1. "Inglourious Basterds"
   "Bridge over the River Kwai"
2. "Pork Chop Hill"
   "Big Red One"

Directed by Quentin Taarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" showcases two plots to kill Hitler. The script was written in 1998, and filming was completed in 2009. The film earned eight Academy Award nominations. Christoph Waltz won for Best Supporting Actor.

1. "Memphis Belle"
   "Apocalypse Now"
2. "Kelly's Heroes"
   "Saving Private Ryan"

"Saving Private Ryan" starred Tom Hanks as a leader of a group going behind enemy lines to retrieve a soldier whose brothers are killed during the invasion of Normandy. It made over $480 million dollars at the box office and won five of eleven Academy Awards that it was nominated for.

1. "Glory"
   "Apocalypse Now"
2. "Rambo"
   "Platoon"

"Rambo" is only the first of a series of Rambo films with Sly Stallone. This one came out in 1982. Rambo, the character, is a Vietnam vet dealing with post-war trauma.

1. "Spartacus"
   "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"
2. "Glory"
   "300"

"300" told the story of the Battle of Thermopylae of 300 soldiers defending against thousands of invading Persian soldiers. The Chroma key film technique was to give a comic book appearance. Gerard Butler played Leonidas.

1. "Battleship"
   "Guns of Navarone"
2. "Thin Red Line"
   "Iwo Jima"

"Battleship" was inspired by a famous board game produced by Hasbro. The film was released in 2012 by Universal and was not nominated for any major awards.

1. "Desert Fox"
   "Pork Chop Hill"
2. "Schindler's List"
   "Full Metal Jacket"

"Schindler's List" tells the true life story of Oskar Schindler and how he rescued over a thousand Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them. The film won seven of the twelve Academy Awards that it was nominated for.

1. "Glory"
   "Memphis Belle"
2. "Gallipoli"
   "Casablanca"

Released in 1942, "Casablanca" is a romantic film that starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. An American expatriate is caught between love and helping his love escape Nazis.

1. "Emperor"
   "Battleship Potemkin"
2. "Deer Hunter"
   "Wings"

In "Emperor," a general is assigned at war's end to see if Emperor Hirihito should be hung. This film includes Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas MacArthur.

1. "Cross of Iron"
   "Boys in Company C"
2. "Objective Burma"
   "The Pianist"

"The Pianist" tells the story of a famed Polish-Jewish composer and Holocaust survivor, Wladyslaw Szpilman. The film was directed by Roman Polanski and came out in 2002.

1. "The Tuskegee Airmen"
   "Ride with the Devil"
2. "Private Benjamin"
   "Pan's Labyrinth"

"Pan's Labyrinth" is a mix of history and surrealism. Set after the Spanish Civil War, real world and fantasy play together. The film is set during the time of General Franco, the military dictator who served until 1975.

1. "Run Silent, Run Deep"
   "Cross of Iron"
2. "Green Berets"
   "Braveheart"

"Braveheart," a 1995 Academy Award-winning film, tells the story of William Wallace, who led 13th-century Scots against English rule. The film is named after Wallace's sword's name.

1. "Pearl Harbor"
   "Platoon"
2. "The Longest Day"
   "Das Boot"

"Pearl Harbor" is loosely based on the historical attack on Oahu. The film was released in Hawaii a few days before it was released nationwide.

1. "Glory"
   "Full Metal Jacket"
2. "300"
   "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"

"Full Metal Jacket" was directed by Stanley Kubrick. It was only nominated for one Academy Award, and didn't win.

1. "Glory"
   "Shenandoah"
2. "Lincoln"
   "Red Badge of Courage"

"Lincoln" is a historical drama about the famous president's final months. It starred Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln. While it was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, it only won two (including a Best Actor Oscar for Day-Lewis.)

1. "The Young Lions"
   "Operation Crossbow"
2. "Boys in Company C"
   "War Horse"

Set in WWI, "War Horse" a bay Thoroughbred that becomes a British military horse, and then has encounters with many different people and owners during the war. When it was released, it was the the highest-grossing film about WWI ever.

1. "Gone with the Wind"
   "Glory"
2. "Shenandoah"
   "Andersonville"

"Gone with the Wind" is a genuine classic. This 1939 film starred Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara. Set against the Civil War, this film was an automatic success and received acclaim, including eight Academy Awards. It should be noted that Hattie McDaniel, the recipient of the Best Supporting Actress award, was also the first African-American to win an Oscar. Ever.

1. "Gone with the Wind"
   "Flying Leathernecks"
2. "The Longest Day"
   "Black Hawk Down"

2001's "Black Hawk Down" looks at the 1993 raid on Mogadishu, Somalia, based on the book of the same name by Mark Bowden. While it was nominated for a number of awards, military officials from around the world felt that it had a number of inaccuracies.

