This Post Has 71 Comments

1. 

   mickp March 18, 2016

   Went the day well – glad that’ s in the list a definite classic and the scene where the telephone operator throws pepper in the German’s face and clubs him to death is one of the most chilling that you will see. No Colditz Story, Wooden Horse, Angels One Five, Appointment in London, Sink the Bismarck, Yangtse Incident, In Which we Serve or Dunkirk. All in my top 25, appreciate view differ though

2. 

   Senior Moment March 18, 2016

   Kajaki, is an amazing film-shame that it was so difficult to seek out. Sky had it on PPV , but yet to show it neither have Channel Four or any terrestrial channel. Mind you -it was one of those films where the most common word did rhyme with duck

3. 

   Senior Moment March 18, 2016

   No Dad’s Army ? (The first one)

4. 

   CJH March 19, 2016

   Went the Day Well is a classic as is The Way Ahead but I’ve always felt that Carry on Sergeant was Part 2 of TWA for its depiction of National Service. However my Top Three would all be Powell Pressburger films. A Matter of Life and Death, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (which Churchill wanted banned) and the cream of the crop for me, The Small Back Room which is an absolute corker of a film . It ranges across interdepartmental rivalries , alcoholism and relationships, new weapons including the Compressed Air “Reeves” Gun and the way they are chosen to the final solving of a new randomly dropped German anti-personnel bomb. If you haven’t seen it scour the internet for a copy as DVDs are rare…and pricey! Well worth the effort

5. 

   HMArmedForcesReview March 19, 2016

   I would rate Where Eagles Dare higher but great choices!

   How about Freedom–the Football game where POWs vs Nazis occur and the former escape in the end.

6. 

   HMArmedForcesReview March 19, 2016

   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083284/combined Sorry I meant Victory or Escape to Victory

7. 

   Allan March 19, 2016

   Might I suggest, “Contact” as worthy of inclusion on the list…. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088949/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

8. 

   Hic_et_Ubique March 19, 2016

   633 Squadron?

9. 

   JohnHartley March 19, 2016

   Agree with senior moment. The original Dads Army movie is part of my definition of Britishness. Battle of the River Plate is also missing. Along with First of the Few. Although Where Eagles Dare is a fave of mine, it is a WW2/cold war spy thriller hybrid.

10. 

    Peter Elliott March 19, 2016

    Shout out for “Sharpe ‘s Eagle”

    Sean Bean: “All you have to do is stand and fire 3 rounds a minute: now you and I know you can fire 3 rounds a munute; but what I want to know, is can you stand?”

    And who wouldn’t fall for Assumption Serena as Commondante Theresa?

    Very fond of Pete Postlethwaite ‘ s Obidiah Hakeswill in the next couple of films as well: “Obidiah ‘as to ‘ave ‘is scratchings, Mother.”

11. 

    Peter Elliott March 19, 2016

    Bloody autocrrect. Where’s the edit function TD? This comments system is NOT one of your better ones.

12. 

    TD Little Broooo March 19, 2016

    Test comment from an unregistered account

13. 

    Think Defence March 19, 2016

    Test comment from a registered account

    And an edit

14. 

    Think Defence March 19, 2016

    You have to be logged in to edit

    Edited to add

    The top and bottom arrows seem to be OK on IE, Chrome and Firefox!

15. 

    JohnHartley March 19, 2016

    One of my rare trips to the cinema to see the new “Dads Army”. A wobbly start & in places in the middle, but turned out all right in the end.

    On tv, what about “A piece of Cake”, the last hurrah of Southern TV before it lost its franchise, circa 1990?

    That BBC drama doc on Dunkirk was quite good.

    Perhaps we need a thread on the war films not made yet, but we would like to see? So the Battle of the Bulge from the British viewpoint. I accept it was a mainly American/German battle, but that’s why the British involvement on the ground & in the air is always overlooked.

    Or the British Pacific fleet launching carrier aircraft to bomb Japan in 1945. Or British carriers during the Korean War.

    I always fancied a Where Eagles Dare remake, but set in the Argentinian Andes during 1982.

16. 

    Mickp March 19, 2016

    Cockleshell Heroes, Sea of Sand, Above us the waves. Others mentioned here like Dads Army, Carry on Sergeant demonstrate in my view that in terms of British war films we have an abundance of riches

17. 

