Best war films

From the trenches to the jungle, and the people who lived through it. These films show war at the front and away from it. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.0 or more from at least 1,000 votes, and new releases wait until their ratings settle. The order follows the Boxlist quality score, and we checked the list by hand to remove obvious misfits.

1
Schindler's List (1993)
Film8.6
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory...
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Netflix, NowTV
2
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Film8.0
The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
US Kanopy, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Google Play (rent)
3
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Film8.2
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines.
US Amazon Prime, Tubi TV, UK Amazon Prime, NowTV
4
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Film8.3
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever...
US Kanopy, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Channel 4, Amazon Prime (rent)
5
Das Boot (1981)
Film8.1
A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Netflix, Amazon Prime (rent)
6
Dunkirk (2017)
Film7.5
The story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German...
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
7
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Film7.3
Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is...
US STARZ, Amazon Prime (rent), UK BBC, Mubi
8
Incendies (2010)
Film8.1
A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Rakuten, Amazon Prime (rent)
9
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Film8.1
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to...
US Paramount+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Netflix, Amazon Prime (rent)
10
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Film7.1
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
US Cinemax, HBO, UK Amazon Prime, iTunes (rent)
11
Paths of Glory (1957)
Film8.3
A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
US Amazon Prime, Kanopy, UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
12
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Film8.0
A group of working-class friends decide to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture...
US Netflix, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent)
13
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Film8.2
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear...
US Paramount+, STARZ, UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
14
The Pianist (2002)
Film8.4
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation.
US Amazon Prime, IMDB TV, UK Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent)
15
Glory (1989)
Film7.5
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent)
16
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Film7.8
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors.
US Kanopy, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent)
17
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Film8.2
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious...
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (buy), UK ITV, Netflix
18
Platoon (1986)
Film7.7
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
US Amazon Prime, IMDB TV, UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
19
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Film7.1
After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a...
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Disney, Amazon Prime (rent)
20
1917 (2019)
Film8.0
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack...
US Netflix, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Bfi Player (rent), iTunes (rent)