The Most Innovative War Movies Ever Made

War movies have been a Hollywood staple for as long as movies have existed. In fact, the first-ever winner of a Best Picture Oscar was the World War I film "Wings," which was released way back in 1927. It's not hard to understand why we love war movies. The conflict is built into the story, it's easy to identify the hero and the villain, and the two settle their differences in the ultimate arena: the battlefield.

But not all war movies are created equal. As the pantheon of all-time greats grows, so, too, does the litany of basic, shoot-'em-up action thrillers. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a war movie to stand out among the noise.

Every once in a while, however, a war movie comes along that does something truly innovative to make its story memorable. These are those movies.

Read Next: The Best Iraq War Movies, Ranked

'1917'

 Writer and director Sam Mendes made "1917" based on stories his grandfather told him about his time fighting in the trenches of World War I. Mendes took the dedication to realism further, so much so that military historians have praised the film for "the level of detail in kit, activity, parlance and customs of the British Expeditionary Force." Most importantly, the director didn't spare viewers the realities of the abject horrors of World War I casualties.

What's really innovative about "1917" is that it fully immerses audiences in what's happening, using production techniques that make the film appear to be two long, continuous shots. Like the fighting in the trenches, the movie just never lets up.

'All Quiet on the Western Front'

"All Quiet on the Western Front" isn't just one of the most innovative war movies; it's also one of the best war movies ever made. This 1930 classic is based on Erich Maria Remarque's book of the same name and stands out not only because of the storytelling, but also because of its sound design.

The story is about German boys becoming men amid the harsh reality of World War I, a stark contrast to the glory they were promised as schoolchildren. The film drives the point home in a way the book couldn't, with battle scenes that assault viewers with the sounds of war -- a truly innovative technique at a time when sound in movies was a relatively new technology.

'Saving Private Ryan'

"Saving Private Ryan" is 2 hours, 49 minutes long, but the most enduring message comes in the first 23 minutes of the movie, when director Steven Spielberg faithfully recreated the Allied landings on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The scene recalls the footage American director John Ford shot from those same beaches that day, while the only musical accompaniment is the sound of bullets, explosions and certain death.

The dedication to the horror and brutality of that battle had an immediate effect on World War II veterans who watched it when "Saving Private Ryan" was released in 1998. Many reported physical symptoms of PTSD in the theater. The enduring effect, however, was to forever immortalize what those men did that day, overcoming incredible odds to free Europe from Nazi domination. Even today, it remains a cinematic memorial to D-Day veterans.

'Overlord'

"Overlord" is, on the surface, a film about the life of a British soldier from the day he enlists in the army to his death in France, landing at Sword Beach on D-Day. What's truly unique about the movie is that it seamlessly combines actual newsreel and documentary footage from both German and Allied sources with actual film from the movie. When combined with the premonitions of his coming death in combat, the film becomes an elegy for the British everyman who joined and died without fanfare or glory.

'Das Boot'

There are those who believe that 1981's "Das Boot" is the greatest war movie ever made, and it's not hard to see why. It was based on a book by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, who embedded aboard a German submarine during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic.

The movie, like the book, realistically documents the cramped and disgusting life below the ocean's surface. Claustrophobic and intense, the movie puts viewers inside the submarine as an unseen enemy tries to kill them.

'The Fog of War'

Many Vietnam veterans will recognize the name Robert McNamara as President John F. Kennedy's defense secretary and the architect of American strategy in the early years of the Vietnam War. His history with warfare, however, goes back much further, to the days of World War II when the Army Air Forces were firebombing Japanese cities.

"The Fog of War: 11 Lessons from the Life of Robert McNamara" is the only true documentary on this list, but filmmaker Errol Morris' first-person interview style makes it one of the most engrossing and illustrative films about war ever made. McNamara waxes about the morality of everything he's done in his life and the number of people he's killed, from WWII and Vietnam to the Cuban Missile Crisis. A soundtrack from Philip Glass only highlights the horrifying nature of the subject matter as McNamara literally crunches the numbers of peoples' lives.

'The Battle of Algiers'

Between 1954 and 1962, French-controlled Algeria was mired in a brutal civil war. In 1966, Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo released "The Battle of Algiers," detailing Algerian militant Ali La Pointe and his National Liberation Front's fight against French paratroopers.

Filmed in the style of an era-appropriate newsreel, "The Battle of Algiers" feels more like a documentary at times. It uses nonprofessional actors, the film is still used in counterinsurgency training and is considered by some to be a "training film for guerrilla warfare" and was banned in France for a time. It's not just considered one of the best war movies ever; it's one of the best films ever made.

'Act of Valor'

No one would deem "Act of Valor" one of the best war movies of all time. The story is a bit cliché and far-fetched and the acting isn't great -- but the actors aren't really actors, anyway. They were real, active-duty U.S. Navy SEALs. For the veteran audience, a realistic depiction of military service is essential, and "Act of Valor" delivered on that.

While the movie itself is a love letter to the U.S. military, the importance of using real special operators can't be understated. A lot of war flicks tend to dramatize war and combat, which could lead impressionable viewers to join the service expecting a glorified version of reality. "Act of Valor" showed those young potential recruits what serving might actually look like.

'Warfare'

It doesn't get more real than this. A24's "Warfare" is a combination of every war movie innovation that came before it. Based on co-director and former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza's actual experience in the Iraq War, the movie fully recreates a combat action between special operators on an overwatch mission in Ramadi in 2006 and plays it out in real time.

It has the combat realism of "Act of Valor," the faithful recreation of combat seen in "Saving Private Ryan," the nonstop immersion of "1917," the claustrophobic terror of "Das Boot" and a vivid depiction of combat casualties that supercedes anything else on the silver screen. Like "The Battle of Algiers," it, too, could be a training film for special operations. This movie is a must-watch for anyone thinking about joining the military for combat arms.

Related: Beyond 'Warfare': A Guide to A24's War Movies

'Starship Troopers'

If this movie were released today, its satirical militarism would be instantly recognizable and the race and gender equality it puts on display would get it accused of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). In truth, "Starship Troopers" was a war movie satire on a level so deep that many viewers and critics thought it actually endorsed fascism.

In reality, the movie was a prescient warning about the pitfalls of military hero worship, military stratification of civil society and reactionary violence. Its only problem was that it was released in the 1990s, when America was the lone superpower and everything seemed like it would be perfect forever. The complexity of "Starship Troopers" could be revisited for every new generation (and likely will be). But viewers who want to just watch a cool movie can revel in the fact that it set a new record for the amount of ammunition fired during production: 300,000 blank rounds.

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