1. "A Midnight Clear"
   "Horse Soldier"
2. "Love and Honor"
   "Flags of Our Fathers"

"Love and Honor" is a little known film about love during the Vietnam War. In fact, it only made $16,769 at the box office. Even more surprisingly, it starred Liam Hemsworth.

1. "Gone with the Wind"
   "Glory"
2. "Halls of Montezuma"
   "The Patriot"

"The Patriot" was released in 2000. Mel Gibson portrays a father whose family is swept up in the American Revolution. Despite the director and writer consulting with historical experts, there were many inaccuracies with the depiction of the war.

1. "Lone Survivor"
   "Battleship Potemkin"
2. "Das Boot"
   "The Lost Patrol"

"Lone Survivor" is a 2013 film about Navy Seals in a failed mission to kill a Taliban leader. The film earned over $150 million at the box office and received two Oscar nominations.

1. "Mister Roberts"
   "Private Benjamin"
2. "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
   "Life Is Beautiful"

"Life Is Beautiful" follows a Jewish book store owner who tries to protect his son from the horrors of the Nazi concentration camp where they're being held. Some critics accused the production of making light of a serious event. It won three Academy Awards.

1. "The Deer Hunter"
   "Run Silent Run Deep"
2. "Sands of Iwo Jima"
   "Das Boot"

"The Deer Hunter" follows the loves of three steelworkers before, through and after Vietnam. One of the namesake deer from the film was later used in a series of life insurance commercials. Also, there was a live round in the gun used in the impromptu Russian roulette scene.

1. "A Bridge Too Far"
   "Sand Pebbles"
2. "Battle Cry"
   "Platoon"

"Platoon" was directed by Oliver Stone, who served in Vietnam. This anti-war film was the first in a trilogy. It won four Academy Awards.

1. "Braveheart"
   "Kingdom of Heaven"
2. "300"
   "Gone with the Wind"

Directed and produced by Ridley Scott, "Kingdom of Heaven" follows the experiences of a common man who must endure the rigors of war. The story takes place during the crusades of the 12th century.

1. "Glory"
   "Gone with the Wind"
2. "Gods and Generals"
   "Cold Mountain"

Set during the Civil War, "Cold Mountain" tells the story of a Confederate deserter who tries to make his way home. Released in 2003, the film makes references to Homer's Odyssey.

1. "Saving Private Ryan"
   "Platoon"
2. "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
   "Last Samurai"

"The Last Samurai," a film by Edward Zwick and starring Tom Cruise, had more success at the box office in Japan than in the United States. Despite this, the film didn't escape all critique of relying heavily on tropes about race and honor.

1. "Schindler's List"
   "To Hell and Back"
2. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"
   "Guns of Navarone"

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," which tells the fictional story of the friendship between a Nazi leader's son and a boy interned in an extermination camp came under fire from scholars and critics for vastly misrepresenting the Holocaust and how Nazi concentration camps actually worked.

1. "Braveheart"
   "Three Kings"
2. "Walk in the Sun"
   "King Arthur"

"King Arthur" stars Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, and Keira Knightley. This 2004 film looked at the history and politics of King Arthur's reign, not the fantasy.

1. "Great Escape"
   "Battleground"
2. "Alexander"
   "Sahara"

"Alexander" is a film by Oliver Stone and partly based on a 1973 book by an Oxford historian. The film, which was historically inaccurate, was a flop among domestic movie critics.

1. "Enemy at the Gates"
   "Sahara"
2. "Andersonville"
   "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

A 2001 film, "Enemy at the Gates" looks at the Battle of Stalingrad, in the winter of 1942-1943. Soviet sniper, Vasili Zaitsev's, observations were the foundation of the film.

1. "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?"
   "Mister Roberts"
2. "Operation Petticoat"
   "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

"Dr. Strangelove" (as it is normally called) is about the dangers of nuclear arms. This 1964 political satire was directed and written by Stanley Kubrick. Peter Sellers played three different roles in the film. It is considered to be one of the greatest films of all times by many critics, despite only being nominated for four Academy Awards (and not winning a single one.)

1. "Kanal"
   "Gallipoli"
2. "Objective Burma"
   "Incendies"

A 2010 Canadian film, "Incendies." follows two Canadian brothers looking up the history of their mother in an unnamed (but assumed to be Lebanon) war-torn Middle East nation. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

1. "Apocalypse Now"
   "Twelve O'Clock High"
2. "Sand Pebbles"
   "Glory"

"Apocalypse Now" is a 1979 film set in Vietnam, but based on Joseph Conrad's novella, "Heart of Darkness." One of the most famous lines in cinema history is attributed to the character Bill Kilgore: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

1. "Act of Valor"
   "The Longest Day"
2. "Black Hawk Down"
   "Deer Hunter"

"Act of Valor" not only has regular actors, but also features actual active-duty member of the US Navy special forces. The film itself, received lukewarm reception from critics. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

1. "The Sun"
   "Paths of Glory"
2. "Kanal"
   "Centurion"

"Centurion," a British film, followed the loss of the Ninth Roman Legion in Caledonia. At the box office, it only made half of what it cost to make.

