This is the Think Defence list of the top 25 British war films, ordered strictly by pure enjoyability for a wet Sunday afternoon in.
No festival awards, no box-office metrics, and none of that artsy bollocks.
We don’t care if the costume department pinned the wrong crown on an epaulette, and we aren’t rivet-counting whether a Sherman had the right track links.
Top 25 British War Films
25 — Breaker Morant (1980)
Breaker Morant (1980) is an Australian film directed by Bruce Beresford, adapted from Kenneth G. Ross’s play. It covers the 1902 court-martial of three Bushveldt Carbineers officers during the guerrilla phase of the Second Boer War.
Edward Woodward plays Harry Morant, with Bryan Brown as Peter Handcock.
Why it’s on the list
An excellent film, what else is there to say?
Unlike the usual Hollywood courtroom shouting match, this one stays cold and procedural. Major Thomas’s closing speech is still worth the watch:
Major J.F. Thomas’s closing speech remains one of the finest indictments of the hypocrisy of warfare ever put on film:
“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.”
And that final walk to the firing squad chairs in the morning light, hand in hand, with Morant’s parting growl to the firing party, bloody hell, lip-wobbling stuff:
“Shoot straight, you bastards. Don’t make a mess of it!”
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24 — The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
The Heroes of Telemark (1965) is a British-American film directed by Anthony Mann. It dramatises the Allied attempt to disrupt Nazi heavy-water production at the Norsk Hydro plant in Norway in 1942–43.
Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
The scenery.
Kirk Douglas’ chin.
The bit on the boat with the kids is properly tense.
It’s an old-school war film, but the real story (the Norwegian raid on the heavy-water plant) is better than most of the script. And there’s a Ray Mears documentary that, by the end, has him create a table and chairs out of three pine cones and a bucket of snow.
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23 — The Dam Busters (1955)
The Dam Busters (1955) is a British film directed by Michael Anderson, adapted from Paul Brickhill’s book. It follows Barnes Wallis’s development of the bouncing bomb and the 617 Squadron raid on the Ruhr dams in May 1943.
Richard Todd plays Guy Gibson and Michael Redgrave plays Barnes Wallis.
Why it’s on the list
Special effects are questionable, but the quotes are still good, the March is still used by England fans, and it produced the best Carling Black Label advert ever made.
Official: 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?
Barnes Wallis: Well, if you told them I designed it, do you think that might help?
And of course, that advert
It’s also a fairly straight account of the actual raid, which helps.
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22 — The Guns of Navarone (1961)
The Guns of Navarone (1961) is a British-American film directed by J. Lee Thompson, adapted from Alistair MacLean’s novel. It follows a commando team sent to destroy two large German guns on a Greek island in 1943.
Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
It is simply a classic.
The Specials version of the theme is still better than the original.
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21 — Hannibal Brooks (1969)
Hannibal Brooks (1969) is a British film directed by Michael Winner. It follows a British prisoner of war who attempts to walk an elephant from a German zoo across the Alps to Switzerland.
Oliver Reed plays the lead.
Why it’s on the list
Not many would include this, but I like it.
It has an elephant in it and Oliver Reed, what more do you want?
The full film is also easy to find on YouTube.
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20 — Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) is a British-American film directed by Peter Weir, drawn from Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin novels. It follows HMS Surprise and her captain during a long pursuit of a French frigate in 1805.
Russell Crowe plays Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany plays Dr Stephen Maturin.
Why it’s on the list
Russell Crowe is excellent.
The Royal Navy giving the French a proper kicking, as is the law.
The lesser of two weevils.
And the battle scene is still worth the watch.
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19 — The Battle of Britain (1969)
The Battle of Britain (1969) is a British film directed by Guy Hamilton. It depicts the air campaign over southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940, from radar stations to the fighter airfields.
Laurence Olivier plays Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding.
Why it’s on the list
The story is well known, but the film still shows why radar mattered.
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.
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18 — Dog Soldiers (2002)
Dog Soldiers (2002) is a British film directed by Neil Marshall. It follows a British Army patrol on a training exercise in the Scottish Highlands that is attacked by werewolves.
Sean Pertwee and Kevin McKidd lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
Not technically a war film, but I make the rules around here.
It is an enjoyable portrayal of British soldiers with some top-class swearing.
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.
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17 — The Cruel Sea (1953)
The Cruel Sea (1953) is a British film directed by Charles Frend, adapted from Nicholas Monsarrat’s novel. It follows the wartime service of a Flower-class corvette and her crew on Atlantic convoy escort.
Jack Hawkins plays the commanding officer.
Why it’s on the list
The only villain is the 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 with the merchant seamen in the water and the U-boat underneath them is still the best part.
