It belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made - Roger Ebert

Starring: (the voice talents of:) Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Kôzô Hashida, Masayo Sakai, Kazumi Nozaki, Yoshio Matsuoka, Masahiro Kanetake, Kiyoshi Yanagawa

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Why do fireflies have to die so soon?" - Setsuko

Why watch this? War is hell on soldiers, but it's also hell on the civilians that live beneath falling bombs.

Plot Summary: During the final months of World War II in Japan, teenage Seita and his young sister Setsuko are orphaned after an American firebombing destroys their home and separates them from their parents. The two children must rely completely on one another for survival, struggling to find food and shelter in the war-torn countryside after a falling out with their unsympathetic aunt. Their story is a heartbreaking tale of the devastating impact of war on innocent civilians and the profound strength of their sibling bond amidst unimaginable hardship.

Studio Ghibli; Toho

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.

Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finley, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer, Ronan Vibert, Ruth Platt, Andrew Tiernan, Michal Zebrowski, Richard Ridings

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"They're exterminating us. It won't take them long. We are 60 thousand left, out of half a million. Mostly young people." - Majorek

Why watch this? This is a superb telling of survival within Poland during WWII.

Plot Summary: Based on the autobiography of Władysław Szpilman, the film follows a renowned Polish-Jewish classical pianist struggling to survive as the Nazis occupy Warsaw and enforce brutal persecution. After being separated from his family during the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, he endures years of starvation and hiding, relying on the help of non-Jewish allies and the Polish resistance. Amidst the destruction of the city, he finds a unlikely glimmer of hope through the compassion of a music-loving German officer.

Canal+, Studio Babelsberg,
SudioCanal; BAC Films

The towering triumph of adventure from the makers of "Lawrence of Arabia."

Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Andre Morell, Geoffrey Horne

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Must we work so well? Must we build them a better bridge than they could have built for themselves?" - Major Clipton

Why watch this? This epic WWII film shows the madness war can infect men held in brutal war camps.

Plot Summary: British prisoners of war are forced to build a railway bridge in Burma for their Japanese captors during World War II. A battle of wills emerges between the British Colonel Nicholson and the Japanese commander Colonel Saito over the treatment of officers. An allied mission aims to destroy the bridge, creating a conflict between the objective of the mission and Colonel's drive to finish the bridge.

Horizon Pictures; Columbia Pictures

One of the most important and powerful films of all time!

Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, George Dzundza, Chuck Aspergren

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"You gotta listen to me... You wanna stay down here and die? Go on. It's up to you. Now it's up to you." - Michael

Why watch this? The Vietnam war damaged its survivors. Here, we see the depth of that devastation.

Plot Summary: This epic war drama explores the devastating impact of the Vietnam War on a close-knit group of friends from a small, working-class Pennsylvania mining town. It follows three steelworker buddies who volunteer for military service and face harrowing experiences, forever altering their lives and testing the bonds of friendship.

EMI; Universal Pictures

Time to rock it from the Delta to the DMZ!

Starring: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, Tung Thanh, Chintara Sukapatana, J. T. Walsh

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Five months in Vietnam and my best friend is a V.C.! This will not look good on a résumé!" - Adrian Cronauer

Why watch this? Robin Williams steals the show, and I think that was the idea.

Plot Summary: Adrian Cronauer, an Armed Forces Radio Service DJ, is assigned to Saigon during the Vietnam War in 1965. His irreverent style and choice of music make him incredibly popular with the troops, but they infuriate his stuffy superiors. The film explores the contrast between Cronauer's attempts to bring levity and rock and roll to the soldiers, and the growing realities and complexities of the war surrounding them.
 

Dad's Preview: Robin Williams, early in his career, was a quick-witted, almost manic, comedian. Here, he is an Army DJ in Vietnam, spinning tunes, and witty humor, for the troops. Could the film-makers harness his high energy, yet control it enough, to succeed on film? This vehicle let him be spontaneous, and funny, yet also exposed us to the real actor behind the mayhem. His complicated relationship with two Vietnamese siblings gives the film a real beating heart.

Touchstone Pics, Silver Screen Partners III;
Buena Vista Pictures Distributing

Leave No Man Behind.

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard, William Fichtner

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Don't really matter what I think. Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that shit just goes right out the window." – SFC "Hoot" Gibson

Why watch this? This is a historically accurate account of the 1993 Mogadishu Raid.