1. "Downfall"
   "Operation Pacific"
2. "Kanal"
   "Cross of Iron"

"Downfall" received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. This 2004 German, Austrian and Italian film tells the story of the last days of Hitler's reign over Germany.

1. "Patton"
   "Jarhead"
2. "Platoon"
   "Black Hawk Down"

The film is based on a memoir by a US Marine who served in the early 1990s in the Middle East. It was generally received fairly positively by critics, if not deemed an exceptional film.

1. "Merrill's Marauders"
   "633 Squadron"
2. "Empire of the Sun"
   "Naked and the Dead"

"Empire of the Sun" is a 1987 film depicting the life of a wealthy kid in Shanghai who spends time in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. Directed by Spielberg, this film was not a box-office hit, but it did well through the years. It starred a young Christian Bale.

1. "Bridge at Remagen"
   "Good Morning, Vietnam"
2. "Dear John"
   "M*A*S*H"

Released in 2010, "Dear John" is a romantic drama that follows two lovers who exchange letters when one goes to war. The movie was inspired by the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name.

1. "The Last of the Mohicans"
   "King Rat"
2. "Heartbreak Ridge"
   "Ride with the Devil"

Set in 1757, "The Last of the Mohicans" takes place during the French and Indian war. Much care was made by the props director to make sure the tomahawks and other weaponry were historically accurate, even if the story itself took artistic liberties.

1. "Braveheart"
   "The Longest Day"
2. "Fury"
   "Bridge at Toko-Ri"

The movie is about American armored tank crews at the end of WWII in Nazi Germany. The actors all had to complete a week-long Navy SEAL boot camp training session in preparation for filming, as part of a four month preparation plan.

1. "The Thin Red Line"
   "The Fighting Sullivans"
2. "Saving Private Ryan"
   "Fury"

This Terrence Malick film was a look at WWII during the Guadalcanal campaign in the Pacific Theater. "The Thin Red Line" grossed close to $100 million, doubling its budget. It also angered many of its stars who had their roles minimized or totally cut in post-production.

1. "A Midnight Clear"
   "Soldier of Orange"
2. "The Story of Dr. Wassell"
   "The English Patient"

"The English Patient" starred Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.) The story is based on the life of Count Laszlo de Almasy, a Hungarian aristocrat and explorer.

1. "Defiance"
   "To Hell and Back"
2. "Halls of Montezuma"
   "Objective Burma"

"Defiance" tells the story of the Bielski Partisans, a group of Jewish brothers from Belarus that grew a network of Jewish partisan fighters during WWII. It faced criticism from both Polish and Belarusian audiences and critics for inaccuracies in some of the historical information.

1. "The Hurt Locker"
   "Too Late the Hero"
2. "Jarhead"
   "Torpedo Run"

"The Hurt Locker" is a 2008 American film that follows a team of ordnance experts being targeted by insurgents in Iraq. It's a psychological look at war's effect on soldiers. Kathryn Bigelow, the director, made history by becoming the first women to receive an Academy Award for Best Director.

1. "Atonement"
   "Gallipoli"
2. "Courage Under Fire"
   "A Bridge Too Far"

"Atonement"r follows a six-decade look at a crime that occurred in the 1930s. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Score and was nominated for six others.

1. "Flying Leathernecks"
   "To hell and Back"
2. "Glory"
   "Valkyrie"

Starring Tom Cruise, this 2008 film looked at German army officers plotting Hitler's demise. The German movie critics felt that it was a reasonable, if not great portrayal, of the actual military plot (Operation Valkyrie) to assassinate Hitler.

1. "Legends of the Fall"
   "Glory"
2. "How I Won the War"
   "Gone with the Wind"

"Legends of the Fall" follows a family in the early twentieth century, as they deal with wilderness life in Montana and the repercussions of WWI. The film won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

1. "Australia"
   "Iwo Jima"
2. "Dunkirk"
   "Operation Crossbow"

"Australia" is about a widow dealing with the aftermath of her husband's death (as well as the immediacy of WWII.) Interestingly, the tourism group responsible for tourism in Western Australia spent $1 million on advertising for the movie as part of a larger tourism campaign aimed at countries like the U.S. and Japan.

1. "Red Dawn"
   "Rambo"
2. "Von Ryan's Express"
   "Torpedo Run"

"Red Dawn," released in 1984, depicts what happens when a small U.S. community experiences an invasion by Soviet soldiers, and the citizens are placed in camps. Decades later, the film was remade with North Korean invaders instead of Soviet soldiers.