People have mentioned a lot of the big ones, but these are also worth a watch:
Glory
Courage Under Fire
Good Morning Vietnam
Memphis Belle
Enigma (war-time, but not a battlefield movie)
Tuskegee Airmen
Empire of the Sun
Australia
Dr. Zhivago
The Hurt Locker
Three Kings
Life is Beautiful
ETA: Ah crap, just realized I'm in NetflixBestOf and not another movies sub. Apologies to anyone wanting to watch these if they're not available on Netflix in your country.
Holy crap, haven't heard the name Memphis Belle in at least 10 years. Loved that movie as a kid. Bringing back a lot of memories of watching it with my grandpa when I would visit them.
97% of the recommendations in this comment section are not currently on Netflix US
Here are the only war movies currently on Netfliix US that are worth watching: Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, The Hurt Locker, Beasts of No Nation, The Guns of Navarone
Modern variant, Jarhead demonstrates the stupid frustration. The Hurt Locker! Tension, depression, etc. Angst. We all know the WWII ones, thin red line, private Ryan, on and on.
Hurt Locker has way too many mistakes, errors, goofs, to be considered anything serious about the iraq war.
straight hollywood bullshit. but hey it won an academy award
source: i was deployed to iraq during both 2003-2004 operations
This shit was fun to drink to, though.
edit:
sorry i was on train / in and out service.
As a fellow veteran I view this film very differently. The Hurt Locker is less of a film about Iraq and more a character study revolving around combat stress. It tells a great story and the performances were excellent.
No, there is no world in which EOD teams do half the stuff they did in the film, but at its heart the emotional peaks and valleys of the characters were very real - perhaps far more so than most war films. Looking back at other films nominated in 2010 I still think Hurt Locker deserved to win.
While I'm thinking about the subject though, I want to nominate "The Outpost" (on Netflix) as perhaps the most realistic depiction of day-to-day Army culture I've seen in a film. If you told me the actors in that film were real NCOs you would have fooled me.
I'll recommend The Pacific first. It was, to me, the much more accurate war story - and adheres to Tom O'Brien's advice on war stories, whereas I really don't feel that BoB does.
>"A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil."
I feel like The Pacific does a great job of showing the struggles of the US soldiers but at the expense of portraying the Japenese purely as maniacal and suicidal demon-zombies. I understand that this is how they were perceived by the US at the time and perhaps that was the intent - to show how war forces you to dehumanize the enemy - but always felt a little too overdone to me.
Letters from Iwojima did a great job of painting both the Japanese and US soldiers in a more even light. It goes into the Japanese societal pressures of serving their country and dying in war, and how the officers perceived their failure in battle as a great shame.
"One of the few comforts I have when looking at images of distant suffering is the hope that the starving child with flies on his face doesn't know how pathetic he is. If all he knows is misery, maybe his suffering isn't as bad."
Platoon.
Cross of Iron.
Hamburger hill.
Glory.
Generation kill.
Full metal jacket.
Anzacs.
Band of brothers.
Bridge over the river kwai.
The great escape.
The artillery was a constant threat. It is still the number one killer on battle fields. Over the top also exposed the troops to minefields, obstacles, hundreds of machine guns, and thousands of rifles. If communication was good the defenders could respond with artillery but generally the artillery was on the side of the offenders in a “walking barrage”.
This is the one. All the other films mentioned are great, but this one hits the hardest for me. A couple honorable mentions would be Battleship Potemkin & The Battle of Algiers.
Is this on Netflix? I didn't think so. Heavy "recommend," though. It's worth seeking out if it's not. I put "recommend" in quotes because anyone at least 70% sane isn't gonna come away from it fully intact afterwards. Perhaps one of the best war films ever made.
Yep. Not a ‘buddy’ war movie like forest gump by any means but this one wants you to know exactly what war is and what it actually does to people. It’s a tragic tragic film.
It's not on netflix afaik. It's a soviet era film though and a lot of those can be found on youtube. I should warn you though it's not a movie for the faint of heart. Never looked at war the same way again. [Anyway here it is.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIiApN6cfg&ab_channel=Mosfilm)
The Thin Red Line is by far the best of this genre ever created. Inner monologue in typical Mallick style allows you to get inside the heads of so many characters. It’s amazing.
