The Top 10 War Movies of All Time

Let me state up front, this is a biased list. I should also point out that I've limited this list to movies I've actually seen, and I'm certain I missed some terrific ones, e.g., Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart (and feel free to remind me of any others I forgot or didn't include). So, if it looks like I enjoy: a) Alistair MacLean, b) World War II, c) classic actors in classic roles, and d) the prison camp escape genre, well, you've probably got a point there.

There was also no way for me to restrict this list to ten movies; there are just too many great ones out there. So the title here should probably read, "My favorite 14 war movies of all time." In order of release date, here they are.

Sands of Iwo Jima (1950). Stars John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, and James Holden. Directed by Allan Dwan; script by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant. The classic story of that ferocious battle for the Japanese-held Pacific island. The flag used in the flag-raising scene over Mount Suribachi was the actual one raised by the real Marines, on loan from the U.S. Marine Corps Museum.

The Caine Mutiny (1954). Stars Humphrey Bogart, Robert Francis, Lee Marvin, Fred MacMurray, Jose Ferrer, and Van Johnson. Directed by Edward Dmytryk; script by Stanley Roberts and Michael Blankfort, based on the 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk. One of Bogart's most riveting performances, he made this movie while ill with throat cancer, which killed him three years later. Wouk's original novel dealt more with the lead character's transition from spoiled youth into manhood, and as such continues for more than 100 pages past the emotionally climactic moment of the plotline; the movie centers more on the mutiny and the trial that followed, and therefore carries more of a direct punch.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Stars Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Geoffrey Horne. Directed by David Lean; script by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, based on the French novel by Pierre Boulle. A true psychological thriller of a man consumed by an obsession, and the scene where the British POWs arrive in the camp whistling the Colonel Bogey March is a classic. This is one where the movie is actually better than the book.

The Guns of Navarone (1961). Stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, and Richard Harris. Directed by J. Lee Thompson; script by Carl Foreman, kinda loosely based on the novel by Alistair MacLean. Although the characters were drastically changed during the conversion to film, the plot held true. This is a showpiece for MacLean's ferocious talent as a war novelist.

The Longest Day (1962). Stars John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Richard Todd, and Heinz Reincke as Oberst Josef Priller, one of only two Luftwaffe fighter pilots to break through the Allied air cover and strafe the Normandy invasion beachhead (and he did it with a hangover). Directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, and Bernhard Wicki; script by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall, Cornelius Ryan, and Jack Seddon, based on the nonfiction book by Cornelius Ryan. Historical accuracy here is very high. Many of the military consultants on this film actually fought on D-Day, and so did a number of the actors; Richard Todd played his own commanding officer, and the actor standing next to him, in the scene where the British paratroopers holding the Pegasus Bridge are awaiting relief, is playing Richard Todd. Dwight D. Eisenhower was originally cast as himself, but it was decided that even Hollywood makeup artists couldn't make the ex-president look that young again. All in all, an amazing bit of work.

The Great Escape (1963). Stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, and James Coburn. Directed by John Sturges; script by James Clavell and W.R. Burnett, based on the nonfiction book by Paul Brickhill, who was a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III at the time the actual events took place. Another ex-prisoner, Wally Floody, served as technical advisor on the set. This is a ripping good escape yarn, even if all the British characters die and the American ones survive. McQueen performed most of his own stunts, including those incredible motorcycle scenes, which transformed this movie into a cult classic. The music, by Elmer Bernstein, is also noteworthy and has been used for background humor in several other movies.

Von Ryan's Express (1965). Stars Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard. Directed by Mark Robson; script by Wendell Mayes, based on the novel by David Westheimer. Another fabulous escape yarn, although I haven't decided if the book's ending or the movie's is better. Old Blue Eyes insisted on changing it to suit his own ideas, cheating himself out of the sequel that the studio had been planning.

The Dirty Dozen (1967). Stars Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, and Jim Brown. Directed by Robert Aldrich; script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller, based on the novel by E.M. Nathanson. Extremely violent for its date, this movie quickly became a cult classic, particularly amongst the young male population, helped by rumors that such an event had actually occurred in the final year of World War II.

Where Eagles Dare (1968). Stars Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. Directed by Brian G. Hutton; both script and original novel written by Alistair MacLean in six weeks, even if he did cut the funny lines from the movie. The scene atop the cable car, in both print and film, is a ferocious nail-biter, and if you can keep up with all the plot twists during the first viewing, you're doing better than I did.

The Eagle has Landed (1976). Stars Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Donald Pleasence, Anthony Quayle, Treat Williams, and Larry Hagman. Directed by John Sturges; script by Tom Mankiewicz, based on the novel by Jack Higgins. The story of a unit of German paratroopers who land in England in an attempt to assassinate or kidnap Winston Churchill, this one is best appreciated by reading the novel first.

A Bridge Too Far (1977). Stars Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Kruger, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Elliot Gould, Gene Hackman, Ryan O'Neal, and Maximilian Schell. Directed by Richard Attenborough; script by William Goldman, loosely based on the nonfiction book by Cornelius Ryan. A terrific movie of a doomed mission, and worth it for the all-star cast alone.

Force 10 from Navarone (1978). Stars Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, and Barbara Bach. Directed by Guy Hamilton; script by Robin Chapman and George MacDonald Fraser, based very loosely on the novel by Alistair MacLean, which is fine, because the book is MacLean spoofing himself, if you're following me. The movie is classic MacLean, with mind-bending plot twists, strong tension, and some true laugh-out-loud moments. Not a hit at the box office, it subsequently became a cult classic.

Apocalypse Now (1979). Stars Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, and a minor appearance by Harrison Ford. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who also puts in a cameo appearance; script by John Milius and Coppola, in a gut-twisting modern retelling of Robert Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness. Too well-known to need much description from the likes of me, this film was originally panned and slammed by critics but is now considered to have transcended its genre.

Schindler's List (1993). Stars Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Caroline Goodall. Directed by Steven Spielberg; script by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, this movie deserved every Oscar it gathered. There's no describing it; you just gotta see it for yourself.