This is a guide to what I believe to be the best war / action films of all time. Obviously it's a matter of personal taste but there may be one of two hidden gems amongst these selections that you have not yet discovered. I add to it from time to time as there are plenty of movies I have not yet seen. Last updated: 05/05/08.

Films are listed by historical period:

World War II

* Saving Private Ryan. The ultra realistic opening gives some idea of just how horrifying it must have been for the GI's on Omaha beach. The pace inevitably slows a little from then on but still a modern classic. Stars Tom Hanks, who has the midas touch, and is directed by Steven Spielberg - so a winner from the start.

* Band of Brothers. Ok - I know it's not really a film as such but it is so good I had to include it! Every episode is excellent from start to finish, made all the more poignant by the commentary from the veterans themselves. The book by Stephen Ambrose is also well worth a read, as are his other works.

* Battle of the Bulge. Details Hitler's last major offensive in the West through the Ardennes in Belgium as the Germans tried to reach Antwerp and seperate the Allies from their supplies and each other. Robert Shaw is very stern as the Panzer commander leading his King Tigers to their destruction as the fuel runs dry and the skies clear.

* A Bridge Too Far. An all star cast tell the story of the heroic failure at Arnhem. In this battle everything that could go wrong seemed to do so for the Allies from faulty radios, to poorly chosen landing zones to patchy intelligence that did not indicate refitting SS Panzer units were in the area.

* Enemy at the Gates. Based on the book War of the Rats. Excellent Stalingrad film centred around two dueling snipers - Ed Harris for the Germans and Jude Law for the Russians. The train pulling up at the beginning with the city burning in the distance followed by the Stuka raids as reinforcements cross the Volga give a real sense of the living hell this place must have been.

* Stalingrad. A German made film. Good stuff.

* Das Boot. Wolfgang Petersen's claustrophobic U-boat story.

* U-571. How the Allies began to crack the enigma code after raiding a German sub.

* The Eagle Has Landed. Based on the Jack Higgins book. A gripping yarn and good cast with Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Larry Hagman, Donald Pleasance and Donald Sutherland. The last stand in the church with the German paratrooper playing the organ and the rescue of the little girl are suprisingly moving.

* The Dambusters. The bouncing bomb and all that. Watching Barnes Wallace at work was very interesting and a good counter balance to the tension of the raid itself. Theme music now immortalised of course.

* Tora! Tora! Tora! - Gripping re-telling of Pearl Harbour. The build up, planning and strategy is often at least as good to watch as the action itself I think and there's plenty of both here.

* Pearl Harbour. Not a patch on Tora! but still worth a watch and not as bad as you may have heard.

* The Battle of Britain. Recreates the heroics of 'the Few' very well.

* The Longest Day. Very good account of the momentus build up and events of June 6th 1944, D-Day.

* Cross of Iron. Sam Peckinpahs Eastern Front film starring James Coburn.

* The Great Escape. Steve McQueen et al. Bank Holidays are never the same without it.

* Bridge Over the River Kwai. Alec Guinness plays the British Officer who gets a bit too much jungle sun and begins to steer near to collaboration with the Japanese.

* Patton. George C Scott deserved his Oscar (which he refused) for this fantastic performance.

* Windtalkers. Excellent relatively recent release starring Nicloas Cage and set in the Pacific theatre.

* The Dirty Dozen. Lee Marvin recruits his gang for their deadly mission.

* The Bridge at Remagen. Stars Robert Vaughan. This was the only bridge left standing across the Rhine as the Germans fell back in the face of the Allied advance in the West. It did eventually collapse but not until many troops and materiel had made it across.

* Midway. The tide turned in favour of the US after this crucial naval encounter with the Japanese. Stars Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda. Not quite as good as Tora Tora Tora but a worthy effort none the less.

* I was Monty's Double. Starred the actor who played Monty's double in real life. Fascinating film.

* Von Ryan's Express. Great action film starring Frank Sinatra who is surprisingly good.

* Downfall. An excellent insight into the goings on in the Fuhrer Bunker as the Red Army closes in for the kill in Hitler's Berlin.

* Flags of our Fathers - Clint Eastwood's movie about the men that raised the flag on Iwo Jima.

* Letter from Iwo Jima - Again from Clint Eastwood, this time Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective. Much the better of the two in my view.

* Where Eagles Dare - Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood storm a seemingly impregnable castle in an all action adventured based on Alistair McLean's book.

* Desert Fox. Excellent bio-pic of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. James Mason plays Rommel. Black & White.

* The Man Who Never Was. More a spy thriller than a war film. British intelligence plant a dead body with false documents to get the Germans to move divisions away from invasion zone. Very good.

* Days of Glory. Recent and highly acclaimed film (in French) about Algerian soldiers in the Free French Army. Charts their progress from North Africa to Italy and up through France. Also highlights some of the political issues facing these troops. Lots of action and a well told story.

