BEST MILITARY MOVIES
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930) One of the first Oscar winners, this moving drama casts Lew Ayres as a soldier who gets a rude awakening to war.
“Sergeant York” (1941) Gary Cooper won his first Oscar in the title role of the much-decorated World War I hero. “They Were Expendable” (1945) John Ford and star Robert Montgomery, who played a Navy superior along with John Wayne, shared directing duties here. Turner Classic Movies shows the film as part of a Pearl Harbor Day event on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
“Sands of Iwo Jima” (1949) One of John Wayne’s best-known roles sees him playing a relentlessly tough leader of U.S. Marines.
“From Here to Eternity” (1953) The beach love scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr is a defining image of the James Jones story about relationships at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
“The Caine Mutiny” (1954) Humphrey Bogart is chilling as Captain Queeg, whose questionable actions lead to the court martial faced by two of his officers (Van Johnson, Robert Francis).
“The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) The “epic” phase of director David Lean’s career began with this Oscar-winning adventure of World War II prisoners forced to build the title bridge.
“The Longest Day” (1962) It’s almost easier to pick out which male stars aren’t in the huge cast of producer Darryl F. Zanuck’s D-Day drama than those who are.
“The Great Escape” (1963) In this all-time-great adventure movie, based on a true story, Allied prisoners plot a getaway from a World War II camp.
“The Dirty Dozen” (1967) Director Robert Aldrich’s World War II classic features Lee Marvin as a major given the task of training 12 convicts for a mission that could earn them amnesty if they succeed ... and survive. “Patton” (1970) Earning him an Oscar for best actor (which he very famously refused), George C. Scott found his signature role in the controversially independent-minded World War II general.
“The Deer Hunter” (1978) Director Michael Cimino’s controversial Vietnam War drama follows three steel-town pals (Robert De Niro, Oscar winner Christopher Walken and John Savage) into battle.
“Apocalypse Now” (1979) Reteamed with “The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando makes a strong impression as a renegade colonel targeted for assassination during the Vietnam War era. “Platoon” (1986) Oliver Stone’s gripping, Oscarwinning Vietnam War drama casts Charlie Sheen as a soldier caught between two very different commanding officers (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe).
“Full Metal Jacket” (1987) U.S. Marines train for Vietnam War duty in director Stanley Kubrick’s drama, with actual Marine veteran R. Lee Ermey in a prominent role.
“Saving Private Ryan” (1998) With a pulsepounding Omaha Beach-invasion opening, this World War II drama earned Steven Spielberg a directing Oscar as Tom Hanks played the leader of a platoon assigned to find a missing soldier.
“The Hurt Locker” (2008) An Iraq War bombdisposal unit takes big chances in the midst of combat in director Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning drama.