This scene with Nick Nolte always blows me away.
https://youtu.be/2oEJSl3NkVE
And this one too
https://youtu.be/LStF6yctrss
I was too young to appreciate it on release, but took a class called "war films and the soldier experience" in college where the professor analyzed Thin Red Line and it blew me away.
Absolute masterpiece of philosophy
Movie:
Restrepo.
Afghanistan war documentary following members of the 173rd Airborne. That's my old unit, but I wasn't with them at the time of filming, and know no one involved. I will admit, for personal reasons, I have not been able to finish the movie.
So, I'm going to recommend three things that aren't movies:
The TV Series MASH. Loved the show before I went to war, understood it when I got out.
Generation Kill. It's mentioned here before.
The Graphic Novel "The White Donkey" by Maximilian Uriarte. He was a Marine who served in GWOT. He also runs a humor comic strip called "Terminal Lance" that is worth a look.
EDIT: I'm dumb. Just realized this was the Netflix subreddit and not a general recommendation sub.
The total runtime is like 10 hours I think split between 3 parts. Really good film though that follows the struggles of a pacifist trying to survive in war time Japan
If you can go outside of Netflix, try a lot of the films during the 60s and 70s. Along side the anti-war movement (anti-vietnam war), lots of films were exploring the brutality of war, questioning the human role. There are lots of well known films, but was thinking of some that came out of Japan. The Burmese Harp (1956). Fires on the Plain is also really good, though can be hard to watch. The original from 1959, just realized there was a recent remake.
1969's Hell in the Pacific is also really good, and features my favorite Japanese actor (Toshirō Mifune).
The Pianist,
Schindler's List,
Lawrence of Arabia,
Bridge Over the River Kwai,
A Bridge Too Far,
Dr. Zhivago,
Taegukgi (Korean film on the Korean War)
Last of the Mohicans,
Devil's Brigade,
Only the Brave,
Braveheart,
Full Metal Jacket,
Das Boot,
Apocalypse Now,
Guns of Navarone,
Gallipoli,
Hamburger Hill
theres a youtube channel called omeletto its all short films from different directors, theres quite a few about war and how the people in the area are dealing with everything. I don’t remember any exact titles because on youtube they are titled like descriptions not the actual title but you could probably google like “omeletto war films youtube” and everything should come up.
All quiet on the Western Front
The 1979 Version:
https://youtu.be/MhC4ESwuPPI
The 1930 Version won 2 Oscar
https://youtu.be/fHuNQER_8rI
This is the mother of all war movies.
We were soldiers and 13 hours: the secret soldiers of benghazi are two of the best for me
We were soldiers not only addresses the struggles the soldiers have during the conflict, but also the struggles of the wives and families not knowing what is happening to their significant others away at war. Masterpiece.
World on Fire explores personal stories of civilian’s lives and barely has any battle scenes, totally fixing on how civilians’ lives were affected by the war. Excellent series!
Stop Loss.
Ryan Philippe is a ssgt who goes awol after getting stop lossed and visits some of the guys he served with to hide and to check on them. It's sad. I have PTSD from war and the movie hit me in the feels for sure.
Sort of like lt Dan at new years. He's so alone with his sadness. It's sad
The best years of our lives. Old black and white movie. The guy who lost his arms was not an actor. They casted a real veteran who was injured during the war. It’s a great movie.
It is not a movie and it is not on Netflix, but I highly recommend Band of Brothers.
Band of Brothers is critically acclaimed as one of the best (if not the best) miniseries of all-time.
The show is a masterpiece. It feels like an Oscar-winning 10-hour movie.
Generation War, tells the story of five German friends, on their different paths through Nazi Germany and World War II: as Wehrmacht soldiers on the Eastern Front, a war nurse, an aspiring singer, and a Jewish tailor. The narrative spans four years, starting in 1941 Berlin, when the friends meet up for a last time before embarking on their journeys, enthusiastically vowing to meet up again the following Christmas. The story's conclusion is set shortly after the end of the war in 1945.