* The Enemy Below. Super cat and mouse adventure set in the South Atlantic between a US destroyer captained by Robert Mitchum and a German U-boat captained by Curt Jurgens.

* We Dive at Dawn. I am slowly catching up on many mainly black & white WW2 classics that for some reason I have never seen. This submarine drama is a fine example. (Run Silent Run Deep, Cockleshell Heroes, We Dive at Dawn, In Which We Serve, Above Us the Waves etc.. all to be seen). We Dive at Dawn stars John Mills and tells the tale of a British submarine The Sea Tiger on the trail of a German warship The Brandenburg in the Baltic Sea and the subs dangerous journey back to safety.

* The Heroes of Telemark. Exciting and unusual film based on the real life 1942 efforts of the Norwegian resistance to destroy the Norse Hydro plant making heavy water for their atomic weapons programme. Stars Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris.

World War I

* Paths of Glory. I don't know how I had let this one pass me by for so long. Stanley Kubrick directs Kirk Douglas in this 1957 black & white story of the French Army in WWI. Ordered to take an impossible objective Douglas' character does his best to save some of his men from a rigged courts martial. Combines over the top trench action with court room drama and has a real atmosphere to it.

* All Quiet on the Western Front. Explores the folly of it all.

* The Blue Max. Good bi-plane duals. Stars George Peppard as a German fighter ace.

* Aces High. Stars Malcolm McDowell as a British pilot.

* Gallipoli. The Australians vs the Ottomans in the ill-fated Dardanelles campaign.

* Riddle of the Sands. Spy thriller leading up to WWI.

* Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O'Toole in David Lean's epic.

* Zeppelin. Starring Michael York.

Colonial Era

* Zulu. Rorke's Drift retold. Michael Caine and Stanley Baker are legendary.

* Zulu Dawn. A bit dry but an interesting account of the Zulus giving the British a good thrashing at Isandlhwana.

* Young Winston. If you thought Churchill lived an active life in his later years see this. The man packed more into his time on Earth than seems possible.

* Beau Geste. Classic French Foreign Legion adventure.

* The Four Feathers (1939). Magnificent. I am not so keen on the most recent version.

* The Last Samurai. Tom Cruise goes to Japan to train troops and find himself after the American Civil War.

* Legionnaire. Yes a Jean-Claude Van Damme film but it's pretty good.

* Khartoum. Charlton Heston and Larry face off in the Sudan.

* The Man Who Would be King. Caine & Connery in an rip-roaring Kipling tale set in India.

US Indian Wars

* Custer of the West. 1967 bio-pic of George Armstrong Custer starring Robert Shaw and Mary Ure. It's fairly long but I found this a good thing as I did not really know too much about these times but could be a little dull for some. Also presents a pretty well balanced account I'd say. Errol Flynn's "They Died With Their Boots On" covered similar ground and is entertaining if often not always particularly historically accurate.

* Dances with Wolves. Kevin Costner's excellent epic. Starts with Civil War action and then moves out West. Magestic.

American Civil War

* Gettysburg. Very long and a bit laboured at times but I've still watched it many times. Martin Sheen does a good job as Robert E Lee. The British Colonel Freemantle is very irritating though.

* Gods & Generals. A bit wooden but Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville are well done. Stonewall Jackson is played well by Stephen Lang who played the ill-fated Pickett in Gettysburg.

* Glory. The story of the 54th Massachussets and the struggles of the Colored troops on the Union side. Very well made.

* Cold Mountain. An excellent story with a strong Civil War backdrop. Jude Law and Nicole Kidman star. The book is even better than the film.

* The Horse Soldiers. Super tale of a Union cavalry raid behind the Confederate lines with John Wayne and William Holden.

* Ride with the Devil. An Ang Lee film. Watch and ride along with some Rebel bushwhackers for a couple of hours. A good modern film.

Crimean War

* Charge of the Light Brigade. A bit weird at times but plenty of action. Trevor Howard and David Hemmings star.

Napoleonic Wars

* Waterloo. I love this film. Rod Steiger is good as Napoleon but Christopher Plummer steals the show as an outstanding Wellington. "Dramatic fellows these French. Music and banners. Quite beautiful."

* Master and Commander. Very good sea-faring adventure. Stars Russell Crowe, very ably supported by Paul Bettany.

* The Pride and the The Passion. Frank Sinatra & Sophia Loren drag a huge cannon all over Spain.

American Revolution

* The Patriot. As with Braveheart it goes a bit over the top a bit with the anti-English edge which sours it a little for me. That being said it is still a good action film and a rare decent movie about the Revolutionary War / War of Independence.

Alamo

* The Alamo. See the John Wayne version. The more recent release has some good battle scenes but does not have much in the way of a storyline or plot.

