20 Greatest War Movie Masterpieces of All Time, Ranked

At the end of it all, Spielberg returns to claim the top spot with arguably his greatest film, 1993's Schindler's List. This incredibly emotional biographical WWII drama defines what it means to be an epic. It stars Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes in a remarkable true story about a German industrialist and war profiteer, Oskar Schindler, who turns into a humanitarian and saves the lives of 1,200 Jewish civilians from persecution by having them work in his factory during the holocaust.

It's one of the greatest war stories ever told, one of deep profoundness that can evoke sadness and even hope in anyone who sees it. Schindler's List is a perfect movie-watching experience, full of excellent writing, top-tier acting, and elevated by Spielberg's remarkable directing style. It's flawless from start to finish and takes it rightful place here as the best war movie masterpiece of all time.

A masterpiece that truly deserved its Best Picture win, Michael Curtiz's glorious classic war drama Casablanca is the stuff of cinematic royalty. It fires on every cylinder, creating a riveting and emotional romantic tale that became one of the most revered and iconic films of Hollywood's Golden Age. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star in this memorable story about a cynical nightclub owner in German-controlled Casablanca as he risks everything to save his former lover and her freedom fighter husband to escape the Nazis.

With legendary performances, iconic dialogue, and flawless direction, Casablanca is an undisputed masterpiece that can't be ignored. Despite being well over eighty years old now, it certainly feels like a timeless and highly watchable film that is still just as profound and exciting today. Overall, it's a definite must-watch, not just for war-lovers but for cinema fans in general.

Some horror movies can't even match how utterly terrifying Elem Kilmov's 1985 anti-war masterpiece Come and See is. It's hailed for its frightening realism and unflinching violence, showcasing the absolute horror of war told from the perspective of a young Byelorussian boy (Aleksei Kravchenko) who experiences atrocious acts committed by the Nazis on the Eastern Front during WWII.

This is one of the most bold war films in history, and not for one second does it stray away from its message that WWII was not as romanticized or triumphant as other films portrayed it as. The violence and war crimes shown are truly too hard to watch, and they perfectly elaborate just how sinister this group was during this intense period in human history. Come and See will forever be one of the most significant the genre for what it has to say and for just how brutal it really gets.

The mind behind The Godfather and The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola, delivered one of the most surreal and ambitious Vietnam War epics with 1979's Apocalypse Now. Based on the iconic novella Heart of Darkness, it follows a U.S. Special Forces operative, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), who is tasked with finding and eliminating the rogue Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has lost his mind and become a god-like figure to a tribe somewhere in the jungles of Cambodia.

This intense, highly rewatchable psychological war masterpiece is like a psychological thrill ride into the mind. We follow Willard on this crazy and at times terrifying adventure, which shows his perspective of the Vietnam War in all its brutal chaos and confusion. It's a remarkable film with stellar effects, perfect shooting locations, and iconic imagery, all of which have since come to define the genre. No one can be considered a war movie fan without experiencing that at least once.

Studio Ghibli's 1988 film The Grave of the Fireflies is not just the saddest war movie; it's the most tear-jerking film in cinema history. It's one that's granted to spark an emotion out of the viewer, leaving them teary-eyed by the finale. Set in Japan in the final dark days of WWII, two young siblings are left orphaned and forced to fend for themselves as everyone else around them is focused on their own survival.

It's also considered an animated masterpiece as it tells a devastating story told with spectacular traditional animation mixed in with emotional drama. Grave of the Fireflies really drives home the message about how innocents suffer the most during times of war, and how these conflicts truly bring out the worst in some people. It's profound and deep, and needs to be experienced, even if just once, to truly appreciate and understand this film's important themes.

Showcasing the significant and tragic impacts of WWI, Lewis Milestone's Best Picture-winning pre-Code classic All Quiet on the Western Front is the quintessential anti-war film. It's a film dripping with emotion and heartbreak, showing the true face of war through the eyes of a young German recruit (Lew Ayres) whose romanticized feelings about the war come to a tragic end once he and his comrades get a real taste of combat in the trenches.

Nothing about this film diminishes nor downplays what the true results of the war actually were. It ends with one of the most emotionally devastating endings in war movie history, as it shows none of the main cast surviving, showing just how costly and pointless this conflict actually was. All Quiet on the Western Front has been revered throughout the years because of its powerful message, and it is still just as important to learn now as back in 1930.

From one of cinema's most revolutionary and truly inspiring filmmakers, Akira Kurosawa, comes his 1985 masterpiece Ran, a visually magnificent and expertly told story set in feudal Japan. It's a bold anti-war drama about an aging warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai) who unintentionally creates a civil war in his kingdom after he divides it amongst his greedy sons.

Packed with stellar cinematic shots and Oscar-winning costume designs, Ran is easily one of the acclaimed Kurosawa's most timeless cinematic achievements. It truly excels in everything, from having gorgeous set pieces and interesting camera movements to even having marvelous acting performances from its entire cast. Its praise will only grow throughout the years and will remain one of the war genre's most revered classics.

