War on the Silver Screen

What are the ten greatest war movies ever made? And, more importantly, what do they tell us on this Memorial Day and every time we watch them? War is ugly. Death is not noble. Sometimes plans don't work. Sometimes orders are stupid.

10. The Longest Day The story of D-Day in blockbuster form. Opening in 1962, and a perennial favorite on television, this film won two Oscars in film categories. Chock full of stars, 42 according to the Internet Movie Database, it lays out the events immediately before the Allied invasion of France and covers the events of D-Day. It makes this list for covering all sides of the conflict, the Allies and the Germans.

9. A Bridge Too Far Operation Market Garden, adapted from historian Cornelius Ryan's work of the same name. A star studded cast portray the American and British paratroopers attempting to seize key bridges on the road to the German heartland. Ultimately doomed to failure, the assault is followed through the actors' portrayals until the bitter end at Arnhem. A Memorial Day must for fans of the Airborne.

8. Saving Private Ryan This may be the number one war movie of recent time for many. It is and it isn't. The premise that a unit would hunt through an active battlefield for one man, so that he might return home, is flawed. The movie does portray the confusion of a large battle, the bonding that fighting men undergo in combat and the odd, often senseless, orders that can be given to soldiers. This is your Memorial Day "feel good" manly bonding movie.

7. Heartbreak Ridge It was a tiny war in a tiny country. Heartbreak Ridge is not so much a war movie as a warrior movie. Clint Eastwood gives one of his best performances as the weary Marine hero, who has been there and done that. No place in the modern Marine Corps for Gunny Highway? It seems so until the guns begin to shoot. The scene near the end where a Marine calls the U.S. using a credit card to request reinforcements really happened during the Battle of Grenada. This movie makes the Memorial Day list for Eastwood's gritty Marine character.

6. The Big Red One The Big Red One is the First Infantry Division's nickname. This 1980 production follows a group of soldiers across the battlefields of Europe. Lee Marvin stars in one of his finest roles as the experienced sergeant leading his squad through all of the major fighting in the war. A comparable treatment of the bonding that soldiers undergo as seen in Heartbreak Ridge. This makes the list as down and dirty, nitty gritty fighting and for exploring the feelings that the survivors have after the fight is over.

5. Raid on Entebbe This is a "made for television" movie from 1976. It details the efforts made by the Israeli Self Defense Force to free a plane load of hijacked passengers being held prisoner in Idi Amin's Uganda. The commando team flew thousands of miles and their night raid on Entebbe airport is a classic special ops mission. It won a Golden Globe. As a nearly impossible mission carried out in darkness far from safety, this rates a place on the Memorial Day must-see list.

4. Midway The classic carrier war battle, Midway was the battle that most saw as the end of the Japanese tide of victories after Pearl Harbor. With actors such as Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda in lead roles, the 1976 movie has a certain epic feel. Farly true to the events, as much as any movie can portray several days of battle, it makes the list for all those fans of the U.S. Navy out there.

3. Tora! Tora! Tora! This Oscar winning movie from 1979 tells the story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. We all know how the attack turned out, but this movie manages to add suspense to the story. The portrayal of the Japanese side of the attack makes this a must-see. It uses a host of older actors in portraying the major figures of the battle, including Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotton, E.G. Marshall and Jason Robards.

2. Taking Chance This 2009 television movie tells the true story of LTC Mike Strobl, who was the escorting officer as the body of a young Marine, Chance Phelps, was taken home for burial after being killed in combat. Kevin Bacon won a Golden globe for his work as Strobl. No big battles, just the moving homecoming for a fallen hero. It is Memorial Day and this movie serves to remind us all of the sacrifices made by young men and women for our freedom.

1. Sergeant YorkAlvin York was one of the biggest heroes of World War One. But he was a reluctant hero. The reason this Gary Cooper movie is number one on the Memorial Day list is that it shows who York was, a man of peace called to arms by his principles. In 1941, it was intended to rally America, but it also serves as a timeless message about peace and war, and conscience.

There are ten of the best war movies. Each is worth a look on this Memorial Day weekend. Each is worth a place in a video library. Each can teach us a little bit about history and little bit about war.