Plot Summary: In 1993, a group of elite U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force operators are sent into Mogadishu, Somalia, on a mission to capture key lieutenants of a powerful warlord. However, the operation quickly escalates into a brutal and prolonged firefight when two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down. The stranded American soldiers must fight their way through hostile territory in a desperate struggle to survive and rescue their comrades.

Columbia Pics, Revolution Studios, J. Bruckheimer
Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

It explodes in the no-man's land no picture ever dared cross before!

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Wayne Morris, Richard Anderson, Joe Turkel, Peter Capell

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate, sadistic old man. And you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again!" - Colonel Dax

Why watch this? ... it's a superb war film set in the trenches of the first World War.

Plot Summary: Colonel Dax, a French officer in World War I, is ordered by his superiors to lead his men in a suicidal assault on a German position known as the "Ant Hill". The mission ends in disaster and the French General, in an effort to deflect blame from himself, demands that three soldiers be court-martialed and executed for cowardice. Dax, a former lawyer, volunteers to defend his men against the blatant injustice of the proceedings.

Bryna Productions, Harris-Kubrick
Pictures Corp.; United Artists

Same Land. Same God. Different Dreams.

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Maxwell Caulfield, C. Thomas Howell, Kevin Conway, Stephen Lang, Sam Elliott

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"We are adrift here in a sea of blood and I want it to end. I want this to be the final battle." - General Robert E. Lee

Why watch this? It was a turning point in the U. S. Civil War - YOU NEED TO SEE THIS FILM!

Plot Summary: This historical epic depicts the pivotal three-day battle of the American Civil War, following the actions and decisions of key figures from both the Union and Confederate armies. It showcases the strategic movements, fierce fighting at crucial locations like Little Round Top, and the climactic Confederate charge known as Pickett's Charge.
 

Dad's Preview: This is a very detailed historical epic that recreates one of the most pivotal moments in American history. The viewer is asked to take in all the pieces that had to come together for this battle to occur. It is all there: Devil's Den, Little Roundtop, Pickett's charge. I understand that this was years ago, but historically, it is important to understand what occurred there in June of 1863. Jeff Daniels' performance shines as Col. Chamberlain, who led the 20th Maine on Little Roundtop.

Turner Pictures, TriStar Television, Esparza/Katz
Productions; New Line Cinema

Every man dies, not every man really lives.

Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick MaGoohan, Angus Macfadyen, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson, Peter Hanly, Ian Bannen, James Cosmo, David O'Hara

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk fought for William Wallace. He fights for something that I never had. And I took it from him, when I betrayed him." - Robert the Bruce

Why watch this? This is a powerful film about historical Scotland and its hero, William Wallace.

Plot Summary: This story features William Wallace, a Scottish warrior who leads a rebellion against the tyrannical King Edward I of England. Wallace unites his people and fights for Scotland's independence, driven by personal tragedy and a desire for freedom. His bravery inspires a nation and leaves a lasting legacy in their struggle for freedom.

Icon Productions, The Ladd Company;
Paramount Pictures

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Director: Lewis Milestone, rated Passed

The Human Side of the War as Seen Through the Eyes of Youth!

Starring: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, William Bakewell, Arnold Lucy, Ben Alexander, Scott Kolk, Owen Davis Jr.

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"He tells you, 'Go out and die! But if you'll pardon me, it's easier to say 'go out and die' than it is to do it." - Paul Bäumer

Why watch this? WWI was a brutal, horrible war. This shows that nobody wins.

Plot Summary: Inspired by patriotic fervor, a group of young German schoolboys enlists in the army at the outbreak of World War I. They soon find their romantic notions of war shattered by the harsh realities of trench warfare, witnessing death and disillusionment firsthand. The film follows their experiences on the Western Front, emphasizing the dehumanizing effects and futility of the conflict.

Carl Laemmle Jr.; Universal Studios

A Salute to a Rebel

Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, David Bauer, Edward Binns, John Doucette, Michael Strong

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." - General Patton

Why watch this? This is the role George C. Scott was destined to play.

Plot Summary: This war film chronicles the World War II career of the controversial American General George S. Patton, beginning with his command in North Africa after a devastating defeat. The film follows his leadership across key campaigns, including the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Battle of the Bulge. Throughout, it explores his complex personality, highlighting both his brilliant military strategy and his outspoken nature and difficult relationships with superiors and subordinates.

