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Best War Movies, Ranked by Metacritic

Discover the best war movies, ranked by Metascore.
by Grace Kim — 
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'Casablanca'

Popperfoto / Getty Images

Some of the best war movies are filled with emotion, drama, passion, and suspense. Some can even be horrifying, recounting real-life historical battles. While many have been made about struggles fought on American soil, others tell stories about different cultures, lifestyles, and the way people think. 

If you're interested in deep movies that describe what you just read above, then this is the right list for you. Get to know some of the best war movies based on their Metascore rankings below.


Lawrence of Arabia

Metascore: 100
Best for: Classic movie lovers
Where to watch: 

, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 216 minutes

Lawrence of Arabia is a biography that takes place during the Turkis war and follows British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole). Lawrence is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal and serve as an intermediary between the British and Arabs. Lawrence seeks the aid of Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish (Omar Sharif) and rebels against the orders of his superiors when he is supposed to attack a well-guarded Turkish port. 

"Riveting from beginning to end, featuring stellar performances, amazing cinematography, and a story without a trace of fat, the film does everything an epic is supposed to do and more." — James Berardinelli, Reel Views


Casablanca

Metascore: 100
Best for: Romantic drama fans
Where to watch: 

Google PlayiTunesVudu
Runtime: 102 minutes

Casablanca takes place during the 1940s Nazi warfare. A Moroccan casino owner named Rick (Humphrey Bogart) finds out his former lover (played by Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband (played by Paul Henreid), who's a rebel hiding from the German troops. They look to Rick for help and he decides to shelter them from the Nazis and get them out of the country. 

"Seventy years on, this great romantic noir is still grippingly powerful." — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian


Army of Shadows

Metascore: 99
Best for: World War II movie aficionados
Where to watch: 

, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 145 minutes

Army of Shadows, otherwise known as L'Armee des Ombres, is an adaptation of Joseph Kessel's 1944 book of the same title from French director Jean-Pierre Melville. It paints the story of the understated French Resistance during World War II. Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) is betrayed by an informant and he finds himself captured by the Nazis in a prison camp. He is able to escape and rejoin the Resistance in France, but he must continue an endless battle with the Nazis. He struggles with paranoia, angst, and distrust while he tries to escape. 

"A brilliant and relentless thriller, painted in Melville's trademark shades of charcoal and midnight blue, marked by daring escapes." — Scott Foundas, LA Weekly


Pan's Labyrinth

Metascore: 98
Best for: Fantasy seekers
Where to watch: 

, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 118 minutes

Pan's Labyrinth takes place after a bloody civil war. A young girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) enters a world of horrific cruelty as she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Ofelia lets her imagination take over and she discovers a labyrinth and a faun who guides her on a journey to saving herself and her mother. As her imagination grows, it becomes difficult for her to navigate the difference between fantasy and reality. Ofelia soon finds herself in between a realm of good and evil. 

"Like any great myth, Pan's Labyrinth encodes its messages through displays of magic." — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly


Le Petit Soldat

Metascore: 97
Best for: French film fans
Where to watch: The Criterion Channel
Runtime: 88 minutes

Le Petit Soldat takes place during the Algerian war for independence. The film, from director Jean-Luc Godard, is about a French photo-journalist living in Geneva as he finds himself in between two terrorist groups representing opposite sides of the conflict. He must decide which side he wants to take. If you're a fan of Godard you'll appreciate this film that was created early on in his career. 

"Starting with Le Petit Soldat, Godard was forging his own individualistic art and becoming the most relevant director of our time." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times


Battleship Potemkin

Metascore: 97
Best for: Soviet film fans
Where to watch: 

, , iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 75 minutes

Battleship Potemkin takes place in the midst of the 1905 Russian Revolution. It tells the story of the eponymous battleship crew, which is up against the tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The battle is led by street demonstrations in Odessa, which brings on a police massacre. Whether you've followed director Sergei M. Eisenstein's other movies, this is a must-see according to the movie's Metascore. 

"Eisenstein's incandescent creativity remains strikingly obvious. The most brilliant of all Soviet silent films." — Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune


Gone With the Wind

Metascore: 97
Best for: Vivien Leigh fans and those who love book-to-movie adaptations
Where to watch: 

Google PlayiTunesVudu
Runtime: 238 minutes

Gone With the Wind is based on Margaret Mitchell's 1930s novel of the same title. It tells the story of a Southern belle, Scarlett O'Hara (Leigh), who struggles with the devastating impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction. She lives on a sprawling plantation and the film follows her surviving through the Civil War's tragedies and also falling in love. If you've read the novel, the film rendition is a true classic, as well as a sprawling epic.

"As few American films have, Gone With the Wind succeeds both as historical epic and as intimate drama." — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times


Quo Vadis, Aida?

Metascore: 97
Best for: Fans of modern twists on historical war crimes
Where to watch: 

, Google Play, , iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 101 minutes

Quo Vadis, Aida? takes place in 1990s Bosnia, where Aida (Jasna Đuričić) is a translator from the United Nations. She lives in the small town of Srebrenica when the Serbian army takes over, and her family is among the thousands of citizens who must look for shelter in the UN camp. Since Aida works as a UN translator, she has access to information that can save or kill her family. 

"Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić succeeds where many filmmakers fail in conveying the dimensions of a mass atrocity in a film that matches clear-eyed personal experience to history in a lightly fictionalized story." — Liam Lacy, Original Cin


The Battle of Algiers

Metascore: 96
Best for: Fans of realistic historical storytelling
Where to watch: 

, Google Play, , iTunes
Runtime: 121 minutes

The Battle of Algiers takes place in the 1900s and is centered around the Algerian people's struggle to overthrow French colonialism in the mid-1950s. Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts and pacify the Algerian War uprisings. He faces Ali la Pointe (Brahim Haggiag), a former criminal who is leading the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale to direct terrorist attacks against the French colonial occupation. Each side resorts to brutality. 

"A deeper film experience than many audiences can withstand: too cynical, too true, too cruel, and too heartbreaking." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times


Ran

Metascore: 96
Best for: William Shakespeare appreciators
Where to watch: 

, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 162 minutes

Ran is Akira Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. It tells the story about the disastrous consequences of Lord Hidetora Ichimonji's (Tatsuya Nakadai) decision to split his kingdom among his three sons. His eldest son, Taro (Akira Terao), will rule while his second son, Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), and his third, Saburo (Daisuke Ryu), will take command of the Second and Third Castles. The younger two sons are expected to obey the eldest and support their brother, but Saburo denies obedience and is banished. 

"One of the 10 best films ever made, period." — Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle