For fans of war movies, Max is a must-have streaming service, as the combined film libraries of HBO and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), with some Criterion Collection masterpieces sprinkled in as well, provide a number of great choices. Among the over 2,200 films currently available to stream on Max are some classic films of the genre, including several from the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films of All Time. They include war films from Hollywood's golden age, as well as modern masterpieces from legendary directors.
War films are a unique genre, combining elements of action and drama, and often adding historical aspects and biographies to form a narrative. The result is a film unlike other cinematic offerings, offering both exhilaration and a moral lesson. We've assembled a list (in alphabetical order) of the best war movies available to stream on Max right now. For this list, we're limiting our selection to films that focus on battle and the soldier's experience. That means films like Casablanca and Gone With The Wind, romantic dramas set against the backdrop of war, aren't included.
Braveheart (1995)
Mel Gibson's populist masterwork Braveheart tells the true story of William Wallace, the Scottish warrior who led his people's fight for independence from England and King Edward I. Braveheart isn't a traditional war film, as Wallace was initially a rebel with a small band of fighters. However, the uprising becomes an all-out medieval war, with Wallace leading an army of thousands as he defeated England's army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, when he was only 27 years old.
Despite the 700+ years that have passed since the film's events, the motivations and dedication among warriors ancient and modern remains the same. It's those similarities that make Braveheart a relatable film (if not the most historically accurate), while Gibson's direction and Randall Wallace's epic screenplay make it a timeless classic.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Oscar winner for Best Picture of 1957, The Bridge on the River Kwai is based on the Pierre Boulle novel, which was loosely based on real-life events. Set in Burma during World War II, the film tells the story of British POWs forced to build a bridge by their Japanese captors. A team of American soldiers, however, is planning to blow up the bridge before the Japanese can use it. Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa all give outstanding performances, and the film's ending is legendary.
Guinness, who would go on to play Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars 20 years later, won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia) won Best Director. The film took home seven Oscars of the eight it was nominated for, and has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War is as unique and devastating as you might expect. Full Metal Jacket follows a young U.S. Marine (Matthew Modine) and his path to war, beginning with his experiences in boot camp under an inhuman Gunnery Sergeant (R. Lee Ermey, in a memorable performance). He eventually goes to Vietnam, where he begins to question the reasons for U.S. involvement there. As in any great war film, Kubrick demonstrates that the impact of war is not measured in the grand scale of battle, but rather in the individual conflicts that rob a soldier of their humanity.
The Four Feathers (1939)
Directed by Zoltan Korda (Cry, The Beloved Country), The Four Feathers is based on the classic novel by A.E.W. Mason, and tells the story of a British Army officer (John Clements) who resigns his commission just before he is sent to war in Egypt in the 1880s. His three comrades and his girlfriend each give him a white feather, a symbol of cowardice. In response, he goes to war with his friends anyway, disguised as an Arab and assisting them in the fight, hoping to earn the right to give back the feathers. This classic film is a surprisingly mature look at the power of duty and commitment.
The Great Escape (1963)
Steve McQueen gives an iconic performance as "The Cooler King" in John Sturges' The Great Escape. It seems nearly every McQueen film featured an iconic performance, but that's a testament to the actor's amazing screen presence. Here, however, he shares the screen with an all-star cast of acting legends playing Allied soldiers being held by the Nazis in a German prisoner camp. Sir Richard Attenborough (Jurassic Park), James Garner (The Rockford Files), Donald Pleasence (Halloween), and James Coburn (The Magnificent Seven) are all planning a massive prison break in this classic, star-studded film.
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
In 1986, Clint Eastwood turned in his usual cowboy hat and boots for military fatigues for Heartbreak Ridge. Eastwood plays Gunnery Sergeant Tom "Gunny" Highway, who is tasked with getting a dysfunctional Marine platoon in fighting shape. When the platoon is called upon to rescue Americans in Grenada, Gunny's training and leadership is put to the test. The film may be riddled with war movie clichés, but Eastwood's presence makes it an entertaining watch.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
The 2008 Oscar winner for Best Picture, The Hurt Locker explores the chaos of the Iraq War through the dangers faced by a bomb disposal unit, led by SSgt. William James (Jeremy Renner). More than a decade before they would pair up for the Avengers films for Marvel, Renner is joined by Anthony Mackie, who thinks Renner's James is too reckless and will get them all killed. The film is both a thrill ride and a sobering reflection on the effects of the war.
Director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director, and Jeremy Renner earned a Best Actor nomination for his performance. The film would win six Oscars in all, and Bigelow would go on to direct the 2012 Best Picture nominee Zero Dark Thirty.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
It is largely considered a historical epic, but Lawrence of Arabia is also, most definitely, a war film. The true story of British officer T.E. Lawrence and his efforts to unite Arab tribes against Turkish forces during World War I is one of the great works of cinema. Director David Lean crafts a film that is both an intimate examination of one man's personal obsession for greatness and a grand epic that plays out in sweeping battle scenes against a picturesque desert backdrop. It was a great film upon its release in 1962, and it is a magnificent masterpiece even today.