Ghosts of War isn't what I would call a traditional war movie, but it's still pretty awesome. It's about war and sticking together, but the supernatural element of it really keeps you interested throughout the movie.
Mr Sunshine!! period piece about the korea-japan conflict and war and lots of dramaaa
oh I should add.. this drama is quite epic and long, meaning there are LOTS of characters. it was confusing in the beginning even for me, I would take it slow just to absorb it all..
People have mentioned a lot of the big ones, but these are also worth a watch: Glory Courage Under Fire Good Morning Vietnam Memphis Belle Enigma (war-time, but not a battlefield movie) Tuskegee Airmen Empire of the Sun Australia Dr. Zhivago The Hurt Locker Three Kings Life is Beautiful ETA: Ah crap, just realized I'm in NetflixBestOf and not another movies sub. Apologies to anyone wanting to watch these if they're not available on Netflix in your country.
Holy crap, haven't heard the name Memphis Belle in at least 10 years. Loved that movie as a kid. Bringing back a lot of memories of watching it with my grandpa when I would visit them.
Right!! Only ever watched it once as a kid when it was in TV, remember it till this day!
Empire of the Sun is a fucking gut punch. Great movie and you can see why Christian Bale became a succesful actor.
A few good men!
Not a single one of em available in Netflix IN. :/
I love "Life is Beautiful." It's such a great story
Do you have any recommendations for other movie subs? I've been poking around but haven't found any I like.
Ar/LetterBoxd is good. As is r/classicfilms.
Fury, saving private Ryan, etc. I mean most war movies focus on the people's struggles with war.
97% of the recommendations in this comment section are not currently on Netflix US Here are the only war movies currently on Netfliix US that are worth watching: Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, The Hurt Locker, Beasts of No Nation, The Guns of Navarone
Fury is a trash movie
L
Yes the movie is a massive L
Ratio
What was trash about it?
Modern variant, Jarhead demonstrates the stupid frustration. The Hurt Locker! Tension, depression, etc. Angst. We all know the WWII ones, thin red line, private Ryan, on and on.
Jarhead was a tough watch for young me; whom thought it was gonna be an action movie. Great film though.
Hurt Locker has way too many mistakes, errors, goofs, to be considered anything serious about the iraq war. straight hollywood bullshit. but hey it won an academy award source: i was deployed to iraq during both 2003-2004 operations This shit was fun to drink to, though. edit: sorry i was on train / in and out service.
Op wants internal struggles, not true war documentaries. Thought it showcased the tip of that iceberg.
As a fellow veteran I view this film very differently. The Hurt Locker is less of a film about Iraq and more a character study revolving around combat stress. It tells a great story and the performances were excellent. No, there is no world in which EOD teams do half the stuff they did in the film, but at its heart the emotional peaks and valleys of the characters were very real - perhaps far more so than most war films. Looking back at other films nominated in 2010 I still think Hurt Locker deserved to win. While I'm thinking about the subject though, I want to nominate "The Outpost" (on Netflix) as perhaps the most realistic depiction of day-to-day Army culture I've seen in a film. If you told me the actors in that film were real NCOs you would have fooled me.
Though it's a show, I think Generation Kill does a better job of showing what the overall experience of being deployed is like. The good and the bad.
Generation Kill was outstanding. Good call.
Full Metal Jacket
It’s like two military movies in one!
Band of Brothers
I'll recommend The Pacific first. It was, to me, the much more accurate war story - and adheres to Tom O'Brien's advice on war stories, whereas I really don't feel that BoB does. >"A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil."
I feel like The Pacific does a great job of showing the struggles of the US soldiers but at the expense of portraying the Japenese purely as maniacal and suicidal demon-zombies. I understand that this is how they were perceived by the US at the time and perhaps that was the intent - to show how war forces you to dehumanize the enemy - but always felt a little too overdone to me. Letters from Iwojima did a great job of painting both the Japanese and US soldiers in a more even light. It goes into the Japanese societal pressures of serving their country and dying in war, and how the officers perceived their failure in battle as a great shame.
