4 Best Classic War Movies from the Last Century

War is hell, as they say, and it rarely brings any good to the world. Save, perhaps, through movie magic. The 20^th century produced hundreds of great films that analyze, explain, and reenact war throughout time.

For emotional turmoil, action sequences, and pure humanity (or inhumanity, as the case may be) war movies have delivered entertainment, education, and excitement for many years. However, which war movies truly stand out, and which hold up after repeated viewings?

Here are the four best classic war movies from the last century. Put them on your future viewing list.

In this post:

Apocalypse Now (1979)

If any film has captured the insanity of war, it’s Apocalypse Now. Francis Ford Coppola worked on the film in Baler, a Philippine island, mimicking Vietnam.

What was supposed to be only a six-week shoot spread out over 16 months. Coppola nearly went bankrupt, spending $7 million of his own money when the film went over budget.

In Coppola’s own words, “We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little, we went insane.” However, it paid off since Coppola and his crew turned out the definitive film on the madness of war.

Interestingly, however, while the US military often lends military equipment to filmmakers, they refused since the premise of the film was to assassinate an insane officer, Colonel Kurtz.

You won’t find even a single authentic vintage US Army Jeep in the film—it was all borrowed from local Filipino military units.

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Casablanca (1942)

War doesn’t always happen on the battlefield. Set in the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city from which the movie gets its name, Casablanca is set during World War II.

Ostensibly portraying the love triangle between Humphrey Bogart’s character, Rick, Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa, his former lover, and Ilsa’s new man, the noble Czech resistance leader Victor, played by Paul Heinreid, Casablanca is about love, honor, and will with moments of mirth, grief, and elation.

One of those films that everyone must see.

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

A truly sweeping, gorgeous, and breathtaking film. Sumptuously filmed in the desert by director David Lean, Lawrence of Arabia remains a feast for the eyes and an amazing biopic of one of the more unusual figures in military history, T.E. Lawrence.

Detailing the World War I era story of Lawrence’s attempts to unite the various Arab tribes into a single fighting force to take on the Ottoman Empire, Lawrence of Arabia runs for 227 minutes but never experiences a single boring second.

Peter O’Toole is magnetic as Lawrence, and the beautiful soundtrack stirs the soul.

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Glory (1989)

A fascinating film about the little-known 54^th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, an all-Black regiment under a white officer that fought during the Civil War. The intense battle scene toward the denouement of the film is well-filmed and provides plenty of action, but the bulk of the film addresses the injustices visited upon the soldiers and the valor and bravery they displayed as soldiers.

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Those are just four of the best classic war movies from the last century. Get the popcorn ready and prepare to reevaluate your own feelings about war.