War movies have a way of making one think about what life really means, and over the years, we’ve seen many spectacular pieces, including Saving Private Ryan and Hacksaw Ridge. Granted, some of the best war movies deserve the spotlight and the awards they get, but there are still many others that have been just as good, maybe even better, that have flown under the radar for several reasons. These hidden gems often explore the quieter, more philosophical aspects of war, leaving deep questions that stick with viewers long after the credits have rolled.
Essentially, for every war epic, there’s a Letters from Iwo Jima that dares to humanize “the enemy”, or a Fury that makes you feel the grimy, exhausted bond of a tank crew. These types of war movies stay with viewers not because of the explosions and gunfire, but for their often raw portrayal of the human spirit. So, before we dig in, you may want to grab some popcorn or any other snack of your choice (and perhaps some tissues, too).
1. The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Thin Red Line is a movie that tells a fictionalized story of the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II. However, it does so from the point of view of the American soldiers just trying to survive the horrors of war while grappling with an existential crisis. Characters like Jim Cavaziel‘s Private Witt and Sean Penn’s First Sergeant Welsh deliver performances that are less “for God and Country” and more “what are we even doing here.”
Watching just a few moments of this film almost instantly tells you why it’s so underrated. Director Terrence Malick chose to focus on what war does to the emotional and spiritual sides of the people who fight it, rather than on the gritty action sequences seen in typical war films. Beyond that, the film dropped the same year as Saving Private Ryan, a war film that had more of the action fans expect from such projects. Suffice it to say that the latter got more love from audiences. While The Thin Red Line has grown in popularity since its release, it still does not get the attention it deserves.
2. Rescue Dawn (2006)
Rescue Dawn is a true-life story about U.S. pilot Dieter Dengler’s (played by Christian Bale) ordeal during the Vietnam War. The chaos starts with his plane getting shot down in Laos and then proceeds to his capture and imprisonment in a POW camp. There, he endures the kind of hardship that would break just about anyone else, but not him. He eventually teams up with other POWs to plan and execute a daring escape. After the success of their plan, he manages to survive in the harsh jungle for 23 days before he is rescued.
At its core, this film is about endurance and perseverance. It’s also worth the time because Bale’s performance shows audiences how strong the human spirit can be when necessary. Again, it’s safe to argue that the relative lack of straight-up gun fire action, the kind most people expect from a war film, is one of the reasons Rescue Dawn is so underrated.
3. Defiance (2008)
Defiance is another true story that follows the journey of the Bielski brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), Asael (Jamie Bell), and Aron (George MacKay), as they rescued over 1,000 Jews in Belarus from Nazi persecution during World War II. The movie flawlessly blends suspense with excitement while dissecting the disturbing era of the Holocaust.
Like some of the war films on this list, Defiance quietly went under the radar because critics viewed its tale of survival as conventional and old-fashioned. However, the truth remains that it showed a side of war that’s not always discussed. That includes the starvation, illness, and harsh weather conditions that can be just as life-threatening as the guns and bombs.
4. Fury (2014)
Fury sees Brad Pitt star in the role of Don “Wardaddy” Collier, the leader of a tank crew that fights their way through Nazi Germany in its final days towards the end of World War II. The movie has everything fans like to see in a war movie: blood, mud, and exhaustion. Fury had the firepower, the star power, and somehow, has been forgotten to time.
Sadly, it was overlooked, perhaps because it looked like just another tank movie. Those who saw it that way, however, missed the point. Watching the chemistry between Pitt and other members of his crew makes it feel like they have been through hell and back together. But beyond that, viewers also get the feeling that they have been through it with them.
5. A Midnight Clear (1992)
Shifting from the visceral tank warfare of Fury, A Midnight Clear offers a much quieter, more philosophical conflict. It follows a group of American soldiers who run into another pack of German soldiers in France during World War II. It’s clear that the German soldiers are tired of fighting, but that doesn’t prevent a tense standoff in the Christmas snow.
This movie didn’t exactly make waves when it was released, but it showcases a different side of war in the sense that not everyone involved in it wants to kill. It features a young Ethan Hawke being all philosophical, and the whole thing plays out like a beautiful misunderstanding between enemies. The ending is absolutely heartbreaking, but in the best possible way.
6. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
Letters from Iwo Jima is a movie that narrates the famous World War II battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers. Here, the Japanese soldiers, led by General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe), do their best to defend their island despite the certain knowledge of doom. Few war films dare to show the other side, and even fewer do it this powerfully.
Still, it’s easy to understand why this film was underrated. For starters, it was released just a couple of months after Flags of Our Fathers, another war movie that tells the same story, but from the American viewpoint. However, it takes a lot of finesse and courage to make a movie that humanizes “the enemy,” and Clint Eastwood (maker of both films) had both in abundance. Rather than portraying the Japanese soldiers as simple antagonists, he also presents them as homesick soldiers writing letters to their mothers and wondering if everything they’re fighting for is worth it. Watanabe’s performance alone makes viewers question everything they thought they knew about World War II.
7. The Painted Bird (2019)
A Jewish boy wanders through WWII Eastern Europe in this harrowing film. Throughout the course of his journey, he witnesses some of the most messed-up stuff one can ever imagine. The fact that it was shot in black and white sort of makes the evils even more brutal.
The film’s unrelenting darkness is so intense that it will leave audiences needing a shower and a hug afterward. In fact, that’s the main reason it didn’t get a lot of attention when it was released. That and the black and white bit. But viewers who find the courage to look past all that darkness will find a movie that The Painted Bird is all about survival and lost innocence. Moreover, the fact that it’s based on Jerzy Kosiński’s controversial novel of the same name, which he initially described as autobiographical, makes it even more interesting.
8. The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
Commandant Pat Quinlan (Jamie Dornan) leads a group of Irish UN peacekeepers into the Congo in 1961 in this unique war story. At some point, they’re surrounded by mercenaries who outnumber them in no small measure. What follows is a perfect depiction of the “It looks like we’re done for, but we’re not going down easy” situation.
This film was massively underrated, mainly because it subverts the classic hero narrative. Instead, its power comes from surprisingly smart and tactical action sequences, which make it worth watching. Additionally, Dornan showed that he was more than the Fifty Shades of Grey guy.
9. The Outpost (2020)
The Outpost is a movie adaptation of a true story involving a small group of American soldiers who choose battle over surrender when their remote base in Afghanistan is surrounded by the Taliban. Everything about this movie, from the sound of the bullets to the chaos of combat, looks and feels real. Despite its gripping realism and grounded performances, The Outpost never got the full recognition it earned.
That, along with an impressive cast led by Scott Eastwood and Caleb Landry Jones, should have been enough to give it the kind of attention it deserved, but it wasn’t. It also didn’t help that the movie was released during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the real world was under a siege of its own. However, this is a movie that works because it makes the viewer care about every single soldier before the chaos erupts.
10. Kajaki: The True Story (2014)
Released in North America as Kilo Two Bravo, this movie follows a team of British soldiers who step into a mine field in Afghanistan. Every movement could cost a leg or worse. Overall, it’s basically two hours of the most stressful situation one can think of.
This underrated war movie features no bad guys, per se. What audiences see is terrible luck and impossible choices. As a result, watching the soldiers navigate the mines generates an almost unbearable, knife-edge tension. Everything feels so real to the point that viewers almost forget they’re watching a film. At the end of the day, it’s almost bewildering that these movies still don’t get the attention they rightfully deserve.
