War: 96

Salvador (1986) is a war drama film, co-written and directed by Oliver Stone. Richard Boyle, a seasoned photojournalist with two decades of experience, has had his fair share of success. However, struggles with substance abuse and an air of arrogance have damaged his reputation and made it hard for him to find work. One day, he discovers that his wife has left him and taken their child. With no money or job prospects, Boyle turns to his friend Doctor Rock, a former radio host also facing unemployment. Together, they decide to venture to El Salvador, where Boyle believes he can freelance during the country’s ...

A Soldier’s Story (1984) is an American mystery drama film directed and produced by Norman Jewison. The screenplay was written by Charles Fuller, based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. Set during World War II in 1944, the film follows the events surrounding the death of Master Sergeant Vernon Waters, a Black soldier at Fort Neal in Louisiana. While many believe he was killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan due to his race, others are skeptical. Captain Richard Davenport, a Black officer from the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, is tasked with investigating the case, despite objections from ...

Directed by Taylor Hackford, An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) is a romantic drama film with a screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart. After graduating college, Zachary ‘Zack’ Mayo surprises his father, a U.S. Navy Boatswain’s mate, by enrolling in Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) near Port Townsend, Washington to pursue his dream of becoming a Navy jet pilot. At AOCS, Zack meets fellow recruits and their intimidating drill instructor, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley. Foley stresses that the school only accepts the most capable officer-candidates ...

Attack Force Z (1981) is an Australian-Taiwanese film directed by Tim Burstall. Loosely based on real events, it was shot in Taiwan in 1979. In the Straits of Sembaleng, a team is sent by submarine to rescue survivors of a downed plane on an occupied island. Led by Paul Kelly, an inexperienced commando officer, they stealthily land and conceal their kayaks before heading inland. During the journey, Ted ‘Kingo’ King is struck by fire from a hidden machine gun post. The team swiftly eliminates the enemy and returns to King’s side. Unfortunately, he has been badly wounded and must not be captured by the ...

Gallipoli (1981) is an Australian war drama film directed by Peter Weir and produced by Patricia Lovell and Robert Stigwood. Set in Western Australia during May 1915, the story follows Archy Hamilton, an 18-year-old stockman and aspiring sprinter who yearns to join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Under the guidance of his uncle Jack, Archy trains hard and looks up to world champion Harry Lasalles. During an important race against the farmhand Les McCann, Archy runs barefoot while Les rides his horse without a saddle. ...

Taps (1981), an American thriller starring George C. Scott, features Cadet Brian Moreland dining privately with General Harlan Bache at Bunker Hill Military Academy. During their meeting, Moreland is promoted to the highest cadet rank of Cadet Major by Bache. The following day, it’s announced that the school will be sold to real estate developers, but will remain open for one more year to allow seniors to graduate and underclassmen to find new schools. Bache and the cadets are hopeful that this decision will save their beloved academy. After commencement, a dance is held at the academy, during which local ...

The British spy film Eye of the Needle (1981), directed by Richard Marquand, follows Henry Faber, a German sleeper agent nicknamed ‘the Needle’ for his preferred method of killing with a stiletto. While in England, he obtains crucial information about the Allies’ plans to invade Normandy instead of Pas de Calais as expected by Nazi Germany High Command. However, due to circumstances beyond his control, he is unable to transmit this information. MI5 is aware that Faber’s knowledge could jeopardize D-Day and closely monitors his actions. In an attempt to rendezvous with a U-boat in Scotland, Faber ...

The American epic war film, Apocalypse Now (1979), was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It begins in Saigon, South Vietnam in late 1969 where U.S. Army Captain and special operations veteran Benjamin L. Willard has returned on another combat tour during the Vietnam War. He openly admits that he is unable to readjust to society in the USA and shares that his marriage has ended. In his room, he drinks heavily, chain-smokes, and experiences hallucinations alone until one day when he becomes upset and injures himself by shattering a large mirror. Soon after, two military policemen arrive to escort him to an ...

