© BrunoPress

'All Quiet on the Western Front' (1930) - 'All Quiet on the Western Front' is regarded as one of the most realistic films ever made about the Great War. Directed by Lewis Milestone, the plot follows the gradual and profound disillusionment of a young conscript as he tries to come to terms with the carnage unfolding around him.

© Getty Images

'All Quiet on the Western Front' (1930) - Described by one critic as a "harrowing, gruesome, morbid tale of war," this was the first major anti-war film of the sound era.

© Getty Images

'Downfall' (2004) - This dark and riveting account of Hitler's last days in the bunker respects historical events to the book, with German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel recreating them accurately. The film also benefits from a masterful performance by Bruno Ganz, who's uncanny resemblance to the Führer is quite frightening.

© NL Beeld

'Downfall' (2004) - 'Downfall' is based on German historian Joachim Fest's book 'Inside Hitler's Bunker,' and 'Until the Final Hour,' a memoir by Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, who was present in the bunker when the Nazi dictator shot himself.

© NL Beeld

'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) - Often cited by historians and critics as the most realistic battle sequence ever filmed, the opening 30 minutes of Steven Spielberg's epic war film—the D-Day bloodbath that was Omaha Beach landings— introduces a plot line inspired by a real-life story.

© NL Beeld

'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) - The Niland brothers were four American siblings who served in World War II. Two survived the conflict, but for some time, only one, Frederick "Fritz" Niland, was believed to have survived. With his three brothers feared dead, Fritz was sent back to the Unites States to complete his service.

© NL Beeld

'Patton' (1970) - In this epic biographical war film, George C. Scott portrays George S. Patton, one of the most controversial US military commanders of World War II. The iconic opening sequence where Scott delivers Patton's speech to the Third Army set against a huge American flag includes this famous line: "No b*****d ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb b*****d die for his country."

© Getty Images

'Patton' (1970) - The film includes the notorious slapping incident when Patton calls a shell-shocked soldier a coward before striking him. Eisenhower later relieved Patton of his duties and ordered the general to apologize to the combatant, to others present, and to his entire command.

© Getty Images

'Apocalypse Now' (1979) - Loosely based on the 1899 novella 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad, this Francis Ford Coppola-directed Vietnam War film is regarded by critics as the most audacious and visionary about the conflict in Southeast Asia.

© BrunoPress

'Apocalypse Now' (1979) - The indiscriminate "Ride of the Valkyries" helicopter attack on a village, and the hallucinatory state of so many US troops, for example, accurately reflected the horrors of the battlefield and the almost epidemic proportions of substance abuse by American soldiers.

© NL Beeld

'Das Boot' (1981) - This compelling and utterly claustrophobic German production follows the crew of U-96 as they set out on a hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic.

© NL Beeld

'Das Boot' (1981) - U-96 was a real submarine. Furthermore Lothar-Günther Buchheim, who wrote the novel on which the film is based, joined the submarine in 1941 for a single patrol. By the time it was sunk by Allied bombers in March 1945, U-96 had in fact been decommissioned. In both novel and film, it's still on active service when attacked.

© NL Beeld

'Black Hawk Down' (2001) - Director Ridley Scott's film about the US military's disastrous 1993 raid in Mogadishu centers on a plot to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord.

© Getty Images

'Black Hawk Down' (2001) - While the film accurately portrays the downing of two black hawk helicopters and the subsequent capture of a pilot, complaints were voiced by some that the plot veered away from the real-life account penned by journalist Mark Bowden in his book 'Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War.' It's a moot point however as the film was noted for turning genre convention on its head.

© Getty Images

'La Grande Illusion' (1937) - As well as being lauded as a masterpiece of French cinema, Jean Renoir's thoughtful exploration of class and prejudice among a group of French prisoners of war during the Great War is an exercise in the humanity of both sides in the conflict.

© Public Domain

'La Grande Illusion' (1937) - Jean Gabin (pictured) and Erich von Stroheim are among the cast of a film that is still described as "one of the most haunting of all war films" over 80 years after its release.

© Getty Images

'The Battle of Algiers' (1966) - Together with the relatively obscure French film 'The 317th Platoon' (1965), acclaimed British military historian and author Antony Beevor regards 'The Battle of Algiers' as one of the finest war films ever made.

© NL Beeld

'The Battle of Algiers' (1966) - Set between 1954 and 1957 during the Algerian War of Independence, the film, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, was shot in a gritty newsreel-documentary style and featured a largely non-professional Algerian cast. It was banned in France for five years.

© NL Beeld

'Letters from Iwo Jima' (2006) - A companion piece to his 'Flags of Our Fathers' (2006), director Clint Eastwood was universally praised for this follow-up, which tells the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of Japanese soldiers.

© NL Beeld

'Letters from Iwo Jima' (2006) - Described as moving and powerful, added realism is lent to the production by the fact that most of the film is in Japanese. Combat scenes are limited. Instead, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' focuses on the vindication of the humanity of the enemy.

© NL Beeld

'Fury' (2014) - Brad Pitt as "Wardaddy" leads a US tank crew in Nazi Germany as American troops make a final push towards the heart of the Third Reich. The film focuses on American armored units in World War II, and the high casualty rate suffered by tank crews in Europe.

© NL Beeld

'Fury' (2014) - The filmmakers used original working tanks, including M4 Shermans and the last surviving operational Tiger 1. Director David Ayer even supplied the cast with vintage wartime maps dating back to 1943.

© NL Beeld

'Platoon' (1986) - 'Platoon' writer and director Oliver Stone, who served in Vietnam, brought his combat experience to the fore in this story about a young volunteer soldier facing a moral crisis after witnessing the horrors of war and conflict within the ranks.

© Getty Images

'Platoon' (1986) - Upon release, the film was acclaimed for its battle sequences and realism and the way it offered a no-holds-barred ground-level view of war.

© Getty Images

'Paths of Glory' (1957) - Stanley Kubrick's anti-war film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refuse to advance in the face of suicidal enemy fire, after which he attempts to defend them against a charge of cowardice in a court-martial.

© NL Beeld

'Paths of Glory' (1957) -

Despite being subject to criticism and censorship due to its anti-military tone, the film was praised for its humane tone and impressive battle scenes.   

© NL Beeld

'Dunkirk' (2017) - Director Christopher Nolan's film depicting the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II was noted for its generally realistic representation of the historic event, despite some critics feeling that the filmmakers overly relied on CGI to recreate scenes.

© NL Beeld

'Dunkirk' (2017) - The film hit many a historical note, however, including a scene when soldiers returning to England are met by a largely ignorant civilian population unaware of events across the Channel and unaffected by war.

© NL Beeld

'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' (2003) - Set during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, this Peter Weir-directed period-war drama pits the British Royal Navy against French privateer forces on the High Seas.

© NL Beeld

'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' (2003) -

The film was commended for its authentic depiction of the daily lives of sailors on a ship, attention to 19th-century maritime customs and traditions, and the near-barbaric medical practices of the day.

See also: The world's most influential film directors and their masterpieces. 

© NL Beeld