All fiction is steeped in drama, and nothing is more dramatic than war. The entire breadth of human experience and emotion can be found in stories about battle. The best of us and the worst of us, all wrapped in the very human people who get sent to fight. It is no surprise that there are countless portrayals of the military in movies. While many feel more like propaganda than entertainment (I’m looking at you, Transformers), there is something truly special when a movie can capture at least part of the experience of being in the military.

My view might be a bit different than most people's; I joined the US Army out of high school before getting a medical discharge in 2007, but here are my picks for the best military movies that show a little bit about what it is like to serve.

Best military & war movies: Stripes (1981)

Bet you didn’t expect to see this movie on the list, but hear me out. Stripes is an irreverent take on the military, but there is something very honest in the way that it portrays its cast. Everyone has a very different (and sometimes silly) reason for enlisting. Sometimes folks just need a job, and the Army is always hiring. While what they get away with is highly unrealistic, there is always at least one person like Bill Murray’s character in every company – someone who acts like rules don’t apply to them and yet always seems to get the job done. I love Stripes because I can recognize people I served with in pretty much everyone on screen.

Best military & war movies: Full Metal Jacket (1987)

When you think about basic training, chances are that the image of R. Lee Ermey shouting at recruits in Full Metal Jacket is the first thing that enters your head. While not everything he does or says in the movie is reflected in my personal experience, the thing that strikes me on any rewatch is the emphasis on collective punishment that leads the squad of recruits to turn on Pyle. The tactic is still a staple of drill sergeants in the armed forces. Even the scene where the rest of the recruits assault Pyle in the night, the “blanket party” that eventually leads to Pyle’s breakdown, is something that happened while I was in training.

Best military & war movies: Saving Private Ryan (1998)

You are going to expect me to talk about the opening scene of this movie, which is perhaps the most terrifying and honest portrayal of the realities of war we’ve seen in a blockbuster film. And that bit is very good and memorable, but the thing that sticks with me is not the beginning but the end. When Matt Damon turns into the old man and breaks down trying to convince his dead comrades (and himself) that he has lived a good life and made their sacrifice worthwhile. That Survivor’s Guilt is real and is something I struggled with for a while after several of my friends went to Iraq and didn’t come back. It is a great scene that has always stuck with me in the years since I got out of the Army.

Best military & war movies: The Hurt Locker (2009)

I’m going to start by saying that The Hurt Locker is not an accurate portrayal of the Iraq War or the Explosive Ordinance Disposal teams that served there. Some of the actions taken in this movie are almost parodies of actual combat (who goes into a combat zone without a dang radio?) but what always stuck with me is how Jeremy Renner’s character becomes addicted to combat. For many people, the chaos of war becomes more comforting than the safety of civilian life. I’ve seen people who swore they would never reenlist back in the military within a year of leaving because sometimes it becomes all they know how to deal with.

Best military & war movies: Schindler’s List (1993)

Perhaps Steven Spielberg’s greatest film, Schindler’s List is probably best known for its unflinching portrayal of the horrors of the Holocaust, but what always stuck with me was its central message. Aside from the obvious “Nazis are bad” message, there is a sense that Spielberg is trying to show how important it is to make a stand against evil, even if you’ve been responsible for at least some part of that evil. The echoes of that message can be felt all the way through shows like Andor, which is tackling the same ideas. While Schindler’s List isn’t a military movie in the classic sense, its focus on the horrific impact of war on civilians shouldn’t be overlooked.

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