Significant war movies

Actors: Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford

Nominated for eight Academy Awards®, this classic and compelling Vietnam War epic stars Martin Sheen as Army Captain Willard, a troubled man sent on a dangerous and mesmerizing odyssey into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade American colonel named Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has succumbed to the horrors of war and barricaded himself in a remote outpost.

Actors: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep

Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Director, and one of AFI's Top 100 Films of All Time, The Deer Hunter follows a group of Pennsylvania steelworkers from their blue-collar lives, hunting in the woods of the Alleghenies, to the hells of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Academy Award® winners Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken star in this unforgettable saga of friendship and courage. Experience the brutality of war and the depths of emotional strain on the human spirit in this extraordinarily powerful film classic.

Actors: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey

"Full Metal Jacket" joins "The Deer Hunter," "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon" on the frontline of powerful films about the Vietnam War. Cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick ("A Clockwork Orange," "The Shining"), awarded Best Director by the London Film Critics Circle, traces a young Marine's (Matthew Modine, "Pacific Heights," "And the Band Played On") odyssey from dehumanizing boot camp to the bloody terror of the Tet Offensive. Co-starring Vincent D'Onofrio ("The Player"), Arliss Howard ("Tequila Sunrise"), Adam Baldwin ("Serenity"), Dorian Harewood ("Pacific Heights") and adding true grit to the Marines' basic training, a powerhouse performance by real-life former drill instructor R. Lee Ermey (the "Toy Story" movies). Adapted from Gustav Hasford's story "The Short Timers" by Hasford, Michael Herr and Kubrick.

Actors: Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Fionn Whitehead

Actors: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel

Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film's historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurance in Ambrose's 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944.

Actors: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Kevin Dillon, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Depp

Chris Taylor is a young, naive American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him. While his two commanding officers draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, the conflict, chaos and hatred permeate Taylor, suffocating his realities and numbing his feelings to man's highest value... life.

Actors: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller

U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname "Legend.” However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. He is also facing a different kind of battle on the home front: striving to be a good husband and father from halfway around the world. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, personifying the spirit of the SEAL creed to "leave no one behind." But upon returning to his wife, Taya Renae Kyle (Sienna Miller), and kids, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.

Actors: Ken Watanabe

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima tells the untold story of the Japanese soldiers who defended their homeland against invading American forces during World War II. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai) and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Their sacrifices, struggles, courage and compassion live on in the taut, gripping film Rolling Stone calls "unique and unforgettable." It is the powerful companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers.

Actors: Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jon Voight, Jennifer Garner, Michael Shannon, Dan Aykroyd

History comes alive in the unforgettable epic motion picture Pearl Harbor, the spectacular blockbuster brought to the screen by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Astounding visual and audio effects put you at the center of the event that changed the world -- that early Sunday morning in paradise when warplanes screamed across the peaceful skies of Pearl Harbor and jolted America into World War II. This real-life tale of catastrophic defeat, heroic victory, and personal courage focuses on the war's devastating impact on two daring young pilots, Ben Affleck (Armageddon) and Josh Hartnet (Black Hawk Down), and a beautiful, dedicated nurse, Kate Beckinsale (Serendipity). Pearl Harbor is extraordinary moviemaking -- a breathtaking reenactment of the "date which will live in infamy" and a heartfelt tribute to the men and women who lived it.

Actors: Tom Cruise, Tom Berenger

Tom Cruise delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's Academy Award®-winning masterpiece. Based on a true story, the acclaimed film follows the young Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteers for the Vietnam War, to an embittered veteran paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country, Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he left, and struggled before emerging as a brave new voice for the disenchanted.

Actors: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Adrien Brody, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Jared Leto, John C. Reilly, George Clooney, John Travolta

Based on the graphic novel by James Jones, The Thin Red Line tells the story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived. A powerful frontline cast - including Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson and George Clooney - explodes into action in this hauntingly realistic view of military and moral chaos in the Pacific during World War II.

Actors: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving

HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Actors: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Hannibal) and renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor, Armageddon) comes a gripping true story about bravery, camaradarie and the complex reality of war. Black Hawk Down stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor), Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), Eric Bana (Chopper), William Fichtner (The Perfect Storm), Ewen Bremner (Snatch) and Sam Shepard (All The Pretty Horses). In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has lead to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.

Actors: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly

When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James’ true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever in a movie that the NY Daily News says “deserves to stand as one of the defining films of the decade.”

Actors: Ryan Reynolds

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), truck driver and family man, wakes up buried alive in an old wooden coffin. Not knowing who might have put him there or why, his only chance to escape from this nightmare is a mysterious cell phone. Poor reception, low battery and lack of oxygen are his worst enemies in a race against time: Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued.

Actors: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan

Academy Award® nominees Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) reteam in this action-packed thriller. Damon stars as Roy Miller, a rogue U.S. Army officer who must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil before war escalates in an unstable region. Also starring Academy Award® nominees Greg Kinnear and Amy Ryan, Green Zone is “one hell of a thriller” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

Actors: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo

Hailed by critics as a masterpiece, Casualties of War is based on the true story of a squad of soldiers caught in the moral quagmire of wartime Vietnam. Witness to a vile crime, Private Eriksson (Michael J. Fox, TV's, Spin City) is forced to stand alone against his fellow soldiers and commanding officer Sergeant Meserve (Sean Penn, Dead Man Walking), a powerful and charismatic man pushed over the edge of barbarism by the terror and brutality of combat. With sweeping scope, action and raw power, master filmmaker Brian DePalma (The Untouchables) creates a devastating and unforgettable tale of one man's quest for sanity and justice amidst the chaos of war.

