The 10 Best War Movies in Film History

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Tom Hanks as Captain Miller & Matt Damon as Private Ryan holding guns in the trenches in Saving Private Ryan

Published Sep 4, 2026, 7:45 AM EDT

Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.

A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.

Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.

Following World War I, the 1920s saw the war genre become one of cinema's most popular, and that's a trend that hasn't really stopped since. It's a genre that has produced several of the greatest movies in film history, one that has remained timeless thanks to how it puts the very concept of war—the ultimate form of human conflict—into a dramatic package that one can experience safely from the comfort of a seat.

Whether it's a hilarious satire like Dr. Strangelove or a gut-wrenching drama like Come And See, the best war movies in film history prove how intimately this genre can speak to people's innermost fears and anxieties regarding the state of the world and its conflicts. Anyone looking to check the most essential war masterpieces off their list ought to watch these gems at least once in their lives.

10 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (1964)

Considering just how serious and inherently sensitive of a topic war is, most of history's greatest war movies have been dramas. Every now and then, though, war comedies can be of vital importance, exposing the pure idiocy and absurdity of military conflict in a way so exaggerated that one can't help but laugh. And as far as war comedies go, it doesn't get much better or much more essential than Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.

Loosely based on the thriller novel Red Alert by Peter George, who co-wrote the screenplay (one of the best of the '60s) with Kubrick and Terry Southern, Dr. Strangelove is absolutely brilliant in how it blends the horrifying absurdity of nuclear paranoia with genuinely hilarious dark comedy. Its themes were a product of its Cold War times, but they nonetheless have aged terrifyingly well.

9 'Incendies' (2010)

Lubna Azabal as Nawal Marwan looks distraught in front of a burning wreckage in Incendies.

Nowadays, Denis Villeneuve has firmly established himself as one of the greatest filmmakers currently working in Hollywood; but before he made the jump over the border, he was making some of the best Canadian movies of all time. Case in point, and what some still consider to be his best film to date: Incendies, a mystery drama based on Wajdi Mouawad's play of the same name, itself inspired by parts of the life of Lebanese communist militant Souha Bechara.

This film is a gut-wrenching tragedy through and through, and definitely not for those without a remarkably strong stomach, but that doesn't make it any less of a must-see. But far from just hinging on the shock value of its big twist, it's a genuinely marvelously-crafted masterpiece dealing with how the cyclical horrors of war only breed violence, trauma, and darkness. It's a magnificent achievement anchored by Lubna Azabal's towering performance.

8 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998)

Matt Damon looking intently in Saving Private Ryan

Steven Spielberg, father of blockbusters, is the mind behind several of the greatest and most entertaining popcorn movies in history. It just so happens, however, that one of his greatest films to date isn't a popcorn flick at all, but the absolutely devastating Saving Private Ryan. Inspired by the books of Stephen E. Ambrose and accounts of multiple soldiers, it has been widely praised as one of the most horrifyingly realistic and authentic war movies ever made.

A common criticism of action-packed war movies is that they can sensationalize military conflict by making it seem exciting, but that's definitely not the case with Saving Private Ryan, one of the best Oscar-winning period movies ever. Its combat sequences are absolutely brutal, its character writing is refreshingly nuanced and complex, and Spielberg's direction is some of the best '90s cinema ever saw.

7 'Paths of Glory' (1957)

Kirk Douglas holding a gun while standing in a trench near the beginning of Paths of Glory (1957).

Many still regard Stanley Kubrick as the single greatest filmmaker in the history of cinema, and purely considering that he has made several of history's greatest war pictures (consider this Full Metal Jacket's honorable mention), it isn't the least bit hard to see why. His best war movie came relatively early into his career: Paths of Glory, whose anti-military sentiments made it severely controversial upon release.

As the years have passed, however, not only have the controversies died down: Paths of Glory is now universally considered one of the most perfect and timeless war movies in film history. It's one of Kubrick's quietest, subtlest, and most refreshingly humanist movies, a surprisingly subdued war drama that dares to searingly critique military bureaucracy and institutional hypocrisy. For all those who prefer the human side of the war genre rather than the action-driven side, it's a must-see.

6 'The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer' (1961)

Masaki Kobayashi was one of the greatest Japanese filmmakers of all time, and though it's hard to point to a single one of his films as his best, any installment of his Human Condition trilogy (based on Junpei Gomikawa's six-part novel) could have a strong claim to the title. The best of the three is arguably the conclusion, A Soldier's Prayer, the best way to cap off one of the most universally acclaimed movie trilogies ever.

