The Top Five War Films of All Time

In this article, I will discuss the top five war movies of all time. Before I begin, let me quickly go over the "rules". A war movie is a movie that takes place largely in the context of a historical war. By "top", I am referring to the top movies in terms of box office sales.

One very interesting thing to note about war movies is that they have not been huge commercial successes, at least in the last decade or so. In fact, the top grossing war movie of all time is only the eighty-sixth highest grossing film of all time (right after #85, Alvin and the Chipmunks). Nonetheless, war movies are often critical successes, and are sufficiently popular to be profitable.



#5:Troy

Since we have the archeological evidence suggesting the war of Troy actually happened, I will include Troy here. It covers the story of the attack on Troy by the Aegeans after Paris seduces the wife of Meneleus. Brad Pitt is perfectly cast as Achilles, as is Orlando Bloom as Paris. However, they change the ending of the war! Brad Pitt is making that a habit...

#4: Platoon

Platoon remains one of the most important war films ever made, dealing on a very personal level with the Vietnam War, which was only eleven years before this movie was made. It brought out the confusion and panic that occurred in a guerrilla war in a place that the soldiers barely understood.

#3: Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was as much a romance as a war film, but given the rules above, it counts. It was a somewhat overwrought romantic film where the war served as a backdrop. However, it included some incredible battle sequences including the attack of Pearl Harbor that are the best ever made.

#2: 300

300 was about what, before the Nineteenth Century gave us the battle of Waterloo, was the most famous battle in history: the Battle of Thermopylae. In that battle, about 300 Spartans held off the million-strong Persian army while the rest of Greece was evacuated. The story is based on a comic by Frank Millar and is both bizarre and exhilarating.

#1: Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan has been hailed as one of the best war films ever made. It certainly has one of the most realistic depictions of the D-Day invasion of any film in history. One of the important things this films captures is the way in which the war doesn't just kill people, but turns them into killers. We see characters make some very difficult decisions in the face of the almost random violence they confront.

Alexander Rorty, M.A. has been writing for the internet since the last millennium. His most recent site is called 8mm Projector, where he has an article on 8mm Projector Repair.

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