The 10 best war movies directed by actual veterans
Any screenwriter worth their salt will tell any budding industry hopeful to ‘write what you know’, but the last time we checked, Steven Spielberg had never met a friendly alien who looked like a bulbous testicle. Of course, the most bombastic movies ever to grace the silver screen would have never been made if writers took this advice as gospel, but the saying remains accurate, especially when it comes to war movies.
Indeed, it’s difficult to truly picture the sheer horror of war without having actually been there yourself. Still, filmmakers have, no doubt, done a very good job in translating the terror, with the aforementioned Spielberg traumatising real-life war veterans back in 1998 with his historically authentic depiction of D-Day in Saving Private Ryan, which won him an Academy Award for ‘Best Director’.
But some of the very best war movies have been directed by actual veterans who know the true violence of war in which all innocence, humanity and autonomy are stripped from a soldier. Serving in the Second World War, Korean War, and more, this list of the ten best war movies directed by actual veterans will shine a light on the brave soldiers who wished to voice their experiences on the silver screen.
From Oscar-winning flicks to iconic films from celebrated directors like Clint Eastwood, explore the list below.
The 10 best movies directed by war veterans:
The Battle of San Pietro (John Huston, 1945)
While the majority of this list is taken up by narrative movies helmed by filmmakers years after their military service, the John Huston film The Battle of San Pietro is a documentary released just before the end of WWII. Telling the story of the Battle of San Pietro Infine that occurred between the Allied forces and the German army, Huston’s film is a fascinating real-life account of war on the front lines.
Later, going on to win two Academy Awards for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre as well as multiple nominations, Huston first served in the American Army during WWII, making films for the Army Signal Corps. Known for his controversial documentaries that didn’t shy away from the horrors of war, many of Huston’s films were censored, and he was later awarded the Legion of Merit for his remarkable services.
The Best Years Of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
When William Wyler was in his 20s, he served in the New York Army National Guard before turning his attention towards filmmaking, starting out in the era of silent cinema. However, several decades later, he volunteered in the United States Army Air Forces, using this time to make several documentaries in the process that would go on to form the foundations for his later career.
When he returned home from war, he directed The Best Years of Our Lives, which was directly influenced by his experience as a war veteran. In the film, we witness three men return home from war, struggling to get used to normal life again as they reunite with their friends and family, with the film featuring several iconic performances from the likes of Dana Andrews, Harold Russell and Fredric March. Known as one of America’s most influential filmmakers, Wyler’s 1946 movie might be his greatest contribution.
Day One (Joseph Sargent, 1989)
Everyone has seen the 2023 Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer about the man behind the engineering of the atomic bomb, but people have been reflecting on the devastating events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 for generations. Joseph Sargent’s brilliant 1989 film Day One is one such movie, with the TV film based on the book of the same name by Peter Wyden, being one of the finest works ever made about nuclear war.
Though Sargent was not close to the Manhattan Project, which was tasked with creating the atomic bomb, during the war, the director had first-hand experience of life on the front line during WWII. Serving as a soldier for the US Army, Sargent fought in the Battle of the Bulge, managing to come out of the violent conflict in one piece to enjoy a celebrated Hollywood career throughout the remainder of the 20th century.
The Diary of Anne Frank (George Stevens, 1959)
George Stevens served in the US Army between 1943 and 1946, making a propaganda film and a documentary, Nazi Concentration Camps, during this time, with the latter even being used as evidence in the Nuremberg trials. His experience of witnessing the atrocities of the Holocaust first-hand led him to make The Diary of Anne Frank in 1959.
The film, starring Millie Perkins as the titular character and Joseph Schildkraut as her father, Otto Frank, was based on the play written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted from the young girls’ diary that has since gone on to become one of the most iconic biographies ever written. It’s a moving film which highlights the extensive tragedies of the Holocaust, with Stevens instilling the film with his own sobering views on the conflict of the 1940s.
