We could argue all day about the definition of Britishness in war films but we all know what it means. This is the Think Defence list of the Top 25 British War Films
The definition of a British War Film is one that is largely British in character, they may have been directed by non-British directors, or have non-British actors in the cast. and may even have been made in Hollywood or elsewhere, but they retain that element of Britishness that we all understand.
So no Das Boot, Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now, sorry folks.
The judging criteria do not include historical accuracy, whether the correct buttons and rank insignia were worn, or whether the film is a ‘visceral and worthy portrayal of the realities of war’ or some other such artsy bollocks, instead, it is simply enjoyability for a wet Sunday afternoon in.
It is not a list for the film buff, historian or the yoghurt-weaving wheatgrass smoothy types for them to bemoan the inhumanity and pointlessness of war.
Most of these have a back story that is as good as, if not better, than the film.
The Think Defence Top 25 British War Films
25 – Breaker Morant
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Watch it because…
A really good film, what else is there to say?
Major Thomas: The barbarities of war are seldom committed by abnormal men. The tragedy of war is that these horrors are committed by normal men in abnormal situations.
Edward Woodward and Bryan Brown are excellent.
The end scene, bloody hell, lip-wobbling stuff
Learn more
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant_(film)
24 – The Heroes of Telemark
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Watch it because…
The scenery, Kirk Douglas’ chin, and the bit on the boat with the kids, nail-biting. Not particularly full of memorable quotes though!
Terboven: Winston Churchill is puffing an extra big cigar today. And we laugh at him. Why? Because all these containers, which the British did so much to destroy, have already been pre-fabricated in Berlin. They are already on their way here and will be installed by tomorrow.
Nilssen: That is… I must say that is fantastic efficiency!
Terboven: Don’t you ever make the mistake of under-rating the Germans. By Easter we will have not merely 10000 pounds of heavy water, but 12000 pounds of heavy water.
An old-school war film but one made especially interesting by the back story, Hitler’s aspirations for atomic weapons and the at-all-cost effort to thwart them.
A documentary
Learn more
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroes_of_Telemark
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film1779
23 – The Dam Busters
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Watch it because…
Special effects, questionable, but some classic quotes, the immortal Dambusters March music beloved of England football fans everywhere and the best Carling Black Label advert ever.
Official, Ministry of Aircraft Production: You say you need a Wellington Bomber for test drops. They’re worth their weight in gold. Do you really think the authorities will lend you one? What possible argument could I put forward to get you a Wellington?
Barnes Wallace: Well, if you told them I designed it, do you think that might help?
Perhaps best of all, it is a fairly unvarnished account of the actual operation.
And of course, that advert
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_(film)
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-dam-busters
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dambusters-raid-remembered
22 – The Guns of Navarone
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Watch it because…
It is simply a classic.
The trailer
In musical form
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_Navarone_(film)
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film576
21 – Hannibal Brooks
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Watch it because…
Not many would include this in a list but I like it, great performances all round, is understated, and is just an enjoyable film with a nice ending.
It has an elephant in it.
The full film is also commonly available on YouTube
Learn more…
Not much to learn to be honest!
20 – Master and Commander
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Watch it because…
Russell Crowe is very good.
Capt. Jack Aubrey: England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship is England.
The Royal Navy giving the French a proper kicking, as is the law.
The lesser of two weevils
The trailer
The battle scene
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_and_Commander:_The_Far_Side_of_the_World
19 – The Battle of Britain
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Watch it because…
The story is of course well known, but this quote reveals the role of radar.
Senior civil servant: Churchill puts great faith in radar.
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: It’s vital, but it won’t shot down aircraft.
Senior civil servant: Ha… well I must say you don’t, exactly exude a spirit of optimism.
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: God willing we will hold out minister.
Senior civil servant: I see. So I tell the cabinet, that you’re trusting in radar and praying to God, is that right?
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: [chuckles] more accurately the other way round. Trusting in god and praying for radar. But the essential arithmetic is that our young men will have to shoot down their young men at the rate of four to one, if we’re to keep pace at all.
The few.
The trailer
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Britain
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film1691
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/history-of-the-battle-of-britain.aspx
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-britain
18 – Dog Soldiers
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Watch it because…
Not technically a war film but I make the rules around here, and it is an enjoyable portrayal of British soldiers.
One of the best lines in any film ever
I hope I give you the shits you fucking wimp
and
We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch.
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Soldiers_(film)
17 – The Cruel Sea
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Watch it because…
The only villain is the sea, the cruel sea…
Capt. Ericson: [after choosing a battle strategy that has cost lives] I had to do it!
Lockhart: Anyway, it’s all in the report.
Capt. Ericson: It was my fault!
Lockhart: I… I identified it as a submarine. If anyone murdered those men, I did.
