since the politics and circumstance behind the war are not a driving theme. This is a story about one man's journey into the dark wastelands of the basest nature of man and how it changes him. Based on Joseph Conrad's classic novel, Heart of Darkness, Martin Sheen is Captain Willard, sent by boat deep into the Cambodian jungle to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once brilliant military mind now gone insane, establishing himself as a god among a simple tribe. Willard meets many characters along his journey and witnesses the depravity of war in all its forms before confronting the crazed colonel. Apocalypse Now has become just as famous for the notorious difficulties Coppola endured during the shoot which went nearly 15 months over schedule in the Phillipines. Watch the fantastic documentary, Hearts of Darkness to get one of the best, most frank depictions of the challenges of moviemaking, and one man's relentless dedication to completing a film he's always dreamed of making -- even if it kills him . . . which, by the way, it nearly does.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Directed by David Lean
Starring William Holden, Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa
David Lean's epic tale of misguided honor still holds up so well today. It won several Oscars the year it was released, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Alec Guinness. He stars as British officer Colonel Nicholson who, when his regiment is captured and brought to a Japanese POW camp, engages in a test of wills with the camp's superior officer, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa). Ultimately, Nicholson agrees to help Saito design and construct a great bridge, believing that it will serve as a representation of British ingenuity and resiliency in the face of oppression. But, when an Allied commando team, led by an American named Shears (William Holden), comes to blow up the bridge, Nicholson is ethically compromised when he finds himself helping the enemy instead of working to sabotage their plans. This was Lean's first huge success in the U.S. I love it especially for Guinness' performance -- his best in my opinion. The look on his face when he finally realizes the gravity of what his actions have wrought is unforgettable.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Directed by Michael Cimino
Starring Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Cazale and John Savage
No other movie captures the effect of war on men and how it fundamentally can change them and their relationships with those they return home to. The brilliance of Cimino's film is in that the scenes that take place in Vietnam are not exceptionally long. He is much more concerned in giving us a long exposition which introduces us to a group of friends, preparing for a wedding the night before they are to leave for war. Led by the group's most masculine member, Michael (Robert DeNiro), their bravado and patriotism is on display for all to see. They are proud to go and fight for their country. Much has been made of what happens to these men once they are captured by the Viet Cong and forced to participate in a disturbing game of Russian roulette against each other. It is the effect of the violence and the trauma of captivity that changes the most innocent of their group, Nick (Christopher Walken in an Oscar winning performance), into a deeply disturbed reflection of himself, unable to escape the barrel of the gun he holds to his head for money. When Michael returns home after his tour, he is forced to confront the changes in himself as well as the town he left behind.
Paths of Glory (1957)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker and Adolphe Menjou
Possibly the greatest anti-war film of all time, Paths of Glory was one of Kubrick's earlier films, and one that is often overlooked. You might be wondering, Why not Full Metal Jacket? Well, even though it is a fine movie, I prefer Paths of Glory for the daring statement it made about the irrationality of war. Kirk Douglas gives his best performance as Colonel Dax, a commander during World War I who has to defend three soldiers who refused to leave the trenches during an obvious suicide charge. This is a picture that will both move you and make you angry as you witness how far the commanders who would callously order men to their deaths go to punish men who they view as cowards because they wouldn't die for a cause they did not believe in.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns and Jeremy Davies
My last two films both came out in the same year and I couldn't choose between them because, in my mind, there have never been two movies about war that were so different in so many ways and yet had similar themes as well. Speilberg's Saving Private Ryan has become almost universally beloved and there is a good reason for that. The opening scenes which depict the landing of American troops at Normandy on D-Day are still some of the most shocking, most realistic depictions of modern warfare and carnage ever captured on celluloid. While these early moments are the most remembered of the film, its the story the comes after that is most important. A group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) must locate a young paratrooper named James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose brothers were all killed in other engagements. The irony that those in charge would risk the lives of these men in order to save the life of only one is not lost on them as they search the French countryside looking for Ryan. The biggest moral questions of Saving Private Ryan, though, are asked by the character of young Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies) whose pacifist choices teach him cruel lessons late in the picture. In war, sometimes mercy is rewarded with violence in the most tragic ways.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas and Adrien Brody
Terrence Malick returned to movie making in 1998 after a nearly 20-year hiatus. The Thin Red Line was lost in the huge shadow that was Saving Private Ryan that year, and I've always felt that was a little unfair. Sure, Ryan is deserving of any and all praise, but even though both movies take place during World War II, The Thin Red Line is different in so many ways. In fact, there really is no other war film like it. This makes it very misunderstood and many fans of linear, straight-forward plots found themselves turned off by the deeper ideas Malick's movie was shooting for. Taking place during the battle of Guadalcanal, we follow a group of marines as they struggle to take the island from the Japanese. The problem most people had with this movie was that instead of being a realistic depiction of war, it chose to take a more philosophical stance. Malick is trying to ask real questions about why men as a species fight war and kill each other. The amazing cinematography by John Toll captures the picturesque surroundings that these soldiers are enveloped by as they destroy so much around them. It is an attempt to ask how can indiscriminate violence be a part of nature's plan and how can such ugliness and beauty coexist? It is a masterpiece that is often disagreed upon, but then again, aren't most works of genius built on arguments like this?