French & Indian Wars

* Last of the Mohicans. Starring Daniel Day Lewis. Directed by Michael Mann. One of my favourites. Great acting, super action sequences and fantastic scenery.

English Civil War

* Cromwell. Richard Harris as Cromwell.

Medieval

* Kingdom of Heaven. Ridley Scott's next epic after Gladiator. Very good costumes and locations. The gripping Siege of Jerusalem at the end is a fitting finale.

* El Cid. Charlton Heston is great and the siege of Valencia truly epic.

* The Vikings. Best theme music going. Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgine and Janet Leigh star.

* The Norsemen. Some vikings end up with a giant bell in Saracen territory. Close your eyes on the death slide scene!

* Braveheart. As with the Patriot it goes a bit over the top a bit with the anti-English sentiment  but aside from that it is a good action adventure.

* Joan of Arc. Stars Milla Jovovich and directed by Luc Besson. Somewhat quirky but excellent and imaginative battle and siege scenes.

* Tristan & Isolde. A recent, sad but very watchable film with strong echoes of the King Arthur tale. Combines tragic love story with no holds barred Dark Ages feuding between the various disfunctional kingdoms within the British Isles after the Romans retreated and anarchy took hold. Ridley and Tony Scott Executive Producers. Well acted, coherent plot, nicely shot - I just like happy endings and there isn't one! Recommended.

Ancient

* 300. Zack Snyder turns Frank Miller's 1998 comic book into a movie. And what a movie. If you like Gladiator and Lord of the Rings you will probably also really like this tale of the famous Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans hold back the might of Persia. Having been disappointed with some of the sword and sandle epics following on from Gladiator I was a little wary but I was very pleasantly surprised and the action rarely lets up in the near two hour running time. A couple of warnings - maybe not one for the historical purist and it's pretty gory. Good cast, excellent look and feel to the film and lots of creativity obviously went into it.

* Gladiator. Excellent on many levels not least for providing Oliver Reed with the fantastic line "You sold me queer giraffes" to bow out on. Theme music is moving, cinematography fabulous, Crowe is brilliant and the action breathless and very well done. Started a renaissance of 'sword and sandle' epics with Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, King Arthur and Alexander following on. Only the latter was a real let down - a great shame.

* Troy. The Illiad as retold by Wolfgang 'Das Boot' Petersen. Not as good as Gladiator but still an excellent film with a strong cast. Excellent battles scenes, good story line. Diane Kruger is lovely.

* Spartacus. Kirk Douglas and Peter Ustinov are excellent and the Gladiator school opening is fabulous. Stanley Kubrick directed - his only war type film I believe. Very moving "I'm Spartacus" scene towards the end.

* Ben Hur. Superb sea battle and of course the chariot race. Charlton Heston stars.

* The 300 Spartans. Excellent depiction of Thermopylae. A bit old fashioned now but I still love it.

* Fall of the Roman Empire. Sophia Loren, Christopher Plummer.

Fantasy & Fiction

* Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Brilliant with awesome, lengthy battle scenes. Thank you Peter Jackson and team for bringing to life a great and complex book so well.

* Excalibur. John Boorman's wonderful King Arthur & Camelot retelling.

* Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Kevin Costner's version is very watchable as is the other version starring Patrick Bergin released about the same time. Errol Flynn's stint in the Lincoln green still takes some beating though.

* The 13th Warrior. Vikings vs Nordic 'bearmen' - the Wendol. Based on best selling author Michael Crichton's novel the Eaters of the Dead. Seriously under rated. Stars Antonio Banderas as the 13th Warrior - a sophisticated Moor who get's roped into the Viking's mission to rid a village plagued by the 'Fire Dragon' and the Wendol.

* APOCALYPTO. An excellent recent film in which Mel Gibson had a hand in writing, directing and producing. Tells the story of inter-tribal conflict and slavery in Mayan era Latin America before the Conquistidors arrive. I saw some storyline and cinematic elements of Last of the Mohicans, Gladiator and Predator in the movie plus plenty that is very original - not least because the cultural setting is pretty new and unknown to me as it will be to many others I am sure. So in sum it's well written and plotted, atmospheric, feels authentic (subtitles throughout), well acted and is a great action adventure.

* Pathfinder. Great story line - North American Woodland Indians vs Vikings but whilst not a bad film leaves you feeling it could have been much better. Stars Karl Urban who played Eomer in Lord of the Rings.

* Beowulf. A good rather the great film using computer inhanced graphics to morph how the real actors were portrayed - almost video game like. A good introduction to the tale of Beowulf (Ray Winston), Grendel (CGI) and Grendel's Mother (Angelina Jolie). The Dragon was impressive and Anthony Hopkins always adds a bit of gravitas. This film was released in 3D in some cinemas which was apparently very good - sadly my local was not one of them.

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