Capt. Ericson: No one murdered them – it’s the war, the whole bloody war! We’ve just got to do these things and say our prayers at the end.
The scene where the Merchant Seamen are in the water and the U-Boat underneath them is brilliantly done.
Watch it just for that, being in charge is a lonely place.
The trailer
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cruel_Sea_(1953_film)
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film1771
16 – Where Eagles Dare
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Watch it because…
Forget the historical nonsense, shocking voice procedure and sometimes comedy special effects, all can be forgiven for ‘Broadsword Calling Danny Boy’
Vice Admiral Rolland: Security? The word’s become a bloody joke!
The trailer
Oh Danny Boy
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Eagles_Dare
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film1695
15 – The Way Ahead
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Watch it because…
Filmed before the outcome of WWII was certain it is an excellent study of wartime film making
We would have dug trenches and taken the Germans in the rear
Ooh-err
At the end of the film, instead of closing with ‘The End’ it instead shows ‘The Beginning’
An overlooked gem.
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_Ahead
14 – The Wild Geese
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Watch it because…
Mr Vickers makes a guest appearance
The free-fall scene is also bloody fantastic.
Dumbledore Richard Harris, Richard Burton, Hardy Kruger and Roger Moore give great performances but they are all upstaged by Jack Watson playing RSM Sandy Young. Jack Watson served as a Royal Navy PTI during the War and eases into the overdone RSM role with familiar ease borne of ‘doing lots of shouting’
On your feet you fucking abortion
The actor that played the part of ‘Tosh’ was named Ian Yule, an ex-Para and SAS soldier, and Joan Armatrading does a pretty good theme song, what more could you want?
RSM Sandy Young
Theme song
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Geese
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film5377
13 – The Great Escape
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Watch it because…
What would Christmas be without it
An outstanding performance from each and every one of the actors, with a back story of equal measure.
Ramsey: Up the rebels.
Goff: Down the British.
The Cooler King and Von Luger’s Butter?
Oh, and watching the RAF personnel wearing white socks with their uniform, priceless
The trailer
Learn more…
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-great-escape-1962
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Escape_(film)
http://www.thegreatescapelocations.com/
12 – Lawrence of Arabia
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Watch it because…
Simply put, an amazing film.
Looks fantastic on the widescreen
T.E. Lawrence: So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people – greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are.
This is what they mean when a film is described as epic
The trailer
The Attack
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Arabia_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence
11 – Bridge on the River Kwai
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Watch it because…
A great big fat moral dilemma and a truly horrific back story
It does have a rather nice cantilever bridge though, and some sunshine.
Colonel Nicholson: What have I done?
Alec Guinness, stiff upper lips all round, a 2″ mortar and the memorable end scene.
The trailer
The ending
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-battles/ww2/kwai.htm
Before we get into the final countdown…
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10 – Who Dares Wins
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Watch it because…
The music is great, it has SLRs and a leading actor with a bit of a military background.
Colonel Hadley: When the SAS is called upon to do what we’re trained to do, we have been likened to a surgeon cutting out a cancer. It’s a filthy and difficult job. We don’t like doing it, but it’s our duty
Best of all, the original embassy re-decorators were closely involved including, if Wikipedia is to be believed, in a number of scenes.
The final raid scene is brilliantly done, OK, so the ninjas hanging underneath the Scout helicopters might have been a bit far-fetched but the rest is enjoyable stuff.
It didn’t receive great critical acclaim, especially from the Guardian, what would they know?
Did I tell you I was the second man on the balcony?
The raid
The late great Lewis Collins
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Dares_Wins_(film)
9 – Went the Day Well
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Watch it because…
Another wartime film, with obvious echoes in Dad’s Army and The Eagle Has Landed, like The Way Ahead, an overlooked classic.
This quote is unintentionally amusing;
You Germans are partial to sausage, aren’t you?
But watch it and you will not forget the teacher with the hand grenade scene or Dame Thora Hird dropping Germans with a .303
The trailer
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Went_the_Day_Well%3F
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/went-the-day-well
8 – Warriors
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Watch it because…
Acclaimed drama documentary Warriors depicts British soldiers’ experiences as peacekeepers for the United Nations Protection Force during the Bosnian War (1992-95), the psychological impact of the atrocities they witness but are not allowed to stop, and their struggle to readjust to civilian life. Although the characters are fictitious and Bosnian scenes were filmed in the Czech Republic, the production team thoroughly researched real events such as 1993’s Ahmići massacre through interviews, documents, archive footage and a visit to Bosnia by director Peter Kosminsky and writer Leigh Jackson.
This is actually difficult to get hold of as it was a BBC film, made for TV, but it is a superb film and well worth seeking out.
