Lockdown war films, the best from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video

What a better way to wile away the time during the Covid-19 pandemic, than watching a great war film? (or loads of them😃). So what can be streamed with a Netflix subscription or Amazon Prime Membership? here's a quick list below of what are my top 5 films to watch on each platform:

Netflix UK:

Platoon

Lone Survivor

Siege of Jadotville

Defiance

Dunkirk

Amazon Prime:

Hacksaw Ridge

Hurt Locker

'71

The Imitation Game

Hyena Road

It must be said that the list of war movies to stream on Amazon and included free within Prime membership is actually quite slim. There are a few documentaries but also Netflix offers the smae kinds of documentaries. Netflix at least from the UK platform offerings, has a lot more war films, if I was going to extend the list of top combat flicks it would include: 13 Hours, Green Zone, 12 Strong, Kajaki, Jarhead and maybe Fury at a push. I see also that Netflix now has 7 Days in Entebbe, (not seen it yet). If I was try to extend the list for Prime's offerings I'd really struggle finding 5 good ones was hard enough! That said Amazon does offer pay for movies and there's some really good ones for £3.49 and some less such as: Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, Bridge Too Far and American Sniper. They also offer Band of Brothers and The Pacific with a price of £1.89 an episode. 

Enjoy watching, try and enjoy some of the lockdown time and stay safe during this Coronavirus Pandemic. 

Netflix Vs. Amazon Video, a rundown of the streaming choices in the UK

So two giants of the entertainment world coming from very different backgrounds, one in video and game rentals by mail and latterly and the other a retail behemoth. But which has the better user experience and what about war film fans what is the best choice? In this post I'm going to draw out some of the features of both streaming providers and compare them side by side. I'm going to draw a bit on my own experiences using both and finish up with some thoughts for war film fans.

What's your internet connection speed?

First off it's worth noting that both have great libraries of content spanning film genres, tv genres and documentaries and both can be cancelled at short notice. Also both, in my experience are very reliable and stable platforms and with a good internet connection buffering is a thing of the past. I've had both with a bad internet connection (less than 5MBPS) and it's not great for either but no better nor worse than watching YouTube or BBC I Player on the same connection. Netflix states that 3.0 MBPS is required to watch SD quality content but for HD 5.0 is required and for Ultra HD 25 MBPS. Amazon states that 0.9 MBPS is required for SD content and 3.5 MBPS for HD content, for content in UHD and HDR 25 MBPS. There are a number of ways to test internet speed and a number of sites that have a tool that works it all out, I tend to use http://www.speedtest.net/. But if you are thinking of getting a streaming package with Netflix or Amazon or anyone else it is well worth checking what your internet download speed is before purchasing. Although the most basic of Broadband packages in the UK will offer more than the 5 MBPS required for both, it's essential to know what the actual speed through a device will be. The same goes for UHD and HDR content, if that's something you want and who wouldn't? if you have a device capable of 4K resolutions of course, UHD will cost more (see below) and won't work properly at lower speeds and will revert to HD.

Can you get an app for your device, does it support HD and UHD?

One of the essential things to check before signing up for either is to check that your device has an app. Further it is essential to check what kind of resolution that app supports. For example if you are watching Netflix through console and you have a PS4 or an Xbox One there is an app but it only supports 1080p rather than UHD, whereas if you have an Xbox One S or Xbox One X or a PS4 Pro then 4K is available. Whereas for Amazon the next gen Xbox consoles support 4K but the PS4 and PS3 ones do not and the PS4 Pro is not mentioned. Quizzically Amazon Video through a PC or MAC doesn't seem to support UHD content. You would've thought in this day and age any UHD compatible device would be capable of UHD streaming but not so, for a list of Amazon Video's supported devices see here and for Netflix supported devices see here.

Amazon and Netflix plans:

In terms of payment packages, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are very competitively priced and both offer free month long trials (which is a great way of seeing if your internet connection is up to it). They also offer a variety of packages to suit different budgets, however the full Amazon Prime package offers a great deal more than on demand viewing.

                                                   Netflix Basic Plan                                       Amazon Prime Video
Basic Package:                            £5.99 per month                                            £5.99 per month
                                          (includes SD and ability                                     (includes HD and UHD,
                                   to watch on 1 screen and                                            screen to 3 devices)
                                      download to 1 device)

Mid tier package:                      Netflix Standard Plan                                        Amazon Prime
                                                     £7.99 per month                                                £79.00 per year
                                          (includes HD and ability to                                       (includes same benefits
                                       screen and download to 2 devices.)                                as Video alone but                                                                                                                          also includes unlimited next                                                                                                                                 day shipping from                                                                                                                               Amazon, Amazon Music,                                                                                                                           free Kindle books and                                                                                                                                unlimited photo storage.)

Top tier package:                       Netflix Premium
                                                      £9.99 per month
                                        (includes HD and UHD and
                                        ability to stream and download
                                                      to 4 devices.)

