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Best War Movies

Combat, consequence, and the people caught between.


These war films are ranked by IMDb score — the ones that audiences worldwide have voted, re-watched, and argued over the most. Refine by year or cross-reference with another genre. The list begins with the best.
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Showing 29 of 40

  1. 01.
    Schindler's List

    Schindler's List

    1993·Dir. Steven Spielberg·195 min·9.0

    The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

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  2. 02.
    Saving Private Ryan

    Saving Private Ryan

    1998·Dir. Steven Spielberg·169 min·8.6

    As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

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  3. 03.
    20 Days in Mariupol

    20 Days in Mariupol

    2023·Dir. Mstyslav Chernov·94 min·8.6

    As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.

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  4. 04.
    Pretty Village, Pretty Flame

    Pretty Village, Pretty Flame

    1996·Dir. Srđan Dragojević·130 min·8.6

    In the opening stages of the Bosnian War, a small group of Serbian soldiers are trapped in a tunnel by a Muslim force.

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  5. 05.
    Grave of the Fireflies

    Grave of the Fireflies

    1988·Dir. Isao Takahata·89 min·8.5

    In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

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  6. 06.
    The Pianist

    The Pianist

    2002·Dir. Roman Polanski·150 min·8.5

    The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

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  7. 07.
    For Sama

    For Sama

    2019·Dir. Waad al-Kateab·100 min·8.5

    A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

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  8. 08.
    Apocalypse Now

    Apocalypse Now

    1979·Dir. Francis Ford Coppola·147 min·8.4

    At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.

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  9. 09.
    Inglourious Basterds

    Inglourious Basterds

    2009·Dir. Quentin Tarantino·153 min·8.4

    In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

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  10. 10.
    Come and See

    Come and See

    1985·Dir. Elem Klimov·142 min·8.3

    The invasion of a village in Belarus by German forces sends young Florya into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.

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  11. 11.
    Das Boot

    Das Boot

    1981·Dir. Wolfgang Petersen·150 min·8.3

    A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

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  12. 12.
    Incendies

    Incendies

    2010·Dir. Denis Villeneuve·131 min·8.3

    A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love.

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  13. 13.
    To Live

    To Live

    1994·Dir. Zhang Yimou·133 min·8.3

    Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.

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  14. 14.
    Braveheart

    Braveheart

    1995·Dir. Mel Gibson·178 min·8.3

    Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.

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  15. 15.
    Kannathil Muthamittal

    Kannathil Muthamittal

    2002·Dir. Mani Ratnam·137 min·8.3

    A little girl is told by her parents that she is adopted. Determined to find her birth mother, her family eventually agrees to take her to Sri Lanka, where they encounter the militant group known as the Tamil Tigers.

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  16. 16.
    Shershaah

    Shershaah

    2021·Dir. Vishnu Varadhan·135 min·8.3

    Inspired by the life of Captain Vikram Batra (PVC), the film celebrates his bravery, valiant spirit and honors his invaluable sacrifice during the Kargil War of 1999, at the age of 24.

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  17. 17.
    Full Metal Jacket

    Full Metal Jacket

    1987·Dir. Stanley Kubrick·117 min·8.2

    A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

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  18. 18.
    Ayla: The Daughter of War

    Ayla: The Daughter of War

    2017·Dir. Can Ulkay·124 min·8.2

    In 1950, amidst the ravages of the Korean War, Sergeant Süleyman stumbles upon a a half-frozen little girl, with no parents and no help in sight and he risks his own life to save her, smuggling her into his army base and out of harm’s way.

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  19. 19.
    1917

    1917

    2019·Dir. Sam Mendes·119 min·8.2

    At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.

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  20. 20.
    Downfall

    Downfall

    2004·Dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel·155 min·8.2

    In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

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  21. 21.
    The Ascent

    The Ascent

    1977·Dir. Larisa Shepitko·109 min·8.2

    During a freezing WWII winter, two Soviet partisans on a mission to gather food contend with the temperature, the occupying Germans, and their own psyches.

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  22. 22.
    Pan's Labyrinth

    Pan's Labyrinth

    2006·Dir. Guillermo del Toro·118 min·8.2

    In post–civil war Spain, 10-year-old Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to live under the control of her cruel stepfather. Drawn into a mysterious labyrinth, she meets a faun who reveals that she may be a lost princess from an underground kingdom. To return to her true father, she must complete a series of surreal and perilous tasks that blur the line between reality and fantasy.

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  23. 23.
    They Shall Not Grow Old

    They Shall Not Grow Old

    2018·Dir. Peter Jackson·99 min·8.2

    A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.

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  24. 24.
    Lion of the Desert

    Lion of the Desert

    1981·Dir. Moustapha Akkad·173 min·8.2

    This movie tells the story of Omar Mukhtar, an Arab Muslim rebel who fought against the Italian conquest of Libya during the second Italo-Senussi War. It gives western viewers a glimpse into this little-known region and chapter of history, and exposes the savage means by which the conquering army attempted to subdue the natives.

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  25. 25.
    Zeitgeist: Addendum

    Zeitgeist: Addendum

    2008·Dir. Peter Joseph·123 min·8.2

    Zeitgeist: Addendum premiered at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival. Director Peter Joseph stated: "The failure of our world to resolve the issues of war, poverty, and corruption, rests within a gross ignorance about what guides human behavior to begin with. It address the true source of the instability in our society, while offering the only fundamental, long-term solution."

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  26. 26.
    Uri: The Surgical Strike

    Uri: The Surgical Strike

    2019·Dir. Aditya Dhar·138 min·8.2

    Following the roguish terrorist attacks at Uri Army Base camp in Kashmir, India takes the fight to the enemy, in its most successful covert operation till date with one and only one objective of avenging their fallen heroes.

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  27. 27.
    Hacksaw Ridge

    Hacksaw Ridge

    2016·Dir. Mel Gibson·139 min·8.1

    WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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  28. 28.
    The Deer Hunter

    The Deer Hunter

    1978·Dir. Michael Cimino·183 min·8.1

    Three steelworkers enlist in the army and are sent to Vietnam, one leaving behind a rushed marriage, the others a shared love. What they encounter during the war changes their lives forever.

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  29. 29.
    Barry Lyndon

    Barry Lyndon

    1975·Dir. Stanley Kubrick·188 min·8.1

    An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.

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