Top 10 War Movies
These men are all cut from military cloth, but are memorable for very different reasons. Some are kick-ass super soldiers; others are tortured soul soldiers providing thought provoking cautionary tales, while others are simply corrupt with power.
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Director: Je-kyu Kang
Cast: Dong-gun Jang, Bin Won, Eun-ju Lee
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War 2004 Korean Movie
A drama about the fate of brothers forced to fight in the Korean War.
My views
It started out like so many other movies, a short clip of the present and then a long flashback. And then it blew me away with its depiction of war and all of its complexities. The changes in the attitudes of the two brothers as the Korean War progresses helps us understand that war is not merely about good and evil. The most well intentioned soldier or commander can go astray. The Korean War turned brother against brother based on little more than time and place, conviction, or happenstance.
The superbly realistic battle scenes are more brutal than any war movie I've ever seen...it makes you realize that combat is one of the most horrifying of all human experiences.It reminded me of the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, which I thought captured some of the reality of war while avoiding the pitfalls that Saving Private Ryan fell. This harrowing film of the Korean War is a well paced and heart-wrenching tale of two brothers caught up in one of the twentieth century's most vicious conflicts.
By the way, "Tae Guk Gi" is the name of the South Korean flag.
Ratings:- Acting/Cast:9
- Story: 9
- Music/Sounds:9
- Overall: 9
Letters from Iwo Jima
Title: Letters From Iwo Jima
Genre: Drama, History, War
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Letters From Iwo Jima 2006 Japanese Movie
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
My views
Letters from Iwo Jima is one of the best war movie and Clint Eastwood really deserves credit for telling both sides of the war. Most of the war movies show that enemy are heartless but in reality its never like that and this movies depicts that. A new kind of war movie. This movie deals with the Japanese side of Iwo Jima. It shows how the Japanese army fought and shows how they suffered probably more than any military in the entire war. The Japanese were dedicated and probably the best fighters in the entire war. Except for a few scenes the movie is all in Japanese but that doesn't take away from the power and impact this movie has. This is probably the most emotionally effecting and powerful movie I've ever seen. Never has a movie effected me like this. Never has a war film shown the horror of war like this before. The music was the same throughout the entire movie but it had a great impact. One of the best powerful movie I have seen, it has a greater emotional impact than any other movie. A must see War movie.
- Acting/Cast: 8.5
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:8.5
- Overall: 8.5
Red Cliff
Title: Red Cliff "Chi bi" (original title)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Director: John Woo
Cast: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Red Cliff 2008 Chinese Movie
The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
My views
"We must fight even if we cannot win." as written in the famous Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the 14th century, the story tells the tale of two warlords locked in battle mode for the control of the south of China, in the fourteenth century,during the Han dynasty. Tony Leung Chiu Wau stars as Zhou Yu,while Fengyi Zhang just absolutely reeks of bad guy as war lord,Cao Cao. The rest of the cast turn in outstanding acting jobs,as well. John Woo did a fantastic job in portraying the characters in the book of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, all the actors and actresses are the best in the contemporary Chinese cinematographic circle, the battle scenes are great, and this movie is the highest budge film in the Chinese film industry to date. It is a MUST see if you are interested in the Chinese history.
Ratings:"We must fight even if we cannot win." as written in the famous Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the 14th century, the story tells the tale of two warlords locked in battle mode for the control of the south of China, in the fourteenth century,during the Han dynasty. Tony Leung Chiu Wau stars as Zhou Yu,while Fengyi Zhang just absolutely reeks of bad guy as war lord,Cao Cao. The rest of the cast turn in outstanding acting jobs,as well. John Woo did a fantastic job in portraying the characters in the book of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, all the actors and actresses are the best in the contemporary Chinese cinematographic circle, the battle scenes are great, and this movie is the highest budge film in the Chinese film industry to date. It is a MUST see if you are interested in the Chinese history.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8.5
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8
J.S.A.: Joint Security Area
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Yeong-ae Lee, Byung-hun Lee, Kang-ho Song
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Joint Security Area 2000 Korean Movie
In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier.
My views
JSA centers around the investigation over a border-side killing. The movie presents an not an easy subject to tackle about the two countries fighting the cold war divided by loyalty and creed. I can't think of many more emotive subjects or films that I have seen this year. The direction and acting in JSA is perfect, whilst the script is emotional. South Korean films are just far ahead of everything. I highly recommend this movie, you can't go wrong with this gem of a movie.
Ratings:
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8
The Admiral: Roaring Currents
Director: Han-min Kim
Cast: Min-sik Choi, Seung-ryong Ryu, Jin-woong Jo
Watch trailer here
Synopsis The Admiral: Roaring Currents 2014 Korean Movie
At the strait 'Roaring Currents', master strategist Admiral Yi and his 12 battleships oppose enemy's fleet of 330, and win the most incredible victory of history.
