5. The Burmese Harp
   It's nice to see Kon finally make someone's list.
   My top five:
6. Fires on the Plain
7. The Great Escape
8. Barefoot Gen
9. Come and See
10. Schindler's List

1. The Guns of Navarone
2. Where Eagles Dare
3. Kelly's Heroes
4. Tora! Tora! Tora!
5. The Burmese Harp

1. Apocalypse Now
2. Idi i Smotri
3. The Deer Hunter
4. The Thin Red Line
5. Lawrence of Arabia
   if Arabia does not count:
   Paths of Glory
   You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were and I say Why not?

In no order,
Fires on the Plain - how war corrupts the soul & sends a decent human who just wants to survive, into insanity & barbarism.
When Trumpets Fade - forced heroism, futility.
Fury - fantastic cinematography & effects, feeling like you're there for an underappreciated side of the war, the tankers.
Philosophy of a Knife - technically an atrocity movie as opposed to war, this graphically reminds us about another forgotten side of ww2, cruelty of the Imperial Japanese, vis a vis the infamous Unit 731 [Honorable Mention - 'Men Behind the Sun', same issue].
Saving Private Ryan - the King of the 'feel-like-you-are-there' ww2 experience.
& of course the more familiar 'Band of Brothers', 'A Bridge Too Far', 'Midway', 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket', 'A Midnight Clear', 'The Lost Battalion', & 'The Big Red One'.

Let me mention only Soviet movies because they are much more familiar to me and not to mention "Idi i smotri" since it's completely uncomparable to all other movies. The list is

1. Beg (
   www.imdb.com/board/10049899/
   )
2. Proverka na dorogah (
   www.imdb.com/board/10067625/
   )
3. Voshozhdenie (The Ascent) (
   www.imdb.com/board/10075404/
   )
4. Zhenya, Zhenechka i "Katusha"(
   www.imdb.com/board/10062523/
   )
5. Sluzhili dva tovarisha (
   www.imdb.com/board/10063615/
   )
   Details can be found at
   www.imdb.com/board/10091251/board/thread/216326249?d=223841400#223841 400

This message has been deleted.

1. Zulu
2. The Dambusters
3. Master and Commander
4. Ice Cold in Alex
5. Waterloo

1. Zulu
2. The Dambusters
3. Master and Commander
4. Ice Cold in Alex
5. Waterloo

To call this film a "war movie" is like calling The Wire a "cop show".

1.The Thin Red Line
2.Army of Shadows
3.Saving Private Ryan
4.Flame and Citroen
5.Stalingrad (92)
6.Apocalypse Now
7.Stalag 17
8.Max Manus
9.Winter in Wartime
10. Downfall
It's difficult to narrow down to five. There are so many more good ones like Black book, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Battle of Algiers, Full Metal Jacket
The Pianist, Come and See and Soldier of Orange, crossbow, the Great Escape and The Heroes of Telemark.

1. When Trumpets Fade
2. Tora! Tora! Tora!
3. All Quiet On The Western Front
4. Das Boot
5. Joyeux Noel
   Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words.

Come and See. (Elem Klimov)
The Thin Red Line. (Terence Malick)
The Pianist. (Roman Polanski)
Apocalypse Now. (Francis Ford Coppola)
Full Metal Jacket. (Stanley Kubrick)

1. Come and See
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Ivan's Childhood
4. Grave of the Fireflies
5. All Quiet on the Western Front

A few elitist/snobs here.
MY top/fav war movie is
Saving Private Ryan (love the modern shock & awe aspect)
Band of Brothers is superior to Saving Private Ryan, but is a mini-series.
The remainder of My top 5 have been mentioned.
Appreciated Hotel Rwanda about as much as Schindlers List and The Pianist.
Recently watched The Garden of the Finzi-Continis and Defiance - both very good.
Otherwise, lots of great suggestions here.
Thanks all!

That would be a Czech film

The Polish film Shop on Main Street (1965) (original title Obchod na korze).
The great Ida Kaminska has never been more moving and Jozef Kroner (as Tono) gives the most remarkable psychological descent into madness and guilt, culminating into a phenomenal ending you'll never forget. Awesome film. When I saw it in the theater back in 1965 it stayed in my mind for 46 years and is still lingering there.

Grave of the Fireflies absolutely floored me like no film has ever done. One of the best ever. Deer Hunter too although I'm reluctant to call it a war film, really.
Other than that, in no particular order, Come and See, Empire of the Sun, Das Boot, gets me to five.
I find many of the "greats" over-rated. Platoon, apocalypse now, schindlers list. Good films, but not as great as their reputations.

No order, and not a list to be difficult, but to complement and avoid too much repetition.
Idi i Smotri, (brought me here, and too much credit is not enough)
Battleship Potemkin, (damn it's a surprise to see how advanced some film maker's were)
Gallipoli, (as I saw it when I was a wee babe, and had some Australian pride. Glad to have lost it Back to the film - does it stand the test of time?)
And, no more, everything that comes to mind, is probably already listed

My to 5 may not be the best films but ones I personally liked best for various and sundry reasons. And it may change at any time depending upon mood. In no particular order.
Platoon
12 O'clock High
All's Quiet On The Western Front
Ford's Cavalry Trilogy
The Boys From Company C

1. THE HILL
2. TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH

3. PATTON
4. DR. STRANGELOVE
5. GO TELL THE SPARTANS

1. come and see
2. paths of glory
3. the thin red line
4. jarhead (seriously)
5. apocalypse now
6. platoon
   "gentlemen make your lives extraordinary"

As for me, Top-5 may be like this:
Come And Look - reflection of real cruel of that War
Only Old Men Are Going to Battle - first looking like easy movie with a little bit paper war, but any 9 of May I look this move and every time tears coming
Apocalypse Now - it is art of war move, great canvas
Full Metal Jacket - the best cleaner for young men's brain
The Longest Day - best epic war move
Also must see:
Tora! Tora! Tora!
All's Quiet On The Western Front
Our Own
Gu-Ga
One-Two, Soldiers Were Going
Brothers In Arms
Memphis Belle
Ivan's Childhood
War movies which better not to see:
Patton - wery stupid movie
Cross Of Iron - shooter which looked like serious movie about WWII
Enemy At The Gate - nuff said
Svolochi
All movies of Uriy Ozerov

You sir are smoking crack if you think this is a top war film! Lol
Maybe top Russian war film, and even then I'd say The Bomber was much better!
I liked the cinematography, but to put it with any of the movies below is a joke. The movie was a snooze fest until the Einsatzgruppen entered the village.
top war films all time should be at least some of these in no particular order
The Great Escape
The Big Red One
The Dirty Dozen
On a midnight clear
All's quiet on the western front
Patton
Saving Private Ryan
Apocalypse Now
The Longest Day
Full Metal Jacket
Hell in the Pacific
Stalingrad
A Bridge too far

Come and See
Stalingrad
They Fought for their Country
Soegija
Ballad of a Soldier