The Best War Movies Ever Made (According to Ranker)

"From classics like Saving Private Ryan to newer entries like Dunkirk and 1917, this list ranks the best movies about war, battles, and military conflicts. These films recreate some of the most significant events in world history from a variety of perspectives and with a variety of purposes and intentions. Some top war films attempt to recreate as realistically as possible the events they depict, either from an omniscient perspective permitted by historical study or from the point of view of the soldiers and civilians involved in the conflict itself. Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, for example, was both praised in its time and heavily criticized for bringing a "you are there" sense of realism - and little outside or cultural perspective - to a recreation of the Battle of Mogadishu. The best war movies of all time differ widely in their handling of the subject matter, but they all strike a chord with viewers now and in the time when they came out."

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1

La Grande Illusion (1938)

La Grande Illusion (1938)

2

The Eight Hundred

The Eight Hundred

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3

Waiting for Anya

Waiting for Anya

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4

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

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5

Napoleon (1927)

Napoleon (1927)

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6

Wings (1927)

Wings (1927)

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7

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

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8

The Dawn Patrol (1930)

The Dawn Patrol (1930)

9

Body and Soul (1931)

Body and Soul (1931)

10

A Farewell to Arms (1932)

A Farewell to Arms (1932)

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11

Alexander Nevsky (1938)

Alexander Nevsky (1938)

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12

Gone With the Wind (1939)

Gone With the Wind (1939)

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13

Gunga Din (1939)

Gunga Din (1939)

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14

The Fighting 69th (1940)

The Fighting 69th (1940)

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15

Waterloo Bridge (1940)

Waterloo Bridge (1940)

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16

Sergeant York (1941)

Sergeant York (1941)

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17

They Died With Their Boots on (1941)

They Died With Their Boots on (1941)

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18

Casablanca (1942)

Casablanca (1942)

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19

Flying Tigers (1942)

Flying Tigers (1942)

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20

In Which We Serve (1942)

In Which We Serve (1942)

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21

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

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22

This Above All (1942)

This Above All (1942)

23

Wake Island (1942)

Wake Island (1942)

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24

Crash Dive (1943)

Crash Dive (1943)

25

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

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26

Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

27

Sahara (1943)

Sahara (1943)

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28

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

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29

Objective, Burma! (1945)

Objective, Burma! (1945)

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30

They Were Expendable (1945)

They Were Expendable (1945)

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31

Paisan (1946)

Paisan (1946)

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32

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

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33

Fort Apache (1948)

Fort Apache (1948)

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34

Battleground (1949)

Battleground (1949)

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35

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

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36

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

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37

American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)

American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)

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38

Go for Broke! (1951)

Go for Broke! (1951)

39

Halls of Montezuma (1951)

Halls of Montezuma (1951)

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40

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

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