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War is a brutal and devastating experience.
Despite this, filmmakers have tirelessly brought history's most intense battles to life on the big screen, while others craft fictional conflicts of equally grand scale.
Creating a war film demands immense effort, with countless intricate details meticulously woven together to achieve a compelling and authentic final product.
Caution: Spoilers may lie ahead!
10. War Horse
The film War Horse draws inspiration from a 1982 novel bearing the same title, which was later adapted into a stage play in 2007. Produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie earned six Oscar nominations and widespread critical acclaim.
The true stars of the film were the magnificent horses. Joey, the protagonist, was portrayed by 14 different horses. Spielberg, a longtime horse enthusiast with over a decade of experience caring for them at his home, deeply admired the equine performers on set.
Spielberg remarked, “Joey seemed to understand the scenes intuitively. He brought unexpected elements to his performance, adding depth and emotion that surprised everyone involved in the filmmaking process.”
Several renowned actors in the film also carried personal connections to wartime history. For example, Benedict Cumberbatch’s grandfather, Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, was a submarine commander in the British Royal Navy during both World War I and World War II.
9. American Sniper
American Sniper chronicles the life of Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in US military history with 160 confirmed kills. The film achieved tremendous commercial success, earning six Oscar nominations and winning the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
The movie delves into Kyle’s challenges in transitioning from war to civilian life with his family, culminating in a shocking and heartbreaking conclusion.
Reportedly, Kyle once expressed that if a movie were ever made about his life, he wanted Clint Eastwood to direct it exclusively. His wish was granted, as Eastwood directed and coproduced the film alongside Robert Lorenz and Bradley Cooper.
To portray Kyle, Cooper underwent a dramatic physical transformation, gaining over 40 pounds by consuming 8,000 calories daily and dedicating four hours each day to intense workouts for several months. This rigorous regimen enabled him to deadlift an impressive 193 kilograms (425 lb), a feat he replicated in the movie.
Cooper even wore the real-life Chris Kyle’s boots during filming. In interviews, he revealed that he continued to wear the boots at home long after production ended.
8. Black Hawk Down
The 2001 war film Black Hawk Down vividly portrays the 1993 US military raid in Mogadishu. Directed by Ridley Scott and produced by Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer, the movie secured two Academy Awards despite protests from the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in California, which urged a boycott of the film.
The center argued that the movie dehumanized Somalis, and some critics accused the filmmakers of overtly staging racist depictions throughout the film.
Black Hawk Down was the inaugural war film released post-9/11, demonstrating America’s resilience as its military regrouped after a devastating attack, offering solace to a nation still mourning the tragic loss of life from the fallen towers.
7. Full Metal Jacket
“In Vietnam, the wind doesn’t blow. It sucks.”
The iconic tagline of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is believed to have originated from Michael Herr’s nonfiction work, Dispatches, where Herr reportedly heard a soldier use the phrase during the Vietnam War.
Released in 1987, the film earned an Oscar nomination and widespread praise. Interestingly, the term “full metal jacket” is absent from the novel The Short-Timers, which served as the movie’s source material.
Kubrick avoided using the book’s title to prevent misconceptions that the film was about part-time workers. He stumbled upon “full metal jacket” in a firearms catalog and chose it as the title.
Due to his fear of flying, Kubrick filmed the entire movie in England. A British Territorial Army base doubled as the Marine boot camp in South Carolina, while other locations were creatively repurposed.
To recreate Vietnam, an abandoned gasworks on the Thames stood in for Da Nang, Phu Bai, and Hue. The production imported 200 palm trees from Spain and artificial plants from Hong Kong to build a jungle. Additionally, a Belgian army colonel, an avid fan of Kubrick, provided four M41 tanks for the film.
6. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds became his highest-grossing film upon its 2009 release, later surpassed by Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The film garnered widespread acclaim, earning eight Oscar nominations.
Tarantino began writing the script for Inglourious Basterds in 1998 but paused to focus on Kill Bill and Death Proof. Years later, inspiration struck unexpectedly through Jason Mraz’s song “I’m Yours,” which Tarantino played on repeat to maintain focus while completing the screenplay.