Matt's Picks
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Directed by William Wyler
Starring Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, Frederic March, Myrna Loy, Virginia Mayo, and Teresa Wright
This film takes place more after the action of war, following three very different military men (Andrews, March, and real-life Army veteran Harold Russell, who lost both hands in an Army training accident) returning home from World War II (WWII). The story here doesn't focus so much on the action as it does the aftermath of battle and the various hardships of living through a war. It's a story that is told surprisingly well for the time period in which it was made, with bleak storylines touching on aspects such as unemployment, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- back then called "battle fatigue." The performances are all solid and even though some of the story elements do stray from the usual Hollywood glamorization, the film still holds to the trademark writing of the era (1940s). What stands out so noticeably about this film is that it is addressing issues considered taboo for its time: the way in which war can shred a man and who he used to be. For a drama that shows absolutely no battles, dying or blood, The Best Years of Our Lives is a definite essential war film.
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Ewen Bremner, Ron Eldard, and Sam Shepard
Based on a real-life October 3, 1993, seemingly routine capture mission in Somalia -- only supposed to take one hour -- which resulted in the two-day Battle of Mogadishu incident, resulting in the deaths of 19 American soldiers. The film is based on the book Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden, and follows a number of soldiers on the ground and in the air. The main protagonist is Army Rangers Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann (Hartnett), who is given control of his company right before they are sent on their mission with soldiers of Delta Force. The mission seems so routine that soldiers did not fully pack all of their equipment because they felt the mission would be fast, simple and uneventful. However, that all changes the minute an accident occurs and the soldiers are not only thrown off their timetable but Somali soldiers are alerted to their presence, leading to the crashing of two Black Hawk helicopters. What started off as a simple mission turns into a fight for survival as 100 U.S. soldiers face 1000+ Somali militia. The film not only has some great battle sequences, but the existential question of America's involvement in a war "that is not ours" is posed in a scene between Maj. Gen. William Garrison (Shepard) and Somali dissident Osman Ali Atto (George Harris). There are no politics in this film -- simply fighting to save the life of the guys with you. The film is also known for featuring veteran character actors Jeremy Piven, Kim Coates, Gregory Sporleder, Zeljko Ivanek, Glenn Morshower, and Richard Tyson, as well as then-unknown actors Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings), Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (HBO's Game of Thrones).
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland
Based on the 1965 novel by E.M. Nathanson (possibly inspired by the "Filthy Thirteen"), this film tells the WWII story of 12 convict soldiers, serving lengthy sentences and/or destined to be executed, who are tasked to infiltrate and assault a chateau in France, where there will be dozens of high-ranking German officers. If the German officers are terminated, it is expected Germany's military response to the eventual landing on D-Day will be hampered. The film follows these misfits from their assembly to their training to their suicide mission. The film took a somewhat different approach to the "war hero," showing that even those not considered as the "tried and true soldier" were heroes and just as important and valuable to defeating the Nazis as those who stormed the beaches. In the same style as a Sam Peckinpah film, The Dirty Dozen takes action in all its brutality. The protagonists are not some routine outcasts but criminals with real flaws and issues which make them every inch the anti-hero.
