10 Great War Movies That Are Almost As Good as ‘Saving Private Ryan’

Saving Private Ryan is widely considered one of the greatest war movies of all time. War dramas like this invite viewers to consider the horrors of war through the perspectives of those who live through them. Saving Private Ryan is remembered as a movie that put a human face on the devastation of war and a story that presents characters who are forever changed by their experiences. War movies that are on the same level as Saving Private Ryan invite viewers to get up close and personal with the horrors of these conflicts.

Movies that are almost as good as Saving Private Ryan tell emotionally complex stories against the backdrop of some of the most devastating conflicts in history. Some movies are more abstract and offer viewers the opportunity to consider the philosophical implications of warfare. Other movies are realistic looks at the day-to-day realities of war for anyone who lives through one. The best movies that are like Saving Private Ryan never shy away from showing what war does to minds and bodies.

‘Ballad of a Soldier’ (1959)

Ballad of a Soldier is a Soviet drama that introduces Alyosha Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov), a young soldier who becomes a national hero after destroying two enemy tanks during World War II. He’s given leave, during which he encounters various people affected by the war, including a young woman named Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko), with whom he shares a brief but tender romance. Alyosha’s time is limited, and he ultimately reaches his village too late for more than a brief reunion with his mother.

Ballad of a Soldier is such a notable war movie because of its emotional depth, humanism, and poetic storytelling. Alyosha isn’t a hero in a traditional sense. He’s an ordinary soldier who’s thrown into extraordinary circumstances and this makes him immediately easy to invest in. Like Saving Private Ryan, Ballad of a Soldier highlights the impact of war on ordinary soldiers rather than emphasizing the exploits of generals and other high-ranking military officers.

‘Platoon’ (1986)

Platoon is a gritty, unflinching portrayal of the Vietnam War, based on director Oliver Stone’s own experiences as a soldier. The film follows Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), a young and idealistic American who volunteers for combat duty, only to find himself caught between two sergeants with opposing ideals. As he witnesses the horrors of war up close, Chris becomes disillusioned and quickly realizes the psychological toll war takes on soldiers.

Platoon is widely considered one of the best war movies of all time because it delivers a brutally honest, deeply personal, and morally complex portrayal of the Vietnam War. Stone’s experiences as a veteran shine through the characters he creates. Unlike many traditional war films that may glorify combat, Platoon offers a stark condemnation of war’s psychological and moral damage. Like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon centers on the experiences of those on the frontlines of some of the most brutal conflicts in recent memory.

‘The Thin Red Line’ (1988)

The Thin Red Line is a philosophical portrayal of World War II, focusing on the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific. The movie focuses on the inner lives of soldiers, exploring their fears, memories, and spiritual reflections amid the brutality they live through every day. The Thin Red Line begins by introducing Private Witt (Jim Caviezel), who goes AWOL from his unit to live among the Indigenous tribes of the South Pacific before being found imprisoned by Sergeant Welsh (Sean Penn) on a troop ship.

The Thin Red Line stands out as one of the best war movies ever made since it subverts expectations of what war movies can be. Rather than focusing on the action and violence of war, the story highlights the inner turmoil of these characters as they reckon with their respective thoughts, fears, and moral struggles. Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line are two of the most necessary movies ever made about war since they tell human stories about soldiers who do what they have to do to survive.

‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)

Apocalypse Now is a surreal exploration of the Vietnam War and the darkness within the human psyche. The story follows Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), who is sent on a secret mission to journey deep into the Cambodian jungle to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-respected officer who has gone rogue and established a cult-like rule over local tribes. Willard travels with a crew of soldiers, and, after encountering the horrors of war firsthand, he ultimately confronts Kurtz in a shocking showdown.

Apocalypse Now is such a notable war movie because it uses war as a metaphor for the collapse of morality, identity, and sanity. The movie is less about the horrors of war itself and is more of a commentary on human nature. The central theme of Apocalypse Now is that war strips away civilization and exposes humanity’s capacity for evil. While it’s a significantly darker story than Saving Private Ryan, both movies are important stories about the fact that war leaves deep wounds that are beyond physical.

‘Ran’ (1985)

Ran is an epic Japanese adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in feudal Japan. The story follows Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging warlord who decides to divide his kingdom among his three sons, expecting peace and loyalty in return. However, his plan backfires as betrayal, ambition, and warfare tear the family and his beloved land apart. Ran chronicles Hidetora’s declining mental state and explores the tragic consequences of war and the pursuit of power.

