Top 20 Greatest War Movies
AMC Movie List

Top 20 Greatest War Movies

Heroism, camaraderie, psychological trauma... You'll find it all in these iconic war movies. Which one is your favorite?

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1 Saving Private Ryan
Tom Hanks is a World War II captain whose mission is to save Private Ryan (Matt Damon), the sole survivor among four military sons. 11760 22802
2 Full Metal Jacket
Stanley Kubrick delves into Marine Corps psychology in this Vietnam War movie about a team of new recruits. 5137 16669
3 Platoon
One of the first movies to show the tense psychology of guerrilla warfare, where there are no clear battle lines nor enemy. 5134 16018
4 Patton
From northern Africa to Germany, Patton memorializes the outspoken World War II general George S. Patton Jr., played by George C. Scott. 4997 17917
5 Black Hawk Down
After two helicopters are shot down in Somalia, a team of soldiers led by Josh Hartnett is sent on a rescue mission. 4073 19055
6 The Bridge on the River Kwai
A captured World War II officer (Alec Guinness) leads prisoners in a morale-boosting construction project. His passion turns into obsession. 3021 16295
7 Tora! Tora! Tora!
This Japanese-American 1970 film follows the days leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack from U.S. and Japanese perspectives. 2509 16193
8 Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola directs this dark tale about Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a Vietnam War captain who’s gone rogue in Cambodia. 2418 14596
9 Stalag 17
Billy Wilder directed this 1953 movie about POWs trying to escape a World War II prison camp. Upon failure, suspicions of treachery arise. 2358 12940
10 The Dirty Dozen
Twelve felons, led by an unruly major (Lee Marvin), are sent on a suicide mission: infiltrate a Nazi retreat and kill high-ranking officers. 2352 15040
11 Sergeant York
Alvin C. York (Gary Cooper) is a conscientious objector, but his amazing marksmanship turns him into a World War I hero. 2325 12841
12 Midway
Charlton Heston stars in this blockbuster war epic which spectacularly recreates the famed battle from the perspective of both sides. 2321 9235
13 Kelly's Heroes
Released in the same year as MASH and Catch-22, this Clint Eastwood WWII movie is really about Vietnam. 1739 11817
14 Letters from Iwo Jima
Clint Eastwood's pic takes a rare look at the other side of WWII in this thoughtful story of the Japanese forces occupying Iwo Jima. 1717 6389
15 The Big Red One
A veteran soldier (Lee Marvin) leads his beleaguered squad through the battles of World War II. Also stars Mark Hamill. 1654 11174
16 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
After the Japanese invade Pearl Harbor, an Air Force colonel (Spencer Tracy) leads a secret retaliatory attack with volunteer airmen. 1571 10303
17 A Bridge Too Far
This WWII pic has a starry cast including Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Sean O'Connery... 1279 2485
18 All Quiet on the Western Front
A group of German schoolboys are roused to fight by their jingoistic teacher. On the front lines, they learn good and evil aren't clear-cut. 1243 10411
19 The Green Berets
John Wayne stars as a no-nonsense Colonel leading his Green Beret squad on an important mission. And Wayne directed the movie, too. 1225 6835
20 Good Morning, Vietnam
Robin Williams is arguably at his best in the Vietnam war comedy about an irreverent radio DJ stationed in Saigon. 266 2612