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Anti-war cinema is one of the most fascinating subgenres of the medium to examine. Several great directors are of the opinion that true anti-war films are something of an impossibility, as the mere depiction of the brutality of the battlefield conjures a sense of excitement and spectacle that is at odds with commenting on the horrors of war. However, there have still been plenty of pictures that have excelled at illustrating the futility and wastefulness of war.
Ranging from sickening presentations of the grueling nature of combat, the utter inhumanity and evil humanity is capable of, and even to deeply upsetting stories of civilian experiences during times of war, these emotionally shaking masterpieces showcase the power of anti-war cinema. They span across many decades and come from all corners of the world, which is in itself an apt symbol of how the scourge of war is a timeless issue that impacts all of humanity.
10
‘The Thin Red Line’ (1998)
While it was overshadowed by the release of Saving Private Ryan in 1998, The Thin Red Line has come to be viewed by many as the greater anti-war picture over the years. Imbued with the wafting sensitivity and contemplative, psychological might Terrence Malick brings to all his films, it thrives as a richly thought-provoking exploration of the mental and emotional strain of war as well as the physical peril of the battlefield.
By opting to broaden its focus to a litany of characters in one company rather than a single major protagonist, The Thin Red Line emphasizes ideas of shared trauma and the destructive nature of war on the human soul. It is often poetic in its meditations, juxtaposing the chaos of the battlefield with peaceful imagery of natural beauty to inspire consideration of the impact of war and the unnatural decimation of wreaks upon the world. Also featuring extensive voiceovers that posit powerful questions of purpose, existence, and human unity, The Thin Red Line is striking with its boldness, endeavoring to be a philosophical think-piece as much as an epic illustration of war brutality.
9
‘Platoon’ (1986)
Bereft of glamorization or glory, Platoon is a haunting immersion into the sense of fear, confusion, and sheer survival of infantrymen in the midst of the Vietnam War. It marks the first American film to be directed by an actual veteran of the war, and Oliver Stone’s commanding sense of authenticity shuns the adoring tropes of the genre in favor of raw reality, illuminating the moral cost of war with chaotic sequences of battle, simmering character dynamics of rivalry and spiteful hostility, and even confronting depictions of American soldiers carrying out inhuman acts against innocent civilians.
A strength that Platoon has over many other anti-war films is its introspective honesty. It doesn’t resort to making every character either a tattered victim of war or an evil byproduct of it, but emphasizes the rigorous moral and psychological journey all soldiers embark on while fighting as a horror in itself. Stone is remarkably precise in his ability to balance human depravity with glimpses of moral surety, and the fact that he makes that opposition a major source of conflict between allies is a masterstroke that highlights the film’s gruelling realism and deprives it of any notion of glorious commemoration.
Stanley Kubrick is one of cinema’s great observers, a director whose movies aren’t just technical masterpieces and arresting stories, but are often scathing critiques of human nature as well. Full Metal Jacket is a magnificent example of this. Split into two halves, the Vietnam War film examines the dehumanizing regime of military training and the violent chaos of the war through Pvt. Joker’s (Matthew Modine) confronting journey as an enlisted man.
The combat that is displayed throughout the movie resists being some sweeping procession of compelling, grandiose scale, but finds its impact in its gritty and grimy intensity that highlights the litany of meaningless deaths that make up any war’s casualty figures. Complemented by a stunning final scene that presents both the lingering innocence of youth and the callous inhumanity of a soldier’s numbness to violence in eerie harmony, Full Metal Jacket is as cold and hostile an anti-war film as has ever been made.
7
‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola’s run in the 1970s is the stuff of cinematic legend. After making the first two The Godfather movies and The Conversation in the early part of the decade, he rounded it out with the release of Apocalypse Now in 1979. Its brilliance resides in its unique illustration of the horrors of war, with Coppola opting to focus on the psychological torment of conflict with a sense of hallucinatory terror, an absorbing atmosphere of hysterics and festering madness that realizes the scope of the Vietnam War while making it feel hellish and otherworldly.
The genius of Apocalypse Now is how it uses absurdity as a tool to explore the moral decay of combat. Features like surfing soldiers during an air raid or a Playboy bunny show in the middle of the jungle aren’t just moments of eccentricity, they’re piercing observations on the amorality of trying to maintain some sense of normality in the midst of a devastating war. Marlon Brando’s villainous Colonel Kurtz is a mesmerizing encapsulation of this, functioning as both the maddening end result of the psychological toll of battle and the air of individualism the military seeks to vilify and eradicate.
6
‘Das Boot’ (1981)
Coming from Germany, Das Boot is an outstanding example of anti-war cinema that uses relatable characters and the unfathomable intensity of life in a submarine to convey the sheer pointlessness of war with emotionally flattening excellence. Following the crew of a U-boat in the latter stages of WWII, it is purposefully bereft of any notions of patriotism or glory. Likewise, it erodes the genre’s penchant for moralism, stripping it of the heroes vs. evil narrative it sometimes flaunts in favor of a gripping story of desperate young men who want only to be rid of the war and back home with their families.