Being in charge is a lonely place.
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16 — Where Eagles Dare (1968)
Where Eagles Dare (1968) is a British film directed by Brian G. Hutton, with a screenplay by Alistair MacLean. It follows a mixed British and American team sent to infiltrate a German castle in the Alps.
Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
Forget the historical nonsense, the voice procedure and the special effects. All can be forgiven for “Broadsword Calling Danny Boy”.
Vice Admiral Rolland: Security? The word’s become a bloody joke!
Admit it, you had it as a ringtone.
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15 — The Way Ahead (1944)
The Way Ahead (1944) is a British film directed by Carol Reed. It follows a group of civilian conscripts as they are trained into an infantry platoon and later sent to North Africa.
David Niven and William Hartnell lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
Filmed before the outcome of the war was certain, and an excellent study of wartime film-making.
We would have dug trenches and taken the Germans in the rear
Ooh-err
Instead of “The End” it closes with “The Beginning”.
An overlooked gem.
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14 — The Wild Geese (1978)
The Wild Geese (1978) is a British film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. It follows a group of mercenaries hired to extract a deposed African president from a fictional African country.
Richard Burton, Roger Moore and Richard Harris lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
Mr Vickers makes a guest appearance.
The free-fall scene is bloody fantastic.
Dumbledore Richard Harris, Richard Burton, Roger Moore and Hardy Kruger are all fine, but Jack Watson as RSM Sandy Young steals it. (He was a Navy PTI in the war and knew how to shout.)
On your feet you fucking abortion
RSM Sandy Young
The actor who played Tosh was an ex-Para and SAS soldier, and Joan Armatrading’s theme is still good.
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13 — The Great Escape (1963)
The Great Escape (1963) is a British-American film directed by John Sturges. It depicts the mass escape of Allied prisoners from Stalag Luft III in 1944.
Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
What would Christmas be without it?
Ramsey: Up the rebels.
Goff: Down the British.
The Cooler King.
Von Luger’s butter.
And the RAF types in white socks. Priceless.
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12 — Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is a British film directed by David Lean. It follows T. E. Lawrence’s involvement in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Peter O’Toole plays Lawrence.
Why it’s on the list
It looks fantastic on a big screen.
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 attack on Aqaba is still the best sequence in the film.
And it is long enough that you can put it on and not have to choose anything else for the rest of the afternoon.
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11 — The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is a British film directed by David Lean, adapted from Pierre Boulle’s novel. It follows British prisoners of war forced to build a railway bridge in Burma and a later attempt to destroy it.
Alec Guinness plays Colonel Nicholson.
Why it’s on the list
A big moral dilemma and a grim backstory.
It does have a rather nice cantilever bridge, though, and some sunshine.
Colonel Nicholson: What have I done?
Alec Guinness, stiff upper lips, a 2-inch mortar, and the ending that launched a thousand memes.
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10 — Who Dares Wins (1982)
Who Dares Wins (1982) is a British film directed by Ian Sharp. It follows an undercover SAS officer tasked with infiltrating a terrorist group planning an attack in London.
Lewis Collins plays the lead.
Why it’s on the list
The music is good and it has SLRs.
Lewis Collins had a bit of a military background, and the original embassy re-decorators were involved in several scenes.
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
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 get great reviews, especially from the Guardian. What would they know?
Did I tell you I was the second man on the balcony?
The late great Lewis Collins
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9 — Went the Day Well? (1942)
Went the Day Well? (1942) is a British film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It depicts a fictional German invasion of an English village during the Second World War.
Leslie Banks and Valerie Taylor lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
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?
The teacher with the hand grenade, and Dame Thora Hird dropping Germans with a .303. You will not forget either.
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8 — Warriors (1999)
Warriors (1999) is a British television film directed by Peter Kosminsky. It follows a group of British soldiers serving as UN peacekeepers in Bosnia in the early 1990s.
Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
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.
Some familiar faces, ‘before they were famous’
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7 — An Ungentlemanly Act (1992)
An Ungentlemanly Act (1992) is a British television film directed by Stuart Urban. It depicts the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands and the defence of Government House in April 1982.
Ian Richardson plays Governor Rex Hunt.
Why it’s on the list
A couple of decent 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
Soldiers (OK, Marines) doing soldier (Marines) stuff.
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6 — Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
Ice Cold in Alex (1958) is a British film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It follows a small group of British personnel attempting to cross the Western Desert to Alexandria after the fall of Tobruk.
John Mills plays the lead.
Why it’s on the list
The scene with the ambulance and the hill, spirit-crushing.
Capt. Anson: [draining his glass of beer] Worth waiting for.
