Top Ten War Movies of All Time

Last updated on: January 3, 2022 at 1:25 am by Ben Witherington

Top Ten War Movies of All Time 2021-12-24T06:56:08-05:00 Ben Witherington

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Obviously, there are many movies made about war that are graphic, that make clear that war should not be glorified, especially by Christians, and that war, while in some cases seems to be a necessary evil to prevent something worse, is never a good thing. Never, not least because lots of innocent lives (which should never be called collateral damage) will be lost. In my own lifetime, there has not been a single war the U.S. has been involved in that meets the just war criteria, not one. The only war in my parents lifetime that may meet the ethical criteria of a just war would be WWII. My choice of these ten films is based on a variety of criteria: 1) is it an accurate depiction of some aspect of a real war; 2) is the acting of a high quality so that one can see the problems, the pathos, the courage, the overcoming that war can bring out in the human spirit; 3) does the film depict how war destroys human morals, results in all sorts of ethical compromises, and yet also shows some of the redemptive aspects of human behavior, including towards enemies during a war? The following list is in no particular order:

The Longest Day— a very telling film about D-Day
Schindler’s List— an equally telling film about the Holocaust.
Lawrence of Arabia— A very different sort of war film. Peter O’Toole is remarkable in this film
Hacksaw Ridge– How can a devout Christian pacifist who loves his country serve in a war? This film movingly answers that question.
Saving Private Ryan— If this film doesn’t convince you war is hell (as General Mark Clark once said) but can involve some real heroism and courage on behalf of others nothing will.
Braveheart— The long running animus between Scots and Englishmen, leading from time to time to war is well depicted here.
Apocalypse Now— The Vietnam War was one of America’s worst mistakes. This movie also makes quite clear where the blame should lie in most cases for war— not with those who do not make the decisions whether or not to fight a war, but rather with our politicians, our armchair generals, our Presidents. Soldiers do not make such decisions, and their heroism and self-sacrifice should be honored, even if it is in a bad cause.
The Great Escape— This movie over does it in various regards, but it does show human ingenuity when it comes to getting out of an oppressive prisoner situation.
All Quiet on the Western Front— This film does an especially good job of depicting the horrors of WWI, and from a German point of view to some degree.
The Pianist– This films does a good job of showing the after effects of war, on sensitive souls, like musicians. And one more from a Christian viewpoint— the moving story told by Corrie TenBoom— The Hiding Place.

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