The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is not just a simple film archive. Rather, films and series are rated and ranked by movie lovers from all around the world. This results in a list of favorites that is supported by millions of votes – one that can also be sorted by genre. And that’s exactly what we’ve done. The first-placed films can vary from year to year. We reveal which movie is currently at the top of the list in the war film genre.
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A war movie that set new standards
There are countless variations of war films, some of which focus on relentless depictions of the reality of war and human suffering, while others emphasize action and entertainment. The film that IMDb currently lists as the most popular war film clearly belongs to the first category. With an impressive 8.6 out of 10 stars and over 1.6 million ratings, “Saving Private Ryan” by cult director Steven Spielberg tops the list.
The story centers on soldier James Ryan (played by Matt Damon), whose three brothers are killed in World War II. To spare the family another loss, military leadership orders Ryan to be brought back to the USA. However, before he can be evacuated, he must be found. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) takes on this mission together with a small squad. But rescuing a single man in the chaos of war quickly becomes a life-threatening undertaking for everyone involved.
In 1999, “Saving Private Ryan” won five awards at the Oscars – including Best Director and Best Cinematography. Among other things, the audience and many critics praised the dense atmosphere, the impressive characterization and the battle scenes which, according to eyewitnesses, were even close to reality. If you have a subscription to Paramount+ or Netflix, you can currently watch the film at no extra cost. Alternatively, the movie can be rented for around 3 to 4 dollars or purchased starting from 6 dollars.
More highly rated war movies
Other highly successful representatives of the war film genre include “The Pianist” (8.5/10, 2002), “Grave of the Fireflies” (8.5/10, 1988), “Casablanca” (8.5/10, 1942), “Apocalypse Now” (8.4/10, 1979), “Paths of Glory” (8.4/10, 1957) and “Inglourious Basterds” (8.4/10, 2009).
Meanwhile, the war film “Dunkirk”, which was only released in 2017, made waves, but ended up outside the 250 most popular films with a rating of “only” 7.8 out of 10 stars and just under 800,000 ratings.