My views
The movie shows how one brilliant man defeats thousands of men in a battle field. The battle scenes in this movie are amazing and it's interesting to see how the story develops. An admiral changed the fear in his men to that of courage and defeated the enemy. Even the local peasants watched in awe and helped the admiral. So much detail in the film to resemble the actual clothing, ships and respect for their leader. There are a lot of dramatic interpretations, but you will experience general gist of how he exploited fear in his own men and Japanese navy which suffered heavy casualties by Yi over 6 years of war. One other note: Korean uses a flat bottom ship. Japanese uses more traditional design. Korean navy has zero turtle iron clad ship in this engagement. That should be enough to enjoy one of the best ancient naval battle captured by this movie.Well this movie is probably the best naval battle ever made in the history of cinema.
- Acting/Cast: 9
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8
My Way
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Director: Je-kyu Kang
Cast: Dong-gun Jang, Joe Odagiri, Bingbing Fan
Watch trailer here
Synopsis My Way 2011 Korean Movie
In World War II-era Korea, rival runners, one Korean (Jang Dong-gun) and one Japanese (Joe Odagiri), go to war together against the Soviets.
My views
My Way shows that Korea not only can do horror, but that it can do amazing films In any genre. The cheesy story is about two young boys, one Korean and one Japanese, who meet each other as ones family relocates. Both have Dreams of running The marathon in the Olympics and are in rivalry from the start. But when a certain event happens when they are older it becomes much more and they become enemies. Then WW2 is declared and both are forced into the Japanese army. Great story, amazing war battles never seen before, enough depth in the characters to make a movie worth seeing,a tight and emotional little jewel from Korea that comes as an outsider to win this year our cinematic addictions of what movies is all about. This is a film about two people, rivalries, friendships, and their stories. War is just in the background of it all.
Ratings:My Way shows that Korea not only can do horror, but that it can do amazing films In any genre. The cheesy story is about two young boys, one Korean and one Japanese, who meet each other as ones family relocates. Both have Dreams of running The marathon in the Olympics and are in rivalry from the start. But when a certain event happens when they are older it becomes much more and they become enemies. Then WW2 is declared and both are forced into the Japanese army. Great story, amazing war battles never seen before, enough depth in the characters to make a movie worth seeing,a tight and emotional little jewel from Korea that comes as an outsider to win this year our cinematic addictions of what movies is all about. This is a film about two people, rivalries, friendships, and their stories. War is just in the background of it all.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:7
- Overall: 7.8
The Front Line
Genre: Drama, History, War
Director: Hun Jang
Cast: Ha-kyun Shin, Soo Go, Seung-su Ryu
Watch trailer here
Synopsis The Front Line 2011 Korean Movie
A drama centered on the Korean War's final battle that will determine the border between north and south.
My views
"He said our enemy wasn't commies, but the war itself." Toward the end of Korean War Lieutenant Kang Eun-Pyo is sent to investigate a murder on the front lines. He reaches the area called Aerok Hill where the fighting is most intense. Soon after the truth is reveled a cease fire is signed and the two sides rejoice. But the war is far from over. This war movie interested me more than most of the recent ones. The most important message of this film: the ridiculousness of the war, the stupidity of battling with a non-exist but well manipulated cause. the blindness of human nature, the helpless of being a soldier, an expendable pawn by higher ranking officers and their nations' political and military leaders, the foreign countries' ideology manipulations. all the human lives consumed in wars and battles are just meaningless and forgettable. they are just statistic numbers in history books. This ridiculously sad war movie only sent you a strong message: for what and what for?
Ratings:"He said our enemy wasn't commies, but the war itself." Toward the end of Korean War Lieutenant Kang Eun-Pyo is sent to investigate a murder on the front lines. He reaches the area called Aerok Hill where the fighting is most intense. Soon after the truth is reveled a cease fire is signed and the two sides rejoice. But the war is far from over. This war movie interested me more than most of the recent ones. The most important message of this film: the ridiculousness of the war, the stupidity of battling with a non-exist but well manipulated cause. the blindness of human nature, the helpless of being a soldier, an expendable pawn by higher ranking officers and their nations' political and military leaders, the foreign countries' ideology manipulations. all the human lives consumed in wars and battles are just meaningless and forgettable. they are just statistic numbers in history books. This ridiculously sad war movie only sent you a strong message: for what and what for?
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:7
- Overall: 7.8
A Melody To Remember
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Director: Han Lee
Cast: Si-wan Yim, Ah-sung Ko, Hee-joon Lee
Watch trailer here
Synopsis A Melody to Remember 2016 Korean Movie
Second Lieutenant Han Sang-Yeok (Si Wan) leads his platoon during the
Korean War in the early 1950s. During the war, Sang-yeok encounters a
children's choir who have lost everything due to the war. Emphasising
with their plight, he tries to protect the children.