Lone Survivor (2013)
Writer/director Peter Berg is one of the most underrated directors working in Hollywood today, and his 2013 film Lone Survivor is, likewise, a film that deserves more credit. It tells the true story of a Navy SEAL team whose mission to kill a Taliban leader goes badly. The title and first few minutes make it clear that Mark Wahlberg's Marcus Luttrell will be the last man standing, but rather than being a spoiler, it casts an impending sense of doom for the SEALs, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster, among others.
Lone Survivor has been criticized as pro-American jingoism disguised as entertainment, but those accusations seem based in the politics of the War on Terror and the real-life Marcus Luttrell, and not the film itself. The movie is relatively politics-free, and its themes of sacrifice go far beyond the American military. The film's strongest scenes involve the Afghani villagers who risk their lives to protect Luttrell from the Taliban, an incredible act of courage. The dedication that ends the film is a heartbreaking reminder of the ultimate cost they paid for our freedom.
Objective, Burma! (1945)
Errol Flynn, the king of the swashbucklers, is best known for playing Robin Hood and Captain Blood. For Objective, Burma!, Flynn played a more contemporary character, a U.S. Army Captain leading a mission to destroy an enemy radar installation in Japanese-occupied Burma during World War II. The mission goes sideways, and the soldiers are left to fight their way out of enemy territory. The film was loosely based in fact, and was meant to bring more attention to Allied war efforts in Southeast Asia. The film earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Music.
Platoon (1986)
Oliver Stone drew upon his own experiences as a Vietnam veteran when he wrote the screenplay for Platoon in 1971. He had approached The Doors' frontman Jim Morrison to play the lead, but the singer died soon after, with the script found in his apartment (Stone would later make a film about Morrison, The Doors). He finally brought it to the screen in 1986, after winning a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Midnight Express. Charlie Sheen took the lead role as a naive new arrival in-country, only to find the Vietnam War is not the noble cause he thought it would be.
Stone cast both Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe against their usual type, as sergeants whose conflicting personalities have devastating consequences. The two earned Best Supporting Actor nominations for their performances, and Platoon would win four Oscars, including Best Director for Stone. The film struck a nerve with the country, which seemed ready to come to terms with the war, a little more than a decade after it ended.
PT 109 (1963)
PT 109 tells the story of the heroics of President John F. Kennedy and the crew of the patrol boat he commanded in the Solomon Islands during World War II. Released in the summer of 1963, mere months before Kennedy was assassinated, PT 109 is a highly entertaining (if romanticized) look at the President's experiences during the war, and it serves as a history lesson for those unfamiliar with Kennedy's naval career. Cliff Robertson (who would go on to play Uncle Ben in Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man films) played the future Commander-in-Chief, and was reportedly Kennedy's first choice to play himself, although Jackie Kennedy preferred Warren Beatty.
Seven Samurai (1954)
Hear us out. Director Akira Kurosawa's epic Seven Samurai embraced all the best elements of war films. The logistics of combat, the motivations of duty and responsibility, and the brotherhood of warriors who fight together. It is also a story about the nobility of sacrifice, and the film's themes have inspired countless war films since.
The film follows seven warriors who take a job protecting a farming village from raiders who come and steal their food. When the threat from the raiders is more than they can handle, the samurai must decide if they will stay and fight for honor and the sake of the farmers and their families. Kurosawa's storied career produced a number of cinematic classics, but Seven Samurai remains among his best. The film earned two Oscar nominations upon its release.
Sergeant York (1941)
Gary Cooper won an Oscar for Best Actor for Sergeant York, the true story of one of World War I's most decorated American heroes. The first half of the film follows Alvin York's life in Tennessee, where he grew up a rambunctious, hard-drinking young man. A near-death experience causes him to have a religious awakening, and when World War I breaks out, he reluctantly joins the Army as a conscientious objector. After some soul-searching, he takes up arms, joins the infantry, and pulls off one of the most legendary acts of bravery in American combat history. For a war film, Sergeant York is introspective and thoughtful, and the cinematography is often serenely beautiful.
Windtalkers (2002)
Director John Woo's epic, Windtalkers, tells the true story of the Navajo Marines who used their own language to create an unbreakable code that saved thousands of lives during World War II. Nicolas Cage is fantastic as a soldier who is assigned to protect the Navajo soldiers (including Adam Beach). Although Woo focuses a bit too much on the action scenes, there's an excellent, often overlooked story from Native American history at its core, making the film required viewing. Cage was so impressed by the real-life story, he learned to speak Navajo fluently while making the film.
Comments
Post a Comment