    JohnHartley March 19, 2016

    If we were allowed “Game of Thrones” then my favourite is the “halfman” war speech “those are brave men at our gates. Lets go & kill them”.

18. 

    Allan March 19, 2016

    Thinking of the First World War – how about Aces High…..

19. 

    davidbfpo March 19, 2016

    Excellent list. I have asked elsewhere, on Small Wars Journal if there is an American equivalent. There is a 2010 Kings War Studies list that maybe of interest, Great Films on Small Wars: http://kingsofwar.org.uk/2010/02/films/

    SWJ has a 2010 list on COIN related movie bits: http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=5076

20. 

    JohnHartley March 19, 2016

    WW1? I like Zeppelin.

21. 

    A Caribbean Perspective March 20, 2016

    A very nice list. I’ve seen most of the older ones, but there are a few that I haven’t seen (which I’m trying to remedy at the moment) – Zulu was compulsory viewing in our family (Dad being a former Major in the South Wales Borderers and all that) , as was Lawrence of Arabia (Grandad and Aqaba stuff).

    Glad you put Master and Commander in there – the books are a great depiction of the period and based, largely, on the actions of Thomas Cochrane, one of the best frigate commanders of the period. They are also relatively accurate – the later books borrow from other sources and individuals, but try to stay accurate in the accounts of military and political maneuvering. As an aficionado ( I’ve read all 20 books, plus the unfinished 21st several times over), the movie was a disappointment in some ways (the plot was changed to make it a French frigate, when it was an American frigate in the books, but I guess I’m just carping a bit – the photography was brilliant, and well deserved its Oscar. You also missed a few of the best quotes “Lesser of two weevils” and ” Surprise is on our side “., etc, etc.

    As another suggestion, how about “The Virgin Soldiers”? @Observer might be interested :)

    Or, for a bit of fun, since it’s about the British military, but not a “war” film “Dog Soldiers”

22. 

    Observer March 20, 2016

    @ACP

    “how about “The Virgin Soldiers”? @Observer might be interested”

    I’m not interested in mythology. :P
    It’s also amazing how many of these I actually watched as well.

23. 

    A Caribbean Perspective March 20, 2016

    Sorry Observer – just realised that my comment could be somewhat misinterpreted! I blame it on England winning the Grand Slam and a bottle of rum that just happened to be lying around :) What I should have said is that you might be interested as it’s set in Singapore around 1950.

24. 

    Observer March 20, 2016

    lol no worries ACP, I kind of figured that it was dodgy phrasing.

    Still hilarious though.

25. 

    Deja Vu March 20, 2016

    All such lists are subjective and 25 requires a great deal of selection,
    In the top 50 say, I would include in no particular order
    Tunes of Glory with John Mills and
    Dr Strangelove or How I grew to love the Bomb – There’s an RAf angle it was made in Britain and is very funny, currently on Netflix
    Threads – available on Youtube a BBC film about the effect of nuclear war on Sheffield.
    Oh What a Lovely War – also currently on Netflix. Loosely WW1 the musical.
    Battle of the River Plate – All about British Pluck and a certain amount of deception.
    The Way to the Stars ) Contemporary films about Bomber Command
    One of our Aircraft is Missing )

    Plus all those mentioned by mickp

26. 

    Paul March 21, 2016

    I’ve heard ’71 is meant to be good, but it’s only had a handful of screenings on TV so far, and wasn’t shown in many cinemas so can understand its absence. Operation banner was a defining feature of British military history for over 3 decades, with more miltary personell killed in Northern Ireland than Iraq and Afghan put together. Suprised none of the 25 touch on the conflict.

27. 

    Deja Vu March 21, 2016

    I missed two

    Privates on Parade – A farce set during the Malayan emergency – John Cleese’s overgrown schoolboy OC was very close to some TA officers of my aquaintance.
    Private Potter – Tale of a National Serviceman during the Cyprus emergency who explains giving away an ambush by saying he had seen a religious apparition This has a profound effect on the CO and Chaplin.

28. 

    Observer March 21, 2016

    John Cleese of Monty Python fame? Must be good then. :)

29. 

    Ixion March 21, 2016

    Re An Ungentlemnly Act.

