MASTER LIST #7: The 101 Greatest War Movies

An amazing list of movies here, I guess because war is perhaps the most dramatic of subjects. I didn't include documentaries or films with war as a peripheral subject (like Casablanca, Since You Went Away, The Wild Bunch or The Best Years of Our Lives). So here, based on (1) quality, (2) relevance to genre, and (3) influence, are the results:

1) Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 57)
2) Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 79)
3) Pork Chop Hill (Lewis Milestone, 59)
4) Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 82)
5) Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 85)
6) Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 37)
7) They Were Expendable (John Ford, 45)
8) The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 98)
9) Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 64)
10) Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein, 38)
11) Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 57)
12) Overlord (Stuart Cooper, 75)
13) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 62)
14) Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 45)
15) Culloden (Peter Watkins, 64)
16) Come and See (Elim Klimov, 85)
17) Threads (Mick Jackson, 84)
18) Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 93)
19) Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 81)
20) All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 30)
21) The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 78)
22) Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 98)
23) It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, 65)
24) Kanal (Andrzej Vajda, 57)
25) Zulu (Cy Endfield, 64)
26) The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 66)
27) Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 87)
28) The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 84)
29) The Gladiators (Peter Watkins, 69)
30) Fixed Bayonets (Sam Fuller, 51)
31) Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)
32) The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 40)
33) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
34) Three Kings (David O. Russell, 99)
35) Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 60)
36) Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg, 87)
37) Battleground (William Wellman, 49)
38) Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 90)
39) Stalingrad (Joseph Vilsmeier, 93)
40) The Sullivans (Lloyd Bacon, 44)
41) Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
42) M*A*S*H* (Robert Altman, 70)
43) Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 77)
44) Fail-Safe (Sidney Lumet, 64)
45) The Big Red One (Sam Fuller, 80)
46) Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006)
47) Play Dirty (Andre De Toth, 68)
48) The Bridge over the River Kwai (David Lean, 57)
49) A Midnight Clear (Keith Gordon, 92)
50) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
51) The Day After (Nicholas Meyer, 83)
52) The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 67)
53) The Great Escape (John Sturges, 63)
54) The General (Buster Keaton, 27)
55) The Red Badge of Courage (John Huston, 51)
56) Glory (Edward Zwick, 89)
57) Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
58) Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 87)
59) The Beast (Kevin Reynolds, 88)
60) Catch-22 (Mike Nichols, 70)
61) Twelve O’Clock High (Henry King, 49)
62) Beau Geste (William Wellman, 39)
63) Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 80)
64) United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
65) Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 70)
66) Hell in the Pacific (John Boorman, 68)
67) The Desert Fox (Henry Hathaway, 51)
68) Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 41)
69) The Longest Day (Andrew Marton, Ken Annikis & Bernard Wicki, 62)
70) The Steel Helmet (Sam Fuller, 51)
71) Attack! (Robert Aldrich, 56)
72) Go Tell The Spartans (Ted Post, 78)
73) Black Rain (Shohei Imamura, 89)
74) Wings (William Wellman, 27)
75) Born on the Forth of July (Oliver Stone, 89)
76) The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 77)
77) Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 49)
78) Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 80)
79) Merrill’s Marauders (Sam Fuller, 62)
80) Enigma (Michael Apted, 2001)
81) Salvador (Oliver Stone, 86)
82) Buffalo Soldiers (Gregor Jordan, 2003)
83) Kelly’s Heroes (Brian G. Hutton, 70)
84) Platoon (Oliver Stone, 86)
85) The Train (John Frankenheimer, 64)
86) Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo, 71)
87) The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
88) Bataan (Tay Garnett, 43)
89) The Odd Angry Shot (Tom Jeffrey, 79)
90) Lebanon (Samuel Maoz, 2009)
91) The Dawn Patrol (Howard Hawks, 30)
92) Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller, 76)
93) Mister Roberts (John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, 55)
94) Courage Under Fire (Edward Zwick, 96)
95) Tigerland (Joel Schumacher, 2000)
96) Taps (Harold Russell, 81)
97) The Execution of Private Slovik (Lamont Johnson, 74)
98) Zentropa (Lars Von Trier, 91)
99) Fear and Desire (Stanley Kubrick, 53)
100) Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
101) Joyeux Noel (Christian Carion, 2005)