It's clear that if you do lots of shopping with Amazon, or you own a Kindle or want access to their Music service any of these things and want Amazon Prime Video then there is no choice, it is Amazon. However choices for streaming provider can be more complicated than that, if it's the actual content that will sway you and that contents war movies you've come to the right place.

I've compiled a list of 5 must see war movies on each of the platforms, not that much in terms of reviews or a great amount of details or giving away the whole plot. I've tried to find movies from a range of different historical eras and conflicts and a variety of older and newer films.

Netflix 5 great war films:

Das Boot

A classic war movie and quite a rare one as it's German, released in 1981 the film showcases the Kriegsmarine's U-Boat warfare of World War Two, it's a thriller of a war movie.

Full Metal Jacket

One of the best war movies ever made (in my opinion anyway). Directed by Stanley Kubrick the film is in two parts, the first the swearing and abuse filled hell of US Marine Corp training, the second part follows the recruits deployment to Vietnam at the time of the Tet Offensive.

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Undoubtedly the quirkest of films on this list, featuring the same Director as Full Metal Jacket; Stanley Kubrick. It is a dark satirical comedy set during the Cold War, a rogue US officer orders a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union and everyone else battles to stop the inevitable armageddon.


Hacksaw Ridge

Critically acclaimed and a return for Hollywood to WW2. The story centers around a young soldier, a committed pacifist, yet a war hero of the highest order. Working tirelessly as a medic helping his falling comrades during the fierce battle for Okinawa against the forces of Japan.


Zero Dark Thirty

The hunt for Bin Laden, the films follows the story of the intelligence operation to track down the leader of Al Qaeda and the military operation that ended his life.

Amazon 5 great war films:

Schindler's List

Set during the holocaust of WW2, a German industrialist saves Jews from the concentration camps
employing them in factories instead.

Hurt Locker

Set during the second US Iraq war and focusing on a US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola's excellent interpretation of the novella The Heart of Darkness set in Indochina during the US war in Vietnam. A rogue special forces officer has gone native and completely insane. A small force is sent deep into the jungle to track down and kill the madman.

71

Probably not the most well known of movies. Set in the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland, the main character is deployed to Belfast as a young soldier. After a RUC raid in a Catholic neighbourhood, rioting ensues and 1 soldier is split up from his comrades and needs to survive the night in Belfast.

The Deer Hunter

Classic Vietnam war movie, a group of soldiers from the same town who serve together in Vietnam. During the conflict they are captured and forced to play Russian Roulette. They return to their small town troubled by the conflict and their experiences.

There are loads of great films and tv shows to watch on both Amazon Prime Video and Netflix in the UK. Check more of the content available on this blog, I even have a full list of war films on Netflix, to see what other war films are available to stream. Again as a reminder both platforms offer free month long trials, so well worth a try if you haven't already. Check out your internet speed and check if your device or smart tv has an app and what resolution it offers. Personally I don't prefer one platform over the other and the choice in films is varied. Both offer top class war movies and fresh content is uploaded regularly on both. Which platform do you prefer?

All war films available to stream on Netflix UK, on 1 handy list (September 2018)

Below is a list of all of the 45 war movies currently available to stream on Netflix in the UK. I've added a short description on each entry just to clarify what the film is i.e. year and running time. I've written some reviews and ranked some of the films available already on previous posts, check those out if you wish. But for here it's just some basic information and a list of war films available on demand Netflix in alphabetical order, enjoy.

6 Days

Story about the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 and the SAS raid to free the hostages. Starring: Jamie Bell, Abbie Cornish and Mark Strong. Director: Toa Fraser. 2017, 15, 1h 34 m.

John Krasinski stars in 13 Hours a mercenary in Libya

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Elite private military contractors in Libya, try to save the besieged US Consulate. Starring: John Krasinski, James Badge Dale and Max Martini. Director: Michael Bay. 2016, 15, 2h 25m.

A Soldier's Story

Nigerian war film, an injured soldier is rescued by a woman and taken in, although he suffers from amnesia.

Starring: Tope Tedela, Linda Ejiofor, Daniel K Daniel and Adesua Etomi. Director: Frankie Ogar. 2015, 1h 49m.

Act of Valor

Navy SEALs are tasked with rescuing an imprisoned CIA agent in the Philippines. Starring: Roselyn Sánchez, Nestor Serrano, Emilio Rivera and Rorke Denver. Directors: Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. 2012,

15, 1h 49m.

Beasts of No Nation

The brutal stories of civil war in Africa and child soldiers. Starring: Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Kurt Egyiawan and Jude Akuwudike. Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga. 2015, 15, 2h 17m.

Behind Enemy Lines

2 US Marines are tasked with acquiring nuclear devices from a Vietnamese general. Ending up with one of them in prison and the other coming to rescue him. Starring: Thomas Ian Griffith, Chris Mulkey, Mark Carlton and Mushond Lee. Director: Mark Griffiths. 1997, Mature, 1h 26m.

