Highest-Rated Movies about 'Military Life'

Soldier's Girl (2003), The Red Badge of Courage (1951), Mister Roberts (1955), The Camp Followers (1965), MASH (1970), Coming Out Under Fire (1994), Westfront 1918 (1930), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Military Life movies.

#1. Soldier's Girl (2003)

Storyline: In 1997, new Army recruit Barry Winchell (Troy Garity) is assigned to a base in Tennessee. He quickly befriends the quick-tempered Justin Fisher (Shawn Hatosy), who struggles with drug problems. One night, they venture out to a local bar hosting a drag show. Calpernia Addams (Lee Pace), a transsexual drag queen, fascinates Barry, and they strike up a relationship. As Barry and Calpernia grow closer, Justin becomes bitter and recruits another soldier (Philip Eddolls) to help get revenge.

Plot Keywords: war, homosexuality, military, romance, true story, discrimination, violence ...

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#3. Mister Roberts (1955)

Storyline: Mister Roberts is aboard a US cargo ship, working in the Pacific during the Second World War. He'd do anything to leave the quiet of the ship to join in the "action". Trouble is, the captain of the ship, is a bit of a tyrant, and isn't willing to sign Roberts' transfer requests. Also on board is Ensign Pulver, who avoids work as best he can, whilst living off the riches of his buying and selling. Roberts and the crew are in constant battle, even over the smallest of disagreements.

Plot Keywords: war, comedy, drama, navy, world war ii, black and white, classic ...

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#5. MASH (1970)

Storyline: The personnel at the 4077 MASH unit deal with the horrors of the Korean War and the stresses faced in surgery by whatever means. The tone at the MASH is established by recent arrivals, surgeons Captains 'Hawkeye' Pierce, 'Duke' Forrest, and 'Trapper' John McIntyre - the latter who Hawkeye knows he's met somewhere, but Trapper who won't divulge where - whose antics can be best described as non-regulation, and in the negative words of one of their fellow MASH-ers: unmilitary. The unit's commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake, doesn't care about this behavior as long as it doesn't affect him, and as long as they do their job and do it well, which they do. Their behavior does extremely bother fellow surgeon, Major Frank Burns, and recently arrived head nurse, Major Margaret Houlihan, who obtains the nickname 'Hot Lips' based on information they glean about her through underhanded means. Beyond their battles with Frank and Hot Lips, Hawkeye, Duke and/or Trapper help unit dentist Painless ...

Plot Keywords: war, comedy, black comedy, korean war, anti-war, absurdist, satire ...

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#7. Westfront 1918 (1930)

Storyline: A group of German infantrymen of the First World War live out their lives in the trenches of France. They find brief entertainment and relief in a village behind the lines, but primarily terror fills their lives as the attacks on and from the French army ebb and flow. One of the men, Karl, goes home on leave only to discover the degradation forced on his family by wartime poverty. He returns to the lines in time to face an enormous attack by French tanks.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: war, world war i, german film, black and white, anti-war, trenches, soldiers ...

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#8. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Storyline: After Custer and the 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Indians, everyone expects the worst. Capt. Nathan Brittles is ordered out on patrol but he's also required to take along Abby Allshard, wife of the Fort's commanding officer, and her niece, the pretty Olivia Dandridge, who are being evacuated for their own safety. Brittles is only a few days away from retirement and Olivia has caught the eye of two of the young officers in the Company, Lt. Flint Cohill and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell. She's taken to wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair, a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry, but refuses to say for whom she is wearing it.

Plot Keywords: western, classic hollywood, retirement, honor, duty, leadership, legacy ...