Ran stands out as one of the greatest war movies of all time because of its massive scale. This is far more than a war movie. Instead, it’s a meditation on the destructive nature of greed and how those looking to consolidate power use the chaos of war to their own advantage. While Saving Private Ryan speaks to the real-time human cost of war and Ran speaks more to the existential threat it poses, both movies speak to how violence always impacts the human spirit.

‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ (1957)

The Bridge on the River Kwai chronicles the story of British prisoners of war in a Japanese camp in Burma who are forced to build a railway bridge. The movie specifically follows Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), a proud British officer who becomes obsessed with proving British superiority through the quality of the bridge, losing sight of the enemy’s war effort he’s aiding. A British commando team, including a former prisoner named Shears (William Holden), is sent to destroy the bridge.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the best war movies of all time because it emphasizes the futility of war by presenting a character who becomes increasingly obsessed with ideas of duty and honor. The movie offers a powerful anti-war message without relying on overt violence. Both The Bridge on the River Kwai and Saving Private Ryan are masterpieces, but excel in different ways. At their core, these movies are about the sacrifice and moral dilemmas soldiers face every day in war.

‘Das Boot’ (1981)

Das Boot is a German war drama that follows the experiences of a U-boat crew patrolling the Atlantic during World War II. The movie is set almost entirely within the claustrophobic confines of a German submarine, and highlights the mental toll that this type of warfare always features. Through Lieutenant Werner (Herbert Grönemeyer), a war correspondent aboard the vessel, viewers are invited to witness the crew’s seemingly endless boredom punctuated by moments of fear and heart-stopping action.

Das Boot is considered one of the greatest war movies ever made because of its intense realism, claustrophobic atmosphere, and unflinching portrayal of the emotional strain on soldiers from all sides of any conflict. Instead of glorifying war, it presents the everyday fears, boredom, and despair of men trapped in a steel tube under the sea. Both Das Boot and Saving Private Ryan have set the standard when it comes to bringing history to life through compelling characters who are just trying to survive.

‘Grave of the Fireflies’ (1988)

Grave of the Fireflies is an animated Japanese movie that follows two siblings, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi) and their struggle to survive the final months and weeks of World War II in Japan. With their mother dead and their father away in the navy, the children face hunger, homelessness, and societal indifference as they try to fend for themselves in a devastated Japan. The movie is a heartbreaking reminder of the fact that many of those who face the ultimate price in war are the most vulnerable.

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most devastating movies about war because it shows the impact it has on innocent civilians. The movie delivers a quiet, poetic condemnation of war by showing its most vulnerable victims slowly and painfully falling through the cracks of a crumbling society. Both Saving Private Ryan and Grave of the Fireflies are examples of movies about war that showcase the scale of destruction that war always brings, from the frontlines to the home front.

‘Come and See’ (1985)

Come and See is a Soviet war drama that follows a young Belarusian boy named Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko) as he joins the partisan resistance against Nazi forces during World War II. He witnesses unspeakable atrocities committed against civilians as he tries to survive and defend his country. The movie sees Florya evolve from a naive young man seeking adventure to a hardened soldier who is forever changed by the devastation he witnesses.

Come and See is considered one of the best war movies of all time because it delivers an unrelentingly raw and nightmarish portrayal of war’s psychological and moral destruction. This is driven home by the fact that the protagonist is a child whose life is violently interrupted by a war that completely destroys him. Come and See and Saving Private Ryan effectively present characters who experience humanity at its worst.

‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

Schindler’s List tells the true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German businessman and member of the Nazi Party who ultimately saved the lives of over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. Although he’s initially eager to profit from slave labor in his factory, Schindler gradually becomes horrified by the brutality of the Nazi regime and uses his factory as a refuge, employing Jewish workers to protect them from deportation and death.

Schindler’s List stands out as one of the greatest war movies of all time because of its unflinching depiction of the Holocaust. The movie is so unforgettable because it centers on the civilian victims of war, specifically the Jewish population targeted by the Nazi regime, as well as the courage one man showed after initially being more than willing to benefit from the suffering of others. Together, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan are some of director Steven Spielberg’s best works.