(not to be confused with the 2001 film starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman).

Black Hawk Down

Following a US Special Forces led raid on a rebel leader in Mogadishu Somalia,

things go awry. Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore and Eric Bana. Director: Ridley Scott. 2001, 15, 2h 24m.

Casualties of War

Covering some of the horrific treatment of civilians in war time, this Vietnam war film covers the brutal rape of a Vietnamese civilian and the subsequent investigation. Starring: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Patrick Harvey and John C. Reilly. Director: Brian De Palma. 1989, 18, 1h 53m.

Check Point

A former down on his luck US Marine, learns of plans for an enemy invasion of the US. Starring:  Kenny Johnson, William Forsythe, Bill Goldberg and Michelle Lee. Director: Thomas J Churchill. 2017, 15, 1h 37m.

Das Boot, U-Boat warfare in the Battle of the Atlantic

Das Boot

Classic German war film, following the exploits of a U-Boat in World War 2 fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic. Starring: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. Director: Wolfgang Petersen. 1981, 12, 2h 29m.

Downfall

The story from the bunker, the last days of Adolf Hitler and indeed World War Two in Europe pieced together from contemporary accounts. Starring: Bruno Ganza, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch and Ulrich Matthes. Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel. 2004, 15, 2h 35m.

The Expendables 1

A group of mercenaries are deployed to a South American island to overthrow the dictator. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren. Director: Sylvester Stallone. 2010, 18, 2h 10m.

The Expendables 2

Following a plane crash in Albania the mercenaries must retrieve a computer that contains information on the location of tonnes of Plutonium. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Director: Simon West. 2012, 15, 1h 43m.

The Expendables 3

The elite team wage war with an arms dealer. Starring: Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes. Director: Patrick Hughes. 2014, 12, 2h 6m.

The Fighting Seabees

Wartime movie about US construction battalions, known as Seabees. Despite their civilian status the workers soon find themselves armed and facing the Japanese enemy. Starring: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe as Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow and William Frawley. Director: Edward Ludwig. 1944, U, 1h 39m.

Forbidden Ground

Australian film about three British soldiers who 'go over the top' during the Great War only to be left stranded and alone in no man's land. Starring: Johan Earl, Tim Pocock and Martin Copping. Directors:  Johan Earl and Adrian Powers. 2013, 15, 1h 34m.

Full Metal Jacket

 Stanley Kubrick's powerful take on not only the Vietnam war but the bootcamp that young US Marines faced before deployment. One of the greatest war films ever made. Starring: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio and R.Lee Ermey. Director: Stanley Kubrick. 1987, 18, 1h 54m. 

Fury

Follows the exploits of an American tank crew and their M4 Sherman named Fury in the last year of World War Two. Starring: David Ayer, Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman and Shia LaBeouf. Director: David Ayer. 2014, 15, 2h 14m.

Hacksaw Ridge 

A US medic and pacifist is the unlikely hero, patching up his comrades to win the Medal of Honor in the battle of Okinawa. Starring: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey and Teresa Palmer. Director: Mel Gibson. 2016, 15, 2h 19m.

(NEW) Inglourious Basterds

Tarantino's take on WW2, a group of Jewish American soldiers are tasked with taking out Nazi Germany's leadership. Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender and Eli Roth. Director: Quentin Tarantino. 2009, 18, 2h 33m.

(NEW) Invasion 1897

Set during the 1897 invasion of the Kingdom of Benin by the British Empire. The colonialists come for the rubber trees and take on the powerful kingdom. Starring: Paul Obazele, Segun Arinze, Chucky Venn and Rudolph Walker. Director: Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen. 2014, 2h 1m.

Jarhead

Named after the nickname for US Marines the story follows Swofford through basic training, sniper school. The Marines are then deployed to the Gulf after Iraq invades Kuwait. Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Cooper and Jamie Foxx. Director: Sam Mendes. 2005, 15, 2h 3m. 

(NEW) Lone Survivor

US Special Forces in Afghanistan

The film follows a small US Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan tasked with the assassination of a high value Taliban leader. However the mission goes pear shaped when the SEALs are discovered by goat herders. Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster. Director: Peter Berg. 2013, 15, 2h 1m.

Madras Cafe

An Indian film, set during the Sri Lankan civil war a Indian Army officer is tasked with disrupting the rebels. Starring: John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna and Siddharth Basu. Director: Shoojit Sircar. 2013, 15, 2h 8m.

Operation Mekong

Chinese film based around real events, Chinese vessels are intercepted by drug cartels. Starring: Eddie Peng, Zhang Hanyu, Wenjuan Feng and Carl Ng. Director: Dante Lam. 2016, 15, 2h 3m.

(NEW) The Patriot

A rare modern war movie set during the times of the American War of Independence, a former soldier is dragged into the conflict by brutal British actions. Starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson and Jason Isaacs. Director: Roland Emmerich. 2000, 15, 2h 34m.

