Great Military Movies--not in any order
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- DirectorJack SmightStarsCharlton HestonHenry FondaJames CoburnA dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.Charlton Heston makes this movie more effective than it would have been with a lesser actor.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn WayneJohn AgarAdele MaraHaunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.One of Wayne's best films.
- DirectorRandall WallaceStarsMel GibsonMadeleine StoweGreg KinnearThe story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.Mel Gibson's best work. This movie unfortunately was not well received because of Gibson's personal issues and it was overlooked by audiences. This is one of the greatest films about the Vietnam War that has ever been made---and one that was closer to the truth.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsMatthew BroderickDenzel WashingtonCary ElwesRobert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.An inspiring story that all people should see--and get the message.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsTom BerengerMartin SheenStephen LangIn 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.Excellent all around. One of the best Civil War films ever made.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.John Wayne and William Holden are perfect in this film.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.Classic. William Holden and Peter Graves are wonderful.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsGeorge SegalTom CourtenayJames FoxFast-talking wheeler-dealer Corporal King is stuck in a Malaysian P.O.W. camp during World War II and uses bribery and larceny to take de-facto control of the camp.George Seagel is great in this movie.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsGeorge SegalRobert VaughnBen GazzaraAs the Allied armies close in, the Germans decide to blow up the last Rhine bridge, trapping their own men on the wrong side. But will it happen?A super film that is very underrated.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsAnthony BarrileMichael BoatmanDon CheadleA very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.The better movie about Vietnam.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsGregory PeckHarry GuardinoRip TornDuring the Korean War peace talks, U.S. troops fight to retake a hill from the Communist Chinese forces.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsClint EastwoodTelly SavalasDon RicklesA group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines in WWII France to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsRichard BurtonClint EastwoodMary UreAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsDavid NivenGregory PeckAnthony QuinnA team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
- DirectorJonathan MostowStarsMatthew McConaugheyBill PaxtonHarvey KeitelA German submarine is boarded by disguised American submariners trying to capture their Enigma cipher machine.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsClark GableBurt LancasterJack WardenA U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew.
- StarsTom BerengerSam ElliottGary BuseyUndersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt resigns to form a volunteer militia unit called "The Rough Riders" to fight in the Spanish-American War.Very underrated. Tom Berenger is fantastic as Teddy Rosevelt.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsMichael CaineSylvester StallonePeléAs allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the German National Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris, the French Resistance and British officers are making plans for the team's escape.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsCharlton HestonSophia LorenRaf ValloneThe fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.Heston in fine form. There are some minor flaws, but it comes close to being one of Heston's best films.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsCharlton HestonRichard HarrisJim HuttonIn 1864, due to frequent Apache raids from Mexico into the U.S., a Union officer decides to illegally cross the border and destroy the Apache, using a mixed army of Union troops, Confederate POWs, civilian mercenaries, and scouts.
- DirectorAnthony QuinnStarsYul BrynnerClaire BloomCharles BoyerDuring the War of 1812, Louisiana buccaneer Jean Lafitte assists the Americans in defending New Orleans against the attacking British war fleet.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames GarnerEtchika ChoureauJack WardenThe lives, loves, and battles of fictional characters in the Army's First Ranger Battalion during WWII.A very underrated James Garner film.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsJames GarnerEva Marie SaintRod TaylorGermans kidnap an American Major and try to convince him that World War II is over so they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him.
- DirectorKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard BurtonThe events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
- DirectorJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard WidmarkLaurence HarveyIn 1836, a small band of soldiers sacrifice their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
- DirectorJohn FordMervyn LeRoyJoshua LoganStarsHenry FondaJames CagneyWilliam PowellIn the waning days of World War II, the cargo officer of a Navy supply ship chafes at its role far from the action in the Pacific's backwater areas, his frustration rising when its captain denies the crew liberty over petty irritations.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsGregory PeckVirginia MayoRobert BeattyDuring the Napoleonic wars, a British Navy Captain has adventures in Central American waters.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHugh MarloweGary MerrillA tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsBruce WillisColin FarrellTerrence HowardA law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsSean ConneryHarry AndrewsIan BannenIn a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.Sean Connery's best film ever.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasFredric MarchUnited States military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouAfter a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.This (and Spartacus) are Kubriak's finest films.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerJack HawkinsUlla JacobssonOutnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.Michael Caine's best work.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkIn 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.