The film’s title was intentionally misspelled to differentiate it from the 1974 movie The Inglorious Bastards. Initially, Adam Sandler was cast as Donny Donowitz but withdrew to work on Funny People.
5. Dunkirk
While Harry Styles’s role in Dunkirk garnered attention, the film offers far more depth and historical significance.
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk vividly depicts the World War II evacuation, earning eight Oscar nominations and three wins. It also became the highest-grossing World War II film, achieving both critical and commercial success.
To maintain historical authenticity, the film was shot on location in Dunkirk, France, where the actual evacuation occurred. Nolan went to great lengths to ensure accuracy, refurbishing real warships like the French Navy destroyer Maille-Breze and using practical effects such as cardboard cutouts of soldiers and vehicles, along with 325 extras, instead of relying on CGI.
Harry Styles’s presence on set created logistical challenges. He reportedly had a personal bodyguard at all times, and fans frequently disrupted filming by attempting to catch a glimpse of him.
4. Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, featuring Marlon Brando and Robert Duvall, initially received mixed reviews but won the Palme d’Or at Cannes before its August 1979 release.
Now regarded as a cinematic masterpiece, the film was preserved in the National Film Registry. Interestingly, George Lucas was originally set to direct it as a mockumentary but passed the project to Coppola due to his commitments to Star Wars and American Graffiti.
In Apocalypse Now, scenes featuring dead bodies aimed for realism, but the props manager went to extreme lengths by sourcing actual human cadavers. This practice was halted when it was discovered that the supplier was stealing bodies from cemeteries.
The film’s authenticity extended to a real water buffalo slaughter, which angered animal rights groups. Despite the production team’s agreement with local tribes, who received the buffalo as a gift and performed the ritual slaughter in exchange for filming rights, the scene sparked controversy.
3. 1917
Sam Mendes drew inspiration from his grandfather Alfred H. Mendes’s World War I experiences for 1917. At 17, Alfred served as a lance corporal, delivering messages across no man’s land, a story that shaped the film’s narrative.
To accurately depict trench warfare, the production team constructed nearly 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) of trenches. Filming faced numerous challenges, including a stubborn cigarette lighter that refused to work during a crucial scene, wasting an entire day of shooting.
One of the more unpleasant behind-the-scenes details of 1917 involved at least 100 extras urinating on a nearby tree due to the distant location of the toilets. George MacKay, the film’s lead, had to shoot the final scene sitting under that very tree, leaning against it.
2. Midway (1976)
The 1976 film Midway, featuring Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda, tells the story of a US Navy aviator who falls for a Japanese woman amid the events leading to the Battle of Midway. A remake of the film was released in 2019.
Upon its release, the original Midway ranked as the tenth (or ninth, according to some sources) highest-grossing film of 1976. Its success was partly due to Sensurround, a technology that used low-frequency speakers to create rumbling sounds during battle scenes, making theaters vibrate. Sensurround was last used in 1977 for Rollercoaster.
The battle scenes in Midway were enhanced by Sensurround but were actually recycled footage from other films, including Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Storm Over the Pacific (1960), Away All Boats (1956), and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944).
Several cast members, including Fonda, Heston, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, and Cliff Robertson, were real-life World War II veterans.
1. The Thin Red Line
Terrence Malick returned to filmmaking after a 20-year hiatus to direct The Thin Red Line, which earned seven Oscar nominations. Martin Scorsese even named it his second-favorite film of the 1990s.
The film features an ensemble of A-list actors, such as George Clooney, John Travolta, Woody Harrelson, Sean Penn, and Adrien Brody. Jim Caviezel landed the role of Private Witt, which was highly coveted by Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Matthew McConaughey. Notably, some lead roles, including Brody’s and John C. Reilly’s, were significantly reduced during production.
Malick, known for his meticulous approach, spent over a year casting the film. He reportedly avoided casting high-profile stars like Depp, Pitt, and McConaughey to ensure audiences focused on the characters rather than the actors portraying them.