Pimpernel Smith

Posing as an Archaeologist, the protagonist secretly gets people out of wartime Nazi Germany. Starring: Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan and Mary Morris. Director Leslie Howard. 1941, U, 2h 1m.

Rangoon

Female daredevil entertainer, goes from entertaining troops to involved in the action in this Indian production. Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut. Director: Vishal Bhardwaj. 2017, Guidance, 2h 32m.

Sand Castle

US army soldiers following the 2003 invasion of Iraq are tasked with ensuring a water supply to a remote village in the face of enemy action. Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Logan Marshall-Green, Henry Cavill and Glen Powell. Director: Fernando Coimbra. 2017, 15, 1h 53m.

The Siege of Firebase Gloria

Australian made Vietnam war film, at the start of the Tet Offensive a US Marine patrol arrives at the remote base Gloria and become besieged. Starring: Wings Hauser, R. Lee Ermey, Robert Arevalo and Mark Neely. Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith. 1989, 18, 1h 39m.

The Siege of Jadotville

A small Irish Army detachment on a UN mission in the Congo are besieged by thousands of Katangese troops. Starring: Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt and Jason O'Mara. Director: Richie Smyth. 2016, 15, 1h 48m.

Soldiers of Fortune

A retired special forces operative leads a group of tourist billionaires to fight a war. Starring: Christian Slater, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Bean and James Cromwell. Director: Maksim Korostyshevsky. 2012, 15, 1h 33m.

Stalingrad

During the epic World War 2 battle for Stalingrad a group of Red Army soldiers holes up in a house. Starring: Pyotr Fyodorov, Dmitriy Lysenkov, Alexey Barabash and Andrey Smolyakov. Director: Fedor Bondarchuk. 2013, 15, 2h 10m.

(not to be confused with the 1993 film of the same name.)

Stratton

A British Special Boat Service operative hunts down terrorist intent on using bio-chemical weapons. Starring: Dominic Cooper, Gemma Chan, Austin Stowell and Tyler Hoechlin. Director: Simon West. 2017, 15, 1h 34m.

Tears of the Sun

During a civil war in Nigeria a US Navy Seal Team is sent to rescue a US citizen Dr. Lena Hendricks, but end up rescuing hundreds of refugees too. Starring: Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser and Eamonn Walker. Director: Antoine Fuqua. 2003, 15, 2h.

Tomorrow When the War Began

Australian film, a group of teenagers go away to the woods only to return and see their native land invaded by a foreign army, they soon form their own resistance. Starring: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis and Deniz Akdeniz . Director: Stuart Beattie. 2010, 12, 1h 43m.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

Another instalment in the Universal Soldier franchise. With a nuclear war imminent it falls upon our hero to save the day. Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski and Mike Pyle. Director: John Hyams. 2009, 18, 1h 37m.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Part of the Universal Soldier series of films. A story of revenge for a family brutally murdered. Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins and Andrei Arlovski. Director: John Hyams. 2012, 18, 1h 54m.

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

Following the ship of the same name in World War 2, the vessel becomes stranded in the Philippine sea and the crew fight to survive. Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane and James Remar. Director: Mario Van Peebles. 2016, 15, 2h 10m.

War Machine

Satirical comedy towards the end of US military action in Afghanistan. Starring: Brad Pitt, Emory Cohen, RJ Cyler and Topher Grace. Director: David Michôd. 2017, 15, 2h 2m.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

US comedy/ biography following the exploits of a female war reporter sent to Afghanistan to cover the conflict. Starring: Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman and Alfred Molina. Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. 2016, 15, 1h 52m.

(NEW) Windtalkers

 

Navajo soldiers recruited into the US forces in WW2, to use their language as a secret code for radio transmissions on the frontline in the Pacific theater. Starring: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare and Noah Emmerich. Director: John Woo. 2002, 15, 2h 15m.

Wolf Warrior

Chinese production, People's Liberation Army special forces and a special detachment called Wolf Warriors do battle with druglords. Starring: Wu Jing, Scott Adkins, Yu Nan and Kevin Lee. Director: Wu Jing. 2015, 15, 1h 30m.

Wolf Warrior 2

Sequel to Wolf Warrior follows the story of the elite Chinese troops and their battle with a land developer intent on destroying homes and lives. Starring: Wu Jing, Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Hans Zhang. Director: Wu Jing. 2017, 15, 2h 3m.

Zero Dark Thirty

A dramatic reenactment of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and his capture and killing in Pakistan. 2012, 15, 2h 37m.

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Ehle. Director: Kathryn Bigelow.

N.B all entries marked NEW have been added to the Netflix UK catalogue since the Netflix List on War Films Online.

25 year anniversary edition of Schindler's List, see the HD trailer here

25 years, it really doesn't seem that long ago but Stephen Spielberg's classic WW2 holocaust movie Schindler's List came out in 1993,  it's been a quarter of a century!! To mark this special occasion, Universal Pictures have remastered the film and it will be released in cinemas in the US and Canada (not in the UK? and elsewhere?) on December the 7th.

Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) and Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley)

Obviously 25 years is a long time in terms of film and cinematography so Schindler's List will be re-released in stunning 4K. So will it be available to stream? At the moment it's not clear whether it will be, I think it's clear that it will be but will it be Netflix or Amazon or something else... Although it must be said that the original film is currently available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, so if you can't wait till next year.

In case you don't know what the film is, haven't seen the full movie or indeed the trailer. Schindler's List tells the story of German industrialist Oskar Schindler in occupied Poland during World War 2. The plot line basically is that Schindler takes in Jews to work in his factory and treats them well, saving them from the Krakow ghetto or even worse the concentration camps and certain death. Based around real events, the dramatisation does follow the story of the 1200 Jews saved by Oskar, a real hero. It's also a massively important film because the holocaust is not often the subject of blockbusting movies with all star casts. Probably one of the most important war movies ever made, the fact that it will be re-released goes to show it's continuing importance in bringing the horrors of Nazi Germany to the public's attention.

Here is the trailer in HD of the remastered classic:




If you're more war films to stream, please check out my guide to war movies on Amazon Prime Video and my list of war films on Netflix.

World War 2 films on UK TV this weekend (26/5/18-27/5/2018)

There's really not a great deal of war films on UK tv this weekend, but I did this post last week and it was fairly well received, so I thought I'd do it again anyway... So here's the 2 offerings, which seems a bit paltry for us war movie fans, don't you think?

Guns of Navarone
Spike, Saturday 25th May, 15:45.

Another British classic, the story revolves around a group of Allied commandos tasked with the important mission of taking out 2 land based guns that thwart Allied naval efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Year of production: 1961, age rating: PG, running time: 2h 50m. Starring: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn and Stanley Baker. Director: J. Lee Thompson.

Movies poster for The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen

Spike Sunday 26th May, 18:00. 

Set in WW2, Allied command dreams up a suicidal mission for a small group to infiltrate Nazi-occupied Brittany and raid a meeting of senior German officers giving the Allies the upper hand for D-Day. This task falls to a dozen of the worst convicts in the US Army, who are offered pardons if the  mission is a success. 

Year of production: 1967, age rating: 15, running time 1h 30m. Starring: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson and Jim Brown. Director: Robert Aldrich. 

Four brilliant World War 2 films on UK TV this weekend (19/5/18-20/5/2018)

I thought I'd take a break from writing about war films that are currently streaming and have a look at some of the movies available on tv to watch this weekend. I must say I was pleasantly surprised, there's some really good movies to watch from friday night right through to sunday. Without any further adieu here's the list:

Saving Private Ryan:
Sky One, Saturday 19th May, 21:00. 

This is probably on of the greatest World War 2 films ever made and the opening scene is the definitive D-Day cinema scene, if you haven't seen it, it's fantastic, visceral and so immersive you really should watch it. You can easily find this Steven Spielberg classic in lots of greatest war movies lists and for very good reason, it's awesome.

If you don't know much about the film here's a quick run down. Set in World War 2 the films begins at Omaha Beach with the D-Day landings. The film then follows the exploits of a small group of G.I.s on a mission to bring Private Ryan back as his 3 other brothers had been killed in action.

Year of production: 1998, age rating: 15, running time: 2h 50m. Starring: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns,
Matt Damon and Tom Sizemore. Director: Steven Spielberg.

The Dam Busters:
Film 4, Sunday 20th May, 16:20. 

A British war film classic, poignant as this week marks 75 years since the actual attack on German dams in World War 2. The film tells the story of no.617 squadron of the RAF, who were tasked with delivering experimental bouncing bombs developed by Barnes Wallis. With the aim to destroy vital dams in Germany's industrial regions, flooding valleys and massively disrupting Nazi Germany's war time production.

Year of production: 1955, age rating: U, running time: 2h 50m. Starring: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans and Basil Sydney. Director: Michael Anderson.

A Bridge Too Far:
Spike, Saturday 19th May, 15:50. 

In my opinion the best World War Two movie ever made. Based around the real Operation Market
Garden, which was an ambitious Allied plan to scythe through the German front lines capture channel ports and greatly reduce the length of the war.

Year of production: 1977, age rating 15, running time: 2h 34m. Starring: Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Director: Richard Attenborough


Guns of Navarone
Spike, Sunday 20th May, 17:50.

Another British classic, the story revolves around a group of Allied commandos tasked with the important mission of taking out 2 land based guns that thwart Allied naval efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Year of production: 1961, age rating: PG, running time: 2h 50m. Starring: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn and Stanley Baker. Director: J. Lee Thompson.

For other war films ideas please check out some of my other posts: 
Every war film currently on Netflix UK in 1 list.
List of the best WW2 films available on Netflix.
Best current war movies on Amazon video.