Bolstered by Tatsuya Nakadai's tour-de-force performance, one of the best in the history of war cinema, A Soldier's Prayer offers a beautifully humane yet undeniably devastating climax to this nine-hour anti-war epic. It's a film all about the wonders of the endurance of the human spirit, but far from being saccharine or overly optimistic, it never shies away from the horrors of war or the brutality of fighting for survival.

5 'Schindler's List' (1993)

A little girl wearing a red coat walks alone in Schindler's List

As if any more proof were needed that Steven Spielberg is far more than just the biggest name in the history of blockbuster filmmaking, Schindler's List—an entirely serious dramatic biopic that earned seven Academy Awards—is almost universally regarded as his magnum opus. It is, indeed, an achievement unlike anything else that the war biopic genre had ever seen before or has ever seen since.

Schindler's List is nothing short of one of the best drama movies in film history, an emotionally devastating yet powerfully hopeful celebration of the humanity and compassion that managed to seep itself out of cracks in the darkest corners of the Holocaust. Full of unforgettable moments, performances, and music by John Williams, it really is one of the most hard-hitting war dramas ever made for the big screen.

Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz Which Oscar Best Picture
Is Your Perfect Movie? Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country

Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.

🪜Parasite

🌀Everything Everywhere

☢️Oppenheimer

🐦Birdman

🪙No Country for Old Men

FIND YOUR FILM →

What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don't just entertain — they leave something behind.

ASomething that pulls the rug out — that makes me think I'm watching one kind of film and then reveals I'm watching another entirely. BSomething overwhelming — funny, sad, absurd, and genuinely moving, all at once. CSomething grand and weighty — a film that makes me feel the full scale of what I'm watching. DSomething formally daring — a film that pushes what cinema can even do. ESomething lean and relentless — pure tension with no wasted frame.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What's yours?

AClass, inequality, and what people are willing to do when desperation meets opportunity. BIdentity, family, and the chaos of trying to hold your life together when everything is falling apart. CGenius, moral responsibility, and the catastrophic weight of a decision you can never take back. DEgo, legacy, and the terror of becoming irrelevant while you're still alive to watch it happen. EEvil, chance, and whether moral order actually exists or if we just tell ourselves it does.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.

AGenre-twisting — I want it to start in one lane and migrate into something completely different. BMaximalist and genre-blending — comedy, action, drama, sci-fi, all in one ride. CEpic and non-linear — cutting between timelines, building a mosaic of cause and consequence. DA single unbroken flow — I want to feel like I'm living it in real time, no cuts to safety. ESpare and precise — every scene doing exactly what it needs to do and nothing more.

NEXT QUESTION →

What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?

AA system — invisible, structural, and almost impossible to fight because it has no single face. BThe self — the ways we sabotage, abandon, and fail the people we love most. CHistory — the unstoppable momentum of events that no single person can stop or redirect. DThe industry — the machinery of culture that chews up talent and spits out irrelevance. EPure, implacable evil — a force so certain of itself it becomes almost philosophical.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you want from a film's ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?

AShock and inevitability — a conclusion that recontextualises everything that came before it. BEarned emotion — I want to cry, laugh, and feel genuinely hopeful, even if the world is a mess. CDevastation and grandeur — an ending that makes me sit in silence for a few minutes after. DAmbiguity — something that leaves enough open that I'm still thinking about it days later. EBleakness — an honest refusal to pretend the world is tidier than it actually is.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what's even possible.

AA gleaming modern city with a hidden underside — beauty masking rot, wealth masking desperation. BA collapsing suburban life that opens onto something infinite — the multiverse of a single ordinary person. CThe corridors of power and science at a world-historical turning point — where decisions echo for decades. DThe grimy, alive chaos of New York and Hollywood — fame as both destination and trap. EVast, indifferent landscape — desert and highway where violence arrives without warning or reason.

NEXT QUESTION →

What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.

AProduction design and mise-en-scène — every frame composed to carry meaning beneath the surface. BEditing and tonal control — the ability to move between registers without losing the audience. CScore and sound design — music that becomes inseparable from the dread and awe of what you're watching. DCinematography as performance — the camera not recording events but participating in them. ESilence and restraint — what's left unsaid and unshown doing more work than any dialogue could.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.