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#9. Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (2007)

Storyline: A unique documentary about troops' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, based on writings by soldiers, Marines, and air men. Some writings were published in the New Yorker in summer 2006. A larger assortment was published as a book by Random House last September. The film drew upon the submissions by soldiers for the book. It's a remarkable portrait of troops at war - the complexities, doubts, and fears - written with honesty. The 81-minute version of the film (which will be in theatres) includes 11 pieces of writing, with different visual strategies, along with interviews with the writers, and with more established American writers who are also veterans. In the latter group are Tim O'Brien, Yusef Komunyakaa, Tobias Wolff, Joe Haldeman, James Salter, Anthony Swofford, Richard Currey, and Paul Fussell. The visual approaches range from poet Brian Turner reading directly to camera, to archival footage, to an animated "graphic novel," to a still photo sequence shot by photographer Antonin Kratochvil. It's rooted in a program by the NEA that created a series of writing workshops at military bases. After those workshops, the writers submitted pieces for consideration in the book, edited by Andy Carroll. From those writings were selected 11 for inclusion in the film. There is also a 53-minute version of this film which will be airing on PBS as part of the series "America at a Crossroads" in April, 2007. Both of these are different from the other film 'Operation Homecoming" from 2007, directed by Lawrence Bridges. That piece was produced by the NEA as a documentary about their writing workshops.—Adam Hyman, co-producer

Plot Keywords: war, documentary, memoir, iraq war, afghanistan war, soldiers, writing ...

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#10. A Soldier's Story (1984)

Storyline: A black soldier is killed while returning to his base in the deep south. The white people of the area are suspected at first. A tough black army attorney is brought in to find out the truth. We find out a bit more about the dead soldier in flashbacks - and that he was unpopular. Will the attorney find the killer ?—Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Keywords: racial discrimination, race relations, african american, 1940s, hate crime, american south, detective story ...

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#11. Sayonara (1957)

Storyline: Major Lloyd Gruver, a Korean War flying ace reassigned to Japan, staunchly supports the military's opposition to marriages between American troops and Japanese women. But that's before Gruver experiences a love that challenges his own deeply set prejudices... and plunges him into conflict with the U.S. Air Force and Japan's own cultural taboos.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: romance, war, race relations, japanese culture, tragedy, social prejudice, forbidden love ...

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#12. Yossi & Jagger (2002)

Storyline: Yossi is a Commander at an Israeli outpost near Lebanon. He is however involved in a secret, passionate love affair with his second in command (nicknamed Jagger). The two will often sneak off from the outpost to spend time together. A failed ambush during a full moon leaves Jagger mortally wounded and forces Yossi to finally express his love.—Phazed-101

Plot Keywords: war, lgbt, romance, military, forbidden love, tragedy, soldiers ...

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#13. I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

Storyline: In post-war, French Army Captain Henrí Rochard and US Army Lieutenant Catherine Gates, stationed in Heidelberg, West Germany, are often teamed on missions. Their personal relationship teeters from being friendly enough to Catherine not sure if she wants to spend any time with him, professionally or personally, as he is the type who will chase anything in a skirt, while she knows she ultimately wants to be with the type of man who only wants one "skirt", namely hers. Their latest mission, what will be their last together before he is decommissioned, is punctuated by them getting into one misadventure after another, and despite those mishaps, they come to realize that they love each other on the fact that they would never see each other again after their return to Heidelberg, and want to get married. That want starts the bureaucratic nightmare they face, ranging the gamut of military policies and civil laws in whatever jurisdiction they are in. That nightmare culminates when Catherine's unit is being shipped back to the United States, the only way that Henrí can enter the United States as her spouse being under the War Brides Act. Henrí ends up being classified among one hundred thirty-nine other war brides, one hundred twenty-six children of war brides, nine dogs, three cats, two canaries and one parrot, none having as much trouble that he has despite he being "approved" as "Mrs. Henrí Rochard".—Huggo

Plot Keywords: comedy, romance, war, marriage, gender roles, misunderstanding, military ...

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#14. Jarhead (2005)

Storyline: Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, a Camus-reading kid from Sacramento, enlists in the Marines in the late 1980s. He malingers during boot camp, but makes it through as a sniper, paired with the usually-reliable Troy. The Gulf War breaks out, and his unit goes to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. After 175 days of boredom, adrenaline, heat, worry about his girlfriend finding someone else, losing it and nearly killing a mate, demotion, latrine cleaning, faulty gas masks, and desert football, Desert Storm begins. In less than five days, it's over, but not before Swoff sees burned bodies, flaming oil derricks, an oil-drenched horse, and maybe a chance at killing. Where does all the testosterone go?

Plot Keywords: war, military, iraq war, desert, sniper, psychological stress, loneliness ...

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