Since educating people about their history and military forces is important, what better way to inform people than via entertainment? At the time of WWII, Hollywood became the primary publicity arm of the American military. The Bureau of Motion Pictures was a department of the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) solely devoted to Hollywood.
Additionally, the production of military films intrigued people’s interest, and the genre extended more and more. So if you also love to know about the history of war and the military, We have everything you want! Here is the list of the 10 best military movies on HBO Max.
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Lone Survivor
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: Peter Berg, Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Runtime: 2 hrs.1 min
It is an American historical film built on a nonfiction book with the same title. The movie had a solid run in the U.S. on December 25, 2013, before being distributed in North America. The critics gave favorable reviews to Bregs’ direction, the entire cast, the realism, the plot, and the visuals. Lone Survivor was ranked among the top ten films of 2013 by the National Board of Review. Furthermore, it was a blockbuster as it was awarded two Oscars—Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
In The Lone Survivor narrative, Marcus Luttrell and his surveillance team traveled to kill Taliban Leader Ahmed Shah. But instead, they are obliged to fight after they are thrust into the war.
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Iron Eagle
Director: Sidney J. Furie
Writer: Kevin Alyn Elders, Sidney J. Furie
Cast: Louis Gossett Jr., Jason Gedrick, David Suchet
IMDb Rating: 5.5
Runtime: 1 hr.57 mins
Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film followed by three sequels. The film received negative reviews but earned $11 million in home video sales.
Iron Eagle is about an Air Force colonel being shot in an enemy area and imprisoned. However, his son, a young pilot, plans to rescue his father.
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The Invisible War
Director: Kirby Dick
Writer: Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Douglas Blush
Cast: Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick, Kori Cioca
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Runtime: 1 hr.33 mins
The Invisible War is an American documentary film released in 2012. It debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, winning the U.S. Documentary Audience Award.
It’s a documentary examining the pandemic of soldier sexual assault in the U.S. military.
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Taking Chance
Director: Ross Katz
Writer: Michael Strobl, Ross Katz
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Tom Aldredge, Nicholas Art
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Runtime: 1 hr.17 mins
It is a 2009 historical drama movie based on the same-titled journal. The movie was well-received by critics, who gave it largely positive reviews.
This movie is based on actual incidents. Lt. Col. Michael Strobl. A story of a standing military escort officer transports the 19-year-old Marine Phelps’ body to his hometown of Dubois.
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Black Hawk Down
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore
IMDb Rating:
Runtime: 2 hrs.24 mins
The movie had a limited release on December 28, 2001. But later, on January 18, 2002, it was made available to the general public. Black Hawk Down is modeled on the nonfiction book of the same name by Mark Bowden. At the 74th Academy Awards, the film won two Oscars: Best Sound and Best Film Editing.
In order to capture the warlord’s lieutenants, 160 special U.S. forces were dispatched to Mogadishu. But when they get there, they discover highly armed Somalis who are prepared to fight.
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The Tuskegee Airmen
Director: Robert Markowitz
Writer: Paris Qualles, Trey Ellis, Ron Hutchinson
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Allen Payne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Runtime: 1hr. 46mins
A 1995 HBO television film, The Tuskegee Airmen, is modeled on the events of a real revolutionary squadron. The first African-Americans to serve as fighter pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
It’s a real-life narrative of how a team of African American pilots defied discrimination. As a result, he became one of the best U.S. fighter groups in World War II.
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Glory
Director: Edward Zwick
Writer: Kevin Jarre, Lincoln Kirstein, Peter Burchard
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Runtime: 2hrs. 2mins
It’s a historical war drama released in the U.S. for a limited time on December 14, 1989. Critics took it well, earning the film an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Its story follows Robert Gould Shaw, who led the U.S. Army. The first all-black military company in the Civil War battled racism from the Union Army and the Confederates.
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Lion For Lamb
Director: Robert Redford
Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Cast: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Runtime: 1hr. 32 mins
It’s a 2007 American war drama that doesn’t receive favorable reviews from the audience. But fortunately, the film was profitable.
Lion For Lamb’s story follows the two army soldiers who got hurt in Afghanistan beyond enemy lines. This led to a chain of incidents, including a congressman, a reporter, and a professor.
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The Green Berets
Director: Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, Mervyn LeRoy
Writer: James Lee Barrett, Robin Moore
Cast: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton
IMDb Rating: 5.6
Runtime: 2hrs. 22 mins
The Green Beret is modeled on a 1965 novel by Robin. It received a nomination for a Golden Laurel Award for Action Drama.
It starts when two elite Green Beret units are selected by Col. Mike Kirby for a mission in South Vietnam. Building and maintaining control over a base the enemy was trying to conquer.
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Rules of Engagement
Director: William Friedkin
Writer: Jim Webb, Stephen Gaghan
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Runtime: 2 hr. 8 mins
It’s an American war film released on April 7, 2000. The film did well and earned mixed reviews from critics.
Its story focuses on a military officer and an attorney defending him. He is accused of commanding his soldiers to open fire on people when they attacked a Middle Eastern country’s U.S. consulate.