- DirectorGeorge C. ScottStarsCameron MitchellWilliam ShatnerJack CassidyA dramatization of the 1865 war-crimes trial of Henry Wirz, commandant of the notorious Confederate POW camp at Andersonville, Georgia.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsMichael CaineDonald SutherlandRobert DuvallA German plot to kidnap Sir Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsDonald SutherlandElliott GouldTom SkerrittThe staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.Not the greatest, but a good satire that would lead to one of TV's best shows of all time.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
- DirectorKing VidorJack ConwayW.S. Van DykeStarsSpencer TracyRobert YoungWalter BrennanLangdon Towne and Hunk Marriner join Major Rogers' Rangers as they wipe out an Indian village. They set out for Fort Wentworth, but when they arrive they find no soldiers and none of the supplies they expected.Still waiting for this one to come out on DVD or Bluray.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsRichard BurtonRoger MooreRichard HarrisA British banker hires a group of British mercenaries to rescue a deposed African President from the hands of a corrupt African dictator.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineVictor McLaglenIn 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandPatric KnowlesA major countermands orders and attacks to avenge a previous massacre of men, women, and children.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsHumphrey BogartBruce BennettJ. Carrol NaishAfter the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsLee MarvinMark HamillRobert CarradineA hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.
- DirectorDick PowellStarsRobert MitchumCurd JürgensDavid HedisonDuring WWII an American destroyer discovers a German U-boat, and in the ensuing duel the American captain must draw upon all his experience to defeat the equally experienced German commander.
- DirectorKeith GordonStarsPeter BergKevin DillonArye GrossThe Ardennes Forest, December 1944. A squad of six US infantrymen is sent to occupy a house to use as an observation post as the German Army is expected to advance through that area. However, the Germans seem oddly friendly.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.
- DirectorLionel ChetwyndStarsMichael MoriartyPaul Le MatJohn Edwin ShawFollows the suffering, torture, and brutal treatment that American prisoners of war had to deal with on a daily basis while in North Vietnam's Hoa Lo prison.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsStan ShawAndrew StevensJames CanningIn 1967, five young men undergo boot camp training before being shipped out to Vietnam. Once they get there, the experience proves worse than they could have imagined.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsWilliam HoldenCliff RobertsonVince EdwardsA US Army lieutenant colonel is tasked with forming an elite commando-style unit from crack Canadian troops and the dregs of the US Army.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael J. FoxSean PennDon HarveyDuring the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
- StarsScott GrimesDamian LewisRon LivingstonThe story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
- CreatorL. Travis ClarkSteve DuncanStarsTerence KnoxStephen CaffreyTony BeckerThe trials of a U.S. Army platoon serving in the field during the Vietnam War.The first season is the best, after the first season the producers tried to become more audience friendly--which was a mistake.
- StarsJames Badge DaleJoseph MazzelloJon SedaThe Pacific Theatre of World War II, as seen through the eyes of several young Marines.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRichard EganRalph RichardsonDiane BakerA small Army of Greeks spearheaded by three hundred Spartans do battle with the whole invading Persian Army.Way better than the comic book version called 300.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsVan JohnsonJohn HodiakRicardo MontalbanTrue tale about a squad of the 101st Airborne Division coping with being trapped by the Germans in the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.
- DirectorRyan LittleStarsCorbin AllredAlexander PolinskyKirby HeyborneFour American soldiers and one Brit fighting in Europe during World War II struggle to return to Allied territory after being separated from U.S. forces during the historic Malmedy Massacre.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsSteve McQueenBobby DarinFess ParkerSmall squad must hold off German attack.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsDaniel Day-LewisMadeleine StoweRussell MeansThree trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.