List of the best World War 2 movies to stream on Netflix right now (May 2018)

Brad Pitt stars in Fury following a
WW2 Sherman crew

World War Two what a great topic for a war movie, I was really excited to go through the Netflix catalogue and see what great WW2 films there were only, there's not that many sadly. I had thought about doing a top 10 or a top 20 or something of the sort but alas, I only seem to find 7 and actually most of them I haven't (yet) watched. No use complaining I guess, what can Netflix UK offer? well of the 7 there certainly is some variety, they aren't all Hollywood blockbusters, there's a Russian production and an Indian one. The earliest two date from war time and the latest are barely a couple of years since release. There's some big name actors and some you've probably never heard of. It's a fairly good if short selection of war genre cinema to enjoy. I'm going to rank the films into some sort of order, like I said I haven't seen them all, where I have I'll add in some of my own comments and opinions, other than that find out below the film title, the main actors in the production, the director it's screen time and age rating. 



Hacksaw Ridge

One of the most influential war movies of recent times. Nominated for various awards. The premise is perhaps a little unusual a war film, the lead part being about a pacifist war hero. Nevertheless bravery and courage are familiar themes and despite the morals of the story this is a bona fide action filled war film. I've included the YouTube trailer below, for a good glimpse at this epic movie. 

Year of production: 2016, age rating: 15, running time: 2h 19m. Starring: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey and Teresa Palmer. Director: Mel Gibson.



Fury

I must admit I approached this film with a little scepticism, I'm not Brad Pitt's biggest fan anyway and I was never taken by Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. However I was very pleasantly surprised the movie is more on the sort of action scale of things and less gritty, but this is far from a cheesy action movie and is a very good war film. It follows the crew of a Sherman M4A2 (76) nicknamed Fury, during warfare in Germany in 1945. 

Year of production: 2014, age rating: 15, running time: 2h 14m. Starring: David Ayer, Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman and Shia LaBeouf. Director: David Ayer.

Stalingrad
2013, 15, 2h 10m. During the epic World War 2 battle for Stalingrad a group of Red Army soldiers holes up in a house. Starring: Pyotr Fyodorov, Dmitriy Lysenkov, Alexey Barabash and Andrey Smolyakov. Director: Fedor Bondarchuk.
(not to be confused with the 1993 film of the same name.)

The Fighting Seabees
1944, U, 1h 39m. Wartime movie about US construction battalions, known as Seabees. Despite their civilian status the workers soon find themselves armed and facing the Japanese enemy. Starring: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe as Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow and William Frawley. Director: Edward Ludwig.

Pimpernel Smith
1941, U, 2h 1m. Posing as an Archaeologist, the protagonist secretly gets people out of wartime Nazi Germany. Starring: Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan and Mary Morris. Director Leslie Howard.

Rangoon
2017, Guidance, 2h 32m. Female daredevil entertainer, goes from entertaining troops to involved in the action in this Indian production. Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut. Director: Vishal Bhardwaj.

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

I watched this recently because it's a war film that I hadn't seen, I can't say much else about attracted me to it. I think was for a good reason, there's some fairly good action scenes, the CGI is good but not a scratch on other Hollywood efforts and more recent video games. This sort of theme carries through all of it, the acting is in no way bad nor is it good and it's hard to have a real empathy for the characters and their plight. On the plus side, naval war films are something of a rarity and this is certainly a good attempt at addressing that balance. It's probably worth a watch, but I'd struggle to recommend it wholeheartedly. 

Year of production: 2016, age rating: 15, running time: 2h 10m. Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane and James Remar. Director: Mario Van Peebles.

Netflix; all the current war films to stream in the UK on 1 list

Below is a list of all of the war movies currently available to stream on Netflix in the UK. I've added a short description on each entry just to clarify what the film is i.e. year and running time. I've written some reviews and ranked some of the films available already on previous posts, check those out if you wish. But for here it's just some basic information and a list of war films on Netflix in alphabetical order, enjoy.

6 Days 
2017, 15, 1h 34 m. Story about the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 and the SAS raid to free the hostages. Starring: Jamie Bell, Abbie Cornish and Mark Strong. Director: Toa Fraser.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
2016, 15, 2h 25m. Elite private military contractors in Libya, try to save the besieged US Consulate.

13 Hours the story of mercenaries defending US interests in Libya

Starring: John Krasinski, James Badge Dale and Max Martini. Director: Michael Bay

Act of Valour
2012, 15,1h 49m. Navy SEALs are tasked with rescuing an imprisoned CIA agent in the Philippines. Starring: Roselyn Sánchez, Nestor Serrano, Emilio Rivera and Rorke Denver. Directors: Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh.

