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Monday, February 22, 2016

Best War Movies of All Time - Based on 125 Online Rankings


Scene from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) ranked number one War movie of all time.

Welcome to our Reel Fives pre-launch movie rankings for the best war movies of all time. Our Reel Fives team has found 125 published ranked lists of the top war films online and ended up with 120 movies that made the list. For each ranked list of greatest movies for the war genre we have taken the top five ranked war films. The movie rankings on top war films that we aggregated are included at the bottom of this post and include rankings of the best movies in the war genre created by movie experts as well as rankings from polling sites, such as ranker.com.

Author Tim O’Brien wrote “War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead” in his book The Things They Carried (1998). This quote describes what a great war film ought to be and our top films do that. War is nuanced because what one side views as good, the other side views as evil and vice versa. Apocalypse Now (1979), the all-time best war movie, demonstrates the complexity of war. Set during the Vietnam War, Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is on a secret mission to assassinate Green Beret Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who the military believes has gone insane. While Willard is on his mission, he is forced to confront the reasons why Kurtz went insane. There is no easy way out. In Saving Private Ryan (1998), ranked second, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) is determined to rescue Private Ryan (Matt Damon) behind Nazi lines. The film personalizes war and illustrates the tolls on the families of soldiers as Mrs. Ryan lost three sons and Captain Miller did not want to have another son die.  Stanly Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), ranked third, captures the realities of war for the soldiers. The military brutalizes young men through training that leaves them psychologically broken down to be able to kill, and the film captures that.

While war movies are at times heroic, they at times mix elements of humor and brutality.
Brutality and dehumanization are products of war and so is humanity. Schindler’s List (1993), ranked sixth, demonstrates that humanity can exist even in a concentration camp. Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) has a change of heart and decides to save some of the Jewish prisoners. Soldiers have autonomy and the power to decide whether or not they want to fight. While soldiers are told they must kill, they do not always want to. Paths of Glory (1957), ranked fifth, illustrates that soldiers do not always want to fight the enemy because they do not see why they should and their general has to defend their actions. Platoon (1986), ranked fourth, follows a young Vietnam soldier on his path to realizing that he is not needed and that the war is unnecessary. These films add depth and nuance to the war genre by simultaneously showing the worst and best of humanity. Schindler saves some of the Jewish prisoners, and some soldiers decide not to shoot. These small acts of humanity show that while war happens, people have a choice to kill or not to kill.

We did not find any surprises on the list as many of these movies have been recognized as great movies. Vietnam and World War II era films are on the list more than other war films, and we believe that could be in part due to the impact of both wars on society. WWII is still a popular war era for film. Inglorious Bastards (2009), ranked twenty-first, centers around Americans in the hunt for Nazis. We see that the war genre also includes the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as one would expect. We have started to see this with The Hurt Locker (2008) and American Sniper (2014). However, the list also shows that the genre loves its classic films. For instance, Casablanca (1942) is ranked eighteenth. The war genre should continue to be nuanced and we do not expect that to change, even with the glorification of violence in recent war films. 