Frank McCarthy; 20th Century Fox

The Mighty Warriors Who Became the Seven National Heroes of a Small Town

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Isao Kimura, Daisuke Katō, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba, Minoru Chiaki

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"This is the nature of war: By protecting others, you save yourselves. If you only think of yourself, you'll only destroy yourself." - Kambei Shimada

Why watch this? This is Kurosawa's great masterpiece about farmers at war with invading bandits.

Plot Summary: In feudal Japan, desperate villagers facing repeated bandit raids decide to hire samurai for protection. They find Kambei, an aging but skilled samurai, who reluctantly agrees and recruits six other masterless warriors to defend the village. The seven samurai train the villagers in defense tactics and prepare for the bandits' inevitable return.

Toho

Once in a generation...a motion picture explodes into greatness!

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Those people, those millions of people...I never knew it would come to that. YOU must believe it, you MUST believe it." – Ernst Janning

"Herr Janning, it came to that the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent." - Judge Dan Haywood, responding to Janning

Why watch this? Its historical significance. War criminals must face judgment.

Plot Summary: An American military tribunal convenes in post-WWII Nuremberg, Germany, to try four German judges accused of crimes against humanity under the Nazi regime. The proceedings delve into the extent of individual and collective responsibility for Nazi atrocities, examining whether the judges were simply following orders or willingly participating in a corrupt legal system. Presiding Judge Dan Haywood faces moral and political pressure as he navigates the complex issues of justice, truth, and the value of a single human life amidst a tense international backdrop including the onset of the Cold War.
 

Dad's Preview: This is the trial of the key German scientists and officers who oversaw the prison camps and atrocities that would become known as The Holocaust. It's important to see and absorb. This is a film about historical record. It happened. Don't let anyone tell you different. This all-star cast, and Kramer's stern direction, puts forth an amazing, yet understandably disturbing film. While Tracy, Widmark and Lancaster deliver memorable performances, its Maximilian Schell, as the German defense attorney, who captivates us - he's relentless as a man defending the indefensible.

Roxlom Films, Amber Entertainment;
United Artists

A Mighty Motion Picture Of Action And Adventure!

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Claude Raines, Omar Sharif

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior. He was also the most shameless exhibitionist since Barnum & Bailey." – Jackson Bentley

Why watch this? An epic movie about a man who's life was, in itself, an epic.

Plot Summary: T. E. Lawrence is a British officer, who navigates the complex politics of the Middle East during World War I. Tasked with liaising between the Arabs and the British against the Ottoman Turks, Lawrence becomes increasingly drawn into the Arab cause for independence. He unites disparate Arab tribes, leading them in daring raids and victories against the Turks, but struggles with his identity and the conflicting loyalties between his British origins and his adopted Arab allies.

Horizon Pictures; Columbia Pictures

The first casualty of war is innocence.

Starring: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Keith David, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Reggie Johnson

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Somebody once wrote: "Hell is the impossibility of reason." That's what this place feels like Hell." - Chris Taylor

Why watch this? This is the apogee of Vietnam films. It's gut-wrenching.

Plot Summary: Vietnam in 1967 sees a young American, Chris Taylor, leave a privileged life to volunteer for infantry combat. Thrust into the heart of the jungle, he quickly confronts the brutal reality of warfare and the disillusionment that follows. As the conflict intensifies, Taylor finds himself caught between two conflicting ideologies represented by his sergeants, one embodying ruthlessness and the other compassion.

Hemdale Film Corporation; Orion Pictures

Stripped of everything - they lived and loved and fought as if there were no tomorrow...

Starring: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Burgess Meredith, Patricia Neal, Brandon DeWilde, Dana Andrews, Tom Tyron, Paula Prentiss, Jill Haworth, Stanley Holloway, Franchot Tone, Patrick O'Neal, Carroll O'Connor, Henry Fonda

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 100 #96 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of In Harm's Way

"Old Rock of Ages, we've got ourselves another war. A gut bustin', mother-lovin' Navy war." - Cmdr. Paul Eddington, after the attack on Pearl Harbor

Why watch this? One of the best films ever about the US Navy.

Plot Summary: During the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Captain Rockwell "Rock" Torrey finds himself reassigned to a desk job following a controversial decision in battle. While adjusting to this new role, he begins a romance with nurse Maggie Haynes and attempts to reconnect with his estranged son, Jere, who is also serving in the Navy. As the war intensifies in the Pacific, Rock is given a chance at redemption when he is tasked with leading a crucial and dangerous mission against the Japanese forces.
 