The American epic war drama film, The Deer Hunter (1978), was co-written and directed by Michael Cimino. Set in late 1968 in a tight-knit Slavic American community in Western Pennsylvania, it follows the story of three friends: Mike Vronsky, Steven Pushkov, and Nikanor ‘Nick’ Chevotarevich. The trio works at a steel mill and often goes hunting with their co-workers – Stanley (‘Stan’), Peter ‘Axel’ Axelrod, and John Welsh. As they prepare to leave for military service in Vietnam, Steven is engaged to Angela Ludhjduravic who has been secretly impregnated by another man. Meanwhile, ...

Directed by Henry Hathaway, Raid on Rommel (1971) is a Technicolor American B movie that takes place in Libya during the year 1942. A British intelligence officer named Captain Alex Foster hatches a plan to infiltrate a German Afrika Korps convoy transporting British prisoners by pretending to be injured. Foster, along with the prisoners who are comprised of a medical unit and remnants of a commando force, set out to take control of the convoy and redirect it to the Libyan port town of Tobruk. While en route, they stumble upon an unexpected concentration of German tanks and deduce that there must be a hidden fuel depot ...

Army of Shadows (1969) is a World War II suspense-drama film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Philippe Gerbier, the head of a French Resistance cell, is arrested on suspicion of Resistance activity by Vichy French police. Despite being acquitted due to insufficient evidence, he is sent to an internment camp. Gerbier and a young Communist collaborate on an escape plan, but before they can carry it out, he is transferred to Paris. While awaiting interrogation by the Gestapo, Gerbier manages to kill a guard and flee. In Marseille, he reunites with Félix Lepercq, Guillaume ‘Le Bison’ Vermersch, and ...

The film Where Eagles Dare (1968), directed by Brian G. Hutton, follows a thrilling action-adventure as MI6 officers Colonel Turner and Admiral Rolland assign a team of commandos to rescue U.S. Army Brigadier General George Carnaby from the Germans in the winter of 1943-44. The team, led by Major John Smith and including five members of the Special Operations Executive and U.S. Army Ranger Lieutenant Morris Schaffer, must infiltrate a mountaintop fortress in a Bavarian alpine village called Schloß Adler, where Carnaby is being held captive. Disguised as German troops, they plan to parachute in and rescue Carnaby before ...

Line of Demarcation (1966) is a war drama film written and directed by Claude Chabrol. It is based on the memoir Mémoires d’un agent secret de la France libre et La Ligne de démarcation by Gilbert Renault. A small village in the Jura is divided by the river Loue, which serves as the boundary between occupied France and the free zone. A French officer named Pierre finds his chateau transformed into a German command center after being released by Nazi soldiers. While he must cooperate with the enemy, his wife Mary is ...

Lafayette Escadrille (1958) is an American war film produced by Warner Bros. It marks the final work of director William A. Wellman, who also wrote the original story. The film follows Thad Walker, a privileged youth from Boston who flees to France during World War I after getting into legal trouble. In Paris, he meets fellow Americans ‘Duke’ Sinclair, Dave Putnam, Tom Hitchcock, and Bill Wellman at a bar where they hear about an exciting new opportunity: joining the recently formed Lafayette Escadrille and becoming volunteer pilots for France. The group enlists and trains together before ultimately becoming ...

The French drama film The Silence of the Sea (1949) is Jean-Pierre Melville’s directorial debut. It is based on the book of the same name by Jean Bruller, published in 1942. Set in occupied France in 1941, the story follows a retired man and his adult niece who share a house in a small village. Their peaceful coexistence is disrupted when they are forced to accommodate Werner von Ebrennac, a German lieutenant with a limp. Despite their mutual dislike for him, they silently agree to never speak or acknowledge his presence. The officer often joins them by the fire at ...

The Real Glory (1939) is an adventure film by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, released by United Artists in the weeks following Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland. Directed by Henry Hathaway and based on Charles L. Clifford’s 1937 novel of the same name, the film is set during the Moro Rebellion in the early 20th century, when the Philippines was under American occupation. The island of Mindanao is plagued by Alipang and his Muslim Moro guerrillas, who raid villages and take women and children as slaves. In an effort to protect the Filipinos without maintaining ...