11 brilliant war films that may be better than Saving Private Ryan | Films | Entertainment

As a person with a deep interest in history and a love of films, it’s only natural that I would delve deep into the war genre. Films are a perfect medium to look back at the past and understand where we as human beings came from, the experiences that others faced and the sequence of events leading to today.

Despite the harsh realities of war, it is important that we acknowledge the vulnerabilities felt by our predecessors and educate ourselves about history. That, and a guilty pleasure for action films, is what makes the genre so appealing for me. Here are 11 brilliant war films that might be even better than Saving Private Ryan.

The Battle of Algiers is an Italian-Algerian war film co-written and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. The 1966 film is based on action undertaken by rebels during the Algerian War (1954–1962) against the French government in North Africa. The most prominent action was the Battle of Algiers, the place of Algeria.

The film was shot on location in black and white with documentary-style editing to add to its sense of historical authenticity. The participants were mostly non-professional actors who had lived through the real battle.

Narvik is a Norwegian historical film depicting the Battles of Narvik from April 9 to June 8, 1940. Directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg and made by Nordisk Film, it stars Kristine Hartgen, Carl Martin Eggesbø, Cristoph Gelfert Mathiesen and Henrik Mestad. The film premiered in Norway in December 2022 and was released worldwide on Netflix in January 2023.

The film’s synopsis reads: “In April 1940, the eyes of the world are on Narvik, a small town in northern Norway, a source of the iron ore needed for Hitler’s war machine. Through two months of fierce winter warfare, the German leader is dealt his first defeat.”

Ran, released in 1985, weaves Shakespeare’s King Lear tale into the storyline, which is inspired by the life of the 16th-century feudal ruler Mori Motonari. Ran’s IMDb synopsis reads: “In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the newfound power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other… and him.”

It is a story of one man’s horrifying regret and his tragic end, where a rush of reflection leads to humbling even the proudest of people.

The Winter War is a 1989 Finnish war film directed by Pekka Parikka and based on the 1984 novel Talvisota by Antti Tuuri. It is set in the 1939 Winter War and tells the story of a Finnish infantry regiment from Southern Ostrobothnia fighting on the Karelian Isthmus.

It focuses mainly on a platoon of reservists from Kauhava.

Jonathan Glazer’s adaptation of Martin Amis’ book, The Zone of Interest, is a unique and bleak Nazi drama told from the perpetrator’s viewpoint. The story follows the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, played by Christian Friedel, and his wife, Hedwig, played by Sandra Hüller, as they live in a house and garden located next to the concentration camp.

The chilling film features little or mundane dialogue and is particularly special due to being told mainly through sound and the use of dispassionate mid and wide shots, never showing us beyond the wall that separates the garden from the camp. The incredibly original film won two Oscars for Best International Feature and Best Sound.

Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who also directed The Godfather. It is set in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the height of the Vietnam War.

The film is a loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and it relays Conrad’s use of a river journey from South Vietnam to Cambodia as a trip into the most burrowing reaches of the human psyche. Martin Sheen stars as a special-ops soldier Captain Willard, charged with ending the career of the abusive Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando.

This German film from 2022 follows Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enthusiastically signs up to fight in the First World War but gradually loses his innocence upon experiencing the harsh reality of trench warfare. Played by Felix Kammerer, the film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I.

Directed by Edward Berger, it is a compelling and personal account that homes in on the psychological impact of warfare. Though the characters are fictional, their experiences are based on real events that Remarque faced. It also powerfully illustrates the waste and suffering of war, focusing on the brutality and impact on soldiers rather than glorifying heroism.

Christopher Nolan’s epic war thriller film focuses on the Allied Troops of Britain, France and Belgium in WWII as they attempt to evacuate the town of Dunkirk during an attack by the German forces. Dunkirk is beautifully shot and extremely well edited, and so does well to demonstrate the sheer scale of the historical event, using sound and visceral imagery to do so.

It is an emotional retelling from the perspectives of the land, sea and air. It has an incredible cast including Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles in his feature film debut, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.

This beautiful one-shot take stylised WWI film is a powerful watch. The cinematography totally pulls you in, leaving you hooked for the entirety of the film from start to finish. The 2019 film was produced and directed by Sam Mendes and is partially inspired by stories that Mendes’ paternal grandfather told him of the war.

The film follows a pair of British soldiers, played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, on their mission to deliver an important message to call off a doomed offensive attack in the aftermath of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich. Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch also star in the film.

Warfare, written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, is based on the former’s experience serving in the Iraq War and follows a group of US Navy SEALs in real-time as they embark on a dangerous assignment through enemy territory.

The film is largely based on the soldier Mendoza (D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai) and his best friend Elliot Miller (Cosmo Jarvis), who were sent on a deadly mission to the city of Ramadi where Miller was seriously injured while engaging in combat. The movie is dedicated to Miller.

Hacksaw Ridge is a 2017 film directed by Braveheart’s very own Mel Gibson. It’s based on a true story, adapted from Terry Benedict’s novel, The Conscientious Objector. It does well to break away from other war films and depicts the experience of a conscientious objector (someone who refuses to take part in military service on grounds of conscience or religion), as opposed to the standard soldiers that other war films do well to portray.

Andrew Garfield stars in this WWII film as Desmond Doss, who, after nearly killing his younger brother, has pledged not to touch a weapon but joins the forces as a combat medic. It’s an incredible story that is one of Garfield’s best performances to date.