10 Best Ensemble Casts In War Movies, Ranked

The war genre includes some of the most grand film productions ever, and many are complemented by powerful ensemble casts. Sometimes, a great war movie can benefit from having relatively unknown actors. Movies like 1917 and All Quiet on the Western Front recently excelled in their authenticity due to the lack of familiarity with their casts. On the other hand, there’s almost nothing more exciting than some of the most incredible acting talent of a generation coming together for an epic.

Many of the best war movies of all time boast stacked ensemble casts. War films have an innate evocative quality, and seeing familiar actors can help guide the viewer through such challenging material. Acting legends like Tom Hanks, John Wayne, and Steve McQueen have headlined some of the iconic classics of the genre in movies exploring World War II, Vietnam, and more.

10 Platoon

Directed by Oliver Stone (1986)

Oliver Stone has directed some phenomenal casts, with movies from JFK to Alexander filled with iconic stars. The 1986 Vietnam War film is based on Stone’s own experience in the war, and the cast is packed with familiar faces. Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe headline the lineup, giving fantastic performances. They’re supported by Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Tom Berenger, and a young Johnny Depp even makes a brief appearance.

Related

10 Actors Who Have Made 2 Or More Great War Movies

Over the years, several actors have built their careers off repeatedly starring in critically acclaimed war films, making them masters of the genre.

9 Dunkirk

Directed by Christopher Nolan (2017)

Christopher Nolan’s war epic, Dunkirk, partially utilizes unfamiliar faces to round out its cast. The story is told in several non-linear segments, with the primary group stranded on the beach consisting of young actors, relatively unknown at the time, aside from Harry Styles. However, the supporting cast is filled out with many of Christopher Nolan’s most frequent collaborators, such as Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, and even Michael Caine in a small voice role. Sir Mark Rylance and Barry Keoghan also star.

8 Black Hawk Down

Directed by Ridley Scott (2001)

Another filmmaker whose movies are known for being packed with movie stars, Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, has an outrageously famous lineup, with many of its cast appearing before they became famous. Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor star, but the cast is enormous, and famous faces like Tom Hardy, Hugh Dancy, Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and more can be easy to miss. Tom Sizemore, Jason Isaacs, Orlando Bloom, and Eric Bana also appear, though once the conflict begins, it’s easy to get lost in the hectic Battle of Mogadishu and lose track of the all-star cast.

Related

10 Best War Movies Of 2023

From Oppenheimer to One Life to Napoleon, these are the best war movies of 2023, covering various historical periods and aspects of the genre.

7 Tropic Thunder

Directed by Ben Stiller (2008)

Tropic Thunder is one of the most ridiculously funny comedies ever made. It sees a group of fictional actors preparing to shoot a war film by dropping them into a jungle, where they find themselves in an actual war zone. A satirical commentary on the film industry, the film boasts a phenomenal cast of entertaining actors. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black are its stars, all of whom are hilarious. Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, and Bill Hader all appear in brief supporting roles, and the film is filled with celebrity cameos of actors playing fictional versions of themselves.

6 The Great Escape

Directed by John Sturges (1963)

The classic 1963 war epic The Great Escape starred some of its era’s most famous faces. The World War II film is centered around a group of Allied soldiers captured by Nazi forces, planning their escape from a prison camp. The war thriller stars Steve McQueen in one of his best roles, supported by James Garner, Charles Bronson, Richard Attenborough, and many more. The Great Escape is one of the genre’s most intense, star-driven films.

5 Saving Private Ryan

Directed by Steven Spielberg (1998)

Kicking off one of the most prolific actor and director collaborations in Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, the pair’s first film together is one of the most beloved modern war movies. The Normandy D-Day segment is one of the most impressive war movie sequences ever shot, with Spielberg demonstrating why he’s one of the greatest directors ever. Aside from Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, who plays the titular Private Ryan, the supporting cast is stacked. Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Ted Danson, Bryan Cranston, Paul Giamatti, Jeremy Davies, Giovanni Ribisi, and more, round out the cast.

4 Midway

Directed by Jack Smight (1976)

While not the most well-received war movies, the 1976 film Midway still boasts an unbelievably talented cast. Not to mention, it covers one of the most famous World War II battles, exploring the less frequently chronicled Pacific Theater. Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, and Robert Mitchum, some of the most iconic film actors ever, headline the Allied forces. Still, the most impressive addition is legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, who plays the Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

3 The Longest Day

Directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, and Bernhard Wicki (1962)

Another classic ’60s war film, The Longest Day, covers the D-Day landing at Normandy from start to finish. It’s an incredibly evocative and uniquely crafted cinematic experience, with meticulous attention to detail, with different directors leading the perspectives of the various forces (British, American, French, and German). The American cast includes John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, and Robert Mitchum, which alone would make it one of the most well-cast films ever.

2 The Thin Red Line

Directed by Terrence Malick (1998)

One of the most unique and powerful World War II movies ever made, The Thin Red Line mixes intense action set in the Pacific with a beautiful study of the natural world and its destruction at the hands of humankind. Jim Caviezel has the most screen time in the film, and famous faces like Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Jared Leto, and more appear infrequently throughout the film. A famously disorganized production, Malick shifted his focus away from Adrien Brody, who was initially meant to be the film’s star, throughout the shoot.

1 Apocalypse Now

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola (1979)

After The Godfather, The Conversation, and The Godfather Part II, Francis Ford Coppola rounded out one of the most impressive directing streaks ever with the war epic Apocalypse Now. The beautifully shot examination of the Vietnam War focuses primarily on the psychological effect of war, inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. The film stars Martin Sheen, who leads a unit searching for the rogue Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall is highly memorable as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore and Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, and Harrison Ford also play supporting roles.