Beasts of No Nation
2015, 15, 2h 17m. The brutal stories of civil war in Africa and child soldiers. Starring: Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Kurt Egyiawan and Jude Akuwudike. Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Behind Enemy Lines
1997, Mature, 1h 26m. 2 US Marines are tasked with acquiring nuclear devices from a Vietnamese general. Ending up with one of them in prison and the other coming to rescue him. Starring: Thomas Ian Griffith, Chris Mulkey, Mark Carlton and Mushond Lee. Director: Mark Griffiths.
(not to be confused with the 2001 film starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman).

Black Hawk Down 
2001, 15, 2h 24m. Following a US Special Forces led raid on a rebel leader in Mogadishu Somalia,

Black Hawk Down

things go awry. Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore and Eric Bana. Director: Ridley Scott.

Casualties of War
1989, 18, 1h 53m. Covering some of the horrific treatment of civilians in war time, this Vietnam war film covers the brutal rape of a Vietnamese civilian and the subsequent investigation. Starring: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Patrick Harvey and John C. Reilly. Director: Brian De Palma.

Check Point
2017, 15, 1h 37m. A former down on his luck US Marine, learns of plans for an enemy invasion of the US. Starring:  Kenny Johnson, William Forsythe, Bill Goldberg and Michelle Lee. Director: Thomas J Churchill.

The Delta Force
1986, 15, 2h 9m. US Special Forces are sent to resolve a hostage situation on board an American passenger flight. Starring: Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, Martin Balsam and Joey Bishop. Director: Menahem Golan.

The Expendables 1
2010, 18, 2h 10m. A group of mercenaries are deployed to a South American island to overthrow the dictator. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren. Director: Sylvester Stallone.

The Expendables 2
2012, 15, 1h 43m. Following a plane crash in Albania the mercenaries must retrieve a computer that contains information on the location of tonnes of Plutonium. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Director: Simon West.

The Expendables 3
2014, 12, 2h 6m. The elite team wage war with an arms dealer. Starring: Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes. Director: Patrick Hughes.

The Fighting Seabees
1944, U, 1h 39m. Wartime movie about US construction battalions, known as Seabees. Despite their civilian status the workers soon find themselves armed and facing the Japanese enemy. Starring: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe as Lt. Cmdr. Robert Yarrow and William Frawley. Director: Edward Ludwig.

Flyboys

Fury a modern take on WW2

2006, 12, 2h 18m. Young Americans volunteer to fight for France in World War One becoming the first US fighter pilots. Starring: James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno and Jennifer Decker. Director: Tony Bill.

Forbidden Ground
2013, 15, 1h 34m. Australian film about three British soldiers who 'go over the top' during the Great War only to be left stranded and alone in no man's land. Starring: Johan Earl, Tim Pocock and Martin Copping. Director:  Johan Earl and Adrian Powers.

Fury
2014, 15, 2h 14m. Follows the exploits of an American tank crew and their M4 Sherman named Fury
in the last year of World War Two. Starring:  David Ayer, Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman and Shia LaBeouf. Director: David Ayer.

Green Zone
2010, 15, 1h 54m. A team of American inspectors is sent to Iraq to find stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, instead they find a massive conspiracy. Starring: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson and Greg Kinnear. Director: Paul Greengrass.

Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge
2016, 15, 2h 19m. US medic and pacifist is the unlikely hero, patching up his comrades to win the Medal of Honor in the battle of Okinawa. Starring: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey and Teresa Palmer. Director: Mel Gibson.

He Who Dares: Downing Street Siege
2014, 15, 1h 26m. Operative kicked out of the Special Air Service, is the only one to turn to when Downing Street is under attack. Starring: Tom Benedict Knight, Simon Phillips and Russell Kilmister. Director: Paul Tanter,

Invasion USA
1985, 18, 1h 47m. Retired CIA operative is America's only hope when his former Soviet nemesis wages a war of terror on the USA. Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, Melissa Prophet and Alex Colon. Director: Joseph Zito.

The Kingdom
2007, 15, 1h 50m. A team of US FBI agents are sent to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to investigate the bombing of an American facility. Starring: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. Director: Peter Berg.

Madras Cafe
2013, 15, 2h 8m. An Indian film, set during the Sri Lankan civil war a Indian Army officer is tasked with disrupting the rebels. Starring: John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna and Siddharth Basu. Director: Shoojit Sircar.

Chuck Norris is MIA in 'Nam

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
1985, 18, 1h 35m. Captured in Vietnam and tortured, US POWs are forced to grow opium, until they are pushed too far and escape. Starring: Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Steven Williams and Bennett Ohta. Director: Lance Hool.

Operation Mekong
2016, 15, 2h 3m. Chinese film based around real events, Chinese vessels are intercepted by drug cartels. Starring: Eddie Peng, Zhang Hanyu, Wenjuan Feng and Carl Ng. Director: Dante Lam.

Pimpernel Smith
1941, U, 2h 1m. Posing as an Archaeologist, the protagonist secretly gets people out of wartime Nazi Germany. Starring: Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan and Mary Morris. Director Leslie Howard.

Rangoon
2017, Guidance, 2h 32m. Female daredevil entertainer, goes from entertaining troops to involved in the action in this Indian production. Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut. Director: Vishal Bhardwaj.