Top 120 Movies based on 125 published rankings
Percent of online top fives movies appear in shown
1 . Apocalypse Now (1979): 57.5%
2 . Saving Private Ryan (1998): 51.2%
3 . Full Metal Jacket (1987): 30.3%
4 . Platoon (1986): 29.6%
5 . Paths of Glory (1957): 22.4%
6 . Schindler's List (1993): 21.6%
7 . Black Hawk Down (2001): 16%
8 . The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): 16%
9 . The Thin Red Line (1998): 15.1%
10 . All Quiet on the Western Front (1990): 13.6%
11 . Patton (1970): 11.2%
12 . The Hurt Locker (2008): 9.60%
13 . The Great Escape (1963): 6.40%
14 . The Deer Hunter (1979): 6.40%
15 . Lawrence of Arabia (1962): 5.60%
16 . Glory (1989): 5.60%
17 . Come and See (1985): 5.60%
18 . Casablanca (1942): 4.80%
19 (tied). The Pianist (2002): 4.80%
19 (tied). Braveheart (1995): 4.80%
21 . Inglorious Basterds (2009): 4.80%
22 . Das Boot (1982): 4%
23 . American Sniper (2014): 4%
24 (tied). The Battle of Algires (1966): 4%
24 (tied). Letters from Iwo Jima (2006): 4%
26 (tied). Tora Tora Tora (1970): 3.20%
26 (tied). Jarhead (2005): 3.20%
28 . The Longest Day (1962): 3.20%
29 . The Downfall (2004): 3.20%
30 . The Dam Busters (1955): 2.40%
31 (tied). The Dirty Dozen (1967): 2.40%
31 (tied). Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004): 2.40%
33 . Bands of Brother (2001): 2.40%
34 . Born on the Fourth of July (1989): 2.40%
35 (tied). Memphis Belle (1990): 2.40%
35 (tied). The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): 2.40%
35 (tied). Grand Illusion (1937): 2.40%
35 (tied). Lone Survivor (2013): 2.40%
35 (tied). We were soldiers (2002): 2.40%
40 . A Bridge Too Far (1977): 2.40%
41 . Oh, What Lovely War (1969): 2.40%
42 . Where Eagles Dare (1968): 1.60%
43 (tied). The Patriot (2000): 1.60%
43 (tied). Breaker Morant (1980): 1.60%
45 (tied). Dr. Strangelove (1964): 1.60%
45 (tied). Ran (1985): 1.60%
45 (tied). Sands of Iwo Jima (1949): 1.60%
48 (tied). Ice Cold in Alex (1958): 1.60%
48 (tied). War Horse (2011): 1.60%
48 (tied). ZULU (1964): 1.60%
48 (tied). Zero Dark Thirty (2012): 1.60%
52 (tied). The Green Berets (1968): 1.60%
52 (tied). The Human Condition I (1959): 1.60%
52 (tied). Grand Illusion (1937): 1.60%
52 (tied). Kanal (1956): 1.60%
52 (tied). Battlegrounds (1949): 1.60%
57 (tied). Afirican Queen (1951): 1.60%
57 (tied). General (1926): 1.60%
57 (tied). Pearl Harbor (2011): 1.60%
57 (tied). Ice Cold in Alex (1958): 1.60%
61 . A Few Good Men (1992): 1.60%
62 . M*A*S*H (1983): 1.60%
63 (tied). The Battle of the Bulge (1965): .800%
63 (tied). Gallipoli (1981): .800%
63 (tied). Went the Day Well (1942): .800%
63 (tied). Resrepo (2010): .800%
63 (tied). The Messenger (2009): .800%
63 (tied). Seven Samurai (1954): .800%
63 (tied). Attack (1956): .800%
70 (tied). Beasts of No Nation (2015): .800%
70 (tied). The Message (1976): .800%
70 (tied). Ride With ehe Devil (1999): .800%
70 (tied). The Josephine Baker Story (1991): .800%
70 (tied). Life is Beautiful (1997): .800%
70 (tied). Gone With the Wind (1939): .800%
70 (tied). A Very Long Engagement (2004): .800%
70 (tied). Zero Dark Thirty (2012): .800%
70 (tied). Pork Chop Hill (1959): .800%
70 (tied). Sergeant York (1941): .800%
80 (tied). Ivan's Childhood (1962): .800%
80 (tied). Stalag 17 (1953): .800%
80 (tied). Land and Freedom (1995): .800%
80 (tied). Midwat (1976): .800%
80 (tied). The Longest Day (1962): .800%
85 (tied). The Winter War (1989): .800%
85 (tied). The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008): .800%
85 (tied). The Boys in Company C (1978): .800%
85 (tied). Casualties of War (1989): .800%
85 (tied). Starship Troopers (1997): .800%
85 (tied). Reds (1981): .800%
85 (tied). The Big Red One (1980): .800%
85 (tied). Ran (1984): .800%
85 (tied). Gettysburg (1993): .800%
85 (tied). The Imitation Game (2014): .800%
85 (tied). 633 Squadron (1964): .800%
85 (tied). The Last Samurai (2003): .800%
85 (tied). Lakshya (2004): .800%
85 (tied). Cross of Iron (1977): .800%
85 (tied). Army of Shadows (1969): .800%
100 (tied). It Happened Here (1967): .800%
100 (tied). Enemy at the Gates (2001): .800%
100 (tied). 300 (2006): .800%
100 (tied). The Blue Max (1966): .800%
100 (tied). Lone Surviver (2013): .800%
100 (tied). Cold Mountain (2003): .800%
100 (tied). To Hell and Back (1955): .800%
100 (tied). Sophie's Choice (1982): .800%
100 (tied). Henry V (1989): .800%
100 (tied). Play Dirty (1969): .800%
100 (tied). The More The Merrier (1943): .800%
100 (tied). Judgement at Nuremberg (1961): .800%
100 (tied). From Here to Eternity (1953): .800%
100 (tied). Starship Troopers (1997): .800%
100 (tied). Malèna (2000): .800%
100 (tied). Alexander Nevsky (1938): .800%
116 (tied). Master Commander (2003): 0%
116 (tied). Fires Were Started (1943): 0%
116 (tied). Starship Troopers (1997): 0%
116 (tied). Flags of Our Fathers (2006): 0%
116 (tied). Three Kings (1999): 0%




