Prime Video has several big offerings, including Oscar-winning war films and some critically acclaimed darlings. It also offers some more obscure titles and a few fan favorites as well, giving the streaming service a nice mix of war movies, whether a person wants an intense thrill ride or a more emotionally draining drama.
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
Owen Wilson as Chris Burnett sitting by sandbags in Behind Enemy Lines.
For anyone who wants something a little lighter but still full of action, Behind Enemy Lines is a good choice for a war movie on Prime Video. Owen Wilson stars as a Navy flight officer whose jet is shot down when he discovers Serb soldiers burying civilians in mass graves. Gene Hackman is the admiral who wants to save him.
Behind Enemy Lines is based on a real-life story, and while the action is intense, Owen Wilson helps create a relatable character that is very different from most war movie protagonists. This helped make the film a success, and it remains a solid high-stakes rescue movie where one man ensures no one is left behind.
Critics gave the movie mixed to negative reviews, but fans mostly enjoyed it, with a 62% Rotten Tomatoes score, and praise going to both Wilson and Hackman for their performances.
The Alamo (2004)
Men in period costume look over a wall in The Alamo
There have been several movies about the Alamo, including one directed by and starring John Wayne in 1960. However, there is also a very good retelling of the story on Prime Video. Released in 2004 and directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), The Alamo has a high-quality cast and is a very good Western war movie.
The cast is impressive, with Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett, and Jason Patrick as Jim Bowie. As expected, this movie tells the story of the attack on the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.
The film received mostly negative reviews when released. However, it has been reappraised in recent years as a historically accurate depiction of the war, including the controversial decision to show Davy Crockett dying as a prisoner of war instead of in battle, like most movies about the event.
Lone Survivor (2013)
Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell looking focused in Lone Survivor
Lone Survivor is a movie depicting Operation Red Wings from the war in Afghanistan. The mission in the film sent in a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team to find Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. However, as the title of the movie suggests, only one of these soldiers made it home alive.
Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster star as the four-man team, while Eric Bana has a supporting role as their commander. Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) directed the film. The script was based on the novel by Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor, played by Wahlberg.
While Lone Survivor was criticized for its inaccuracies, it was a box office success and received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising it as a depiction of courage and survival. It went on to earn two Oscar nominations and won Best Stunt Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
The cast of A Bridge Too Far
Directed by Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough and written by Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman, A Bridge Too Far is a war movie that has a tough job to accomplish. It tells the story of a war battle where the protagonists of the film ultimately lose. Miraculously, what resulted was a masterpiece of war cinema.
The war film tells the story of Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied operation in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in World War II. The cast was what carried the movie to great heights, with Michael Caine, Sean Connery, James Caan, Robert Redford, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Elliott Gould, and more.
The movie received mixed reviews when it was released, with some critics complaining about its length. However, it earned eight BAFTA nominations, including Best Film and Best Director, while winning four, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Edward Fox.
Downfall (2005)
Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler rants in Downfall
Downfall is a very unique World War II movie on Prime Video because it tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days, with Hitler as the main character in the film. Bruno Ganz plays Hitler, as the movie shows him in the Führerbunker during the final days of the war, forbidding his Nazi army to retreat and considering destroying Germany itself.
It is a shocking look that most war movies have never approached, and it comes from a book titled Inside Hitler’s Bunker by a historian and Until the Final Hour by Hitler’s final secretary, Traudl Junge (played by Alexandra Maria Lara in the movie). The film even ends with documentary footage of interviews with Jung.
Critics praised the film, with an impressive 90% Rotten Tomatoes score. While there were complaints about the movie humanizing Hitler, that is what makes it such a remarkable watch, especially since the filmmakers sought to make it as accurate as possible.
Patton (1970)
General George S. Patton starring off in the distance in Patton
Released in 1970, Patton tells the story of the life and military career of George S. Patton, one of the most successful generals in World War II. George C. Scott took on the role, and it is hard to think of General Patton now without at least picturing Scott’s face, and that is the legacy of this incredible war movie.
The film doesn’t begin with much before World War II, but there was plenty there to make this a big epic war movie, thanks to his numerous successes and accolades. The opening scene, with Scott standing in front of an American flag and delivering a speech, remains iconic to this day.
Patton took home seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. It was also added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2003, and the Academy Film Archive also preserved the film that same year.
The Last Of The Mohicans (1992)
While he is best known for his crime thrillers, Michael Mann was also responsible for directing the brilliant historical war movie The Last of the Mohicans. Based on the novel of the same name, Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Hawkeye, a white, adopted son of the Mohican Chingachgook (Russell Means).
The story takes place during the French and Indian War, and it was a huge success when released in 1992. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and earned one Oscar. While Day-Lewis became known for his Oscar success in the years to come, this was a rare time when he was snubbed for a role he could have won.
The Last of the Mohicans did earn seven BAFTA nominations, winning for Best Cinematography and Best Makeup. With an 88% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, critics praised the movie for going beyond the source novel and creating a great adventure story.
The Pianist (2002)
One of the most heartbreaking war movies on Prime Video is the Roman Polanski drama The Pianist. This movie stars Adrien Brody as Władysław Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist, composer, and Holocaust survivor. It takes place when Poland surrenders and Warsaw falls under Nazi occupation.
The movie shows the effects of the Nazi regime on the Jewish community, as Władysław is separated from his family and sent to an extermination camp. This was a harrowing tale, and while Schindler’s List showed the rescue of Jewish citizens, this movie showed how so many died before getting the chance.
The Pianist was a critical success, sitting at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and winning four Oscars, including Best Director for Roman Polanski, Best Actor for Adrien Brody, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ronald Harwood.
The Great Escape (1963)
Steve McQueen in the prison yard in The Great Escape
The Great Escape is a 1963 war movie starring Steve McQueen as a prisoner of war who plans a major escape from the new POW camp he has been sent to, whose new commander threatens that any escapees will be shot. This leads McQueen’s Captain Virgil Hilts to try one of the most inspired escapes ever.
The film remains best known for the incredible motorcycle jump scene, which McQueen actually did the stunts for, thanks to his skills on a motorcycle. However, the movie is much more than just one stunt scene, and it was a box office and critical success, sitting at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% audience score.
However, the war movie only earned one Oscar nomination and one Golden Globe nomination, overlooked at the time by critics and awards groups. Despite this, it remains one of the most iconic war movies of all time.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Tom Hanks as John H Miller in a gun battle in Saving Private RyanOriginal SR Image by Shawn Lealos.
The best war movie on Prime Video right now is the Steven Spielberg classic Saving Private Ryan. Tom Hanks stars as a captain sent in with a troupe of soldiers to bring home Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), the last survivor of his siblings sent to fight in World War II.
With an all-star cast, the movie remains best known for its intense opening scenes with the troops heading into Normandy during World War II. It’s a long, harrowing sequence where many soldiers died, and those who didn’t were forever changed. It remains a movie that all other war movies strive to match in terms of battlefield scenes.
Saving Private Ryan was nominated for 11 Oscars, although its loss to Shakespeare in Love is considered the biggest upset in Oscar history. Spielberg won Best Director, and the war movie was added to the National Film Registry in 2014 by the Library of Congress.
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