There have been countless movies set in World War II, but one that seems to stand above the rest is Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. The film stars Tom Hanks as the commander of a small group of soldiers who must travel into the occupied territory to find one soldier who is being sent home after the deaths of his three brothers.
Spielberg is at the height of his considerable filmmaking talents as he crafted an exciting adventure film that offers a realistic and brutal display of the horrors of war. While the film might rank at the top of war movies, there are still plenty of other films that pack the same powerful punch. Here are some movies to watch if you love Saving Private Ryan.
10 War Horse (2011)
Spielberg returned to the war genre, though this time he tackled World War I. Based on the acclaimed stage play, War Horse tells the story of a young boy living in England whose beloved horse is sold to the cavalry as the war breaks out. After the boy joins the army, we see his own journey parallel with the journey of his horse throughout war-torn Europe.
Spielberg embraces his sentimental type of storytelling in this film much more than he did in Saving Private Ryan. The result is a less impactful war film yet one that is still filled with astonishing moments of thrill, heartbreak, and joy.
9 Fury (2014)
The small group of soldiers at the center of Saving Private Ryan helps to make it a more personal story. We begin to form a bond with these men as they venture out into danger. The same can be said of the cast of David Ayer's WWII film, Fury.
Brad Pitt stars as the commander of a tank company during the final days of the war. With the end in sight, these men still face the threat of death around every corner. The impressive ensemble also includes Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal.
8 We Were Soldiers (2002)
Though Saving Private Ryan is very much an ensemble film, Tom Hanks makes for a great lead. His Captain Miller feels like an ordinary man who was nonetheless born to lead these men in this perilous mission. Though taking place during a different war, We Were Soldiers feels similar in that regard.
Mel Gibson stars as the commander of a battalion during the early days of America's participation in the Vietnam War. Throughout the bloody and relentless battle he finds himself in, this family man remains the unwavering leader to his men.
7 A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Hollywood has been making WWII movies since the time the actual war ended, so there are plenty of notable films on the subject going back several decades. A Bridge Too Far is another film surrounding a fairly straight-forward mission that turns into a thrilling adventure.
The all-star cast for this film includes Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, and Gene Hackman to name only a few. They all portray various Allied officers who must work together to protect a vital bridge from attack by the Germans.
6 Black Hawk Down (2002)
Black Hawk Down is a more modern war film yet it has similarly been praised for its realistic portrayal of battle. The film tells the real-life story in 1993 when a U.S. operation in Somalia spiraled out of control, leaving a group of American soldiers under siege.
This Ridley Scott movie is a relentless and intense experience that puts the audience in the midst of battle and keeps them there. Scott does some of his best work and handles the ambitious story brilliantly.
5 Schindler's List (1993)
History has shown that many horrors of WWII happened off the battlefield. Spielberg once again explores this dark time in human history with his intense and harrowing Holocaust drama, Schindler's List. Liam Neeson stars as Oskar Schindler, a German factory owner who saved over a thousand Jewish people during this period.
Despite the heroism of the real-life story, Spielberg never shies away from the atrocities that were committed by the Nazis against the Jewish community. It is a difficult film to watch but an important one to remember.
4 Letter From Iwo Jima (2006)
It takes an accomplished and skilled filmmaker to tell an authentic tale of this time period that is known so well. Clint Eastwood is certainly a director up to that task as he proved with Letter from Iwo Jima.
The film is a companion piece to his previous film Flags of Our Fathers, which told the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective. Letters from Iwo Jima is a unique war film as it tells the story from the perspective of the Japanese, making for an even more powerful story.
3 Dunkirk (2017)
Christopher Nolan is another acclaimed auteur who brought a sense of intensity and realism to his WWII film, Dunkirk. The movie is told over three separate timelines, all focused on the desperate rescue mission of British soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk as German forces close in.
The complex timeline of the movie does not distract from the superb filmmaking on display. From the beach sequences to the boat sequences to the aerial sequences, Nolan tells an engrossing story. It is also a unique war film as it deals with survival over heroism.
2 The Thin Red Line (1998)
Terrence Malick doesn't seem like the kind of director who would take on a massive WWII epic, yet The Thin Red Line is considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The film tells the story of the Guadalcanal conflict through a variety of perspectives.
Malick brings together a massive ensemble that includes Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, George Clooney, and Nick Nolte to create a sprawling and thought-provoking look at war, those who fight in it, and what it does to the human soul.
1 1917 (2019)
1917 is the most recent film on this list but one that is certain to go down as a classic war film. From director Sam Mendes, this WWI epic follows two young soldiers who are tasked with delivering a vital message across the battlefield to stop an impending attack.
Again, the simple mission makes for a thrilling journey as Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins craft the film to appear as though it is one continuous shot. It makes for an incredibly intense experience that also tells a powerful and personal story.
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