War
1917
(2019)
Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Won 3 Oscars. 135 wins & 204 nominations total
April 1917, the Western Front. Two British soldiers are sent to deliver an urgent message to an isolated regiment. If the message is not received in time the regiment will walk into a trap and be massacred. To get to the regiment they will need to cross through enemy territory. Time is of the essence and the journey will be fraught with danger.
300
(2006)
Zack Snyder (screenplay), Kurt Johnstad (screenplay), Michael Gordon (screenplay), Frank Miller (graphic novel), Lynn Varley (graphic novel)
16 wins & 41 nominations.
King Leonidas of Sparta and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.
A Fistful Of Dynamite
(1971)
Sergio Leone (story), Sergio Donati (story), Luciano Vincenzoni (screenplay), Sergio Donati (screenplay), Sergio Leone (screenplay), Roberto De Leonardis (dialogue adaptation), Carlo Tritto (dialogue adaptation)
1 win.
An I.R.A. explosives expert on the run in Mexico meets an amoral Mexican bandit; together they are drawn into the Mexican revolution.
American Sniper
(2014)
Jason Hall, Chris Kyle (book), Scott McEwen (book), Jim DeFelice (book)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 43 nominations.
Chris Kyle was nothing more than a Texan man who dreamed of becoming a cowboy, but in his thirties he found out that maybe his life needed something different, something where he could express his real talent, something that could help America in its fight against terrorism. So he joined the SEALs in order to become a sniper. After marrying, Kyle and the other members of the team are called for their first tour of Iraq. Kyle's struggle isn't with his missions, but about his relationship with the reality of the war and, once returned at home, how he manages to handle it with his urban life, his wife and kids.
Apocalypse Now
(1979)
John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr (narration)
Won 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 32 nominations.
During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.
Black Hawk Down
(2001)
Mark Bowden (book), Ken Nolan (screenplay)
Won 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 37 nominations.
Action/war drama based on the best-selling book detailing a near-disastrous mission in Somalia on October 3, 1993. On this date nearly 100 U.S. Army Rangers, commanded by Capt. Mike Steele, were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. This lead to a large and drawn-out firefight between the Rangers and hundreds of Somali gunmen, leading to the destruction of two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters. This film focuses on the heroic efforts of various Rangers to get to the downed black hawks, centering on Sgt. Eversmann, leading the Ranger unit Chalk Four to the first black hawk crash site, Warrant Officer Durant who was captured after being the only survivor of the second black hawk crash, as well as many others who were involved.
Catch-22
(1970)
Joseph Heller, Buck Henry
Nominated for 2 BAFTA 6 nominations total
A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation. Catch-22 is a parody of a "military mentality", and of a bureaucratic society in general.
City of Life and Death
(2009)
Chuan Lu
9 wins & 9 nominations.
In 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
Dunkirk
(2017)
Christopher Nolan
Won 3 Oscars. Another 61 wins & 228 nominations.
Evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, France, between May 26- June 04, 1940, during Battle of France in World War II.
Eye in the Sky
(2015)
Guy Hibbert
1 win & 6 nominations.
Col. Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.
Flags of Our Fathers
(2006)
William Broyles Jr. (screenplay), Paul Haggis (screenplay), James Bradley (book), Ron Powers (book)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 24 nominations.
In 1945, the Marines attack twelve thousand Japaneses protecting the twenty square kilometers of the sacred Iwo Jima island in a very violent battle. When they reach the Mount Suribachi and six Marines raise their flag on the top, the picture becomes a symbol in a post Great Depression America. The government brings the three survivors to America to raise funds for war, bringing hope to desolate people, and making the three men heroes of the war. However, the traumatized trio has difficulty dealing with the image built by their superiors, sharing the heroism with their mates.
Full Metal Jacket
(1987)
Gustav Hasford (novel), Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Michael Herr (screenplay), Gustav Hasford (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 9 nominations.
A two-segment look at the effect of the military mindset and war itself on Vietnam era Marines. The first half follows a group of recruits in boot camp under the command of the punishing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The second half shows one of those recruits, Joker, covering the war as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, focusing on the Tet offensive.
Fury
(2014)
David Ayer
5 wins & 23 nominations.
1945, in World War II Germany, the tough Sergeant Don 'Wardaddy' Collier commands a tank and survives a German attack with his veteran crew composed of Boyd 'Bible' Swan, Trini 'Gordo' Garcia and Grady 'Coon-Ass' Travis. He receives a rookie soldier Norman Ellison as the substitute for his deceased gunner and he tries to harden the youth along the way.
Inglourious Basterds
(2009)
Quentin Tarantino
Won 1 Oscar. Another 117 wins & 143 nominations.
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Jarhead
(2005)
William Broyles Jr. (screenplay), Anthony Swofford (book)
6 wins & 11 nominations.
Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait.
Kagemusha
(1980)
Masato Ide, Akira Kurosawa
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 3 nominations.
When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty living up to his role and clashes with the spirit of the warlord during turbulent times in the kingdom.
Kelly's Heroes
(1970)
Troy Kennedy-Martin
N/A
A group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.
Letters from Iwo Jima
(2006)
Iris Yamashita (screenplay), Iris Yamashita (story), Paul Haggis (story), Tadamichi Kuribayashi (book), Tsuyoko Yoshido (book)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 36 nominations.
The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.
M*A*S*H
(1970)
Richard Hooker, Ring Lardner Jr.
Won 1 Oscar. 15 wins & 26 nominations total
The personnel at the 4077 MASH unit deal with the horrors of the Korean War and the stresses faced in surgery by whatever means. The tone at the MASH is established by recent arrivals, surgeons Captains 'Hawkeye' Pierce, 'Duke' Forrest, and 'Trapper' John McIntyre - the latter who Hawkeye knows he's met somewhere, but Trapper who won't divulge where - whose antics can be best described as non-regulation, and in the negative words of one of their fellow MASH-ers, unmilitary. The unit's commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake, doesn't care about this behavior as long as it doesn't affect him, and as long as they do their job and do it well, which they do. Their behavior does extremely bother fellow surgeon, Major Frank Burns, and recently arrived head nurse, Major Margaret Houlihan, who obtains the nickname 'Hot Lips' based on information they glean about her through underhanded means. Beyond their battles with Frank and Hot Lips, Hawkeye, Duke and/or Trapper help unit dentist Painless with a personal crisis, try to figure out if Hot Lips is a true blond, travel to Japan for a work and what they hope is a recreational trip, and hope to win big on a football bet against another unit in which they on the surface are the underdogs.
Pan's Labyrinth
(2006)
Guillermo del Toro
Won 3 Oscars. Another 88 wins & 89 nominations.
In the falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.