The 8 Best War Movies on movie.guru, Ranked

The movie.guru score set this order. These are about real wars and real cost, so the jokes mostly stay holstered today.

Number one has zero battle scenes and a nightclub instead.

1. 8
   Platoon (1986)9.2

   Vietnam from ground level, made by someone who was there.

   Charlie Sheen's young recruit is caught between two sergeants, Tom Berenger's ruthless Barnes and Willem Dafoe's decent Elias. Made for $6 million, Metacritic 92. The voiceover explains too much.
2. 7
   The Deer Hunter (1978)9.3

   The hour before the war is what makes it unforgettable.

   Robert De Niro and two buddies go from a small-town wedding straight to Vietnam. 183 minutes, and audiences rank it above 98% of notable movies. Patience required, and repaid.
3. 6
   Saving Private Ryan (1998)9.4

   A rescue mission that keeps asking what one life is worth.

   After D-Day, Tom Hanks's Captain Miller and his squad cross Normandy hunting for Matt Damon's Private Ryan. $482.4 million worldwide on a $70 million budget. The present-day bookends are the weak spot.
4. 5
   Gone with the Wind (1939)9.4

   The scale still stuns. Its view of slavery can't be excused.

   Clark Gable's Rhett and Vivien Leigh's Scarlett fill 238 minutes of sweeping spectacle on a $3.9 million budget. Its enslaved characters get stereotypes instead of inner lives. Watch it with that in mind.
5. 4
   Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)9.3

   Less a war movie than a fever dream on a boat.

   A patrol boat crew drifts deeper into the jungle and further from sanity, and Robert Duvall's surf-obsessed officer nearly steals it. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hard viewing, on purpose.
6. 3
   Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)9.6

   A nuclear war comedy that still feels uncomfortably current.

   One rogue general sends the bombers, and the war room handles it like a very bad board meeting. $9.8 million worldwide, and the satire still stings.
7. 2
   Pan's Labyrinth (2006)9.5

   The fairy tale monsters are less frightening than the captain.

   Set after the Spanish Civil War, Sergi López's Captain Vidal hunts rebels in the hills while young Ofelia slips into a labyrinth. Critics rank it above 97% of notable movies. Strictly grown-ups.
8. 1
   Casablanca (1942)9.7

   The greatest war movie is about choosing a side.

   Bogart's Rick pours drinks, keeps his head down and swears he sticks his neck out for nobody, until his past walks in. Claude Rains steals scenes. Metacritic 100.

$55.78 says you put on number one for a few minutes and stay for all 102.

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