Bolstered by the viscerally claustrophobic viewing experience Wolfgang Petersen conjures with confined set design—which is an accurate recreation of the interiors of real U-boats—and tight cinematography, Das Boot immerses the audience in the frightful confines and festering filth of submarine. Every encounter with the enemy could mean certain death, but so too can every creaking bolt and every groan the ship makes as it plummets deep into the ocean. It is one of the most psychologically strenuous portrayals of war that cinema has ever seen, a masterpiece of relentless tension and compounding pressure that ends on a bitter but important note suggesting there is no glory in war and little honor in dying for your country.
5
‘Paths of Glory’ (1957)
Another Stanley Kubrick war classic that excels at bringing the amorality and inhumanity of the military to light, Paths of Glory offers a venomously frustrating exploration of bureaucratic process and political aspirations in the armed forces. Set during the First World War, it unfolds in the aftermath of a futile effort by the French to recapture a strategic stronghold from the Germans. Three men from each of the companies involved in the failed assault are selected to stand trial for cowardice, leaving Col. Dax (Kirk Douglas) to represent them in court as they face the possibility of the death sentence.
Every aspect of the movie is designed to highlight the farce of the trial and the hopelessness Dax experiences as one idealist striving to defy the higher-ups in the army. It is a scorching indictment of the corrupting connection between military prestige and political status, and how that treacherous marriage of power, influence, and reputation can corrode personal values and lead to terrible injustices.
4
‘The Human Condition’ Trilogy (1959-1961)
A true epic of international cinema that stands as one of the most underrated trilogies ever made, as well as one of the outright best, The Human Condition is a torrid tale of wartime morality that touches on the dismantling of idealism and humanity. Across the trilogy’s gargantuan 9-and-a-half-hour runtime, it tracks the journey of a Japanese conscientious objector throughout WWII, following his initial reluctance to fight and the kindness he shows to enemy POWs, his conscription and time fighting in the Pacific, and through to his experiences in a Soviet POW camp near the end of the war.
The trilogy’s expansive length enables it to delve deep into wartime psychology, positing how qualities of individualism and compassion are systematically broken down by the bureaucratic cruelty of military environments designed to turn men into machines. Complemented by its awe-inspiring scope that showcases the full breadth of Japan’s involvement in the war, as well as a piercing lead performance from Tatsuya Nakadai and Yoshio Miyajima’s stunning cinematography, The Human Condition is a transfixing dissection of the corrupting wrath of war that cautions against the destruction of humanity at the hands of political and societal systems.
3
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (1930)
Despite being almost 100 years old, 1930’s All Quiet on the Western Front presents the greatest anti-war picture that America has ever produced. Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, it is a ferocious story that, while based on the experiences of German soldiers in WWI, has proven to be painfully universal and bitterly timeless. It follows a group of teenagers who, seduced by the promise of glory and heroism, enlist to fight, but the harsh reality they face when they arrive on the Western Front is far from what they imagined.
Just as it is a tale of boyish innocence being pulverized by the brutality of trench warfare, it is a condemnation of the propaganda used to persuade young men to fight for their countries in meaningless wars. Stripping away nationalist idealism and notions of valor and adoration, it depicts war as a never-ending meat grinder of human loss, one that has cost tens of millions of people their lives and forever scarred those fortunate enough to return home. In addition to being one of the all-time great war films, it also endures as an innovative masterpiece of cinematic storytelling for its depiction of battle and its masterful use of sound.
2
‘Grave of the Fireflies’ (1988)
So many anti-war movies emphasize the soul-shattering carnage of the battlefield and the psychological toll battle takes on those who fight. Too few explore the heinous cost of war on civilians. Undoubtedly the best film to flaunt this perspective is Studio Ghibli’s heart-wrenching drama Grave of the Fireflies, which follows two orphaned Japanese siblings left to fend for themselves after their home is destroyed and their mother killed in the bombing of Kobe.
Offering a child’s perspective on the war, it is an agonizing examination of the loss of innocence, the hardship of war, and the desperation of survival. Its dramatic heft is only made all the more devastating by the fact that the short story it was based on was itself inspired by the real experiences of author Akiyuki Nosaka and the feelings of guilt and grief he suffered following the death of his sister. Supported by gorgeous hand-drawn animation and two of the most instantly lovable lead characters war cinema has ever seen, Grave of the Fireflies is an appropriately traumatizing picture that argues staunchly against the value of war with empathy and heart as well as bleak realism.
1
‘Come and See’ (1985)
The power of Come and See resides squarely in its unflinching brutality, its confronting acceptance of what war violence is truly like and its bold refusal to depict anything that sanitizes that truth for audience comfort. Perhaps the best film produced by the Soviet Union, the WWII drama follows a young boy who enthusiastically agrees to help resistance fighters standing against the Nazis, only to have his hope shattered by the grim reality of war.
The entire film is a devastating exploration of how war can decimate a region, but few who have seen it would deny that the prolonged sequence in which an SS battalion lays waste to a small village is the movie’s most harrowing chapter. It isn’t just an immersion into the callous nature of war, it is an exhibition of human evil, a terrible illustration of the license war grants people to abandon any semblance of morality, especially when they hold power. Come and See is a numbing viewing experience. It is deeply disturbing and relentlessly savage. It is also an essential watch for how it presents the true horrors of war, the violence and cruelty it encourages, and the devastation it brings to so many.
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Ryan Heffernan
Almontather Rassoul