Dad's Preview: This film is not a typical Wayne war movie. It focuses on the effect war has on the men and women embroiled within it. It paints a realistic picture of the lives of Navy personnel. Wayne's Rock Torrey can command a ship, but his marriage failed and his own son hates him. Kirk Douglas' Paul Eddington knows how to get things done, but he is hiding a violent temper beneath his easy-going persona. We also see the savagery of Naval sea battles, where ships fire huge shells at one another, causing incredible damage and mutilate the sailors on board.

Otto Preminger; Paramount Pictures

Ordinary men. Extraordinary times.

Starring: Damien Lewis, Ron Livingston, Dale Dye, Scott Grimes, Neal McDonough, Donnie Wahlberg, David Schwimmer, Kirk Acevedo, Michael Cudlitz, Rick Gomez, Frank John Hughes, Matthew Settle, Rick Warren

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it." – Lt. Speers to a very nervous Pvt. Blithe

Why watch this? This encapsulates WWII in an enthralling, intense, realistic package.

Plot Summary: The story follows Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from their training in the United States to the end of World War II in Europe. The series chronicles their experiences through significant battles like D-Day, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge, highlighting their courage, sacrifice, and the bonds of brotherhood forged in combat.

Playtone, Dreamworks Television;
HBO Entertainment

The list is life. The man was real. The story is true.

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagallie, Embeth Davidtz, Mark Ivanir, Beatrice Macola

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #25 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Schindler's List

"They came with nothing. Nothing. And they flourished. For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. Think about that. By this evening those six centuries are a rumor. They never happened. Today is history." – SS 2nd LT Amon Göth

Why watch this? ... to remember, and not let it happen again - EVER on this Earth.

Plot Summary: During World War II in German-occupied Poland, a German industrialist named Oskar Schindler arrives in Kraków seeking to make his fortune amidst the war's chaos. Initially driven by profit, he establishes a factory employing Jewish workers, seeing them as a source of cheap labor. As the Nazi regime intensifies its persecution of Jews, Schindler is confronted with the atrocities of the Holocaust and undergoes a profound moral transformation.

Amblin Entertainment; Universal Pictures

The finest cast ever assembled re-lives history's most powerful story of love and rebellion.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Tony Curtis

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"And maybe there's no peace in this world, for us or for anyone else, I don't know. But I do know that, as long as we live, we must remain true to ourselves." - Spartacus

Why watch this? It's the first great gladiator masterpiece.

Plot Summary: This is the story of a Thracian slave, Spartacus, sold into brutal gladiatorial training in the Roman Republic. Witnessing the cruelty and oppression of his masters, Spartacus inspires and leads a burgeoning slave rebellion against the might of Rome. This revolt sparks a major conflict that challenges the Roman establishment and its ambitious figures vying for power.

Bryna Prod.; Universal International

The Most Honored Picture In History!

Starring: Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell, Hoagy Carmichael

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #23 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Best Years of our Lives

"I was burned. When I came to, I was on a cruiser. My hands were off. After that, I had it easy..." - Petty Officer 2C Homer Parish

Why watch this? Civilians need to see this to better understand our armed service veterans.

Plot Summary: Set in the aftermath of World War II, this story follows three servicemen returning to their small Midwestern town. Each man faces unique challenges readjusting to civilian life, including joblessness, changing family dynamics, and physical disability. The ex-servicemen must face the emotional and practical difficulties of transitioning back into society and navigate their new realities.

Samuel Goldwyn Prod.; RKO Radio Pictures

the mission is a man.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Dennis Farina

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #3 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Saving Private Ryan

"The boy's alive, and we are going to send somebody to find him, and we are going to get him the hell out of there." - Gen. George C. Marshall

Why watch this? This film honestly illustrates what many infantry soldiers went through during WWII.

Plot Summary: A squad of US soldiers during World War II, led by Captain John Miller, survive the D-Day invation. They get a new assignment to venture behind enemy lines in German-occupied France to locate Private James Ryan and bring him home safely. This extraordinary assignment is sparked by the tragic news that Ryan's three brothers have already been killed in action, and the government hopes to spare his family from further loss. As the soldiers confront the brutal realities of war, the film explores the moral dilemmas of risking many lives to save one man.

Amblin Ent., Mutual Film Co.; DreamWorks
Pictures, Paramount Pictures