Best Military Movies

Let's just open this puppy up with one of the most awesome action movies ever made. 1967's The Dirty Dozen lines up twelve military prisoners, all facing the death penalty or life in prison, and puts them on a secret mission behind enemy lines. The cast of this movie is astounding - some of the toughest dudes of the era, all on screen at once. Charles Bronson! Ernest Borgnine! Telly Savalas! Jim Brown! All blowing up Nazis like their lives depended on it - because they did. Often imitated, never duplicated, The Dirty Dozen is a must-see.

Based on the real letters of Robert Gould Shaw, Glory captures one of the most painful periods in American history - the War between the States. Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, is wounded at the Battle of Antietam. When he recovers, he learns that Lincoln has emancipated the slaves and is placing him in command of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first all-Black unit in the United States Army. Shaw and his men must overcome prejudice from both sides of the fight, but the film's climactic battle will have you on your feet.

War has changed a lot since the massive conflicts of the mid-20th century. Gone are the days of good guys and bad guys lining up on two sides of a field and battling until one side surrenders. Today's wars are decentralized, unpredictable, and all the more terrifying for it. The conflict in Somalia that is the subject of Black Hawk Down is a great example. The raid on Mogadishu to capture the country's rogue President and allied warlords put American soldiers in grave danger, and this gripping film shows just how scary the heat of combat can be.

Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam masterpiece Full Metal Jacket is one of the most complete portrayals of life as a United States Marine. The film opens with a busload of new recruits arriving at Parris Island and getting their asses handed to them by Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, who shows them no mercy as he prepares them for combat. Once they finally make it to South Vietnam, things are just as rough, as they have to come to terms with the fact that in war, you can't always stick to your moral code when your life is at stake.