The Best Movies About Historical Battles
Some ancient battles are ones for the history books - and the historical films. The best historical war battle movies make the horrors and triumphs of war more immediate by spotlighting individual characters fighting for their lives. This is a list of the top movies about epic historical wars coming out of Hollywood including everything from Braveheart to The Bridge on the River Kwai to 300.
What films will you find on this list of the best period movies about historical battles? In Saving Private Ryan, the Invasion of Normandy comes to breathtaking life. Tom Hanks leads an all-star cast - including Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Vin Diesel and more - in this Steven Spielberg-directed hit. World War II is a popular choice for filmmakers: Pearl Harbor also focuses on this conflict, and The Longest Day follows a group of soldiers during the time leading up to D-Day. Other good movies featured here include Ben Hur, Kingdom of Heaven, and Letters from Iwo Jima.
This list is far more than just the top ten historical war movies. Vote up your favorites and vote down any that you never want to watch again. When you're done, be sure to check out our best WW1 movies list.
- 1Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang
- 2Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine
- 3Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara
- 4John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki
In 1944, the U.S. Army and Allied forces plan a huge invasion landing in Normandy, France. Despite bad weather, General Eisenhower gives the okay and the Allies land at Normandy. General Norma Cota ...more - 5Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore
- 6Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray
- Released: 1930
- Directed by: Lewis Milestone
The film follows a group of German schoolboys, talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War I by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young ...more