    Best quote is when the local territorial force commander (portrayed in the film as a platoon of amateurs. Rings the Governor. After the island is invaded

    “There are Argentinian soldiers outside”

    ” well shoot them then”

    “There are an awful lot if Argentinian soldiers outside”

    “Well shoot some of them then”…..

    And what…. no Battle if the River Plate!

30. 

    Deja Vu March 21, 2016

    @Observer Privates on Parade.

    Yes very very funny. Set during the emergency in Malaya, an ordnance depot houses a “Concert Party”. The depot OC (John Cleese) who is a few bob short of a 10 shilling note, conceives the idea of resupplying forward units with with ammo in the Concert Party’s baggage. All does not go to plan. Michael Elphick as the (dodgy former Met Copper) RSM was brilliant as was Joe Melia as the instructor Sergeant tasked with bringing the concert party up to standard before the tour into bandit country.

    Oh as Zulu is No 1 there has to be a place for the very very non pc Silk Cut Zulu Spoof Commercial probably no 101
    https://youtu.be/BGETLgNytCw There’s also a PoW spoof.

31. 

    JamesF March 22, 2016

    As movies either comedy or entering into the real moral ambiguity of war makes them work for me – together with a brilliant score – so David Lean’s two classics and Where Eagle’s Dare probably take the top three for me, closely followed by Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea and the Dambusters. I loved the 633 Squadron tune, the madness of The Charge of the Light Brigade and more recently the quite brilliant and chilling Conspiracy (which is stuffed with British actors). There was a great TV movie about the Brits liberating Belsen, and would probably include The English Patient, with its accurate dipictions of desert exploration, epsionage and EOD. The Hill is a great movie too. Can’t fail to love Zulu, Carry on up the Khyber, and I haven’t seen Kajaki yet (its on Netflix), but heard good things from a filmaker friend. I’m not sure if cold war spy movies count – but the BBC versions of Tinker, Tailor and Smiley’s People are as good as it gets. Always had a soft spot for the Battle of the River Plate (featuring the Belgrano as the Graf Spee and presaging her fate) and I enjoyed Master and Commander, but could have been so much better.

32. 

    JJ77 March 22, 2016

    Always considered “Threads” pretty gruesome which I think was the objective of the makers.
    mission accomplished.
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090163/?ref_=nv_sr_1

33. 

    S O March 22, 2016

    “Battle of Britain” and “A Bridge too far” were war movies of a quality and accuracy that’s likely not coming back any time soon (similar: U.S.-Japanese co-production “Tora tora”).

    I would give a honourable mention to the TV series “Sharpe’s Rifles” and the extremely British “Blackadder goes forth”.

34. 

    Brian Black March 23, 2016

    SO, there is a Pegasus Bridge film in the works (Jason Flemyng and others) that bills itself as an historical depiction in the same vein as films like A Bridge Too Far.

    Probably the last great attempt at an historical war drama was the Band of Brothers tv series. That was based on Stephen E Ambrose’s book, who also wrote the book ‘Pegasus Bridge’. I don’t think the new film is an adaption of Ambrose’s book per se, but it is perhaps an opportunity to faithfully represent actual events that would surely draw on the historical work of Ambrose.

    A Bridge Too Far was based on Cornelius Ryan’s historical book (as was The Longest Day (in which Pegasus Bridge also features)). It would be interesting to see an adaption of Ryan’s other excellent WWII book, The Last Battle (the battle for Berlin). It would be quite an epic undertaking though.

    We’ll have to wait and see whether Pegasus Bridge makes it onto TD’s movie list in a couple of years time.

35. 

    JamesF March 24, 2016

    It has to be Kajaki. Just seen – its Kipling: the “Young British Soldier” . One of them quotes it early on. The essence of the British soldier – the ‘Tom’ (only the Paras still use that), created by the pay corps and immortalised by Kipling. Three George Crosses in one day.

36. 

    Darned Consultant March 29, 2016

    Seen quite a few of those… I tend to agree with Zulu
    Surely there should be a mention for Henry V…
    I still get goosebumps with St Crispins eve speech – I suppose it had a good script writer ( :) )
    https://youtu.be/A-yZNMWFqvM
    Not holding my manhood cheep here…

37. 

    Hugh March 29, 2016

    Morning Departure?
    Square Peg (Norman Wisdom)?
    Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall?

    I seem to remember A Bridge Too Far having a good scene with a rolling barrage.

    I will only mention Dirk Bogarde and Michael Redgrave in The Sea Shall Not Have them because of Noel Coward’s quote “The sea shall not have them? Why not – everyone else has.”

    Let’s not mention Escape to Victory: its not British, its rubbish and its got Ossie Ardeles in it..

38. 

    Mark1603 March 30, 2016

    JamesF, I was intrigued and amused by the comment about them using the Belgrano in the movie “Battle of the River Plate”, but sadly according to the great “wikipedia” it was a USS warship USS Salem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Salem_%28CA-139%29
    I would of have been ironic if they had used it,

39. 

    terry hall April 3, 2016

    Although I did not expect to see it on this list I recommend the very underrated How I Won The War by Richard Lester. It is a very dark and biting comedy about the utter inhumanity and uselessness of war.

40. 

    Shawn Eng April 3, 2016

    Loved “Damn the Defiant”

41. 

    A Caribbean Perspective April 11, 2016

    It looks as if Kajaki has just been added on US Netflix if anyone is interested (not sure if it’s on the UK site, though)

42. 

    WarFilmBuff April 12, 2016

    I do wish the BBC or ITV would invest in making a good 5-10 part miniseries about British forces in either WW1 or WW2 or perhaps even Malaya or the Falklands which have never had any good films made about it. I don’t mean like that crappy ‘Our World War’ either.

    Hanks & Spielberg’s HBO WWII miniseries ‘Band of Brothers’ (about a company in the 101st Airborne Division) and ‘The Pacific’ (about the experiences of 3 men in different units in the USMC) are some of the best war films I’ve seen.

43. 

    iain pears April 21, 2016

    No Life and Death of Colonel Blimp? One of the best films ever made, war or not.

44. 

    roamingfirehydrant April 28, 2016

    Adding my vote for “First of the Few”. Nice list.

45. 

    Ron May 2, 2016

    Anything on the Wellington (Waterloo)? Nelson (Battle of the Nile, Trafalgar)?

46. 

    S Mcdonald May 6, 2016

    Surely “The Hill” needs to be in there. The mix of characters, from the hard line RSM with problems, to the compassionate Sean Connery, it has it all.

47. 

    S O June 6, 2016

    Christopher Nolan is filming a new “Dunkirk” movie, apparently with big budget:
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5013056/
    Expect lots of CGI Stukas.

48. 

    David Kane September 12, 2016

    Remember that the thought police have already done for this film by cutting out the allegedly “RAAAYCIST” part where cpl Scheiss comes to the rescue of chard with bayonet and crutch then cackles with glee. Its cut on DVD and the new censored version is now shown every time it comes on TV. It’s the best film ever made and they’ve hacked out the best part of it. Read 2030: Your Children’s Future in Islamic Britain by David Vincent for a brilliant explanation why ALL of hate speech law MUST BE REPEALED.

49. 

    Colin true Brit Taylor February 20, 2017

    It is a shame this list of British War films has films made by the Americans that included Americans as the goddamn, mother loving toughest soldiers in the world, ever. Who, were put there merely to interest American audiences in the film. The Great Escape was a British and Commonwealth caper that Americans had very little to do with. There certainly wasn’t some ex circus boy on a German motorbike anywhere to be seen. God help us.

50. 

    Mark March 13, 2017

    With Jock-istan heading for another Indyref…I am moved to make an English nationalist point…….the majority of the soldiers at Rorkes Drift were in fact English…so instead of Men of Harlech..they were more likely signing “Get them Down you Zulu Warriors…”

51. 

    Stephen March 30, 2017

    No ‘Theirs is the Glory’? Scandalous. A half fiction/half documentary about Arnhem and Market Garden filmed on location, and using multiple veterans of the battle only 18 months after the end of the War. Legend has it that between takes, blokes would disappear off and help locate the graves of their mates! No PTSD there, then. Extreme Stiff Upper Lip on show, but all the more accurate for it.

52. 

    JS123 March 30, 2017

    No Four Feathers (1939)

53. 