My views
Second Lieutenant Han Sang-Yeol leads his platoon during the Korean War. He carries emotional scars and pain within. He then meets children from a choir. The child have lost everything in the war. Determined not to let these orphans suffer further from the tragedies of war, Han Sang Yeol decides to form a children’s choir and to use music as a way for children to find hope and escape from their harsh realities. The acting was very good for the most part, with Siwan and Lee Hee Joon standing out in particular. Siwan has, no doubt, already proved himself as an actor with the drama Misaeng and the movie The Attorney, and this movie proves his abilities once again.Nonetheless, there’s a limit to how much good acting can cover for a bad script… It was inspiring how even in the midst of a devastating war with incredible loss, children – those whom we view as the weakest and most vulnerable – are those who are the most courageous and resilient, and it is they who become a source of strength and encouragement to others, including to the adults. The fact that this film was also based on a true story makes it even more inspiring, because that means there were actually children like those portrayed in the film. And also the kids were adorable
Ratings:Second Lieutenant Han Sang-Yeol leads his platoon during the Korean War. He carries emotional scars and pain within. He then meets children from a choir. The child have lost everything in the war. Determined not to let these orphans suffer further from the tragedies of war, Han Sang Yeol decides to form a children’s choir and to use music as a way for children to find hope and escape from their harsh realities. The acting was very good for the most part, with Siwan and Lee Hee Joon standing out in particular. Siwan has, no doubt, already proved himself as an actor with the drama Misaeng and the movie The Attorney, and this movie proves his abilities once again.Nonetheless, there’s a limit to how much good acting can cover for a bad script… It was inspiring how even in the midst of a devastating war with incredible loss, children – those whom we view as the weakest and most vulnerable – are those who are the most courageous and resilient, and it is they who become a source of strength and encouragement to others, including to the adults. The fact that this film was also based on a true story makes it even more inspiring, because that means there were actually children like those portrayed in the film. And also the kids were adorable
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 7
- Music/Sounds: 7
- Overall: 7.5
71: Into The Fire
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Director: John H. Lee
Cast: Seung-won Cha, Sang-Woo Kwon, Seung-hyun Choi
Watch trailer here
Synopsis 71: Into the Fire 2010 Korean Movie
The story of student-soldiers trying to protect a middle school during the early days of the Korean War.
My views
71: Into the Fire is great because they did not try to make it huge: it was just telling a simple story about 71 young student learning and struggling in the real war. The true story of the 71 students who defended their line for 11 hours against the might of the communist North is told with passion, humor, and action. It is somewhat clichéd - but this works in its favor - what we get is a Braveheart feeling for a small but very well-made war film. 71 Into the Fire" pursues the now standard monotonous action/drama formula indicative of modern war films. There are the established close up hand held camera work, sharpened sound and color, graphic combat fatalities and injuries and excessive visionary suffering. The pace of the film is balanced between conflict and benevolence. If you want to enjoy a war drama, go for it. BUT if your looking for a realistic war movie...walk away.
Ratings:71: Into the Fire is great because they did not try to make it huge: it was just telling a simple story about 71 young student learning and struggling in the real war. The true story of the 71 students who defended their line for 11 hours against the might of the communist North is told with passion, humor, and action. It is somewhat clichéd - but this works in its favor - what we get is a Braveheart feeling for a small but very well-made war film. 71 Into the Fire" pursues the now standard monotonous action/drama formula indicative of modern war films. There are the established close up hand held camera work, sharpened sound and color, graphic combat fatalities and injuries and excessive visionary suffering. The pace of the film is balanced between conflict and benevolence. If you want to enjoy a war drama, go for it. BUT if your looking for a realistic war movie...walk away.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds: 7
- Overall: 7.5
The Berlin File
Title: The Berlin File
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Director: Seung-wan Ryoo
Cast: Jung-woo Ha, Suk-kyu Han, Seung-bum Ryoo
Watch trailer here
Synopsis The Berlin File 2013 Korean Movie
Exposed during an illegal arms trade gone wrong in Berlin, a North Korean "ghost" agent finds himself in the cross-hairs of an international manhunt. Was he betrayed by his wife or his country? He must prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice.
My views
The Berlin File has several explosive action scene with main plots deal with contemporary issues and politics in a serious way. Some of the scene will really put American action to shame. There is almost an insanity to some of them, but it comes across as really well executed (no pun intended). Few lines of text about a movie is too much to say about a movie especially since one will give spoilers away. I choose not say what is in the movie but to say it was good. If one knows ahead of time what one will see then it will no longer be a surprise. That is wrong with all of the movie trailers because they give the movie away before we even pay to see it.The movie is Enjoyable.
- Acting/Cast: 7
- Story: 7
- Music/Sounds:7
- Overall: 7
Welcome to Dongmakgol
Director: Kwang-Hyun Park
Cast: Jae-yeong Jeong, Ha-kyun Shin, Hye-jeong Kang
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Welcome to Dongmakgol 2005 Korean Movie
Soldiers from both sides of the Korean divide live among villagers who know nothing of the war
My views
Soldiers from the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded village, its residents largely unaware of the outside world, including the war set in the year 1950. Welcome to Dongmakgol has an vivid characters and every character is lovable. Every frame set of the movie displays diverse emotions of the cast. The subtlety of comic scenes is fantastically portrayed and the movie itself is damn humorous. Welcome to Dongmakgol has got an entertainment of its own kind.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 7
- Music/Sounds:7
- Overall: 7
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