War Movie Ranking Sources
IMDb List of top 100 (link)
The Telegraph List of top 24 (link)
Time Out New York List of top 50 (link)
AMC List of top 20 (link)
Games Radar List of top 50 (link)
Good Movies List List of top 50 (link)
IGN List of top 10 (link)
The Guardian List of top 10 (link)
Short List List of top 30 (link)
Daily News List of top 15 (link)
Sky Movies List of top 100 (link)
Film School WTF List of top 100 (link)
Men's Journal List of top 19 (link)
War History Online List of top 24 (link)
BBC List of top 5 (link)
Wikipedia List of top 5 (link)
Screen Rant List of top 5 (link)
Honor and Fidelity List of top 50 (link)
Mens XP List of top 10 (link)
Matts Movie Reviews List of top 10 (link)
Pop Matters List of top 10 (link)
W Top List of top 25 (link)
Wonders List List of top 10 (link)
The Man Guide List of top 10 (link)
Goliath List of top 10 (link)
Film Crave List of top 500 (link)
Movie Film Review List of top 100 (link)
Esquire List of top 10 (link)
Entertainment.ie List of top 10 (link)
List Verse List of top 10 (link)
News House List of top 5 (link)
Movie Pilot List of top 17 (link)
Ask Men List of top 10 (link)
Jet Punk List of top 20 (link)
Xinhuanet List of top 50 (link)
Play Buzz List of top 7 (link)
Sojo 1049 List of top 5 (link)
Zybez List of top 5 (link)
Movie Fanatic List of top 11 (link)
Details List of top 11 (link)
The Morning Call List of top 11 (link)
Rate you music List of top 134 (link)
Hey U Guys List of top 10 (link)
Movies to Watch List List of top 10 (link)
Top Yaps List of top 10 (link)
Flick Chart List of top 250 (link)
Film Affinity List of top 100 (link)
SSB Crack List of top 5 (link)
Ebay List of top 10 (link)
What Movie Should I watch List of top 10 (link)
MUBI List of top 15 (link)
All Womens Talk List of top 8 (link)
The Official Blog for Things and Ink List of top 5 (link)
Tips Hack List of top 10 (link)
Greatest Movie .Org List of top 15 (link)
Video Grabber List of top 10 (link)
Retro Junk List of top 10 (link)
WBAB List of top 10 (link)
MRC TV List of top 7 (link)
Before Its News List of top 10 (link)
Filmonic List of top 10 (link)
axs List of top 5 (link)
The Impact List of top 10 (link)
Ten Topi List of top 10 (link)
1470WFNT List of top 5 (link)
The News Herald List of top 10 (link)
Confessions of a 20-something Manchild List of top 10 (link)
Top 10 List List of top 10 (link)
News.com.au List of top 5 (link)
CELEBUZZ List of top 11 (link)
Sporcle List of top 100 (link)
About Entertainment List of top 10 (link)
Listal List of top 100 (link)
Ebay List of top 10 (link)
Brian's Niche On The 'Net List of top 10 (link)
Bluechat List of top 10 (link)
Rephrase List of top 100 (link)
TSL5 List of top 10 (link)
The Artifice List of top 10 (link)
MUBI List of top 21 (link)
Azcentral List of top 10 (link)
Screen Junkies List of top 10 (link)
Top Tenz List of top 10 (link)
Moving Cenima List of top 6 (link)
Criterian List of top 10 (link)
Future Wars Stories List of top 10 (link)
Digital Dream Door List of top 100 (link)
Garbage File List of top 5 (link)
Flick Sided List of top 10 (link)
Kanjy Blog List of top 10 (link)
Chop's Top Fives List of top 5 (link)
Wanna Go to Movies List of top 10 (link)
The Fashion Spot List of top 10 (link)
Examiner List of top 10 (link)
Retro Films List of top 50 (link)
La La Boutique List of top 10 (link)
bradwathen.com List of top 10 (link)
Nick's Pix List of top 10 (link)
Mail Guardian List of top 10 (link)
Cha Cha And Spoon Presents List of top 5 (link)
AMC List of top 20 (link)
Ranker List of top 50 (link)
The Top Tens List of top 124 (link)
IMDb List of top 20 (link)
Rant Lifestyle List of top 25 (link)
Writer Without Money List of top 10 (link)
Stuff Nation List of top 5 (link)
Shark Ranks List of top 20 (link)
News from Bostan Becks List of top 10 (link)
Rock The Capital List of top 20 (link)
The Cinemaholic List of top 5 (link)
97.1 The Eagle Rocks List of top 5 (link)
Taste of Cinema List of top 30 (link)
The Boots have Come off List of top 10 (link)
Reader's Digest List of top 20 (link)
Earth Link List of top 50 (link)
What Culture List of top 20 (link)
Seraphic Press List of top 10 (link)
Top Ten List of top 10 (link)
Digital Spy List of top 10 (link)
Hub Pages List of top 10 (link)
Examiner List of top 10 (link)
All Time Best List of top 10 (link)
Nejlepsi Filmy List of top 100 (link)
Mag For Women List of top 10 (link)




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