Fury (David Ayer, 2014)
By far, the most recent movie on this list is the 2014 David Ayer movie Fury, starring the likes of Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, and Michael Peña. Set during WWII, the film tells the story of a tank commander who tries to maintain the sanity and morale of his crew as they make their way across Germany during the final months of the conflict, with the movie unfairly missing out on major awards attention.
Although he didn’t serve in WWII, Ayer did enlist in the Navy as a submarine sonar technician in his youth, following in the footsteps of his grandfather. His positive experience working with the military led him to a flourishing film career, too, penning the 2000 submarine flick U-571 based on his own experiences before moving on to, admittedly, bigger and better things.
Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 1986)
Before Clint Eastwood became an acting legend, starring in westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and the action thriller Dirty Harry, he served in the US Army. Decades after his service during the Korean War, Eastwood turned his attention to being the man behind the camera, directing movies like Unforgiven and the strange ‘Best Picture’ nominee American Sniper. He has made several war movies during his time as a director, but his best is arguably Letters from Iwo Jima.
Released in 1986 and starring a Japanese-speaking cast, Eastwood’s movie was received well, becoming particularly popular in Japan. While he made the film Flags of Our Fathers in 2006, depicting the Battle of Iwo Jima from an American perspective, this film shows us the opposing perspective being a far more composed and well-written piece of cinema.
Hope and Glory (John Boorman, 1987)
A film less about the horror of frontline warfare and, instead, about the hardships of those left behind at home, John Boorman’s British movie Hope and Glory is seen as a beloved classic of its kind. Telling the story of Bill, a young boy living on the borders of London who comes of age during the devastating Blitz, Hope and Glory is a film that well balances drama and comedy.
Boorman’s time in the military was quite unusual, as he was conscripted for military service in the 1950s, where he became a clerical instructor. He did not actively serve on the front line in the Korean War, but, thanks to his criticism of the conflict, he was court-martialed, later stating: “When I gave those historical lectures and started researching the Korean War, it became quickly apparent how avoidable it was. Although I was careful, my views about the war got through to some of these guys… Mi5 came down on me heavily thinking I was a subversive communist”.
M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970)
Robert Altman began his military career when he was just 18, joining the Air Force, where he flew over 50 bombing raids during WWII, but within a few years, he’d penned a script and successfully sold it, marking the beginning of his tenure as a filmmaker. He ended up making many acclaimed movies, but M*A*S*H is up there as one of his greatest, even inspiring the television series of the same name as a result of its widespread success.
The movie was based on the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker and starred Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould. Set during the Korean War, the movie follows several funny characters at a medical unit. While the characters get into all sorts of humorous trouble, it still manages to depict the realities of war pretty well.
Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986)
Oliver Stone studied film at NYU, just several years after fighting in Vietnam. When it came to making films, he was naturally drawn to stories that took from his experience in battle. He made a trilogy of films based on the Vietnam War, beginning with Platoon, which is widely considered one of the greatest war (or anti-war) films of all time.
Starring Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Tom Berenger and Keith David, the movie sees a soldier grapple with the realities of war while other members of the unit also come to terms with many moral dilemmas. Since the film is heavily inspired by Stone’s own time serving in the army, Platoon feels all the more realistic and, subsequently, more harrowing.
They Were Expendable (John Ford, 1945)
No doubt one of the most influential filmmakers of the early 20th century, American director John Ford was prolific thanks to his western collaborations with John Wayne. One of his greatest films came in the form of the 1945 war movie They Were Expendable, however, with Wayne and Robert Montgomery starring as Navy commanders testing the PT boat for the dawn of the Second World War.
Ford’s experience in the military was hugely impressive, too, making documentaries for the Office of Strategic Services where he was appointed as the head of photography. Impressively, Ford’s services went so far that he was on Omaha Beach during D-Day in 1944, filming the conflict with a small camera crew.
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