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The Most Accurate War Movies in History

The Most Accurate War Movies in History

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Since the inception of movies, it seems filmmakers have always depicted the horrors of war. From death on the battlefield and neighborhoods surrounding conflicts to destruction in infrastructure and lives involved, film producers have strived to portray the realism of combat. It appears that in almost every decade, a new war gave fresh material for Hollywood to work with.

The movie industry was just beginning to emerge when the First World War occurred, providing a host of new wartime storylines. While it may seem that many battlefield films glorify war, movies like “The Big Parade” (1925) and “All Quiet of the Western Front” (1930) did not, but rather humanized soldiers, resulting in them being favorably received by critics. (These are the best military movies of all time.)

Thousands of war films have been created that portray events from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. They range from drama, action, romance, comedy, science fiction, and adventure. Many are based on real stories, while some elaborate on actual events. For this article, we only included films that were as accurate as possible. 24/7 Tempo reviewed lists of movies considered particularly accurate or realistic by veterans among others, from numerous online sources, among them IMDb, Ranker, and WatchMojo to compile a list of the most accurate war movies in history.

With the help of various newer film techniques, certain war movies make an immediate mark on viewers. Films like “1917” (2019), famed for its opening moments following two British soldiers making their way across the desolate landscape of no man’s land – in effect bringing the viewer along for their dangerous journey; and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998), which changed how war movies were made forever through the gruesomely realistic cinematography of Janusz Kaminski, who won an Oscar for his work. (These are 35 horrifying images of World War II.

Here are the most accurate war movies in history:

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Source: Courtesy of United Artists
  • War Depicted: World War II
  • Topic: Failed Allied offensive, Operation Market Garden
  • Director: Richard Attenborough
  • Main cast: Sean Connery, Ryan O’Neal, Michael Caine

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Source: Courtesy of United Artists
  • War depicted: Vietnam
  • Premise: American colonel operating without supervision
  • Director: Francis Ford Coppola
  • Main cast: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall

Das Boot (1981)

Das Boot (1982) | Jürgen Prochnow, Hubertus Bengsch, Joachim Bernhard, Jan Fedder, Herbert Grönemeyer, Martin May, Martin Semmelrogge, and Bernd Tauber in Das Boot (1985)
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • War depicted: World War II
  • Premise: Grueling daily life of German submariners
  • Director: Wolfgang Petersen
  • Main cast:Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann

Come and See (1985)

Source: Courtesy of Seagull Films

Source: Courtesy of Seagull Films
  • War depicted: World War II
  • Premise: Experiences of Partisan Fighters in the Soviet Union against Nazi forces
  • Director: Elem Klimov
  • Main cast: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius

Platoon (1986)

Platoon (1986) | Charlie Sheen in Platoon (1986)
Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
  • War depicted: Vietnam
  • Premise: Battle of wills between two American sergeants
  • Director: Oliver Stone
  • Main cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • War depicted: Vietnam
  • Premise: Brutality of the Vietnam War and the intensity of boot camp
  • Director: Stanley Kubrick
  • Main cast: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio

84 Charlie MoPic (1989)

Source: Jesse Grant / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment

Source: Jesse Grant / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment
  • War depicted: Vietnam
  • Premise: An Army cameraman shooting a documentary about U.S. infantrymen
  • Director: Patrick Sheane Duncan
  • Main cast: Jonathan Emerson, Nicholas Cascone, Jason Tomlins

Glory (1989)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment

Source: Courtesy of Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
  • War depicted: American Civil War
  • Premise: the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first all-African-American regiment
  • Director: Edward Zwick
  • Main cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes

Stalingrad (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Strand Releasing

Source: Courtesy of Strand Releasing
  • War depicted: World War II
  • Premise: Follows a German officer and his soldiers across the steppes of Russia into the city that will seal their doom
  • Director: Joseph Vilsmaier
  • Main cast: Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution
  • War depicted: World War II
  • Premise: An American patrol tasked with finding a paratrooper behind enemy lines whose brothers have been killed in the war
  • Director: Steven Spielberg
  • Main cast: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • War depicted: Somalian Civil War
  • Premise: U.S. mission to eliminate warlords in Mogadishu, Somalia
  • Director: Ridley Scott
  • Main cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore

Band of Brothers (2001)

2001 | Band of Brothers (2001)
Source: Courtesy of Home Box Office

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Home Box Office
  • War depicted: World War II
  • Premise: TV miniseries based on the book by historian Stephen E. Ambrose about the experiences of Easy Company
  • Director: Various
  • Main cast: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston

We Were Soldiers (2002)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • War depicted: Vietnam
  • Premise: Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in 1965 based on the book “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young” by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and journalist Joseph L. Galloway
  • Director: Randall Wallace
  • Main cast: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • War depicted: Napoleonic Wars
  • Premise: British naval captain who leads a ship in pursuit of a French vessel in South American water
  • Director: Peter Weir
  • Main cast: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd

Jarhead (2005)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • War depicted: Gulf War
  • Premise: Psychological examination of the mind of a Marine sniper
  • Director: Sam Mendes
  • Main cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • War depicted: Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II
  • Premise: War told from the perspective of both sides involved
  • Director: Clint Eastwood
  • Main cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara

Lone Survivor (2013)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • War depicted: Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan
  • Premise: real-life story of four Navy SEALs in Afghanistan tasked with eliminating a high-ranking Taliban leader
  • Director: Peter Berg
  • Main cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films
  • War depicted: Battle of Okinawa – World War II
  • Premise: True story of pacifist U.S. Army medic Desmond T. Doss who became the only U.S. serviceman to win the Medal of Honor for not firing a shot
  • Director: Mel Gibson
  • Main cast: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey

Dunkirk (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • War depicted: World War II
  • Premise: how Great Britain averted disaster by rescuing 400,000 Allied troops from Nazi onslaught
  • Director: Christopher Nolan
  • Main cast: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance

1917 (2019)

Source: Courtesy of Mister Smith Entertainment

Source: Courtesy of Mister Smith Entertainment
  • War depicted: World War I
  • Premise: Soldiers attempt to bring a message to a battalion to call off an attack
  • Director: Sam Mendes
  • Main cast: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
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