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The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made  

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List Rules Movies must have characters in the army as a focus.

Feeling patriotic? Check out this list of best army movies, with videos, ranked by fans of army films. All of the top army movies are on this list, but if you believe any of your favorite military movies are missing, feel free to add them yourself. Good army movies give civilians a taste of what our soldiers go through in battle and throughout their daily lives. While not all of these films feature war, they all use the army as a central theme and feature some of the best soldier moves ever depicted on film. You might also be interested in Vietnam War movies and World War I films. 

Featuring war movies, movies about soldiers, and military films, this list of the greatest army movies includes Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and Apocalypse Now. 

What are the best military movies? The best soldier movies create an emotional connection with the characters and depict exciting army action. Movies on this army movies list depict all time frames from recent, modern militaries to the armies of the past. If you're interested in the army, then these are the movies for you.

Love movies with these types of themes? Check out some great military TV shows here. 

list ordered by
1
Black Hawk Down is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Ewan McGregor, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom
Black Hawk Down is a 2001 American-British war film directed by Ridley Scott. It is an adaptation of the 1999 book of the same name by Mark Bowden based on his series of articles published in ...more
2
Full Metal Jacket is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
TxAussie added Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Adam Baldwin
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Kubrick, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford was based on Hasford's novel The Short-Timers. The film ...more
3
Saving Private Ryan is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic drama war film set during the Invasion of Normandy in World War II. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, the film is notable for ...more
4
We Were Soldiers is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Mel Gibson, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jon Hamm
We Were Soldiers is a 2002 film that dramatizes the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965. The film was directed by Randall Wallace and stars Mel Gibson. It is based on the book We Were ...more
5
Lone Survivor is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
abby_stephan added Mark Wahlberg, Eric Bana, Taylor Kitsch
Lone Survivor is a 2013 American film written and directed by Peter Berg, and starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. The film is based on the 2007 ...more
6
American Sniper is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Jason Agnew added Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Jonathan Groff
American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall. It is based on the book American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal ...more
7
Platoon is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe
Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first film of a trilogy of Vietnam War films by ...more
8
Fury is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman
Fury is a 2014 American film directed by David Ayer. A grizzled tank commander (Brad Pitt) makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945.
9
The Longest Day is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
BillStockstill added Sean Connery, John Wayne, Richard Burton
The Longest Day is a 1962 film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about D-Day, the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during WWII. The film was produced by Darryl ...more
10
The Dirty Dozen is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
PeteBoyle added Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland, Charles Bronson
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich, released by MGM, and starring Lee Marvin. The picture was filmed in England and features an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest ...more
11
Patton is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Paul Frees
Patton is a 1970 American epic biographical film about U.S. General George S. Patton during WWII. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by ...more
12
Apocalypse Now is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
TxAussie added Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American epic adventure war film set during the Vietnam War. Produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, and Robert Duvall. ...more
13
The Patriot is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
pmmom38 added Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Logan Lerman
The Patriot is a 2000 American epic historical fiction film directed by Roland Emmerich. Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) is driven to lead the his own group of men during the ...more
14
Heartbreak Ridge is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
TxAussie added Clint Eastwood, Mario Van Peebles, Marsha Mason
Heartbreak Ridge is a 1986 American film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film also co-stars Mario Van Peebles, Marsha Mason, and Everett McGill. The ...more
15
The Green Berets is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
DaveHanlon added John Wayne, George Takei, Vera Miles
The Green Berets is a 1968 American film set in Vietnam, featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, ...more
16
The Great Escape is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
frankpanderson added Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner
The Great Escape is a 1963 American WWII epic film based on an escape by British and Commonwealth POW from a German POW camp during WWII, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard ...more
17
The Bridge on the River Kwai is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
frankpanderson added Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 WWII epic film directed by David Lean, based on the novel Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai by Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the ...more
18
Hamburger Hill is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Vvvvvvv added Don Cheadle, Dylan McDermott, Courtney B. Vance
Hamburger Hill is a 1987 American film about the actual assault of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, part of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division 'Screaming Eagles', on a well-fortified ...more
19
Enemy at the Gates is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
wiabux added Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Ed Harris
Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. The film's title is taken from William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which ...more
20
Sands of Iwo Jima is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
RawnToler added John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Richard Jaeckel
Sands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 film starring John Wayne that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during WWII. The movie also features John Agar, Adele ...more
21
Tears of the Sun is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
BillStockstill added Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Eamonn Walker
Tears of the Sun is a 2003 American action drama film depicting a U.S. Navy SEAL team rescue mission amidst the civil war in Nigeria. LT A.K. Waters commands the team sent to rescue U.S. citizen ...more
22
Kelly's Heroes is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles
Kelly's Heroes is a 1970 comedy film directed by Brian G. Hutton, about a group of WWII soldiers who go AWOL to rob a bank behind enemy lines. The film stars Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don ...more
23
Braveheart is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Dan Singer added Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Brendan Gleeson
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical medieval war drama film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First ...more
24
Hacksaw Ridge is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
Abigail Moss added Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey

SUCH A GOOD FILM WORTH WATCHING ! INTENSE ,ACTION,THRILLER! JUST AS GOOD AS SAVING PRIVATE RYAN!

Hacksaw Ridge is a 2016 American biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson, based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector. WWII American combat medic and Christian pacifist Desmond ...more
25
Act of Valor is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Greatest Army Movies Ever Made
John Blues added Roselyn Sánchez, Ernie Reyes, Jr.
Act of Valor is a 2011 action adventure thriller film written by Kurt Johnstad and directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh.