The movie takes a number of liberties with the actual event, in which British POWs were forced by Japanese military to build a bridge during World War II, but that’s okay. The Bridge on the River Kwai remains one of the best examples of that approach to telling stories about world wars and other conflicts. The Bridge on The River Kwai (1957) The Bridge on The River Kwai (1957)įor me personally, many of the best war movies ever made are the ones that carve out character-driven stories from solitary moments in larger histories. Watch if: You want an exceptional cast with a strong story.Īvoid if: You just can’t stand movies older than you are.Ĥ. Led by an all-star cast, including Myrna Loy and Fredric March, The Best Years of Our Lives is old-school Hollywood at its best. There is still a certain degree of stylization, to be sure, but it doesn’t stick out or overwhelm this film. There is something thoroughly sincere and unpretentious about this film. The lack of glamor or posturing for awards are things you will definitely pick up during this classic from one of Hollywood’s most productive periods. Its vitality and depth of character and story are still apparent 75+ years. The Best Years of Our Lives is impressively timeless. This film, one of the very first to make a serious attempt at examining post-war life for soldiers coming back from World War 2, remains one of his best. William Wyler spent a long career directing large-scale human dramas. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Watch if: You want to see a compelling piece of film history.Īvoid if: 2 and a half hours is a long time to devote to something like that.ģ. It still retains a good deal of its initial awe. All Quiet on the Western Front still shines for its energy, and for humanizing soldiers on a scale that can be appreciated as ambitious. It is much more challenging to create something that is harrowing, and yet somehow entertaining or engaging on grand, complex ideas. Perhaps, it was also the first war movie to take characterization seriously.Īnyone can blow stuff up. This is even true of a film such as this, which was the first war epic. It is the fate of all movies to one degree or another. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)Ī big winner at the third Academy Awards ceremony, All Quiet on the Western Front can’t help but come across as dated to modern audiences. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. To be sure, every type of war movie is going to find a place on this chronological best war movies list. You may use this list of the best war movies of all-time to come to a better understanding of this concept. Some people just want to see a huge battle brilliantly recreated. War lends itself well to film for a number of reasons. They can be made for a plethora of reasons, from a need to come to grips with something atrocious and pointless, to pure propaganda that favors staggering heroism over grim realities.
We frankly do not have time to study the relationship between war and war movies. America killed Hitler, went shopping, and didn’t really worry about anything else.Īnd as long as film has existed, we have had war films. Since Nazis are once again on the rise, there are people who wonder if there was any point to the Second World War at all. Others believe it was just as cruel and needless as any other conflict.
Some people would argue that was the last noble war America fought in. That includes the possibility of another Civil War, which makes it difficult for us to think about anything else.Īlthough it goes without saying that people are probably going to be obsessed with World War II forever. These days, we’re pretty obsessed with the wars that may or may not happen. I’m not sure how well-received it would be today. Platoon absolutely needed to come out in 1986. Looking over the best war movies ever made creates a fascinating trajectory of not only war, but of how we discuss such a controversial topic at the time of the film’s release.
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