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE:
The 1920s (2 in 1927):
54) The General (Buster Keaton, 27)
74) Wings (William Wellman, 27)

The 1930s (5, 2 in 1930):
6) Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 37)
10) Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein, 38)
20) All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 30)
62) Beau Geste (William Wellman, 39)
91) The Dawn Patrol (Howard Hawks, 30)

The 1940s (9, 3 in 1949):
7) They Were Expendable (John Ford, 45)
14) Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 45)
32) The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 40)
37) Battleground (William Wellman, 49)
40) The Sullivans (Lloyd Bacon, 44)
61) Twelve O’Clock High (Henry King, 49)
68) Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 41)
77) Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 49)
88) Bataan (Tay Garnett, 43)

The 1950s (12, 4 in 1957)
1) Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 57)
3) Pork Chop Hill (Lewis Milestone, 59)
11) Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 57)
24) Kanal (Andrzej Vajda, 57)
30) Fixed Bayonets (Sam Fuller, 51)
48) The Bridge over the River Kwai (David Lean, 57)
55) The Red Badge of Courage (John Huston,
67) The Desert Fox (Henry Hathaway, 51)
70) The Steel Helmet (Sam Fuller, 51)
71) Attack! (Robert Aldrich, 56)
93) Mister Roberts (John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, 55)
99) Fear and Desire (Stanley Kubrick, 53)

The 1960s (15, 5 in 1964--the best year for war movies):
9) Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 64)
13) Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 62)
15) Culloden (Peter Watkins, 64)
23) It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, 65)
25) Zulu (Cy Endfield, 64)
26) The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 66)
29) The Gladiators (Peter Watkins, 69)
35) Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 60)
44) Fail-Safe (Sidney Lumet, 64)
47) Play Dirty (Andre De Toth, 68)
52) The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 67)
66) Hell in the Pacific (John Boorman, 68)
69) The Longest Day (Andrew Marton, Ken Annikin, Bernard Wicki and Darryl F. Zanuck, 62)
79) Merrill’s Marauders (Sam Fuller, 62)
85) The Train (John Frankenheimer, 64)

The 1970s (15, 4 in 1970):
2) Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 79)
12) Overlord (Stuart Cooper, 75)
21) The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 78)
42) M*A*S*H* (Robert Altman, 70)
43) Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 77)
60) Catch-22 (Mike Nichols, 70)
65) Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 70)
72) Go Tell The Spartans (Ted Post, 78)
76) The Duellists (Ridley Scott, 77)
83) Kelly’s Heroes (Brian G. Hutton, 70)
86) Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo, 71)
89) The Odd Angry Shot (Tom Jeffrey, 79)
92) Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller, 76)
97) The Execution of Private Slovik (Lamont Johnson, 74)

The 1980s (Officially the best decade for war movies—20, 3 in 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, and 1989)
4) Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 82)
5) Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 85)
16) Come and See (Elim Klimov, 85)
17) Threads (Mick Jackson, 84)
19) Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 81)
27) Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 87)
28) The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 84)
36) Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg, 87)
45) The Big Red One (Sam Fuller, 80)
51) The Day After (Nicholas Meyer, 83)
56) Glory (Edward Zwick, 89)
58) Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 87)
59) The Beast (Kevin Reynolds, 88)
63) Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 80)
73) Black Rain (Shohei Imamura, 89)
75) Born on the Forth of July (Oliver Stone, 89)
78) Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 80)
81) Salvador (Oliver Stone, 86)
84) Platoon (Oliver Stone, 86)
96) Taps (Harold Becker, 81)

The 1990s (10, 3 in 1993):
8) The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 98)
18) Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 93)
22) Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 98)
34) Three Kings (David O. Russell, 99)
38) Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 90)
39) Stalingrad (Joseph Vilsmeier, 93)
49) A Midnight Clear (Keith Gordon, 92)
94) Courage Under Fire (Edward Zwick, 96)
98) Zentropa (Lars Von Trier, 91)