Glory (1989)
Directed by Edward Zwick
Starring Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, and Andre Braugher
Based on the real-life story of the Civil War's first all-black volunteer company -- the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry -- and their training and fighting for the Union army, under the leadership of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Broderick). Race was a big factor in the Civil War, with the Confederate South using the Emancipation Proclamation and President Lincoln's planned prohibition of slavery in the western states as just one of the reasons it wished for secession from the Union. This became one of the first fights for colored people for racial freedom before the famous Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The film also delves deep into what it means to be a soldier -- from the inexperienced captain (Broderick) to the former drunk (Elwes) to the bitter slave (Washington). The performances are all wonderful and the subject is something which is rarely covered in Hollywood: the Civil War.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, and Evangeline Lilly
Released in the final year of Bush Jr.'s administration, The Hurt Locker focuses on the 2003 Iraq War and a battle-tested veteran -- Sgt. First Class William James (Renner) -- of an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit and its various misadventures and missions, leading James and his team (Mackie, Geraghty) to face the unexpected horrors and hardships of war. The film deals with the usual physical threats of war, but also includes the mental and emotional threats -- such as fratricide and the addiction to war, in this case, the tension of bomb defusion. The film is somewhat all over the place -- but in a good way -- as it shows how scattered the missions are during the Iraqi occupation. Renner's and Mackie's performances are stellar and this is one of those forgotten war films (even though it won numerous Academy Awards!) which deserves more watching credibility than it usually gets.
Memphis Belle (1990)
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Sean Astin, Reed Diamond, Harry Connick Jr., David Strathairn, and John Lithgow
Based on the true story of the crew of the Memphis Belle B-17 "flying fortress" bomber during WWII, this film follows the crew who has never lost a man and is ready to embark on their 25th -- and final -- mission before they get to go home from the war. The 10 crew members are all like brothers -- they are extremely loyal to each other but also fight like siblings. Their mission is dangerous but they are determined to make it through this final mission alive and all together. While their "big brother"-type, Captain Dennis Dearborn (Modine) simply wants to "make this our best mission yet," co-pilot First Lt. Luke Sinclair (Donovan) is preoccupied with getting to shoot down some Germans and getting maximum publicity for Army publicist Lt. Col. Bruce Derringer (Lithgow) to give the war a good image. A great war-time movie that has plenty of drama, comedy and intense moments.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, and Matt Damon
Best. War. Movie. Ever! Director Steven Spielberg's epic WWII film easily raised the bar for all war movies with this one! The opening sequence of the soldiers landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy is epic in of itself -- taking up approximately 25 minutes of the film, proving that war truly is hell! The scene's bloody, gory detail earned rave reviews by real-life WWII veterans for its authenticity. However, don't think this is your father's WWII film -- like The Longest Day (which is a very good war film), with its bloodless death scenes; this is an extremely graphically-violent film. Aside from the excellent acting and action sequences, what makes this film so great are the existential motifs presented throughout the film. Screenwriter Robert Rodat (The Patriot, Thor: The Dark World) essentially took some of the greatest aspects of classic novelists such as Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut, and Norman Mailer, and injected it into this taut, emotional story. The ultimate mission of Hanks' small platoon of soldiers may seem a bit inconsequential -- and the film addresses this issue throughout -- but the importance of such a mission is proven as somewhat of a metaphor for those of us and the world these servicemen sacrificed themselves for. It is especially proven in Hanks' advice to Damon's character near the end of the film. This is my favorite war movie of all time!
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Directed by Randall Wallace
Starring Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, Barry Pepper, and Greg Kinnear
Based on the real-life story -- as told in the book We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young -- of Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson) who lead the first major battle in Vietnam against the Viet Cong in the Battle of la Drang on November 14, 1965. The film follows Moore's new assignment as he trains his men before heading to Vietnam and the subsequent battle. What makes this film stand out -- besides its honest combat portrayal and staying away from the usual portrayal of the Vietnam War as a wrong lost cause -- is the following of the wives and families of the soldiers throughout the film. Never has a telegram delivery been portrayed so tense and dreaded as seen in this film. The story not only follows Moore's respect of and rivalry with North Vietnamese Commander Nguyen Huu An (Duong Don), but also follows the experience of photojournalist Joseph Galloway (Pepper), who puts his life in danger to document the gallant battle as well as protect his fellow countrymen. The film also features then unknown actors Jon Hamm (AMC's Mad Men) and Clark Gregg (ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Plus, Sam Elliott is just badass in this.
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