Some familiar faces, ‘before they were famous’
Learn more…
7 – An Ungentlemanly Act
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Watch it because…
The film has a couple of fantastic quotes
Why would anyone bother with half a million sheep and some seaweed
and my favourite
Lt. Quiroga: Mr Hunt… Time to give up Mr Hunt… your phone is cut off… armoured amphibious vehicles will be closing in soon!Mr Hunt,We have very superior numbers… I am sure you are a reasonable man… come out with your hands on head… alone!
Colour Sgt. Muir: Fuck off you spick bastards!
Quite
The trailer
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Ungentlemanly_Act
6 – Ice Cold in Alex
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Watch it because…
The scene with the ambulance and the hill, spirit-crushing, or not.
Capt. Anson: [draining his glass of beer] Worth waiting for.
The final scene used real lager and required multiple takes, they were mullered at the end!. Ultimately, a film about British fair play and determination, which is why it has such a satisfying ending.
The trailer
The advert!
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cold_in_Alex
5 – A Bridge Too Far
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Watch it because…
Two bridge-related films in the Top 10, who would have thought it!
Corporal Hancock: Sir.
[Offers mug of tea]
Major General Urquhart: Hancock. I’ve got lunatics laughing at me from the woods. My original plan has been scuppered now that the jeeps haven’t arrived. My communications are completely broken down. Do you really believe any of that can be helped by a cup of tea?
Corporal Hancock: Couldn’t hurt, sir.
[Urquhart accepts his mug of tea]
Watch it because; it has a Bailey Bridge, an incredible storyline and the fact that it had pretty much every actor of the day in it.
The trailer
The Germans surrender
The Red Devils of Arnhem
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_arnhem.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_arnhem_01.shtml
http://www.rememberseptember44.com/rs44.htm
https://paradata.org.uk/events/arnhem-operation-market-garden
4 – Kajaki
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Watch it because…
A story told with no sentimentality or commentary on some of the more obvious issues it raises
Spud McMellon: This country’s full of shit left behind when armies fucked off, Russians, it was the mines. Ten million fucking mines. God knows what we’re going to leave behind.
It is called Kilo Two Bravo for US audiences, but don’t let that put you off.
A humbling story of brave men and a brilliant film, whichever way you put it.
The trailer
A documentary
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kajaki_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kajaki_Dam
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/03/kajaki-reel-history-british-army-afghanistan
3 – Carry On… Up the Kyhber
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Watch it because…
Just soak up the glorious late sixties-era humour, Welsh scenery and the devils in skirts!
Captain Keene: [news of the native revolt arrives] What do you intend to do, sir?
Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond: Do? Do? We’re British. We won’t do anything…
Major Shorthouse: …until it’s too late.
Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond: Exactly. That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said all day.
The dinner party scene, is one of the funniest pieces of cinema ever
The trailer
The dinner party
Learn more…
2 – The Guns at Batasi
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Watch it because…
Without a doubt the best portrayal of an RSM ever seen on screen (although perhaps a bit hammed up), a fantastic performance by Richard Attenborough
Headress, in the mess, perish the thought!
Mr. Boniface! I’ve been a member of this Mess for 23 years, Sir. In all that time I’ve never seen anybody, man, woman or child, Sergeant, Warrant Officer, Field Marshal or Prime Minister walk into this mess with his hat upon his head. I do not see you now, Sir.
The trailer
See the clip, at about 3 minutes 40, RSM Lauderdale tears Mr. Boniface a new one!
Finally, in a scene that will be familiar to anyone who has ever dared not to salute an officer whilst in the presence of an RSM.
Learn more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_at_Batasi
1 – Zulu
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Watch it because…
Forget the outrageous slurs on the good character of Private Henry Hook (who was a model soldier and campaigning teetotaller) and Commissary James Langley Dalton (who was the most experienced soldier at the mission station and widely credited with initiating the defence)
Singing, bayonets
The best bits are far too many to list.
Colour Sergeant Bourne: It’s a miracle.
Lieutenant John Chard: If it’s a miracle, Colour Sergeant, it’s a short chamber Boxer Henry point 45 calibre miracle.
Colour Sergeant Bourne: And a bayonet, sir, with some guts behind.
The trailer
The final scene is, as the kids say, awesome
Learn more…
Honourable mentions…
There are so many great films that didn’t make the cut.
Contact, The Hill, Waterloo, Too Late the Hero, The Eagle Has Landed, Sink the Bismark, The Battle of the River Plate, Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Dunkirk, We Dive at Dawn, The Cockleshell Heroes, They Were Not Divided, 71, Reach for the Skies, 633 Squadron Dunkirk and 1917.
So there you go, so many great films not on the list, and perhaps a few unforgivable omissions let’s have at it in the comments!