Ten Best Non-English Language War Movies!!
Apr 14 '04 (Updated Nov 10 '05)
The Bottom Line Hollywood has made some pretty darn good war movies, but don't overlook the best of the ones from overseas!
The hardest part about doing a list in this category is defining for oneself what is and is not a “War Film.” I’ve decided for my part to exclude films, regardless of their quality, that merely have a war context as opposed to being about war in a significant way. I am therefore ruling out films that are mainly romances, comedies, or dramas that simply occur in a society in which war looms in the background. I am also ruling out films that involve fighting based on general lawlessness rather than war. Several of the following films are better films, overall, than the ten I’ve selected as my “Best War Films.”
Do Not Qualify (in My Opinion) as War Films Despite Having a War Context:
The King of Hearts (1967) – Comedy
The Horseman on the Roof (1995) – Period Romance
Burnt By the Sun (1995) – Political Drama
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) – Period Romance with one major battle scene
Butterfly (1999) – Drama
Life is Beautiful (1997) – Comedy/Drama
The Seven Samurai (1954) – Japanese “Western”
Wings of Desire (1987) – Fantasy
Red Sorghum (1987) – Drama
Under the Domim Tree (1996) – Coming-of-Age
Indochine (1992) – Epic Romance
Maléna (2000) – Drama/Coming-of-Age
Mephisto (1981) – Drama
The Terrorist (1998) – Drama
Tin Drum (1979) – Drama
Queen Margot (1994) – Drama/Historical/Romance
A Year in the Quiet Sun (1984) – Drama
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978) – Drama
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My Top Ten Non-English Language War Films:
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1. Ran (1985). Ran delivers a couple of the most elaborate battle scenes ever filmed. With “color-coded” armies, it’s actually not too tough to follow. In one magnificent assault, there is initially only the sound of the musical score – until the first arrow hits its marks. Then, suddenly, we here the pounding of the hoofs, the whiz of the arrows, and the yelps of the warriors.
2. Shop on Main Street (1964). This fine Czech film won the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category in 1965. It portrays a small piece of the Holocaust in a a small town in Czechoslovakia where a Czech national is appointed as “Aryan controller” for a shop owned by an elderly Jewish widow. The performance by Ida Kaminska as the Jewish woman was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category.
3. War and Peace (1967). This Russian adaptation of Tolstoy’s great novel is the definitive film version. It is one of the most expensive films ever made and it shows – in lavish costumes and sets and one of the largest and most dramatic battle scenes ever filmed. The romantic elements of the film and the ballroom scenes are excellent as well.
4. Ballad of a Soldier (1959). This Russian film starts with a scene on the front in which the protagonist disables two German tanks, but most of the film looks at wartime Russia from the vantage point of the home front. The story centers on Alyosha Skvortsov’s effort to return home on leave in the midst of war in order to say goodbye to his mother. On the way, he meets a beautiful girl, and some endearing romantic moments ensue.
5. Come and See (1985). This film depicts the brutal genocide conducted by the Nazis in Byelorussia in 1943 from the vantage point of a fourteen year-old boy. The magnificent visual poetry of the cinematography keeps the powerfully emotional story from becoming unbearable. This film is one of the best kept secrets in the pantheon of great films.
6. Alexander Nevsky (1938). This magnificent film features the great battle on the ice at Lake Chudskyoe with gruesome hand-to-hand combat. The musical score by Sergei Prokofiev is widely viewed as one of the greatest if not the greatest soundtrack in film history. The director, Eisenstein, and Prokofiev achieved a more complete integration of images and sound than exists in nearly any other film.
7. Das Boot (1981). Das Boot (or The Boat in the English version) is often described as the best submarine film ever made. The camera work through the narrow passageways of the sub is amazing. There is a powerful segment when this German submarine has to try to pass undetected through the Straight of Gibraltar. The ending is also very memorable.
8. The Battleship Potemkin (1925). This was the film in which Eisenstein introduced his theory of montage and quick edits that became the standard of the film industry. This film includes a shipboard mutiny and the famous massacre scene on the steps of Odessa. Although made in 1925, it is still a film with the power to move modern audiences.
9. Closely Watched Trains (1966). For much of this film, set in World War II Czechoslovakia, the occupation by the Germans is held pretty much in the background, although always in one’s awareness to an extent. The war component of the film bursts dramatically into the foreground of the plot near the end. This film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1967.
10. Stalingrad (1995). This film depicts the six-month siege of Stalingrad that cost the lives of two million men. It is among the most realistic depictions of war ever produced. This is a German film and depicts the great battle from the vantage point of a German soldier on the losing side.
I qualify the following as non-English language “War Films”, but they didn’t crack my Top Ten:
11. Two Women (1961)
12. Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)
13. October (Ten Days the Shook the World) (1927)
14. Throne of Blood (1957)
15. The Burmese Harp (1956)
16. Underground (1995)
17. Colonel Redl (1985)
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You may also enjoy my other genre lists for non-English language films:
Ten Excellent Spanish-Language Films
Ten More Excellent Spanish-Language Films
Coming-of-age – Outside the USA!
Top Ten Foreign Language Psychodramas
Top Ten Non-English Language Political Movies
My Top Ten Non-English Language Tragedies
Top Non-English Language Comedies
Top-Ten Non-English Language Film Biographies
Top-Ten Non-English Language Action/Adventure Films
Top-Ten Non-English Language Mystery Films
Top-Ten Non-English Language ~Horror~ Films
Top-Ten English-Language ~Horror~ Films from Outside the USA
Ten Excellent Films Featuring Royalty
Ten Excellent Non-English Language Thrillers
Ten Non-English Language High-Yield Tearjerkers
Ten Excellent Non-English Language Senior Films
Top-Ten Non-English Language Films Featuring Classical Music
The Top Non-English Language Epics
The 10 Best Foreign Language Romance Movies!!
The Ten Best Non-English Language Love Story Movies!!
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