    Bronco46 September 10, 2017

    Great List! Five, I haven’t seen.
    But you’ve forgotten one. I’d make this the “Top 26”
    I would add “A Sailor for the King”
    Granted the main character is Canadian. But the film was made in the UK.
    Based on C.S. Forester’s book “Brown on Resolution”.
    I’m going to chase down those 5 films I haven’t seen yet.

54. 

    Bronco46 September 10, 2017

    I would advise anyone reading this list. Read the comments. I found another seven films
    I hadn’t seen. This is a great resource. Even with the sour grapes about Americans involved.
    You’ve got to give writers and producers some leeway. They’ve got to make a movie that will
    make a profit.

55. 

    Siggy November 17, 2017

    Shocked you didn’t mention the best and most authentic war movie of any nation ever made, “In Which We Serve”.

56. 

    Barry Alexander January 8, 2018

    I would like to have seen ‘The Hill’ in there, although it is a technically a prison movie rather than a war movie. There is also a black and white film ‘Theirs is the Glory’ that was a reenactment of Arnhem, filmed in the city in 1946. The actors were all soldiers who had fought at Arnhem. I would also put the original Dunkirk movie in too. But a great list nonetheless

57. 

    Rob January 8, 2018

    I thought The Hill might have made this list. Granted it takes place in a British Prison, but it is set during WWII and is very well acted.

58. 

    Lee malory March 10, 2018

    A brilliant selection and I fully agree with Zulu at Number One , the best film ever made with the best score by John Barry. I was lucky enough to see it in the cinema, twice, and my memory is undimmed. Those who watch it now on the Criterion blue ray DVD will noy realise that it has been censored. The best part of the whole film is where the Swiss corporal Schiess saves Chard’s bacon by single handed ly killing a number of Zulu’s, after his final kill he laughs almost as the blood rush kicks in but all this I describe is from memory because that scene has been cut, censored. It is a cut of less than 30 seconds but it comes at the crescendo of the film and ruins it for me. Read about this in (“Britain’s Great Immigration Disaster” by G. Cooke) and why the past has become “raaaycist”

59. 

    Matt April 2, 2018

    Another interesting film is They were not Divided

60. 

    John July 13, 2020

    To be honest, I think that Master and Commander would have been more interesting had there been a couple of SLR’s included somewhere.

    Why is Waterloo not featured on the list, or the 1968 classic The Charge of the Light Brigade?

61. 

    Dave Wolfy August 23, 2020

    The Hill (as previously commented), Tunes Of Glory – definitely.
    Not a war film as such, a film of the affects of war.

62. 

    David October 29, 2020

    I’d have to find a spot for In Which We Serve

63. 

    John Dawkins November 3, 2020

    Yangste Incident. Great film and true story about the escape of HMS Amethyst from entrapment in the River Yangste in 1949. I am biased – this was the first film I ever saw in a cinema as a young lad in 1958. It’s gritty tone is like The Cruel Sea.

64. 

    Derek Glennie November 3, 2020

    What about The Desert Rats , The Longest Day ,633 Squadron etc

65. 

    JohnP November 5, 2020

    Two badly overlooked gems: “The Best of Enemies” – David Niven in a see-sawing battle of wills with a small Italian army force in the North African desert, and “Danger Within”, with Richard Todd, Richard Attenborough and Bernard Lee attempting escape from an Italian POW camp

66. 

    Aaron dale December 13, 2020

    Danger close

67. 

    Simon Brown February 10, 2023

    You missed THE HILL with Sean Connery

68. 

    Brian Williams July 7, 2023

    I remember a movie, WWII, RAF, bomber, night raids, pilot or bombardier drops personal notes to wife and son as they pass over their UK home upon return from sorties. 1940 -1960 production? Any suggestions??

69. 

    Chris H August 24, 2023

    The Small Back Room
    A Powell Pressberger Classic from 1949 based on a book by Nigel Balchin about the machinations of a team of "Boffins", the Civil Service and Military within a story about a new German Anti-Personnel Bomb. IMO way ahead of its time, brilliant cast including Michael Gough who was actually a wartime CO and served in the Non Combatant Corps as a Bomb Disposal Officer. Terrific Film and worthy of inclusion.

70. 

    RikJay August 24, 2023

    It Ain't Half Hot Mum – Should have had a film made set in Tim Min in Burma. Hilarious.

71. 

    Dave Wolfy September 26, 2023

    Tunes of Glory.