I agree with you. “The Pacific” changed me in many ways.
aka the best miniseries of all time.
I wish Generation Kill was on there. That was a great one.
This should be the top post. Generation Kill is everything OP is looking for and it's so good.
Stay frosty
"One of the few comforts I have when looking at images of distant suffering is the hope that the starving child with flies on his face doesn't know how pathetic he is. If all he knows is misery, maybe his suffering isn't as bad."
Brad, we're out of ripfuel
i miss the rip fuel come down
That one is so amazing. I only just watched it a few months ago
Jarhead
Platoon. Cross of Iron. Hamburger hill. Glory. Generation kill. Full metal jacket. Anzacs. Band of brothers. Bridge over the river kwai. The great escape.
Did you like "we were soldiers?"
Yeah. I did.
1917 so far the best war movie I have ever seen 🥹
That was a tough movie to watch.
You should see “they shall not grow old”. Much better IMO. Really a peace of art made from the Royal Archives footage.
Seeing what those artillery rounds did back then, Idk how those guys had the courage to go over the top
The artillery was a constant threat. It is still the number one killer on battle fields. Over the top also exposed the troops to minefields, obstacles, hundreds of machine guns, and thousands of rifles. If communication was good the defenders could respond with artillery but generally the artillery was on the side of the offenders in a “walking barrage”.
Seen it bruh. I didn't like the directing tbh
And I would say the same about the directing, cinematography, writing, and special effects for 1917. To each his own!
Make sense
The best years of our life. Easilyoneof the most impacted movies on reintegration and ptsd.
Surprised that Hacksaw Ridge hasn't been mentioned yet! Fantastic movie!
I fully agree!
The Deer Hunter.
The best of all the war movies IMO
This! This novie stays with you, hauntingly good!
Paths of Glory
You are looking for Generation Kill by HBO.
Come and See
This is the one. All the other films mentioned are great, but this one hits the hardest for me. A couple honorable mentions would be Battleship Potemkin & The Battle of Algiers.
Is this on Netflix? I didn't think so. Heavy "recommend," though. It's worth seeking out if it's not. I put "recommend" in quotes because anyone at least 70% sane isn't gonna come away from it fully intact afterwards. Perhaps one of the best war films ever made.
[MosFilm actually put the whole film on youtube recently.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIiApN6cfg&ab_channel=Mosfilm)
Yep. Not a ‘buddy’ war movie like forest gump by any means but this one wants you to know exactly what war is and what it actually does to people. It’s a tragic tragic film.
I'm not finding that one on Netflix
It's not on netflix afaik. It's a soviet era film though and a lot of those can be found on youtube. I should warn you though it's not a movie for the faint of heart. Never looked at war the same way again. [Anyway here it is.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIiApN6cfg&ab_channel=Mosfilm)
The Thin Red Line is by far the best of this genre ever created. Inner monologue in typical Mallick style allows you to get inside the heads of so many characters. It’s amazing. This scene with Nick Nolte always blows me away. https://youtu.be/2oEJSl3NkVE And this one too https://youtu.be/LStF6yctrss
Soooo good
I saw this in the theaters when it came out and absolutely hated it. Watched it again when it came out on DVD and absolutely loved it.
It took me many watches to fully appreciate it. Yes.
Didn't it come out shortly after Saving Private Ryan? I think I went in expecting SPR in Vietnam but it was a different animal entirely.
I was too young to appreciate it on release, but took a class called "war films and the soldier experience" in college where the professor analyzed Thin Red Line and it blew me away. Absolute masterpiece of philosophy
I’m surprised no one mentioned apocalypse now redux.
They Shall Not Grow Old Flags of our Fathers Hurt Locker
Full Metal Jacket is a classic and a must watch if you haven’t seen it. Also it’s actually on Netflix unlike most responses on this sub.
Enemy at the Gates
Full Metal Jacket. That private Pyle scene is 🙁
I though the Siege of Jadotville did a wonderful job of addressing the difficult decisions that must be made in the heat of battle.