Steven Spielberg's 1998 epic Saving Private Ryan often tops the lists of the most compelling WWII films ever created. It's certainly not hard to see why, as it's an intense roller-coaster ride of a film that instantly hooks audiences in right from the very beginning. Starring Tom Hanks and the late Tom Sizemore, it follows a U.S. Ranger team sent on a dangerous rescue mission to go further into German-occupied France to rescue a missing paratrooper (Matt Damon) who has been given a ticket home after all of his brothers were killed in combat.

This film features perhaps the most intense and horrific opening sequence in cinematic history, as its Omaha beach landing scene realistically recreates the bloody and chaotic events of the famous Allied invasion of Europe, better known as D-Day. The rest of the story is an emotional tale that's about brotherhood, duty, and sacrifice. It's made perfect by Spielberg's direction and the talented cast, who really make this an unforgettable masterpiece.

No Vietnam War movie paints a more frighteningly accurate depiction of this brutal conflict than Oliver Stone's Platoon. Winner of several major Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this 1986 action drama shows the raw, confused chaos of this war, telling it from the perspective of an average foot-solider. Starring Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger, it follows a young American private as he struggles to survive while serving in a platoon that's on the verge of splitting into two separate factions.

It takes a look through the eyes of men who served during this conflict and how it affected them in a deeply emotional way. Stone doesn't sugarcoat how intense and demoralizing it was for these men in this film, as the violence looks shockingly real, the battle sequences are tense and chaotic, and the performances feel so incredibly genuine. This is considered one of the most gripping depictions of the Vietnam War ever brought to cinema, and it stands the test of time because of what it shows.

As mentioned before, Kubrick's time in the war genre was nothing short of spectacular. He created not one but two masterpieces, the other being 1957's Paths of Glory, a riveting anti-war film, set during the deadly stalemate on the Western Front of WWI. Told from France's side, it sees Kirk Douglas as a colonel and former lawyer who stands for justice when defending three soldiers who are wrongfully on trial for desertion by their loathsome general (George Macready) to cover up for his recent failed mission.

Paths of Glory is a heartbreaker that is only more emotional with every scene. It tackles the inefficiencies of commanders, the abuse of power, and how high-ups don't even treat their soldiers as human beings, and are willing to sacrifice them for personal goals. Few films capture the futility of armed conflicts and the devastating effects of trench warfare more than this powerful masterpiece.

Arguably the most perfectly made war movie of all time, David Lean's groundbreaking 1962 masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia is a grand tale that is timelessly thrilling. Telling the unbelievable true story of famed archeologist, explorer, and soldier T. E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole), it follows this legendary figure as he helps lead the Arab kingdom to victory against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

While it's a heavily dramatized account of the real-life story, this epic still offers a remarkable piece of exciting history. It's all told with riveting acting and Lean's incredible direction. Of course, there's no mentioning this film without gushing over the flawless cinematography, which has since aged incredibly well, making the film truly the most timeless in history.

Michael Cimino's Best Picture-winning Vietnam drama The Deer Hunter shows the devastating, heartbreaking psychological effects of war ever brought to the silver screen. A film guaranteed to leave you stunned by the very end, it tells the tragic story of three blue-collar small-town friends whose lives are horribly changed forever after serving in Vietnam.

It doesn't sugarcoat or hold anything back on why conflicts, and especially the Vietnam War, have had untold damaging effects on people, both physically and mentally. The performances from the A-list cast are nothing short of incredible, as they all do phenomenal jobs. But it's Christopher Walken's portrayal of the emotionally ruined Nick that was the biggest highlight, even earning him an Academy Award. With some of the best acting and most profoundly emotional moments, The Deer Hunter is a hard-to-watch but necessary war film.

From Academy Award-winning director David Lean comes one of the most celebrated war classics, 1957's The Bridge on the River Kwai. This Best Picture winner has steadily grown in popularity among war and especially WWII movie buffs, over the years for its gripping action and thrilling adventure feel. Sir Alec Guinness truly shone in his Oscar-winning role as a stubborn POW colonel who fought for the rights and pride of his fellow workers while assisting his Japanese oppressors in building a massive bridge over the Kwai River.

In terms of scale and production values, this masterpiece has others beat, as The Bridge on the River Kwai really lives up to its epic status. Despite its noticeable age, it's visually flawless, and the camerawork and gorgeous cinematography help make it seem like it could have easily been made today. It is an absolutely timeless thrill ride that every war movie fan has to experience.

The 20th century's most iconic filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick, has delved into the war genre a few times, and each time created an enduring masterpiece. Wanting to do his own take on the Vietnam War, he released Full Metal Jacket in 1987. This fan favorite anti-war genre has since become legendary in cinema for its powerfully gripping story and memorable dialogue. It follows several U. S. marines from their grueling training in boot camp to their fierce fighting in the streets of Hue City during the Tet Offensive.

