Ten war films that capture the human side of conflict

Collider highlights ten war films it calls perfect and timeless, chosen for how they show people responding when everything falls apart. The list emphasizes the human side of war: soldiers forced to choose between orders and protecting others, civilians making impossible decisions to survive, and commanders balancing duty with conscience.

It includes Dunkirk, which depicts British soldiers trapped on a beach where survival depends on patience and collective responsibility; Platoon, in which a unit fractures under pressure and is shaped by the opposing influences of Barnes and Elias; and The Thin Red Line, which lets private thoughts surface without tidy conclusions.

Also featured are Black Hawk Down, where a routine operation in Mogadishu collapses after helicopters are shot down; Letters from Iwo Jima, which follows Japanese soldiers and General Kuribayashi inside tunnel defenses; Paths of Glory, showing Colonel Dax defending men ordered into a likely-failing assault; Apocalypse Now, following Captain Willard upriver to confront Colonel Kurtz; Saving Private Ryan, tracing a squad sent into Normandy to recover Private James Ryan; and Come and See, which charts a boy named Florya losing his innocence amid occupation and violence.

Key Topics

Culture, Dunkirk, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now