ASomeone smart and resourceful who makes increasingly dangerous decisions under pressure. BSomeone overwhelmed and ordinary who turns out to be capable of something extraordinary. CA brilliant, tortured figure whose gifts and flaws are inseparable from each other. DA self-destructive artist whose ego is both their superpower and their undoing. EA quiet, principled person trying to make sense of a world that has stopped making sense.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.

AI love a slow build when I know the payoff is going to be seismic — patience for a devastating reveal. BGive me relentless momentum — I want to feel breathless and emotionally spent by the end. CEpic runtime doesn't scare me — if the material demands three hours, give me three hours. DI want it to feel propulsive even when nothing is technically happening — restless energy throughout. EDeliberate and unhurried — I want dread to accumulate in the spaces between the action.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?

AUnsettled — like I've just seen something I can't fully explain but can't stop thinking about. BMoved and energised — like the film reminded me what actually matters and gave me something to hold onto. CHumbled — like I've been in the presence of something genuinely important and overwhelming. DExhilarated — like I've just seen cinema doing something it's never quite done before. EHaunted — like a cold, quiet dread that stays with me for days.

REVEAL MY FILM →

The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…

Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.

Parasite

You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it's ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn't want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it's about.

Oppenheimer

You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.

Birdman

You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it's about. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor's ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn't be possible. Michael Keaton's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.

No Country for Old Men

You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.

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4 'Apocalypse Now' (1979)

Martin Sheen looking upset while drinking in Apocalypse Now

The making of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now was one of the most infamously hellish production processes in the history of film, but considering that what came out of it is one of the greatest feature films of all time, it's hard to say that it wasn't worth it. Hollywood has made plenty of Vietnam War movies over the years, but none have ever been—or will likely ever be—better than this.

A loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, a book written as a scathing critique of Europe's colonization of Africa, Apocalypse Now transposes those themes to the Vietnam War to speak about the hypocrisy of imperialism, war's breakdown of humanity, and the psychology of madness. All in all, it's one of the best American movies of the '70s, as there's virtually nothing to point out as a negative when watching this absolute masterclass in war filmmaking.

3 'Come And See' (1985)

The Soviet Union made several of the greatest films of all time throughout its brief existence, many of them war movies, and few of them better than Elem Klimov's Come And See. It's easily one of the heaviest movies of the 20th century, a film so dark that Klimov had to fight through years of censorship and bureaucratic pushback in order to finally get it out there. The result feels entirely like the uncompromised vision of an artist in full control of his craft.

Indeed, Come And See is no traditional war movie. Powerfully surreal, intensely philosophical, and so unapologetically brutal that it almost feels like a horror drama at times, it's certainly not a masterpiece for the faint of heart. But even still, Klimov's direction is so perfect and young Aleksei Kravchenko's transformational performance as the boy through whose eyes we see the story is so powerful that Come And See is essential viewing for any cinephile.

2 'Casablanca' (1942)

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman looking at each other in Casablanca (1942).

There are countless superlatives that could reasonably apply to Michael Curtiz's Casablanca. It's one of the most romantic movies ever made, one of the most enrapturing Hollywood war pictures ever made, and certainly the best film made in the United States during World War II. There are remarkably few—if any—Golden-Age Hollywood movies more iconic than this, and few war films more deserving of being considered among the greatest ever made.

Indeed, all in all, Casablanca is one of the most perfect feature films in history, even if virtually no one involved in its production actually believed the project would become anything transcendental. Commercially, its performance was nothing extraordinary. But on top of winning three Academy Awards, it has aged as one of the most essential classics in film history, with some of the best acting, some of the most memorable characters, some of the most quotable dialogue, and one of the best endings in movie history.

1 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962)

There is no film quite like Lawrence of Arabia, a biopic epic made by David Lean, the greatest master of the cinematic epic genre. Winner of seven Academy Awards, this paragon of British-American cinema is not only one of the best historical epics of all time, but also one of the best biopics of all time, and arguably the single greatest war movie in film history.

Staggeringly vast and sweeping in scale yet surprisingly intimate and character-driven in scope and execution, Lawrence of Arabia is a cinematic achievement unlike anything else the Seventh Art has ever seen. It's visually striking, Maurice Jarre's score is legendary, the performances (Peter O'Toole's first-ever lead performance most of all) are incredible, the writing is some of the best of the '60s, and Lean's direction is some of the best in film history.