Top 10 Most Accurate War Movies
#10: “Full Metal Jacket” (1987)
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We don’t see much warfare until the second act of “Full Metal Jacket”, but the opening scenes are arguably even harder to watch, as a cruel drill instructor pushes one vulnerable private over the edge of sanity. Lee Ermey, who plays Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, was actually a drill instructor in Vietnam and thus improvised many of his character’s callous insults. Ermey’s performance isn’t the only aspect of the film that’s shockingly accurate. Director Stanley Kubrick started researching the Vietnam War in 1983, drawing influence from documentaries, Vietnamese newspapers, and a plethora of photos. Kubrick also worked on the screenplay with Michael Herr, who was a war correspondent in Vietnam, and Gustav Hasford, a Vietnam veteran who wrote the semi-autobiographical book that inspired this film.
#9: “Apocalypse Now” (1979)
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While occasionally over-the-top, “Apocalypse Now” gets to the root of something that a lot of movies gloss over: the psychological repercussions of war. Although our main characters witness unspeakable atrocities while traveling upriver, the greatest battle is the one waged within. One of the standout moments in the film that shows this is its opening. Resting in a Saigon hotel, Captain Benjamin L. Willard finds himself unable to escape the jungle that haunts him. The whole movie has a dreamlike quality to it, which is a perfect allegory for war: a nightmare that nobody can awaken from once they’ve experienced it. Ingenious touches like this make “Apocalypse Now” one of the most unique war movies, not to mention one of the most authentic.
#8: “Come and See” (1985)
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We’ve seen numerous movies about Nazi evil, although few have been as chillingly realistic as this Soviet drama. Taking place during the occupation of Belarus, the film follows a young boy as he’s exposed to Nazi Germany’s crimes against humanity. Director Elem Klimov co-wrote the screenplay with Ales Adamovich, who also contributed to the source material, “I Am from the Fiery Village.” This book is comprised of first-hand accounts from survivors of the Belorussian genocide. Klimov’s film is largely inspired by the Khatyn massacre, in which 149 people, including 75 children, were burned to death. To be as faithful as possible, actual bullets were often used instead of blanks, real Nazi uniforms were worn, and the film was shot in Belarus with villagers as extras.
#7: “Das Boot” (1981)
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Wolfgang Petersen’s World War II masterpiece revolves around the real German submarine U-96. Sparing no expense, two full-scale replicas of the U-96 were built to capture the size and scope of Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s novel. Of course, “Das Boot” is also an incredibly claustrophobic film that floods the crowded submarine with tension. While this adaptation isn’t without a few creative liberties, it touches upon a notion that isn’t always explored in WWII movies: not all Germans were Nazi sympathizers. The German crew we center on is generally critical of Hitler and the war their government has landed them in. This puts our heroes in a difficult position when they’re forced into the Battle of the Atlantic, demonstrating that war is never clear-cut.
#6: “We Were Soldiers” (2002)
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This American war film was based on the memoir of Lieutenant General Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway. Discussing his wartime experiences, Moore argued that “Hollywood got it wrong every damned time.” Director Randall Wallace was thus committed to “getting it right” when he brought the story to the silver screen. In addition to Moore, Wallace spoke with numerous veterans of the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major clash between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army. The battle lasted three days and Wallace’s attention to realism puts us in the center of the chaos. Although there are a few notable differences between the book and film, particularly the ending, Moore ultimately felt that this drama succeeded where others had failed.
#5: “Glory” (1989)
Compared to World War I and II, Hollywood hasn’t paid much attention to the American Civil War or the soldiers who fought in it. “Glory” transports its audience back to the 1860s while also shedding a spotlight on a lesser known chapter in this particular war. The film focuses on Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a white Union soldier who led the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, an African American unit. Drawing inspiration from Shaw’s personal letters, “Glory” has been praised for its honest portrayal of race relations at the time and the brutality of war. The climactic battle at Fort Wagner, despite getting some minor details wrong, is a mostly accurate account that doesn’t romanticize or sugarcoat the aftermath.
#4: “Black Hawk Down” (2001)
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In “Black Hawk Down,” director Ridley Scott plunges the audience into explosive anarchy and never gives us a second to catch our breath. This exceptionally edited film chronicles the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu from the perspective of American soldiers. That being said, it doesn’t draw much attention to the Malaysian or Pakistani soldiers who aided US troops. Nevertheless, this adaptation of Mark Bowden’s non-fiction book takes gritty realism to new levels. Scott and cinematographer Sławomir Idziak approach the US-Somalia conflict with the finesse of a documentary. Perhaps the most authentic aspect of the film is the comradery between our central characters. Some of the cast members trained with real soldiers, creating a sense of brotherhood that shined through in the final product.
#3: “Platoon” (1986)
It’s no secret that director Oliver Stone is a veteran, and “Platoon” is debatably the most personal entry in his so-called “Vietnam War trilogy.” Stone started writing a semi-autobiographical screenplay that would inspire “Platoon” not long after his tour concluded in 1968. Stone was meticulous when it came to recreating Vietnam as he remembered it, even having red dirt imported to the Philippines where filming took place. To get into the mindset of soldiers, much of the main cast underwent intense training for 30 days under the watchful eye of Dale Dye, another Vietnam veteran. After the film hit theaters, Dye recalls people telling him, “I never understood your experience, or why you didn’t want to talk about it, until I saw ‘Platoon.’”
#2: “Letters from Iwo Jima” (2006)
In 2006, Clint Eastwood released two films about World War II: “Flags of Our Fathers,” which was told from the viewpoint of U.S. soldiers, and “Letters of Iwo Jima,” which shifted the focus to Japanese soldiers. Between the two, the latter film is the more ambitious and insightful piece. Ken Watanabe stars as general Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose non-fiction book provided the basis for this war drama. The film remains truthful to Kuribayashi’s account of the Battle of Iwo Jima and even borrows some of his exact quotes. Being an American production, you’d expect the filmmakers to take major liberties, or even have the Japanese inexplicably speak English. Eastwood never takes the easy way out, though, keeping his film grounded in history.
#1: “Saving Private Ryan” (1998)
Nothing can prepare you for the horrors of war, but “Saving Private Ryan” might be the closest you can get without enlisting. As a matter of fact, the film’s opening D-Day sequence proved so believable that some veterans experienced PTSD while watching it. Everything about the film’s depiction of the Omaha Beach landings rings true, from the sea sickness many soldiers felt upon arriving to the relentless mayhem that ensued. Rather than storyboarding the sequence, Spielberg allowed the action to naturally play out with 1,500 extras and actual amputees participating in the shoot. While that first 27 minutes is what most people discuss, the entirety of “Private Ryan” is a lovingly-crafted salute to the men who gave their lives during World War II.
