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.
![10 Best Ensemble Casts In War Movies, Ranked](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image-10-actors-who-have-made-2-or-more-great-war-movies.jpg)
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9 Dunkirk
Directed by Christopher Nolan (2017)
Dunkirk
- Release Date
- July 21, 2017
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Kenneth Branagh , Aneurin Barnard , Mark Rylance , Tom Hardy , James D’Arcy , Jack Lowden , Cillian Murphy , Harry Styles , Fionn Whitehead , Barry Keoghan
- Runtime
- 106 minutes
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)
Black Hawk Down
- Release Date
- January 18, 2002
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Cast
- Jason Isaacs , Eric Bana , Josh Hartnett , Ewan McGregor , Tom Sizemore , Tom Hardy , Hugh Dancy , Orlando Bloom
- Runtime
- 144 minutes
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.
![best-war-movies-2023 (1)](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/best-war-movies-2023-1.jpg)
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7 Tropic Thunder
Directed by Ben Stiller (2008)
Tropic Thunder
- Release Date
- August 13, 2008
- Director
- Ben Stiller
- Cast
- Ben Stiller , Robert Downey Jr. , Matthew McConaughey , Tom Cruise , Jack Black
- Runtime
- 107 minutes
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 Great Escape movie poster](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Great-Escape-movie-poster.jpg)
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)
Saving Private Ryan
- Release Date
- July 24, 1998
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Tom Sizemore , adam goldberg , Vin Diesel , Tom Hanks , Edward Burns , Matt Damon
- Runtime
- 169 minutes
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)
![The Cast of Midway (1976)](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/main-photo.jpg)
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)
![John Wayne as Lieutenant Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort with another soldier in The Longest Day](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/the-longest-day.jpeg)
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)
![Dennis Hopper, Martin Sheen, and Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/untitled-1-9.jpg)
Apocalypse Now
- Release Date
- August 15, 1979
- Director
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Cast
- Marlon Brando , Martin Sheen , Robert Duvall , Frederic Forrest , Sam Bottoms , Laurence Fishburne
- Runtime
- 147 minutes
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.