When I think about all of my favorite all time movies, I would say that half of my personal top 10 are war based movies. Some are from WW2 and some are from the Vietnam War. The reason they’re so popular in mind is, a good war movie will take you to the battlefield, or to the battle at sea.

You wonder to yourself, how did these people have the bravery to charge the beach or storm the enemy lines? And what would I have done in their situation, faced with the spectre of a horrible death.

These movies are considered by movie experts to be the best half dozen of all time and for very good reasons, the list is hard to argue with. They went on to rate the top 40 movies of all time and if you want to see that list you can click below.

Here are the Dirty Half Dozen from their list

• 6. Das Boot, 1981

  I saw this movie way back in the late 80s on VHS and was shocked by the accuracy and what life was like aboard a German U-boat in the cold icy Atlantic of World War II. I can’t think of a worst place to be then underwater when you become the hunted instead of the hunter. If you’ve never seen this movie, it is subtitle because it is authentically German. But definitely worth a watch

• 5. The Bridge Over The River Kwai, 1957

  If you’ve ever seen this movie, then you definitely know how to whistle or hum the ever present tune, that the British prisoners of war, whistle and harm as they build a bridge that will help their enemy, the Japanese, transport, both men and weapons to the battle front. I won’t give away the ending other than to say that it is both Joy and grief, for the poor souls who built that bridge.

• 4. Apocalypse Now, 1979

  The madness, the dizzying nonsense and the pure horror of war captured in one epic film that – almost – reflected the same qualities in its making. Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam classic has gone down in cinematic folklore for its protracted production, but nothing can detract from the final film. Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, and, of course, Marlon Brando excel in this quasi-farcical flick about the lunacy of war.

  Although I haven’t seen this movie in more than 25 years, I think it’s one that I would watch again, just have to find a lot time to sit and take it all in.

• 3. Platoon, 1986

  The first casualty of war is innocence. Following his tour of duty in Vietnam, filmmaker Oliver Stone knew this as well as anyone. His directorial masterpiece is this, his vision of war as opposed to the gung-ho, All-American propaganda disseminated in flicks like The Green Berets. Charlie Sheen excels as Chris Taylor, the initially naïve solider who vacillates between the opposing tactics of Sergeants Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Elias (Willem Dafoe). Stone’s use of Barber’s Adagio for Strings is one of the most memorable scenes in movie history.

  I saw this movie when it came out a theater in Revere and was struck by it’s authentic feel and look. Willem Dafoe is scary good and steals the movie out right.

• 2. Full Metal Jacket, 1987

  One of Stanley Kubrick’s (many) undoubted masterpieces, Full Metal Jacket is the quintessential war film of two halves. The first segment captures the brutal and often degrading tactics involved in assembling a bunch of soldiers for Vietnam in boot camp, while the second half shows the soldiers in battle during the Tet offensive of 1968.  I can still remember all those great lines in the awesome boot camp scenes that reminded me of my time in the Navy, of course for me it was during peace time, so my only fear was how big was the ship I was assigned to going to be and where was it going.

• 1. Saving Private Ryan

  Another movie that I saw in the theaters the week it came out. I will never forget the incredible opening 30 minutes of the movie when the soldiers hit the beaches of Normandy. Some never made it to the beach, and too many were cut down before ever hitting land. It was at the time the most gruesome and realistic war movie ever made. There were no John Wayne’s wading ashore just brave American men that had a job to do, take the beach.
  To this day, if it is on tv, I will stop everything and watch it.
  Tom Hanks is the center of the movie and carries it through the bitter end.
  For the rest of the top 40 click below.

  The best war movies of all time

  Fantastic war movies that need to be seen: these are the greatest war movies of all time.

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