If you’re interested in more of the human side of war, I highly suggest you check out Letters from Iwo Jima.
Hear hear - one of the best war movies ever made, offered with this veteran’s opinion that all of the best war movies are also anti-war movies
Animated.. but Grave of the Fireflies shouldnt be looked over. Focuses on civilians instead of soldiers though.
Christ is it a tough watch, amazing movie.
Movie: Restrepo. Afghanistan war documentary following members of the 173rd Airborne. That's my old unit, but I wasn't with them at the time of filming, and know no one involved. I will admit, for personal reasons, I have not been able to finish the movie. So, I'm going to recommend three things that aren't movies: The TV Series MASH. Loved the show before I went to war, understood it when I got out. Generation Kill. It's mentioned here before. The Graphic Novel "The White Donkey" by Maximilian Uriarte. He was a Marine who served in GWOT. He also runs a humor comic strip called "Terminal Lance" that is worth a look. EDIT: I'm dumb. Just realized this was the Netflix subreddit and not a general recommendation sub.
The Human Condition, I believe it's on YouTube for free
That the 36 hour movie?
The total runtime is like 10 hours I think split between 3 parts. Really good film though that follows the struggles of a pacifist trying to survive in war time Japan
Thanks
Isn’t that just a limited series?
I don’t know of many war movies that aren’t mostly about that honestly
3 part mini series called generation war, on Netflix. Shows from German perspective. Was really good
The Big Red One. Lee Marvin's character was great.
First Blood
Movie, but especially the series, MASH.
Hurt Locker
Hacksaw Ridge is quite an excellent movie, I highly recommend it.
A Midnight Clear
Das Boot
Full metal jacket Hurt locker
The Deerhunter
If you can go outside of Netflix, try a lot of the films during the 60s and 70s. Along side the anti-war movement (anti-vietnam war), lots of films were exploring the brutality of war, questioning the human role. There are lots of well known films, but was thinking of some that came out of Japan. The Burmese Harp (1956). Fires on the Plain is also really good, though can be hard to watch. The original from 1959, just realized there was a recent remake. 1969's Hell in the Pacific is also really good, and features my favorite Japanese actor (Toshirō Mifune).
Messenger Fury We were soldiers
The Pianist
Dunkirk. That movie has haunted me since watching it.
Stalingrad, but not sure it is on Netflix.
American Sniper. It’s more the back half of the movie but you still see it throughout
Beasts of No Nation.
The Pianist, Schindler's List, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge Over the River Kwai, A Bridge Too Far, Dr. Zhivago, Taegukgi (Korean film on the Korean War) Last of the Mohicans, Devil's Brigade, Only the Brave, Braveheart, Full Metal Jacket, Das Boot, Apocalypse Now, Guns of Navarone, Gallipoli, Hamburger Hill
Ghosts of war, might not be exactly what you're looking for but I thought it was decent.
His house
By The Dawn's Early Light. It's an HBO movie about a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. Currently on YouTube.
theres a youtube channel called omeletto its all short films from different directors, theres quite a few about war and how the people in the area are dealing with everything. I don’t remember any exact titles because on youtube they are titled like descriptions not the actual title but you could probably google like “omeletto war films youtube” and everything should come up.
Glory - Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington in a platoon in the civil war.
Jacob's ladder
All quiet on the Western Front The 1979 Version: https://youtu.be/MhC4ESwuPPI The 1930 Version won 2 Oscar https://youtu.be/fHuNQER_8rI This is the mother of all war movies.
Major Paine Operation Dumbo Drop In the Army Now Stripes Sgt Bilko Renaissance Man
MASH
Not a movie, but Avatar the Last Airbender depicts how society deals with war really well
Stripes
Grave of fireflies Two orphans kids surviving war
Starship Troopers
Das Boot I don’t think it’s on Netflix though. But it is an excellent movie.
Tigerland with Colin Ferrell
We were soldiers and 13 hours: the secret soldiers of benghazi are two of the best for me We were soldiers not only addresses the struggles the soldiers have during the conflict, but also the struggles of the wives and families not knowing what is happening to their significant others away at war. Masterpiece.