They used real lager for the final scene and needed multiple takes. They were mullered by the end.
Ultimately, a film about British fair play and determination, which is why it has such a satisfying ending.
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5 — A Bridge Too Far (1977)
A Bridge Too Far (1977) is a British-American film directed by Richard Attenborough, adapted from Cornelius Ryan’s book. It depicts Operation Market Garden, the Allied airborne and ground operation in the Netherlands in September 1944.
An ensemble cast includes Dirk Bogarde, Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
Why it’s on the list
It has a Bailey Bridge.
Tea.
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]
An incredible story, and just about every actor of the day is in it.
The Germans surrender
The Red Devils of Arnhem
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4 — Kajaki: Kilo Two Bravo (2014)
Kajaki: Kilo Two Bravo (2014) is a British film directed by Paul Katis. It follows a British Army patrol that becomes trapped in a minefield in Afghanistan.
A largely unknown cast of British actors play the soldiers.
Why it’s on the list
Told with no sentimentality.
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.
A hard story, well told.
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3 — Carry On… Up the Khyber (1968)
Carry On… Up the Khyber (1968) is a British film directed by Gerald Thomas. It is a comedy set in British India on the North-West Frontier.
Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Joan Sims lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
Glorious late-sixties inappropriateness, 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 still one of the funniest things ever put on film.
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2 — The Guns at Batasi (1964)
The Guns at Batasi (1964) is a British film directed by John Guillermin. It follows a British regiment stationed in a newly independent African country during a military coup.
Richard Attenborough plays the regimental sergeant major.
Why it’s on the list
The best portrayal of an RSM on screen, even if it is a bit hammed.
Headdress, 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.
RSM Lauderdale tears Mr. Boniface a new one.
In a scene that will be familiar to anyone who has ever dared not to salute an officer whilst in the presence of the RSM.
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1 — Zulu (1964)
Zulu (1964) is a British film directed by Cy Endfield. It depicts the defence of Rorke’s Drift by a small British garrison during the Anglo-Zulu War in January 1879.
Stanley Baker and Michael Caine lead the cast.
Why it’s on the list
Singing. Bayonets. Bridge building.
Short chamber Boxer Henry point 45 calibre miracles.
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 final battle, and volley by ranks.
Volley by ranks, front-rank fire
Forget the slurs on Henry Hook and James Dalton. Both were better men than the film suggests.
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Honourable Mentions
A few that nearly made the cut.
The Battle of the River Plate (1955), Sink the Bismarck! (1960) and In Which We Serve (1942) all cover the Royal Navy well. 633 Squadron (1964) has the best theme and some excellent Mosquito flying, but the plot is thinner than The Dam Busters. Dunkirk (1958) and The Man Who Never Was (1956) are solid mid-century accounts of the retreat and Operation Mincemeat.
The Hill (1965) is a hard look at army discipline. The Sea Wolves (1980) is an enjoyable late-career reunion. Too Late the Hero (1970) and Waterloo (1970) are both worth a Sunday afternoon.
Powell and Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) and The Small Back Room (1949) are both better than most of the films that made the list. Theirs is the Glory (1946) was shot at Arnhem with men who had been there a year earlier. First of the Few (1942) and Yangtze Incident (1957) are also worth a look.
Post-2000 films that nearly made it include 1917 (2019), Dunkirk (2017) and Operation Mincemeat (2021). All three are competent and well-made, but none quite matched the simple Sunday-afternoon rewatchability of the films already on the list.
No Four Feathers (1939)
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.
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…”
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.
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.
Christopher Nolan is filming a new “Dunkirk” movie, apparently with big budget:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5013056/
Expect lots of CGI Stukas.
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.
Anything on the Wellington (Waterloo)? Nelson (Battle of the Nile, Trafalgar)?
Adding my vote for “First of the Few”. Nice list.
No Life and Death of Colonel Blimp? One of the best films ever made, war or not.
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.
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)
Loved “Damn the Defiant”
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.
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,
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..
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…
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.
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.
“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”.
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
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.
@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.
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!
John Cleese of Monty Python fame? Must be good then. :)
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.
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.
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
lol no worries ACP, I kind of figured that it was dodgy phrasing.
Still hilarious though.
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.
@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.
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”
WW1? I like Zeppelin.
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
Thinking of the First World War – how about Aces High…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ8fAmLVvVk
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”.
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
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.
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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.”
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.
633 Squadron?
Might I suggest, “Contact” as worthy of inclusion on the list…. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088949/reviews?ref_=tt_urv
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083284/combined Sorry I meant Victory or Escape to Victory
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.
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
No Dad’s Army ? (The first one)
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
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