Sand Castle
2017, 15, 1h 53m. US army soldiers following the 2003 invasion of Iraq are tasked with ensuring a water supply to a remote village in the face of enemy action. Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Logan Marshall-Green, Henry Cavill and Glen Powell. Director: Fernando Coimbra.

The Siege of Firebase Gloria
1989, 18, 1h 39m. Australian made Vietnam war film, at the start of the Tet Offensive a US Marine patrol arrives at the remote base Gloria and become besieged. Starring: Wings Hauser, R. Lee Ermey, Robert Arevalo and Mark Neely. Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

The Siege of Jadotville
2016, 15, 1h 48m. A small Irish Army detachment on a UN mission in the Congo are besieged by

Irish soldiers fighting for their lives in Africa

thousands of Katangese troops. Starring: Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt and Jason O'Mara. Director: Richie Smyth.

Soldiers of Fortune
2012, 15, 1h 33m. A retired special forces operative leads a group of tourist billionaires to fight a war. Starring: Christian Slater, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Bean and James Cromwell. Director: Maksim Korostyshevsky

Stalingrad
2013, 15, 2h 10m. During the epic World War 2 battle for Stalingrad a group of Red Army soldiers holes up in a house. Starring: Pyotr Fyodorov, Dmitriy Lysenkov, Alexey Barabash and Andrey Smolyakov. Director: Fedor Bondarchuk.
(not to be confused with the 1993 film of the same name.)

Stratton
2017, 15, 1h 34m. A British Special Boat Service operative hunts down terrorist intent on using bio-chemical weapons. Starring: Dominic Cooper, Gemma Chan, Austin Stowell and Tyler Hoechlin. Director: Simon West.

Tears of the Sun
2003, 15, 2h. During a civil war in Nigeria a US Navy Seal Team is sent to rescue a US citizen Dr. Lena Hendricks, but end up rescuing hundreds of refugees too. Starring: Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser and Eamonn Walker. Director: Antoine Fuqua.

Tomorrow When the War Began 
2010, 12, 1h 43m. Australian film, a group of teenagers go away to the woods only to return and see their native land invaded by a foreign army, they soon form their own resistance. Starring: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis and Deniz Akdeniz . Director: Stuart Beattie.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
2012, 18, 1h 54m. Part of the Universal Soldier series of films. A story of revenge for a family brutally murdered. Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins and Andrei Arlovski. Director: John Hyams.

The manhunt for the leader of Al Qaeda

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
2016, 15, 2h 10m. Following the ship of the same name in World War 2, the vessel becomes stranded in the Philippine sea and the crew fight to survive. Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane and James Remar. Director: Mario Van Peebles.

Wolf Warrior
2015, 15, 1h 30m. Chinese production, People's Liberation Army special forces and a special detachment called Wolf Warriors do battle with druglords. Starring: Wu Jing, Scott Adkins, Yu Nan and Kevin Lee. Director: Wu Jing.

Wolf Warrior 2
2017, 15, 2h 3m. Sequel to Wolf Warrior follows the story of the elite Chinese troops and their battle with a land developer intent on destroying homes and lives. Starring: Wu Jing, Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Hans Zhang. Director: Wu Jing.

Zero Dark Thirty 
2012, 15, 2h 37m. A dramatic reenactment of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and his capture and killing in Pakistan. Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Ehle. Director: Kathryn Bigelow.

Current top rated war movies on Netflix, May 2018

Here's a quick list of some of the greatest war movies of all time to view on Netflix. I've compiled the list by looking at various greatest war films lists online and come up with a list of about 45 and here's a few of them available to stream right now. So if you have an Netflix subscription and are looking for a top quality war movies to watch you've come to the right place. All films and availability checked on the Netflix desktop app on the 25th of May 2018.

Schindler's List

Fury the war movies that stars the crew of a US Sherman

Black Hawk Down

Das Boot

Hacksaw Ridge

Doctor Strangelove

Zero Dark Thirty

Downfall

Enemy at the Gates (no longer available on Netflix)

Fury

Green Zone

Rescue Dawn (no longer available on Netflix)

Casualties of War

Flyboys 

Current top rated war films on Amazon Prime, May 2018

Film cover of Kubrick's seminal classic Full Metal Jacket

Here's a quick list of some of the greatest war movies of all time to view on Amazon Prime. I've compiled the list by looking at various greatest war films lists online and come up with a list of 45. So if you have an Amazon Prime subscription and are looking for a top quality war movie to watch you've come to the right place. In fact Amazon currently have a free 30 day trial, click here to check that out.

All films and availability checked on the Amazon.co.uk site (via desktop) on the 25th of May 2018.


Top rated War Films currently available on an Amazon Prime subscription:

Apocalypse Now (no longer available)

Full Metal Jacket

The Hurt Locker

The Deer Hunter

Defiance (no longer available)

The Pianist