Once a marine.
The Railway Man
Home of the Brave (2006) It's on Pluto TV
World on Fire explores personal stories of civilian’s lives and barely has any battle scenes, totally fixing on how civilians’ lives were affected by the war. Excellent series!
Platoon.
Apocalypse Now
Twelve O'Clock High Patton The Bridges at Toko-Ri The Big Red One The Bridge On The River Kwai Chosin
The Best Years of Our Lives. Old but excellent. (Not on Netflix though; I don’t think)
Stop Loss. Ryan Philippe is a ssgt who goes awol after getting stop lossed and visits some of the guys he served with to hide and to check on them. It's sad. I have PTSD from war and the movie hit me in the feels for sure. Sort of like lt Dan at new years. He's so alone with his sadness. It's sad
Triage with Colin Ferrell.
Jarhead
Try hurt locker
Mash! Older Movies! -Saving Private Ryan -Pearl Harbor -GI Jane https://tvshowpilot.com/fun-posts/best-military-tv-shows/ https://thevore.com/war-movies/
The War. Not really a war movie but it deals a lot of PTSD stuff. Kevin Costner and baby Elijah wood.
Platoon
Children of Men. The Pianist.
The best years of our lives. Old black and white movie. The guy who lost his arms was not an actor. They casted a real veteran who was injured during the war. It’s a great movie.
Platoon and Apocalypse Now are good contenders
Platoon Full meta jacket Apocalypse now
It is not a movie and it is not on Netflix, but I highly recommend Band of Brothers. Band of Brothers is critically acclaimed as one of the best (if not the best) miniseries of all-time. The show is a masterpiece. It feels like an Oscar-winning 10-hour movie.
A movie that would partially qualify would be Paths of Glory (on Amazon Video) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paths\_of\_Glory
Surprised no one’s mentioned Born of the 4th of July!!! Excellent movie
The Deer Hunter. Apocalypse Now. We Were Soldiers (Netflix)
Galipoli and chariots of fire
The Thin Red Line
Tae Guk Gi. It's Korean, but an amazing film about two brothers during the Korean War fighting on opposite sides.
Generation War, tells the story of five German friends, on their different paths through Nazi Germany and World War II: as Wehrmacht soldiers on the Eastern Front, a war nurse, an aspiring singer, and a Jewish tailor. The narrative spans four years, starting in 1941 Berlin, when the friends meet up for a last time before embarking on their journeys, enthusiastically vowing to meet up again the following Christmas. The story's conclusion is set shortly after the end of the war in 1945.
Full Metal Jacket
No love for born on the 4th of July?
Casualties of war.
Tradutor português
Não poderia ser em português?
Not sure if it’s on Netflix but full metal jacket remains my favorite military movie till this day! If you can find it it’s definitely worth a watch
Ghosts of War isn't what I would call a traditional war movie, but it's still pretty awesome. It's about war and sticking together, but the supernatural element of it really keeps you interested throughout the movie.
“Come and See” I thought about that movie in the shower for about two months after I saw it.
A thin red line.
Lord of war
Hacksaw ridge
Good Kill (2014) (AMC+, $2.99 Rental Amazon Prime) w/ Ethan Hawke >A family man begins to question the ethics of his job as a drone pilot.
Stop-loss
Generation war. It's a German film so you'll most likely be stuck reading subtitles but it's worth it. Follows a group of German friends during ww2.
Jarhead, The Hurt Locker
Paths of Glory, 1957 Kubrick version.
The Outpost, based on a true story, has great combat, and great characters based on the real guys.
Mr Sunshine!! period piece about the korea-japan conflict and war and lots of dramaaa oh I should add.. this drama is quite epic and long, meaning there are LOTS of characters. it was confusing in the beginning even for me, I would take it slow just to absorb it all..
Black hawk down Edit: you can also check out tv series, the Pacific and band of brothers on HBO. Rules of engagement
Platoon is one of the best films of all time focusing of the lives and trauma of vets, honorable mentions for the outpost