The 2000s (13, 3 in 2006):
31) Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)
33) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
41) Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
46) Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006)
50) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
57) Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
64) United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
80) Enigma (Michael Apted, 2001)
82) Buffalo Soldiers (Gregor Jordan, 2003)
87) The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
90) Lebanon (Samuel Maoz, 2009)
95) Tigerland (Joel Schumacher, 2000)
100) Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
101) Joyeux Noel (Christian Carion, 2005)

BREAKDOWN BY DIRECTOR:
WITH 5 FILMS:
Stanley Kubrick: Paths of Glory (1), Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (9), Full Metal Jacket (27), Spartacus (35), Fear and Desire (99)

WITH 4 FILMS:
Sam Fuller: Fixed Bayonets (30), The Big Red One (45), The Steel Helmet (70), Merrill’s Marauders (79)

WITH 3 FILMS:
Akira Kurosawa: Ran (5), Throne of Blood (11), Kagemusha (63)
Steven Spielberg: Schindler’s List (18), Saving Private Ryan (22), Empire of the Sun (36)
William Wellman: Battleground (37), Beau Geste (62), Wings (74)
Oliver Stone: Born on the Forth of July (75), Salvador (81), Platoon (84)

WITH 2 FILMS:
Lewis Milestone: Pork Chop Hill (3), All Quiet on the Western Front (20)
John Ford: They Were Expendable (7), Mister Roberts (93)
David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia (13), The Bridge over the River Kwai (48)
Peter Watkins: Culloden (15), The Gladiators (29)
Peter Weir: Gallipoli (19), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (33)
Ridley Scott: Black Hawk Down (31), The Duellists (76)
Robert Aldrich: The Dirty Dozen (52), Attack! (71)
Edward Zwick: Glory (56), Courage Under Fire (94)
John Boorman: Hope and Glory (58), Hell in the Pacific (66)
Howard Hawks: Sergeant York (68), The Dawn Patrol (91)
Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker (87), Zero Dark Thirty (100) 

BREAKDOWN BY CONFLICT:
World War I: Paths of Glory, Grand Illusion, Lawrence of Arabia, Gallipoli, All Quiet on the Western Front, Beau Geste, Sergeant York, Wings, Johnny Got His Gun, The Dawn Patrol, Joyeux Noel
World War II: Das Boot, They Were Expendable, The Thin Red Line, Overlord, Rome-- Open City, Come and See, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, It Happened Here, The Great Dictator, Empire of the Sun, Battleground, Europa Europa, Stalingrad, The Sullivans, Downfall, Cross of Iron, The Big Red One, Letters from Iwo Jima, Play Dirty, The Bridge over the River Kwai, A Midnight Clear, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Dunkirk (2017), Hope and Glory, Catch-22, Twelve O’Clock High, Patton, Hell in the Pacific, The Desert Fox, The Longest Day, Attack!, Sands of Iwo Jima, Merrill’s Marauders, Enigma, Kelly’s Heroes, The Train, Bataan, Black Rain, Seven Beauties, Mister Roberts, The Execution of Private Slovik, Zentropa, Fear and Desire
Vietnam: Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter, The Killing Fields, Go Tell The Spartans, Born on the Forth of July, Platoon, The Odd Angry Shot, Tigerland
Korea: Pork Chop Hill, Fixed Bayonets, M*A*S*H*, The Steel Helmet
The American Civil War: The General, The Red Badge of Courage, Glory
Pre-20th Century: Alexander Nevsky, Throne of Blood, Culloden, Ran, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Spartacus, Kagemusha, The Duellists
Post-1980 American conflicts: Black Hawk Down, Three Kings, United 93, Courage Under Fire, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty
20th Century Sideshows: Zulu, The Battle of Algiers, Breaker Morant, The Beast, Salvador, Lebanon
War for the hell of it: Taps, Buffalo Soldiers
Future war: The Gladiators, Children of Men
Nuclear War: Dr. Strangelove, Threads, Fail-Safe, The Day After, Black Rain

NEXT MASTER LIST: The 101 Greatest Action Movies