It's all told with Kubrick's perfectionist style and his incredible attention to detail. There's hardly any flaw to this war masterpiece, as it's perfectly acted, written, and, of course, features Kubrick's capable direction. Full Metal Jacket takes viewers into the intense world of the average American foot-soldier during this costly war, showing how dehumanizing its effects were and how the government stripped them of their identities to model them into killing machines.

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, Patton is a 1970 biographical World War II drama detailing the life of one of the most controversial but capable U.S. military commanders in history, George S. Patton. George C. Scott gives an Oscar-winning performance as General Patton, following this legendary figure during his time during some of the most important battles of the war, from his march through North Africa to his army rolling into the Battle of the Bulge in Europe.

It's a grand epic full of remarkable acting, gorgeous cinematography, and brilliant storytelling. Scott perfectly embodies this unique commander and how his bold methods made him such an unconventional but effective leader. Granted, its three-hour-long runtime might dissuade a few from watching it, but it's a near-perfect masterpiece that looks incredible, has a stellar lead actor, and has a respect for history.

There is no film that better represents the raw survival and brutal living conditions of submariners than the late Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot. Hailed as one of the most frighteningly realistic war movies ever, it tells a unique perspective of WWII that isn't often depicted, as it follows a German U-boat crew as most of them become disillusioned and tired of the war while serving on a dangerous patrol in the North Atlantic.

It's Peterson's sharp direction coupled with the emotional energy of the performances, not to mention the cramped, claustrophobic submarine setting, that's made Das Boot one of the most timeless and intense war movies in history. Even now, this still leaves a deep impact on viewers, as its anti-war message is compelling, and its action is certainly pulse-pounding. Truly, there's nothing else quite like this thrilling experience.

Innovative modern filmmaker Sir Christopher Nolan had a helping hand in keeping the war genre highly acclaimed in the 21st century. If 2017's Dunkirk is anything to show, it's that he's one of the greatest talents this genre has ever seen. Set during the chaotic evacuation of Dunkirk, France, during the early months of WWII, it follows British soldiers and airmen as they desperately try to survive this brutal retreat.

Dunkirk is a visually stellar masterpiece, complete with Nolan's penchant for going all out and making sure what audiences are seeing on screen was actually filmed in front of a camera. This actually goes out of its way to have as few CGI effects as possible, and there are actual explosions, plane stunts, and even a ship deliberately being sunk, all done for real to make the film look as believable as possible. As a result, this is one of the most visually striking war masterpieces of our current century.

After a 20-year hiatus, American visionary director Terrence Malick returned to the director's chair to deliver one of the war genre's most profound and reflective masterpieces. Released in 1998, The Thin Red Line is his grand contribution to war, a deep, incredibly emotional, and visually perfect drama set during WWII. Featuring an A-List cast of stars, including Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel, and Adrien Brody, it follows several U. S. marines as they become deeply affected by the brutality of war while fighting during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The Thin Red Line is told with the same philosophical storytelling and visceral, raw emotional performances that Malick's films usually come with, but here, it elevates this war story into something truly profound. It looks absolutely timeless with its cinematography, and the locations used here perfectly capture the look and feel of the actual Guadalcanal battle. This film will move and completely grip viewers, prompting them to look inward and gain a different perspective on this truly devastating war.

Quentin Tarantino rose to the heights of filmmaking royalty in the 21st century, thanks in part to his remarkable, one-of-a-kind storytelling talents. One of his masterpieces, most people these days consider to be one of his greatest, is 2009's Inglourious Basterds, a WWII action film that certainly doesn't skimp out on the violence. Starring Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz in an Oscar-winning supporting performance, it's about a team of elite U.S. Army infiltrators as they go into occupied France to kill as many Nazi officers as possible.

Inglourious Basterds is a wild, bloody thrill ride full of riveting performances, Oscar-winning dialogue, and competent direction from Tarantino, who turns this film into one of his most revered masterpieces ever. It also holds nothing back, delivering a pulse-pounding and shockingly gory action story with intense shootouts and explicit violence that might be too much for some viewers. Honestly, it's jam-packed with thrilling fun and is worth watching, especially for any WWII enthusiasts.

The wildly talented mind behind The Shape of Water and The Devil's Backbone, Guillermo del Toro, delivers his 2006 visionary war film Pan's Labyrinth. A dark fantasy drama set during the brutal fascist Franco regime in 1940s Spain, it tells of an imaginative little girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), as she goes on a remarkable journey through the mysterious fairy tale world of Pan's Labyrinth to escape her oppressive home life and her sadistic military stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergio Lopez).

It's told with striking visuals, imaginative storytelling, and unique performances, all to make Pan's Labyrinth a war film unlike any other. Its message is also powerful and complex, as it's one of defiance, as we follow Ofelia using her imagination to stand up against Vidal and everything his regime stands for. Sergio Lopez particularly gives one of the most riveting villain performances in a war movie ever, as he perfectly captures the evil oppression of this time period. Overall, it's a fantastical tale that feels truly inspiring.