Actors: James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini

From director Michael Bay, 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI is the gripping true story of six elite ex-military operators assigned to protect the CIA who fought back against overwhelming odds when terrorists attacked a U.S. diplomatic compound on September 11, 2012. When everything went wrong, six men had the courage to do what was right. Based on the nonfiction book 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff and Members of the Annex Security Team.

Actors: Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach, Barry Pepper, Jamie Bell, Paul Walker, Robert Patrick

From Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood (“Million Dollar Baby,” “Unforgiven”) comes the World War II epic "Flags of Our Fathers,” produced by Eastwood, Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Schindler’s List”), and Rob Lorenz (“Mystic River”). February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory. ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ is based on the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers, which chronicled the battle of Iwo Jima and the fates of the flag raisers and some of their brothers in Easy Company. Bradley’s father, John “Doc” Bradley, was one of the soldiers pictured raising the flag, although James never knew the full extent of his father’s experiences until after the elder Bradley’s death in 1994. The ensemble cast of “Flags of Our Fathers” includes Ryan Phillippe (“Crash”), Jesse Bradford (“Happy Endings”), Adam Beach (“Windtalkers”), Paul Walker (“Into the Blue”), Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”), Barry Pepper (“Saving Private Ryan”) and John Benjamin Hickey (“Flightplan”). Clint Eastwood directed “Flags of Our Fathers” from a screenplay adapted by William Broyles, Jr. (“Cast Away”) and Oscar winner Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby,” “Crash”).

Actors: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Joe Pantoliano, Ben Stiller

From one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, Steven Spielberg, comes an epic film telling the story of a young boy's determination to survive in the face of the devastating events that transpire after Japan invades Shanghai on December 8, 1941.

Actors: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker

Life in the Army will never be the same after an unforgettable wake up call from Academy Award® winner Robin Williams (Best Supporting Actor, Good Will Hunting, 1997) in this smash hit comedy. Williams delivers a tour-de-force performance in the role critics agree he was born to play – legendary armed forces radio deejay Adrian Cronauer. Deployed to Saigon to host a morning radio show during the Vietnam War, Cronauer’s sidesplitting antics and rapid-fire wit make him an instant hit with the troops in the field but soon get him in hot water with his by-the-book superiors. An unforgettable supporting cast and a red-hot soundtrack of ‘60s hits make this the quintessential Robin Williams comedy.

Actors: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman

Colombia is in chaos, caught in a bitter war between its government and insurgent guerillas. A team of U.S. Navy SEALS is sent on a secret mission to observe a meeting between the factions and ensure peace is the end result. But when the meeting is attacked and the leaders of both sides are murdered, the SEALS are framed for the assault. Abandoned by their own government and trapped behind enemy lines, the group must survive long enough to find evidence of their innocence and prevent the brutal war from spilling over the border.

Actors: Armie Hammer

This action-packed military thriller stars Armie Hammer (FREE FIRE, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.) as a U.S. soldier who, stranded in the desert for 52 hours after a mission falls apart, must fight for survival against his enemies, the hostile environment, and the creeping psychological toll of his treacherous situation. Annabelle Wallis (ANNABELLE, THE MUMMY) and Tom Cullen (WEEKEND) co-star in this tense, explosive film from the producer of BURIED and THE CONJURING.

Actors: Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard

Captain Sam Cahill (Maguire) is embarking on his fourth tour of duty, leaving behind his beloved wife (Portman) and two daughters. When Sam's Blackhawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains of Afghanistan, the worst is presumed, leaving an enormous void in the family. Despite a dark history, Sam's charismatic younger brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) steps in to fill the family void.

Actors: Andie MacDowell, Adrien Brody, Gerard Butler, Brendan Gleeson

Andie MacDowell stars in the compelling story of one woman's determination to find her husband Harrison, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist.

Actors: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal

April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana

Based on The New York Times bestselling true story of heroism, courage and survival, Lone Survivor tells the incredible tale of four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative. The four men must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish. Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter) leads an all-star cast including Taylor Kitsch (Savages), Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), and Eric Bana (Munich) in a movie hailed by critics as “unforgettable, tense, and inspiring.” (Movieline)

Actors: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Jai Courtney

Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces this epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis "Louie" Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived on a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII – only to be caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) enormously popular book, it’s the inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit.

Actors: Nestor Serrano, Roselyn Sánchez

When a mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly uncovers a chilling plot with potentially unimaginable consequences, a team of the most elite, highly-trained warriors in the modern world is dispatched on a top-secret operation.

Actors: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott

Mel Gibson and Randall Wallace, the star and writer of Braveheart, reunite for this action-packed war movie that features explosive battle sequences, thrilling aerial photography and unforgettable military heroes who fought for their country, their loved ones and their freedom. The year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born leader committed to his troops. His target: the la Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together." This heroic true story of commitment, courage and sacrifice also stars Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein, Keri Russell and Barry Pepper. We Were Soldiers is "a must-see film for our time and all time!"*

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx

Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this critically acclaimed, brilliantly unconventional war story from Oscar®-winning director Sam Mendes. Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff (Gyllenhaal) from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, where he sports a sniper rifle through Middle East deserts that provide no cover from the heat or Iraqi soldiers. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully grasp.